LOS ANGELES — After taking responsibility for the epic best picture flub at the Oscars last year, Tim Ryan of PwC got down to business. He grilled the partners who made the gaffe, then personally reached out to the dozens of people affected by it: The show’s producers, presenters and stage managers, and the filmmakers behind “La La Land” (which was mistakenly announced best picture) and “Moonlight” (which was the real best picture winner).
In the months that followed, PwC — better known as PricewaterhouseCoopers — met with the Academy many times to come up with new protocols and safeguards to prevent such a blunder in the future. Ryan revealed six new reforms to The Associated Press. They include a new process in which the celebrity presenter will confirm they have the correct envelope before stepping onstage, PwC partners attending rehearsals, as well as measures to quickly correct any mistake.
Last year’s mistake happened when a PwC partner mistakenly handed an envelope for the best actress winner category, which went to Emma Stone in “La La Land,” to the presenters of the best picture category, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. That resulted in “La La Land” being briefly named best picture, before one of that film’s producers revealed the error and that “Moonlight” had in fact won.
“One of the most disappointing things to me was all the great work that had been done, not only last year but over the last 83 years, around accuracy, confidentiality integrity of that process,” he said. “And where we got it wrong was on the handing over of the envelope.”
Ryan said Oscar voting procedures and the tabulation of nominees and winners won’t change. Instead, reforms focus on envelope rituals.
Ryan said he will be personally involved with Oscar operations this year as PwC’s U.S. chairman and senior partner.
Other changes include:
- The addition of a third balloting partner, who will sit with Oscar producers in the show’s control room. Just like the balloting partners stationed on either side of the Dolby Theatre stage, this person will have a complete set of winners’ envelopes and commit the winners to memory. “Think of it as a safety control,” Ryan said.
- The two partners who worked on last year’s…
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