Page 30 - ARUBA TODAY

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Tuesday 23 January 2018
AP Exclusive: New rules to

prevent Oscars envelope gaffe

By SANDY COHEN Ryan said he will be per- delivering the correct en-
AP Entertainment Writer sonally involved with Os- velopes," Ryan said.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — After car operations this year as Besides tabulating votes
taking responsibility for the PwC's U.S. chairman and for Oscar nominees and
epic best picture flub at senior partner. winners, PwC handles
the Oscars last year, Tim Other changes include: much of the Academy of
In this Feb. 26, 2017, file photo, Jordan Horowitz, pro- Ryan of PwC got down to — The addition of a third Motion Picture Arts and
ducer of "La La Land," left, shows the envelope reveal- business. balloting partner, who will Sciences' accounting, in-
ing "Moonlight" as the true winner of best picture at the He grilled the partners sit with Oscar producers in cluding audits and taxes.
Oscars in Los Angeles as presenter Warren Beatty and who made the gaffe, then the show's control room. Film academy chief Dawn
host Jimmy Kimmel, right, look on. personally reached out to Just like the balloting part- Hudson said that after re-
Associated Press the dozens of people af- ners stationed on either viewing the relationship
fected by it: The show's side of the Dolby Theatre between the two orga-
producers, presenters stage, this person will have nizations, and given that
and stage managers, as a complete set of winners' the voting and secrecy
well as the filmmakers envelopes and commit around the Academy
behind "La La Land" and the winners to memory. Awards were never com-
"Moonlight."In the months "Think of it as a safety con- promised, the academy
that followed, PwC met trol," Ryan said. chalked up the envelope
with the academy many — The two partners who mistake to simple human
times to come up with worked on last year's error.
new protocols and safe- Academy Awards have "Still, it was a big human
guards to prevent such a been replaced, though error, and it was a very
blunder in the future. Ryan Ryan confirms that both public human error," Hud-
revealed six new reforms still work for PwC. The new son said.
to The Associated Press. stage-side partners over- Ultimately, academy offi-
They include a new pro- seeing the envelopes will cials and board members
cess in which the celeb- include Rick Rosas, who decided not to "throw out
rity presenter will confirm previously worked in that 83 years of flawless part-
they have the correct en- post for 14 years, and col- nership over this, while
velope before stepping league Kimberly Bourdon huge, one human error,"
onstage, PwC partners at- from the company's Los she said, adding that PwC
tending rehearsals, as well Angeles office. helped build the digital
as measures to quickly — A new formal proce- voting system the acade-
correct any mistake. dure is in place for when my has been using for the
Last year's mistake hap- envelopes are handed Oscars in recent years.
pened when a PwC part- over. Both the celebrity "Let me tell you, I don't
ner mistakenly handed presenter and a stage think this error will ever
an envelope for the best manager will confirm that happen again or would
actress winner catego- they've been given the happen again," said Hud-
ry, which went to Emma correct envelope for the son, who was watching
Stone in "La La Land," to category they are about from the audience as the
the presenters of the best to present. (Last year's flub seemed to occur in
picture category, War- gaffe occurred when the slow motion onstage. "We
ren Beatty and Faye Du- PwC representative ac- put in a lot of protocols to
naway. That resulted in cidentally gave present- make sure it won't, but I
"La La Land" being briefly ers the envelope for best don't think it will anyway. I
named best picture, be- actress rather than best think everyone will be very
fore one of that film's pro- picture.) focused on getting that
ducers revealed the error — All three balloting part- right."
and that "Moonlight" had ners will attend show re- Ryan is similarly confident.
in fact won. hearsals and practice "My nature, just as a per-
"One of the most disap- what to do if something son, is healthy paranoia.
pointing things to me was goes wrong. "Because, as But I also know in my head
all the great work that you're well aware, it took that we haven't left any
had been done, not only a long time to respond step undone. We owe
last year but over the last last year when there was that to the academy," he
83 years, around accu- a mistake that we made," said. "While I feel very, very
racy, confidentiality in- Ryan said. "So we're for- good about all the work
tegrity of that process," he mally practicing the what- that's been done and the
said. "And where we got it ifs." attention to detail that's in
wrong was on the hand- The final change is one place, our job doesn't end
ing over of the envelope." the academy immedi- until that curtain closes."
Ryan said Oscar voting ately instituted last year: Nominations for the 90th
procedures and the tab- PwC partners are prohib- Academy Awards will be
ulation of nominees and ited from using cellphones announced Tuesday. Win-
winners won't change. or social media during the ners will be revealed at
Instead, reforms focus on show."Our singular focus the ceremony on March
envelope rituals. will be on the show and 4.q