Last-Minute ‘Moonlight’ Oscar Marks Black Film Milestone
- Dunaway mistakenly names ‘La La Land’ as year’s top movie
- PricewaterhouseCoopers takes responsibility for error
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In an upset made all the more shocking by the way it was announced, “Moonlight” won the Oscar for best picture, a crowning achievement for African-American filmmakers after two years of controversy over institutional racism in Hollywood.
On live television in front of an audience of millions, presenter Faye Dunaway, onstage with fellow actor Warren Beatty, mistakenly said that “La La Land,” the favorite, had won the best-picture award, and the winners had already taken the stage when they were corrected. Instead of the retro musical, a coming-of-age film about a black gay man, distributed by tiny A24, was Sunday night’s big winner. PricewaterhouseCoopers, which manages the balloting, took responsibility for the mix-up.