Why It Took So Long To Fix The Oscars Mix-Up

Okay, so Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway announced that the wrong movie won Best Picture at the 89th Oscars, and it happened because Beatty was handed the wrong envelope. But why did it take two minutes for anyone to notice that Moonlight was the real winner and not La La Land?

In a new interview with The Wrap, Oscars stage manager Gary Natoli said that it's all because of two accountants from PricewaterhouseCooper. Here's what we know so far: Brian Cullinan and Martha Ruiz were responsible for handing out the envelopes to presenters backstage. However, Cullinan (who might have been busy tweeting a photo of Emma Stone), reportedly gave Beatty the envelope for Best Actress, which read: "Emma Stone, La La Land."

Beatty froze when he opened the card, but Dunaway announced that La La Land won Best Picture. It wasn't until the cast and crew of the musical were onstage and making their speeches that one of the producers of the movie noticed the card was for the wrong category.

Natoli said that he didn't know the wrong winner had been announced until more than a minute after it happened. Cullinan and Ruiz were allegedly the only people who knew the correct winners, and they were reportedly told to memorize all of them in case anything would go wrong. But when Dunaway said the wrong title, Natoli said Ruiz (who was standing near him) and Cullinan didn't react at all.

The stage manager then assumed everything was fine, and he left the stage to begin setting up for a closing skit in the audience featuring Matt Damon and host Jimmy Kimmel. "I still do not understand the delay," Natoli said. "[Stage manager] John [Esposito] was trying to get Brian to go on stage, and he wouldn't go. And Martha wouldn't go. We had to push them on stage, which was just shocking to me."

Eventually Natoli, Kimmel, and Beatty, stood before the confused audience and tried to rectify the situation. But Natoli's account of the story would definitely explain why PwC announced that both Ruiz and Cullinan would not be a part of future Oscar ceremonies when it was only Cullinan who provided the wrong envelope.

If there's one thing we know for certain, it's this: don't ask Warren Beatty about the mistake.