Here’s what happened onstage during the Oscars’ mistake
If it were in the screenplay of a Hollywood drama — or maybe farce — directors would surely reject it. But let’s set the scene anyway for the Academy Awards drama over what film did, and didn’t, win the Oscar for best picture on Sunday night.
We pan in on the stage of the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, where actors Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway are about to announce best picture, the culmination of entertainment’s biggest awards show. Beatty opens a red envelope and looks at the card inside, giving a double-take. He looks inside the envelope to see if there’s anything else there.
BEATTY: “The Academy Award…”
He pauses, looks at the envelope again.