We've all had that awkward moment when you accidentally stumble on public transport and look to a fellow passenger to share in the awkward laughter, to then be faced with a row of dead-pan faces who would rather stare at the floor than join in the hilarity of life's cringe-inducing moments.
Unfortunately, with the stresses and demands of daily life, we often forget to make fun of embarrassing incidents and have a good giggle with our fellow men and women at the absurdity of society's constant strive for perfection.
This is why a cinema in Dalston, East London decided to play the ultimate film joke of the year on an audience waiting to watch the Academy-Award 'Best Picture winner Moonlight earlier this week, by showing 20 seconds of La La Land prior to the screening, according to Time Out.
Making light of the most embarrassing moment in Oscars history – when Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty accidentally announced the musical had won the coveted gong, when director Barry Jenkins' LGBTQ-focussed film was, in fact, the rightful winner – cinema employees at the Rio theatre then entered the screening room, pretending to fumble around for the 'right' film, resulting in laughter and applause from the sell-out theatre room.
And no, they weren't laughing at the memory of Nicole Kidman's weird Grinch-like clap.
In an interview with the publication, Rio's manager revealed the cinema only played a teaser for Damien Chazelle's Oscar-winning film, rather than the opening musical scene 'Another Day of Sun', so not to spoil the film for anyone who hadn't yet watched the film.
While the Oscar mistake did deprive Moonlight of the chance to celebrate its victory on stage and is, in someways, an inexcusable error on one of the most important night's in film history, it's important to remember that mistakes do happen and sometimes you have to, as Monty Python would sing, 'look on the bright side of life'.
La La Land might have had it's five-minutes of fame on stage, but Moonlight can forever bask in its glory as the first LGBTQ movie to nab the 'Best Picture' award. And, that's no laughing matter.
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
