# Oscars 2017 thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 27, 2017, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscars-2017-thread/780905 "2017-02-27T01:12:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2017, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscars-2017-thread/780905/181 "2017-02-27T16:09:11Z")
I appear to be in the minority who don’t blame Beatty or Dunaway at all. I think my face and reaction would be about the same. You just figure they know what they are doing when you send you up there. His reaction is priceless. I don’t blame him for kind of showing her what it says. It must have been super weird. So weird. I feel really bad for the presenters and the La La Land people. The La La people were extremely kind and gracious. Just really the best way to handle it. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2017, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscars-2017-thread/780905/182 "2017-02-27T16:10:19Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I think the implication here that these people only won because they were black is really horrible. Dude, lets face it. _Moonlight_ won because of the fact it ticked all of the Academy’s boxes for Very Important Social Message Film. It was not even the best “black” film nominated; that would be \*Hidden Figures \*(ok, I am biased, being a Space Geek). I fully suspect in a few years its going to be like _Beautiful Mind_ and _Driving Miss Daisy_; people are goung to wonder; how in the ever loving fuck did it win. ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2017, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscars-2017-thread/780905/183 "2017-02-27T16:16:15Z")
Might have missed it earlier in the thread, but was David Bowie left off the In Memoriam segment? I don’t recall seeing his name/picture. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2017, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscars-2017-thread/780905/184 "2017-02-27T16:17:07Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Dude, lets face it. _Moonlight_ won because of the fact it ticked all of the Academy’s boxes for Very Important Social Message Film. It was not even the best “black” film nominated; that would be \*Hidden Figures \*(ok, I am biased, being a Space Geek). I fully suspect in a few years its going to be like _Beautiful Mind_ and _Driving Miss Daisy_; people are goung to wonder; how in the ever loving fuck did it win. And _Hidden Figures_ was a by-the-numbers Hollywood feel-good movie. _Moonlight_ won because it was a very good movie. That you disagree doesn’t mean otherwise. > [@Daddypants](#): > > Might have missed it earlier in the thread, but was David Bowie left off the In Memoriam segment? I don’t recall seeing his name/picture. He was included in last year’s In Memoriam. > [@treis](#): > > I can tell you that the Oscars won’t ever have all white winners of the major awards again. Of course they will. The controversy was because there was no Black _nominees_. That’s 20 people. Not the four winners. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2017, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscars-2017-thread/780905/185 "2017-02-27T16:17:27Z")
I also would have loved to read Ebert’s review of the show. He loved the Oscars and this was surely a memorable one. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2017, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscars-2017-thread/780905/186 "2017-02-27T16:20:13Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Dude, lets face it. _Moonlight_ won because of the fact it ticked all of the Academy’s boxes for Very Important Social Message Film. It was not even the best “black” film nominated; that would be \*Hidden Figures \*(ok, I am biased, being a Space Geek). I fully suspect in a few years its going to be like _Beautiful Mind_ and _Driving Miss Daisy_; people are goung to wonder; how in the ever loving fuck did it win. Hidden Figures is a nice movie. It’s very trite and cliched, but it’s fun, funny, and hopeful. It was the most fun of the 6 nominees I saw, but it was the worst of them as well. Moonlight is a complex, powerful, and incredibly moving exploration of ostracism, sexuality, and love. For me, the difference in quality between the two films is huge. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_John_Marcej)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2017, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscars-2017-thread/780905/187 "2017-02-27T16:25:12Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Hidden Figures is a nice movie. It’s very trite and cliched, but it’s fun, funny, and hopeful. It was the most fun of the 6 nominees I saw, but it was the worst of them as well. > > Moonlight is a complex, powerful, and incredibly moving exploration of ostracism, sexuality, and love. > > For me, the difference in quality between the two films is huge. I have no problem with Moonlight winning, I saw 7 of the 9 Best Picture noms and thought that either Moonlight or Manchester by the Sea were the two best that I saw. My only complaint would be that Moonlight didn’t win for Best Score. Remarkable music! ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2017, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscars-2017-thread/780905/188 "2017-02-27T16:35:13Z")
> [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](#): > > I have no problem with Moonlight winning, I saw 7 of the 9 Best Picture noms and thought that either Moonlight or Manchester by the Sea were the two best that I saw. > > My only complaint would be that Moonlight didn’t win for Best Score. > Remarkable music! I didn’t sort through the whole thread looking for this answer, so forgive me if it’s been noted: With 3 awards for Moonlight…what’s the record for fewest awards for the Best Picture winner? ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2017, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscars-2017-thread/780905/189 "2017-02-27T16:39:25Z")
