Coming-of-age drama "Moonlight" won the best picture Oscar on Sunday, but not before the film industry's biggest night was marred by one of the worst fiascos in its history, as "La La Land" was mistakenly handed the award first. Until the final minute the film industry's biggest night had run smoothly, marked by plenty of political statements - mainly jabs at President Donald Trump - and light-hearted jokes from host Jimmy Kimmel.
The evening also represented a move towards burying the OscarsSoWhite controversy of the past two years, with two of the four acting prizes and a handful of other major awards going to African American nominees. But the stunning final stumble was a nightmare of a Hollywood ending that no one wanted to see. Tinseltown legends Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, stars of 1967 crime classic "Bonnie and Clyde" and both past Oscar winners, were meant to give the best picture Oscar to Barry Jenkins's film.
But after the pair were apparently handed the wrong envelope, she mistakenly called it for "La La Land," Damien Chazelle's nostalgic musical. Scenes of confusion and embarrassment followed after the "La La Land" crew - already on stage and delivering speeches - suddenly realised the mistake and announced themselves that "Moonlight" had actually won. Beatty, the 79-year-old veteran actor and director, said he'd been given the wrong envelope - the one containing the card announcing "La La Land" star Emma Stone's best actress win. Eventually PricewaterhouseCoopers, the accounting firm responsible for tabulating Oscar ballots and safeguarding the results until they are announced, apologized and admitted Beatty's version was true.
"We sincerely apologise to 'Moonlight,' 'La La Land,' Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, and Oscar viewers for the error that was made during the award announcement for Best Picture," the company said in a statement. "The presenters had mistakenly been given the wrong category envelope and, when discovered, was immediately corrected," it added.