Did anyone else see a befuddled Warren Beatty ignoring his better judgment last night at the Oscars? The entire world watched as he looked down at the red envelope, seemed confused, looked to a clueless audience for divine counsel and relinquished the decision to reveal the winner of the “Best Picture” award to Faye Dunaway. Faye, with complete confidence (which was what Warren was desperately seeking), skimmed the card, skipped over the words “Emma Stone” and announced the only thing left that made sense, “La La Land!” Which was wrong. Moonlight was the actual winner…
After that, there was pandemonium on stage as the wrong people gave acceptance speeches and the right folks sat in their seats. Flushed clerks rushed in from backstage. Out of the kerfuffle came a voice of reason, and while we all watched with hands over our mouths, La La Land producer Jordon Horowitz let the Moonlight cast and crew know they had won. It was not a joke. There was a moment when everyone was on stage. The correct people took the Oscars out of the hands of the duped apologetically. Warren stood in the middle of the fray with a ghastly smile. The host, Jimmy Kimmel, took full responsibility. And a wrong was righted. Sort of.
What’s done is done…
I’m not sure why I am feeling like it’s Warren Beatty’s fault. I mean what about Price Waterhouse, with that suitcase their snooty representative sports, chained to his arm? As if he’d sooner lose a limb than allow the envelopes with the indisputable winners of the Oscars to fall into the wrong hands. As if PwC staff are incapable of human error. What about Faye Dunaway, who vaporized after announcing the wrong winner?
But why, I wonder, in a rather loose Academy Awards, where it would have been cool to say, “Um, this envelope seems to contain results we already gave out…” did an old trooper like Mr. Beatty freeze? I call it “ignoring your better judgment”. Something alcoholics know all about. You could see it on his face. A desperate need to understand, to make things right and then – against his gut – capitulation. Hoping for the best, even though he knew it was going to end badly.
The whole thing reminds me of you when you were drinking…
Kim called me this morning and she said the whole mess reminded her of something I would have done when I was drinking. And she’s right. But I probably wouldn’t have cared. Or remembered. And I would have disappeared long before old Faye hightailed it into the safety of the wings. Now that I’m sober (and after Kim reminded me of what a lout I used to be), I thought about the lessons that could be learned from last night’s Oscar debacle. Good advice for those who are new to sobriety. Good advice for all of us.
What I Learned from Warren Beatty last night:
- Do Not Ignore Your Better Judgment: Come on – we learned this in self defense class – if it feels weird, wrong or icky – it is. Look behind you.
- Have a Contingency Plan: Do not assume that everything is going to go according to plan “A”. If you have unearthed yourself from obscurity to give an award in front of 7 zillion people, double and triple check what to do in case of an emergency.
- Take Responsibility: There were a few people who stood there and took it like troopers last night. Humor and good grace are always helpful in difficult situations. And so is a partner who pulls her weight…
- Apologize: It was really unfair to the Moonlight folks to win the highest award in such a shabby way. They deserved a heart felt apology from everyone involved.
- What’s Done is Done: If disaster befalls, even after following the four steps above, let it go. (And do not, under any circumstances, look at your Twitter account).
