The “In Memoriam” segment of the Oscars this year was especially sad—names of film stars we love and some that we might’ve forgotten were gone made for an emotional and poignant moment. However, there was a pretty horrid mistake that you might not have noticed where the image honoring the loss of Australian costume designer Janet Patterson was actually that of the very much alive film producer Jan Chapman.
Patterson was a four-time Oscar nominee (The Piano, Portrait of a Lady, Oscar and Lucinda, Bright Star), and of the mistake Chapman said she was “devastated,” telling Variety:
I was devastated by the use of my image in place of my great friend and long-time collaborator Janet Patterson. I had urged her agency to check any photograph which might be used and understand that they were told that the Academy had it covered. Janet was a great beauty and four-time Oscar nominee and it is very disappointing that the error was not picked up. I am alive and well and an active producer.
The Academy has not yet commented on the mistake, but it is a very unfortunate one. Patterson’s contributions to the industry should not be overlooked, and if anything, this mistake that should not have happened will hopefully make people more aware of her work.
(via Variety, Image via ABC)
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