89th Oscars | Nominations Released

[CliffFletcher]

It's not life ruining, but it is throwing an employee under the bus. It would be like a pipeline company after a spill publicly naming the engineer who screwed up. Not something that shows a lot of leadership.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

It's not life ruining, but it is throwing an employee under the bus. It would be like a pipeline company after a spill publicly naming the engineer who screwed up. Not something that shows a lot of leadership.

What? No.

Its like a pipeline company after a spill firing the VP responsible for making sure there werent any spills.

You're not firing the engineers or the riggers you're firing the guy whose job it was to make sure that the engineers and the riggers followed the protocol that you designed specifically to prevent screwups.

The guy who designs the system to prevent screwups is the one that has to take the axe when the people who employ his 'screwup proof system' screw up anyways. Within reason.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

It's not life ruining, but it is throwing an employee under the bus. It would be like a pipeline company after a spill publicly naming the engineer who screwed up. Not something that shows a lot of leadership.

And 'not life ruining?'

Okay, they wont be 'ruined' per se. But some people only get one shot at an Oscar. Some never get one.

It can be life 'altering' so it isnt a completely irrelevant mistake.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Locke

You're not firing the engineers or the riggers you're firing the guy whose job it was to make sure that the engineers and the riggers followed the protocol that you designed specifically to prevent screwups.

The guy who designs the system to prevent screwups is the one that has to take the axe when the people who employ his 'screwup proof system' screw up anyways. Within reason.

OK. In this case, is Brian Cullinan the engineer/rigger, or the guy who designed the system?

[Locke]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

OK. In this case, is Brian Cullinan the engineer/rigger, or the guy who designed the system?

From what I understand hes the Managing Partner for PwC in Southern California. Whatever system was operating was done under his supervision.

If its under your supervision then its your responsibility.

[northcrunk]

A lot of talk about something that was likely set up from the beginning.

[CliffFletcher]

[YYC in LAX]

Originally Posted by peter12

You know, I've seen the film, and I didn't actually pick up on the gayness.

Are you blind and deaf?

[CliffFletcher]

Yeah, the people with the lowest status were definitely thrown under the bus.

At last, a new Oscars cliche: ‘I’d like to blame all the little people …’

...And for sure, the pain is real. Though not perhaps as real as the pain of Ruiz and Cullinan, who now have to have security in their homes because their addresses were widely disseminated and they and their families have received death threats, because that is how the world works now when individuals are singled out in the media and most people have access to the internet.

This, incidentally, is mentioned just as an aside at the bottom of articles sneering at Cullinan and Ruiz, because what really matters is that for two minutes people thought the wrong movie won, not that some poor muppets are currently living in fear. After all, God forbid Warren Beatty should feel awkward for even a second.

Leaving aside the very strong urge to shout, “FOR GOD’S SAKE, GET A GRIP – IT WAS A MIX-UP AT AN AWARDS CEREMONY”, there is no doubt that Cullinan and Ruiz had one job, and they fumbled it. But if anyone thinks this means they now deserve to be humiliated and traduced on a global scale, well, they care about the sanctity of the Oscars a lot more than I do, and I’ve been four times.

The Academy found the mix-up humiliating; the truth is, it’s been the reaction of all the key players afterwards – the Academy, the celebrities, the media – that has been embarrassing. To err is human, to kick people in the face to salvage the egos of the beautiful folk – well, that’s Hollywood.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

It's funny you posted that cliff because I just saw an article this morning blaming both the PwC guys basically accusing them of being fame whores.

They wanted and liked the attention they got, were rumoured to be too busy mingling with stars and live tweeting their experience back stage and that's how they screwed up the envelope thing.

I'm not saying they deserve it, just that maybe they should have taken their jobs a little more seriously than focusing on scoring a selfie with Emma Stone.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

It's funny you posted that cliff because I just saw an article this morning blaming both the PwC guys basically accusing them of being fame whores.

They wanted and liked the attention they got, were rumoured to be too busy mingling with stars and live tweeting their experience back stage and that's how they screwed up the envelope thing.

I'm not saying they deserve it, just that maybe they should have taken their jobs a little more seriously than focusing on scoring a selfie with Emma Stone.

I wouldn't deny they screwed up. But the ferocious haste with which everyone else involved - all of whom have higher status in Hollywood - have singled the two individuals out and evaded any responsibility themselves is breathtaking. Even by the low standards of that status-crazed pack of narcissists.

[Weitz]

I honestly can't believe people care about anything Hollywood.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Weitz

I honestly can't believe people care about anything Hollywood.

You don't like that people care about Hollywood, or don't believe that they care about Hollywood?

The supermarket checkout is devoted to magazines and tabloids, entirely about celebrities.

[Frequitude]

Put me in Polak's camp. Releasing the guy's name so broadly was a dick move. Even if it wouldn't take much internet sleuthery to find it, a company should never release the name of an employee in a case like this.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Weitz

I honestly can't believe people care about anything Hollywood.

Hey man, if Hollywood cares about the Oilsands then we should care about Hollywood!

These clowns cant even sort envelopes correctly, could you imagine them trying to manage an Oilfield Project?

[Northendzone]

meh, while this is an unfortunate mistake nobody died. this guy made a mistake - stuff happens. my guess is that next year the Oscar's will have better tv ratings because of this.

I thought a read a suggestion that the academy is re-examining their relationship with PWC - part of me wants to go yikes, it is one mistake (although perhaps there is lots of issues behind the scenes) and you are ready to bail on a 90 year relationship.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

meh, while this is an unfortunate mistake nobody died. this guy made a mistake - stuff happens. my guess is that next year the Oscar's will have better tv ratings because of this.

I thought a read a suggestion that the academy is re-examining their relationship with PWC - part of me wants to go yikes, it is one mistake (although perhaps there is lots of issues behind the scenes) and you are ready to bail on a 90 year relationship.

It depends on the result right, if the wrong movie wins then one studio gets to market their film as an Oscar winner while another may not (I dont know the specifics) but its a significant dollar amount that depends on the results in an envelope.

In a way I see where you're coming from, but from another perspective how much does the Academy pay PwC to make sure the right name is in the right envelope and is given to the right person?

Its not a hard job and I'm sure their billings are pretty sweet to do it.

[Erick Estrada]

The guy had one job and that was to hand out 24 envelopes. He was told by the academy he was not allowed to tweet during the ceremonies and he ignored that and tweeted throughout and of course was tweeting a picture of Stone leading up to the gaffe. It's a shame about the death threats but IMO he deserves all the scrutiny as he's a straight up jackass.

Also this has is a bad look for PricewaterhouseCoopers because if you are a large company employing them do your accounting how good can you feel about the competence when you have a partner that's proven to be insubordinate and more worried about social status than the task at hand? He wanted to be on the big stage and IMO he has to live with the backlash of screwing up on the big stage.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Wait, did he seriously tweet a picture of Emma Stone? That's hilarious.

I made that part up in my post, I just figured that's who I'd want pictures of/with.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Wait, did he seriously tweet a picture of Emma Stone? That's hilarious.

I made that part up in my post, I just figured that's who I'd want pictures of/with.

Yes he did just two minutes before the final announcement.