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SERIOUS MOONLIGHT Behind the scenes at the 2017 Academy Awards with filmdom’s first lady of Oscar cheerleading (my close friends know | was captain of the twirlers in high school) By Peggy Siegal Was this year different from all other years at the Oscars? In one way, it wasn't. A24's "Moonlight" won best picture because voters went for content over style. The win was for it’s poetic take on the American ideals that the Academy values most and wants reflected globally. History was also made as "Moonlight" became the first Oscar winner with an all black cast and addressed the LGBTQ community. And, it was a beautiful film. But on the other hand, Oscar voters were also dealing with a political and emotional crisis in the film industry. After two years of #OscarsSoWhite, they responded by nominating a record six African American actors, four African American producers and one African American director, Barry Jenkins, the fourth ever nominated in that category. Three films addressing race were nominated for best picture: “Fences,” “Hidden Figures” and “Moonlight.” Lionsgate's "La La Land" was a joyous escape from months of simmering frustration and anger at Donald J. Trump, himself a creature of the entertainment industry. The charming and modern musical “La La” danced its way to multiple awards from critics, at the PGA, the DGA, the BAFTA and the Venice Film Festival, a record seven Golden Globes, en route to an historic fourteen Academy Award nominations. Prognosticators predicted a "La La’ landslide. So what happened? Days before the voting deadline, "La La Land" was tripped-up by a last- minute backlash against frivolity. Even in La La Land, these are serious times. Backstage at the Dolby Theater, star-struck nitwit accountant Brian Cullinan, oblivious to the fact that the Oscars are a sacred secular ceremony and distracted while tweeting a photo of Emma Stone, handed Warren Beatty the wrong envelope. Chaos—and headlines—ensued. Tweets, chaos and headlines? It was all too Trump for words. When | arrived at the Dolby Theater that night, | asked a dateless Andrew Garfield to take me onto the red carpet with him, to the chagrin of his publicist. But a security guard rejected me because my ticket was the wrong color. Andrew winked, laughed and disappeared. Undaunted, | went back to the curb to find another walker. As | stood at the limo drop-off, inconspicuous in a day-glow orange satin dress, Kelly Bush, a publicist | knew from last year's "The Revenant" campaign, sidled over and said, "There is going to be an upset. ‘Moonlight’ is winning." On cue, “La La Land” producer Marc Platt arrived with the studs on his formal shirt popping off. As | nervously fiddled in his buttonholes, | blurted, "Kelly Bush just said ‘Moonlight is winning.” Marc turned white. The red carpet was a three lane highway. The speed lane was for the super stars, the middle for frantic handlers, and on the right was the schlepper lane for relatives and relative nobodies. Four security guards escorted me there. By the time Marc and | met again at the end of the three prong red carpet, "La La Land" publicist and West Coast campaign queen Lisa Taback was furious I’d told the shaken producer his film might lose. | said, "Kelly Bush said that, not me." But | felt terrible. HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019864