Ryan Gosling's face looked like 'absolute thunder' after Moonlight-La La Land Oscars mix up
'Can you imagine the moment of thinking you’d won the best picture, to have it snatched it away from you,' asks Radio Four host
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Moonlight and La La Land mix-up will go down as one of the most monumental blunders in Oscars’ history.
In case it passed you by, the award for best film was mistakenly handed to La La Land after the award presenters read out the wrong winner. In reality, Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight, the underdog which was snubbed at the BAFTAs, was granted with the biggest award of the night.
While it might not have been great for the academy, the eleventh-hour plot twist certainly made good TV.
But it seems that Ryan Gosling, who plays a struggling jazz pianist in the critically acclaimed La La Land, was rather less impressed by the cock-up.
According to Martha Kearny, a BBC Radio 4 broadcaster, Gosling did not look happy after the ceremony wound to an end.
“We were waiting in the queue for our limos and I saw Ryan Gosling was standing next to us on the phone and his face looked like absolute thunder,” Kearny said on the Today Programme.
“Can you imagine the moment of thinking you’d won the best picture, to have it snatched it away from you, and the poor people of Moonlight, their moment of glory was a little bit tarnished”.
La La Land wound up having a slightly disappointing night, ceasing to pick up many of the technical awards it was expected to, however, the film did receive Best Director, Best Actress and Cinematography. On the other hand, Moonlight not only got the night's biggest accolade but also nabbed Best Supporting actor for Mahershala Ali, who is the first Muslim actor in history to win an Academy Award, and the Original Screenplay prize.
Although the Oscars cock-up during the finale of the night was initially thought to be the fault of presenters Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty, it appears the responsibility lies with a crew member to ensure the correct envelopes make it onto the stage.
In the midst of the speech, the producers of La La Land looked at the right envelope and clocked a massive error had been made.
“This is not a joke, Moonlight has won Best Picture,” Jordan Horowitz announced on stage.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments