Awards ceremonies are sometimes the scene of incredible blunders. Focus on the three most famous a few hours from the Oscars 2022.
These are ceremonies meticulously prepared in advance. Moments so important that they must not leave room for any improvisation, any risk of overflowing. However, sometimes the machine seizes up and Oscars like Caesar find themselves the scene of incredible (and unforgettable) blunders.
As the 94th Academy Awards approach (it will be Sunday night through Monday), let’s take a closer look at the three most memorable blunders from the awards shows.
1991 – VANESSA PARADIS MAKES THE WRONG JUDITH
We are in 1991. The 16th Cesar ceremony is quietly in full swing when a very young Vanessa Paradis appears on the stage of the Champs-Élysées theater to present the prize for Best Female Hope. Alongside Richard Bohringer, the one who won the distinction a year earlier for her role in White Wedding uncovers the envelope when suddenly, the drama…
“The César is awarded to Judith Godrèche in… Shit! Excuse me… Oh, I’m sorry, excuse me! It’s Judith Henry in La Discrète, excuse me!” Instead of announcing the real winner, Judith Henry for La Discrète, poor Vanessa Paradis announces Judith Godrèche, also named (for her performance in La Désenchantée). Stress + identical first name in the list = highly forgivable blunder, but definitely a cult moment!
It should be noted that during this same César ceremony, Smaïn also made a big mistake by completely forgetting to mention Odette Laure among the actresses nominated for the César for Best Supporting Actress!
2014 – JOHN TRAVOLTA INVENTS A NAME
In 2014, John Travolta goes on the stage of the Oscars to announce the arrival of Idina Menzel, the interpreter of let it go, the cult song from Frozen. Except that the American actor has the name completely wrong, introducing a certain Adele Dazeem, a person who absolutely does not exist.
Everything was quickly settled between Travolta and Menzel, the first apologizing flatly in a press release. “I flogged myself all day”he said in the wake of his blunder. “And then I thought ‘What would Idina Menzel have said? She would have said “Let it go, let it go!” (“let it go”, obvious reference to the title of the song from La Reine des neiges, editor’s note). Idina is incredibly talented and I’m glad the film walked away with two Oscars.”
It should be noted that a year later, during the 2015 Oscars ceremony, Idina Menzel will take the side of laughing at this gaffe with a sympathetic “revenge”. The American indeed called on stage John Travolta under the name of … Glom Gazingo!
2017 – THE OSCAR FOR LA LA LAND… BUT IN FACT, NO!
We still wonder how such a blunder could have happened at the Oscars, the high mass of Hollywood cinema, which is moreover for the major statuette for Best Picture. And yet, the most mind-blowing blunder that could be at an award ceremony did take place on February 26, 2017.
It’s the end of the show, the crucial moment of the Best Picture Oscar. Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway announce that the musical La La Land gets the ultimate award. Except that after several minutes, an incredible twist: it was a mistake, and it is announced that it is in fact the drama Moonlight which is sacred. At the origin of this improbable quack, a confusion in the order of the envelopes.
The presentation of the prize at La La Land, then the announcement of the error and the wavering moment that goes with it is always a pretty mind-blowing moment to watch. If possible in its entirety to measure all the ubiquitous effect.