Oscars Found An Eye-Catching Way To Prevent Last Year’s Disaster

Watching tonight’s Academy Awards, the impeccably-dressed movie stars and compelling film clips have been grabbing your attention. Something else that might be grabbing your attention are the envelopes, which have been emblazoned with big, bold, gold lettering indicating the category, making them unmissable by the TV audience and more importantly by the presenters and accountants backstage.

Last year, one of the reasons that the La La Land / Moonlight Best Picture mix-up happened was because a careless Price-Waterhouse accountant handed the wrong envelope (the Best Actress envelope) to presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. The lettering on the red envelopes wasn’t bold enough to stand out, so nobody looked too closely to notice the envelope was wrong until it was too late.

BUT NOT THIS YEAR! With stark black envelopes and gold block lettering, even those sitting way in the back of the Dolby Theater must be able to read them. When Eva Marie Saint stepped on stage to a standing ovation, we didn’t have to wait to know she was presenting Best Costume Design. Making the envelopes so readily readable also likely helps to stave off any conspiracy-minded scamps in the audience who might want to call any of tonight’s results into question. This year, the envelopes are handled. Look, even more proof from Best Costume Design winner Mark Bridges: