When we last left the Oscars, the musical La La Land had won Best Picture and the cast and crew had gathered on stage to thank their loved ones. Yippee!
Sorry, there’s been a mistake. Moonlight won the prize.
One year later, it’s time to revisit the scene of the most embarrassing snafu in awards history. (And certainly the only one that involved a star-struck CPA). All we know for sure about the 90th annual Academy Awards is that host Jimmy Kimmel will crack some pointed zingers . . . and, yeah, Sam Rockwell will take Best Supporting Actor. Everything else is a wait-and-see-and-hope.

 Place your bets and cross your fingers that presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway will get a little redemption, Bonnie and Clyde-style.
Best Picture
Call Me By Your Name
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
Get Out
Lady Bird
Phantom Thread
The Post
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Will Win: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
 
Spoiler Alert: Get Out
After picking up top prizes at the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild and the recent BAFTAs (i.e., the British Oscars), only a fool would pick against this searing drama about a mother’s quest for justice in the wake of her daughter’s murder. I pity that fool! It’s a stellar issue-oriented film with just enough backlash to make it a provocative choice.
Yet I wouldn’t be surprised if the Academy went rogue and chose Jordan Peele’s groundbreaker — which, a full year after its theatrical release, remains part of the pop-culture fabric. One more note: Had the delicate gay romance Moonlight not won last year, I’m convinced the similarly themed Call Me By Your Name would be in the conversation.

Best Actor
Timothee Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name
Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread
Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out
Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour
Denzel Washington, Roman J. Israel Esq.