The 96th Academy Awards were a stunning show of Hollywood beauty, but an unexpected performance had the crowd in stitches. Ryan Gosling, known for his gloomy plays and smouldering looks, stunned the Oscars audience with an unexpected performance of “I’m Just Ken.”
As the night’s most anticipated moment approached—the announcement of Best Picture—Al Pacino walked onstage. The great actor, recognized for his memorable roles, appeared to experience a short slip. Instead of listing the nominations, he said, “I see Oppenheimer!” The audience chuckled, and Pacino’s gaffe became an immediate meme.
The 83-year-old actor may have hurried the announcement process by staring into the envelope and exclaiming, “I see Oppenheimer,” as it was widely anticipated that the film would steal the show that evening.
Even though it wasn’t quite as spectacular as the 2017 La La Land/Moonlight confusion (in which Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty declared that La La Land had won best picture when, in reality, it was Moonlight), it still brought a thrilling finish to the evening and even made it possible for it to end a few minutes early rather than running late, which is sort of an Academy Award tradition.
