Oscar tweeting by starstruck auditors banned
THE accountancy firm behind the biggest blunder in Oscar history is staying in the picture.
But its accountants will have to hand over their phones and other electronic devices before going backstage at the awards.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said this week it had decided to retain the services of PwC despite a backstage envelope mix-up that led to the wrong film being announced the winner of the best picture Oscar in February.
A third accountant will be added to the PwC staff on Oscars night, and backstage tweeting, photos and posting to other social media will be banned.
“After a thorough review, including an extensive presentation of revised protocols and ambitious controls, the board has decided to continue working with PwC,” academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs wrote on Wednesday in a letter to academy members.
The unprecedented mishap led to musical La La Land being declared the winner. Its producers and cast celebrated and started acceptance speeches on the stage before Moonlight was named the real winner of the night’s top prize.
Isaacs called it “the most extraordinary and memorable Oscars ceremony in decades”. PwC, which has overseen Oscar balloting for 83 years, took full responsibility for the gaffe, which stunned the A-list audience in Hollywood and millions watching on television.
PwC quickly removed the two accountants responsible from further involvement in the awards. Starting next year, PwC will place a third accountant in the Oscars show control room, who will be able immediately to notify the director should a mistake be made.
That decision followed news that one of the accountants involved in the February 26 blunder had been taking photos backstage with celebrities and posting them on Twitter during the ceremony.
Other new measures include closer checks of the winner envelopes on stage and rehearsals with the accountants.
PwC confirmed its services were being retained but said nothing more. —