Oscars will still use accountant firm PwC despite envelopegate blunder [View all]

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-39441595

Oscars will still use accountant firm PwC despite envelopegate blunder

1 hour ago

From the section Entertainment & Arts

Oscars organisers are to continue using accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) despite the best film mix-up. PwC had taken responsibility for the "unacceptable" mistake which saw La La Land wrongly announced as the winner instead of Moonlight, the Academy said. Its president, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, wrote in a letter to members that new rules will also mean electronic devices are banned backstage.

PwC's Brian Cullinan was caught posting Twitter photos just before the mix-up. He was the accountant who handed the wrong envelope to actor Warren Beatty, resulting in the blunder at last month's ceremony.
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Just before the best picture announcement, Mr Cullinan tweeted a backstage photo of La La Land's best actress winner Emma Stone, minutes before handing presenters Beatty and Faye Dunaway the envelope for best actress in a leading role, rather than best picture. Ms Boone Isaacs said Mr Cullinan's distraction caused the error.

Mr Cullinan and his fellow PwC accountant Martha Ruiz were told they would never work at the Oscars again. It was the awards' most high-profile error since they began in 1929.

PwC took said the accountants made "a series of mistakes" and failed to follow established backstage protocols.