Al Pacino slip up at the Oscars labeled biggest mistake since ‘La La Land’ mixup

The Oscars wouldn’t feel complete without some kind of onstage mishap, right?

This year’s blunder, which certainly didn’t go unnoticed, involved none other than the legendary actor Al Pacino prematurely announcing the Academy Award for Best Picture. Some are calling it the most significant mistake since the infamous La La Land/Moonlight mix-up of 2016.

When tasked with presenting the award for Best Picture, Al Pacino skipped over the nominees altogether—a considerable error given that Best Picture is arguably the most prestigious of all the awards.

If you’re familiar with awards season in the film industry, you’ll know the standard procedure for presenting awards.

Typically, a prominent figure in the industry takes the stage and announces the nominees for the category, not only reminding everyone who’s in contention but also ensuring each nominee receives recognition.

However, at the 96th Academy Awards last night, Al Pacino deviated from this standard practice, bypassing the crucial nomination announcement and jumping straight to opening the envelope, declaring Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer as the winner in the Best Picture category.

In addition to Best Picture, Oppenheimer also scooped up six additional awards last night, including Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor.

Pacino’s premature announcement sparked considerable discussion online, with internet users unable to resist commenting. Most saw the mistake in a lighthearted manner.

“Al Pacino creating a Moonlight/La La Land moment while still reading the right name. Master class,” one person quipped.

Another added: “Whatever just happened with the Best Picture presentation wasn’t a La La Land/Moonlight screwup, but Pacino just blurting out ‘I see Oppenheimer here!’ was definitely not how it was supposed to go.”

A third joked: “If Al Pacino said the winner was La La Land that would have been the best moment of the night.”

The references to La La Land recall the 2016 incident when the Best Picture award was mistakenly announced as going to La La Land instead of Moonlight. To compound matters, people were in the midst of acceptance speeches when the error was corrected.

According to reports, on that occasion, the announcer had been given the envelope for Best Actress (won by Emma Stone in La La Land) instead of Best Picture.