When “La La Land” was wrongly named the Best Picture winner at the 2017 Oscars on Sunday night, the world stood still for a little. Some went as far to say the flub was the biggest shocker in recent Oscars history.
According to a Fandango survey of more than 1,000 moviegoers who watched the 89th Academy Awards, 72 percent said the moment was the most shocking moment in the recent history of the show.
67 percent of those surveyed said “Moonlight’s” Best Picture win was the “biggest surprise” of the night.
On Sunday, Warren Beatty and co-presenter Faye Dunaway erroneously named “La La Land” the Best Picture. All three producers on Damien Chazelle’s musical were concluding their acceptance speeches when people started to realize there had been a mistake — and “Moonlight” was actually the big winner of the night.
“This is not a joke. ‘Moonlight’ has won best picture,” said “La La Land” producer Jordan Horowitz. The musical team quickly welcomed director Barry Jenkins and the stars of the film onstage, letting them have their own Best Picture moment.
The Oscars’ accounting firm, PwC, released a statement taking the blame for the error that led to “La La Land” being incorrectly named the Best Picture.
“The surprise twist ending at the Oscars last night unfortunately overshadowed what was a genuinely entertaining and positive show, upstaging the inclusiveness that the Academy worked so hard to promote,” says Fandango Managing Editor Erik Davis. “But the Best Picture snafu was one of those moments of spontaneity that will resonate with audiences and get them to watch the Oscars in the future. It got people to engage with the show, and that’s a good thing – and it reinforced the notion that Oscars spread the love around to different movies this year. It could also have a positive impact in getting more people to see ‘Moonlight,’ the movie that surprised the world.”
The Fandango survey also found that 84 percent of surveyed moviegoers thought host Jimmy Kimmel did a good job, ranking him as the second best Oscar host after Ellen DeGeneres. 60 percent thought “Fences” actress Viola Davis gave the best acceptance speech after winning Best Supporting Actress.
42 percent said Justin Timberlake’s performance of “Can’t Stop the Feeling” was the show’s most memorable presentation of Best Original Song.
21 Best and Worst Oscars Moments of 2017, From Viola Davis to Warren Beatty (Photos)
This year's Academy Awards featured an insanely cute kid, some uncomfortable name-shaming -- and one of the biggest flubs in the nearly 100-year history of the ceremony
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WORST: People Magazine editor and red carpet host Jess Cagle revived this year's Golden Globes faux pas, mentioning "Hidden Fences" as one of 2016's extraordinary films.
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BEST: Jimmy Kimmel honors Meryl Streep with a standing ovation and a tongue-in-cheek homage to an actress who "has stood the test of time for her many uninspiring and overrated performances"
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BEST: "Moonlight" star Mahershala Ali gives a touching speech honoring his grandmother and four-day-old child after winning the Oscar for Best Actor
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WORST: Critically panned superhero flick "Suicide Squad" wins an Oscar for makeup, giving the film as many Academy Awards as "Citizen Kane"
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BEST: The cast of "Hidden Figures" brings out one of the film's true-life inspirations, NASA scientist Katharine Johnson (played by Taraji P. Henson in the movie)
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BEST: The rich get richer: Jimmy Kimmel floated bags of sweets to the crowd with a massive balloon drop
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WORST/BEST: "Moana" star Auli'i Cravalho got hit in the head with a flag while performing the song "How Far I'll Go" from the Disney film, but the 16-year-old wasn't flustered and brought down the house with her singing
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BEST: "Fences'" Viola Davis gives an emotional speech honoring her family and August Wilson after accepting her Oscar for Best Supporting Actress
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BEST: After Iran's "The Salesman" won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, director Asghar Farhadi (who boycotted the ceremony) explained his reasons in a heartfelt and pointed statement read by an Iranian-American engineer and astronaut
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BEST: Jimmy Kimmel brings a bus full of Hollywood tourists to the front row of the Academy Awards -- and Denzel Washington unofficially marries an engaged couple
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WORST: Jimmy Kimmel makes fun of one of the tourists' name, while saying "now that's a name" to her husband, named Patrick
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WORST: Seth Rogen (poorly) sings "Hamilton" songs while presenting the Academy Award for Best Film Editing alongside Michael J. Fox
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BEST/WORST: Kimmel conducts a brief interview with "Lion" star Sunny Pawar, but an homage to Disney's "Lion King" comes off a little awkward
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BEST: Kimmel tries to engage the President on his preferred medium: Twitter
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BEST: The host unveils an Oscar-themed version of one of his late-night show's signature bits, Mean Tweets
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BEST: Kimmel introduces presenters Ben Affleck and erstwhile rival Matt Damon as "Ben Affleck and guest," and has Damon played off by the orchestra during his announcement of the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay
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WORST: Halle Berry incorrectly pronounces "La La Land" director Damien Chazelle's name as "Shazeel" when announcing his win for Best Director
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BEST: "Manchester by the Sea" director Kenneth Lonergan wins his first Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, and says his film is "about people trying to take care of each other in terrible diversity" in a heartfelt speech
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WORST: Emma Stone wins the Oscar for Best Actress for musical "La La Land," despite her lack of top-end singing skills -- and a field including Isabelle Huppert, Meryl Streep and Natalie Portman
Beatty’s Best Picture flub was one of the biggest Oscar bloopers of all time
This year's Academy Awards featured an insanely cute kid, some uncomfortable name-shaming -- and one of the biggest flubs in the nearly 100-year history of the ceremony