Minnie Driver thinks the Best Picture winner mix-up at the Academy Awards on Sunday evening (26.02.17) was "good" television.
The ‘Good Will Hunting’ star had a lot of sympathy for presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, host Jimmy Kimmel and everyone involved with ‘La La Land’ and ‘Moonlight’ when Faye announced that the wrong film, ‘La La Land’, had won the night’s biggest prize.
However, as the farce was unfolding Minnie, 47, instantaneously thought that the mistake would be great for viewers to watch on TV at home.
Speaking on the red carpet as she entered the Vanity Fair Oscars party after the ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles had ended, she said: "It was really awful, but also kind of amazing. My heart went out to everyone involved but it is good telly, it would have been really good to watch."
Although the mishap caused a great deal of embarrassment for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and Price Waterhouse Coopers – the accounting firm that tallies the Oscars votes – Minnie wasn’t the only star who thought it was a brilliant Oscars moment.
Salma Hayek agreed with Minnie that it was a "wonderful" moment for everyone watching because it was so unique.
As she entered the Vanity Fair after-party, Salma, 50, said: "People were confused, they didn’t know if it was a joke. I knew it wasn’t a joke because I was with the stage manager and I could hear him talking about what to do. I think it was a wonderful Oscars moment."
Accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is responsible for calculating the results of the voting process and are in charge of handing the envelopes to presenters, and have apologised unreservedly for the mix-up which saw Warren get handed the envelope with the Best Actress winner’s name inside.
The company said in a statement: "We sincerely apologise to ‘Moonlight’, ‘La La Land’, Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, and Oscar viewers for the error that was made during the award announcement for Best Picture.
"The presenters had mistakenly been given the wrong category envelope and when discovered, was immediately corrected. We are currently investigating how this could have happened, and deeply regret that this occurred. We appreciate the grace with which the nominees, the Academy, ABC, and Jimmy Kimmel handled the situation."
Minnie Driver says Oscars farce was ‘good’ TV
