James Corden’s spoof of that Oscars disaster is brilliant
James Corden has recorded a spoof of that mega Oscars mess-up, and it’s pretty damn brilliant.
As you’ve probably noticed by now, there was chaos and confusion at the Oscars after gay-themed film Moonlight won the best picture prize.
Before announcing it had won, Faye Dunaway mistakenly told everyone that La La Land had got Best Picture. Which it really hadn’t.
The ‘Late, Late Show’ host was quick to spoof the situation – dressing up as Emma Stone’s character from La La Land, Mia.
Asked in her audition to just tell a simple story – something from her life – Mia remembers that dark moment from the 89th Academy Awards.
She sings: “Was this a mix-up, a conspiracy, a fix-up or was Warren Beatty just blind?”
The real life stars at the Dolby Theatre were visibly shaken by the experience, as the cast of La La Land had to skulk off stage, realising they hadn’t really won.
Moonlight, which stars Trevante Rhodes, Ashton Sanders and Alex Hibbert, explores the life of an African-American boy at different ages – portraying him struggling to reconcile his sexuality and identity.
Since the night, accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) have apologised for the mistake, saying it was their fault.
The firm is responsible for the balloting process of the Oscars prizes, one of the largest professional services firms in the world, and a leading auditor.
Within hours of the mix-up, the company released a statement saying it “deeply regretted” the mistake, saying “the presenters had mistakenly been given the wrong category envelope”.
Warren Beatty came back after the mistake and said: “I want to tell you what happened I opened the envelope and it said Emma Stone, La La Land and that is why I took such a long look at Faye and at you.
“I wasn’t trying to be funny. This is Moonlight for best picture.”
Once it eventually won, Moonlight became the first LGBT-themed film to win the best picture Oscar.
You can see the complete list of films that won, lost (and were told they won) here.