Producer in Oscars' In Memoriam montage is still alive
'I am alive and well,' says Jan Chapman, whose image was used instead of the late Janet Patterson
The best picture gaffe got the most attention at last night's Academy Awards in Los Angeles, but another error —involving the use of a wrong photo in the In Memoriam section of the broadcast — soon came to light.
Australian film producer Jan Chapman says she was "devastated" to see her image appear in the In Memoriam montage in place of a photo of her late friend, costume designer Janet Patterson.
The slide showed Patterson's name and title correctly, but included an image of Chapman instead. Patterson died in October.
This came up in the In Memoriam section at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Oscars2017?src=hash">#Oscars2017</a>. But isn't this (living) Australian film producer Jan Chapman? <a href="https://t.co/YKIMGBUv5E">pic.twitter.com/YKIMGBUv5E</a>
—@DavidBerthold"I was devastated by the use of my image in place of my great friend and longtime collaborator Janet Patterson," Chapman told Variety in an email. "I am alive and well and an active producer."
Patterson was nominated for four Academy Awards for her costume design work in The Piano, Portrait of a Lady, Oscar and Lucinda and Bright Star. She also won a BAFTA award and four Australian Film Institute Awards.
Chapman and Patterson worked together on multiple films, including The Piano and Bright Star.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has yet to make a comment about the error, which came before Bonnie and Clyde icons Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway appeared onstage to announce the best picture, and La La Land was wrongly named as the winner. The mistake was corrected, naming Moonlight as the real winner, after La La Land cast members had already taken to the stage.