New Academy Awards safeguards in place so there's never another Moonlight/La La Land mix-up

At the 90th Academy Awards ceremony next year, there will be new safeguards enacted in order to prevent a repeat of the cringe-inducing debacle that became the talk of the 2017 Oscars.

PricewaterhouseCoopers accountants took the blame for handing the wrong Best Picture envelope to presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, but despite the error, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is not severing ties with the firm, the board decided Tuesday night. PwC has been working with the Academy since 1935, and its U.S. chairman, Tim Ryan, again apologized to the board on Tuesday for the error.

Next year, balloting leaders Brian Cullinan and Martha Ruiz will be replaced by partner Rick Rosas, who was in charge of handing out the winners' envelopes from 2002 to 2013 and did a bang-up job, never switching any of them. He will be joined by a yet-to-be-announced partner. A third balloting leader will know the results and sit in the control room to quickly stop any issues that may arise onstage. Accountants will also go to rehearsals, and absolutely no electronic devices will be allowed near the stage.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up