It turns out they will work in this town again after all.
PricewaterhouseCoopers, the accountants whose errors led to one of the most embarrassing moments in Hollywood history at the Oscars ceremony last month, has been given a reprieve, according to the BBC.
Cheryl Boone Isaacs, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which organizes the annual awards, wrote to members to tell them that “after a thorough review, including an extensive presentation of revised protocols and ambitious controls, the board has decided to continue working with PwC.”
PwC partner Brian Cullinan had mistakenly given the wrong envelope with the award for Best Picture to presenters Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty, who then wrongly announced La-La-Land as the winner of the biggest prize of the night, instead of Moonlight.
Cullinan’s embarrassment was made all the worse when it emerged he had been tweeting backstage only minutes before. Neither he nor partner Martha Ruiz will be involved in the ceremonies again, Boone Isaacs had already said. She added in her letter that electronic devices will now be banned backstage.
Instead, the firm’s U.S. Chairman and senior partner Tim Ryan will take a “greater oversight role.” PwC will also increase its on-site staff team to three, with the extra staffer sitting in the control room with the show’s director.