It wouldn’t be an Academy Award ceremony without some controversy. While Emma Stone’s (“Poor Things”) Best Actress win over Lily Gladstone (“Killers Of The Flower Moon”) caused a lot of drama over social media, one of the biggest blunders—or what some suspected to be one— was around the presentation of The Best Picture award. Al Pacino presented the award to Christopher Nolan’s atomic bomb drama “Oppenheimer.” But many noted Pacino’s awkward reading of the award, seemingly bungled and rushed, not mentioning any of the nominees, and killing the suspension of the moment rather than building to a dramatic finish.
Well, in a statement posted by Variety, Pacino is placing the responsibility for that choice or the blame—however you want to look at it—on the producers, who he says chose to skip mentioning all the nominees before reading the winner’s name in the envelope.
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“There seems to be some controversy about my not mentioning every film by name last night before announcing the best picture award,” Pacino said in a statement. “I just want to be clear it was not my intention to omit them, rather a choice by the producers not to have them said again since they were highlighted individually throughout the ceremony. I was honored to be a part of the evening and chose to follow the way they wished for this award to be presented.”
“I realize being nominated is a huge milestone in one’s life, and to not be fully recognized is offensive and hurtful,” the statement continued. “I say this as someone who profoundly relates with filmmakers, actors, and producers, so I deeply empathize with those who have been slighted by this oversight, and it’s why I felt it necessary to make this statement.”
The outlet also spoke with Oscars producer Molly McNearney, who clarified that it was “a creative decision” not to have Pacino list all ten Best Picture nominees before opening the winner’s envelope. They were “very worried that the show was going to be long” and assumed audiences would have been caught up by clips from all ten Best Picture nominees being played throughout the ceremony before Pacino stepped on stage. It might sound like dubious reasoning, but the 96th Academy Awards were under three and a half hours this year, which was the goal from the outset.
You can watch the Best Picture reveal from Pacino below.