Some observations: This was pretty much the award-show version of the ending of the Beatty/Dunnaway movie made 50 years ago which is the reason they were presenting in the first place. I am guessing the Oscar organizers fancy themselves the pinnacle of the awards show business and perhaps had a good laugh at the Miss Universe fiasco which makes this one all the more embarrassing. I am still not sure exactly what happened. There was a Reddit thread I was reading which had an elaborate explanation involving multiple envelopes and multiple mix-ups but I couldn’t quite understand it. The whole thing is ripe for an Oliver Stone/JFK style parody. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2017, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscars-2017-thread/780905/190 "2017-02-27T16:41:53Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > I didn’t sort through the whole thread looking for this answer, so forgive me if it’s been noted: > > With 3 awards for Moonlight…what’s the record for fewest awards for the Best Picture winner? GRAND HOTEL, with Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford and various Barrymores, took home a Best Picture win and didn’t even get _nominated_ for anything else. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2017, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscars-2017-thread/780905/191 "2017-02-27T16:50:56Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > I didn’t sort through the whole thread looking for this answer, so forgive me if it’s been noted: > > With 3 awards for Moonlight…what’s the record for fewest awards for the Best Picture winner? According to this, Moonlight got as many Oscars as previous winners like Rocky, 12 years a slave, Casablanca and others: [http://www.goldderby.com/article/2014/oscars-12-years-a-slave-three-wins-academy-awards-history-news-13579086/](http://www.goldderby.com/article/2014/oscars-12-years-a-slave-three-wins-academy-awards-history-news-13579086/) But there are Best Picture winners with fewer Oscars than that: > [@](#): > > ONE OTHER OSCAR > 1952: “The Greatest Show on Earth” – Story > > 1940: “Rebecca” – Cinematography (B&W) > > 1938: “You Can’t Take It With You” – Director > > 1929/30: “All Quiet on the Western Front” – Director > > 1927/28: “Wings” – Engineering Effects > > NO OTHER OSCARS > 1935: “Mutiny on the Bounty” > > 1931/32: “Grand Hotel” > > 1928/29: “The Broadway Melody” Captain William Bligh: “Mr. Christian!!!” ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2017, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscars-2017-thread/780905/192 "2017-02-27T16:55:49Z")
Quickly getting back to this, > [@fusoya](#): > > Was Bill Paxton in the montage? (following along from work) > [@Meltdown](#): > > Jennifer Aniston mentioned him in her introduction, but I don’t think he was in the montage. Probably too recent. Hopefully they include him next year. He was not in the montage. Yes, too recent. When Jennifer Aniston mentioned him in her intro, she had to choke back tears. I thought Jimmy Kimmel did a good job. One standout line, “It has been an amazing year for movies. Black people saved NASA and white people saved jazz. That’s what you call progress.” ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_John_Marcej)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2017, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscars-2017-thread/780905/193 "2017-02-27T17:02:14Z")
> [@Lantern](#): > > Some observations: > This was pretty much the award-show version of the ending of the Beatty/Dunnaway movie made 50 years ago which is the reason they were presenting in the first place. > > I am guessing the Oscar organizers fancy themselves the pinnacle of the awards show business and perhaps had a good laugh at the Miss Universe fiasco which makes this one all the more embarrassing. > > I am still not sure exactly what happened. There was a Reddit thread I was reading which had an elaborate explanation involving multiple envelopes and multiple mix-ups but I couldn’t quite understand it. The whole thing is ripe for an Oliver Stone/JFK style parody. Actually, it’s pretty easy to explain. No conspiracy at all (i.e. Stone) As has been noted on this thread and elsewhere on the net, PW has two agents with duplicate sets of envelopes. As a checks & balance. The agent was supposed to hand Beatty/Dunaway his Best Picture envelope but by mistake handed his Best Actress envelope (the other agent had handed his BA envelope to Leo). That’s it. A mistake. The only question I and others should have is, why did it take so long for the mistake to be rectified. As the La La Land group began to take the stage the procedures should have been stopped immediately, long before the thank you speeches were given. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2017, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscars-2017-thread/780905/194 "2017-02-27T17:04:08Z")
> [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](#): > > I have no problem with Moonlight winning, I saw 7 of the 9 Best Picture noms and thought that either Moonlight or Manchester by the Sea were the two best that I saw. > > My only complaint would be that Moonlight didn’t win for Best Score. > Remarkable music! I didn’t end up seeing Manchester by the Sea. My husband had to leave town and we ran out of time in our grand plan. But I’ve heard good things. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2017, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscars-2017-thread/780905/195 "2017-02-27T17:07:21Z")
> [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](#): > > Actually, it’s pretty easy to explain. No conspiracy at all (i.e. Stone) > > As has been noted on this thread and elsewhere on the net, PW has two agents with duplicate sets of envelopes. As a checks & balance. The agent was supposed to hand Beatty/Dunaway his Best Picture envelope but by mistake handed his Best Actress envelope (the other agent had handed his BA envelope to Leo). That’s it. A mistake. > > The only question I and others should have is, why did it take so long for the mistake to be rectified. As the La La Land group began to take the stage the procedures should have been stopped immediately, long before the thank you speeches were given. My guess: next year, once both sets of envelopes safely arrive at the venue, one set is destroyed immediately. Envelopes get color coded. Name of category is more prominently printed on the outside. I would say that the delay in rectifying the situation was reasonable…several seconds for the PWC guys to say “Wait…what??” then more time for them to sound the alarm and notify producers backstage. Several more for them to huddle and decide what do to about it. Several more to execute. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2017, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscars-2017-thread/780905/196 "2017-02-27T17:11:10Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > According to this, Moonlight got as many Oscars as previous winners like Rocky, 12 years a slave, Casablanca and others: > > [http://www.goldderby.com/article/2014/oscars-12-years-a-slave-three-wins-academy-awards-history-news-13579086/](http://www.goldderby.com/article/2014/oscars-12-years-a-slave-three-wins-academy-awards-history-news-13579086/) > > But there are Best Picture winners with fewer Oscars than that: > > Captain William Bligh: “Mr. Christian!!!” Wow, short memory on my part. It’s happened 3 times in the last 5 years. Holy crap, **The Godfather**? Widely acknowledge as one of the top 5 films of all time…3 measly Oscars?? ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2017, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscars-2017-thread/780905/197 "2017-02-27T17:30:48Z")
> [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](#): > > Actually, it’s pretty easy to explain. No conspiracy at all (i.e. Stone) > > As has been noted on this thread and elsewhere on the net, PW has two agents with duplicate sets of envelopes. As a checks & balance. The agent was supposed to hand Beatty/Dunaway his Best Picture envelope but by mistake handed his Best Actress envelope (the other agent had handed his BA envelope to Leo). That’s it. A mistake. > > The only question I and others should have is, why did it take so long for the mistake to be rectified. As the La La Land group began to take the stage the procedures should have been stopped immediately, long before the thank you speeches were given. As to why it took so long to be rectified, PWC didn’t anticipate a mistake being made, so they didn’t have a procedure in place. They were caught flat-footed. > [@](#): > > Incidentally, PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Brian Cullinan and Martha Ruiz spoke with the Huffington Post about this exact (then-hypothetical) situation a few days before the Oscars. They said there was no exact procedure because such a mistake had never occurred in the Academy Awards’ 89-year history. > > “We would make sure that the correct person was known very quickly,” Cullinan told HuffPost. “Whether that entails stopping the show, us walking onstage, us signaling to the stage manager — that’s really a game-time decision, if something like that were to happen. Again, it’s so unlikely.” > **[Close-up of Warren Beatty's Hand Shows He Got the Wrong Best Picture Card](https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/closeup-of-warren-beattys-hand-shows-he-got-the-wrong-best-picture-card-w469194/)** > > Close-up photos of Warren Beatty's hand appear to show he got the wrong envelope prior to the 'La La Land'-'Moonlight' Best Picture mix-up — read more theories about the shocking blunder ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2017, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscars-2017-thread/780905/198 "2017-02-27T17:48:41Z")
I wish I could find someone to give me the honest scoop on whether I really need to see the movie _Moonlight_ as much as all the critics insist I do, with comments about how it will still be a landmark of cinema 20 years from now, and so on. I just have this strong suspicion that the OTT raves are all about the Message that it promotes rather than its cinematic qualities. And I’ve already gotten the memo that gay people deserve equal rights and racism is bad, mmkay? What I’m interested in is movies that are critically acclaimed because of their inherent cinematic merits. Being an activism/message oriented movie is not always at cross purposes with being a great work of cinematic art, of course. _Do the Right Thing_ comes to mind, but then that’s the only example I can think of, so… ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2017, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscars-2017-thread/780905/199 "2017-02-27T17:49:35Z")
[Here is Sammy Davis Jr. calling the wrong name 50 years ago.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmmi9ksOtt4) “Wait until the NAACP hears about this!” An excellent recovery. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2017, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscars-2017-thread/780905/200 "2017-02-27T17:56:31Z")
For me, “Moonlight” is not a message picture at all. It’s just a wonderful character study that, for me, packs a huge emotional wallop. I don’t know if it will be a landmark of cinema. I just know that I left it feeling powerfully engaged with the characters. They are incredibly real characters, with everything that means. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscars-2017-thread/780905.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscars-2017-thread/780905.md?page=11)