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February 27, 2017

LOS ANGELES -- "Moonlight" won the best picture trophy at the Academy Awards in a historic Oscar upset that followed Warren Beatty at first reading the wrong winner. Shock and chaos spread through the Dolby Theatre when producers of "La La Land" were stopped in the middle of their acceptance speeches to be informed that Beatty had incorrectly read "La La Land" as the winner...

By JAKE COYLE ~ Associated Press
Mahershala Ali accepts the award for best actor in a supporting role for "Moonlight" at the Oscars on Sunday at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Mahershala Ali accepts the award for best actor in a supporting role for "Moonlight" at the Oscars on Sunday at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.Chris Pizzello ~ Invision/AP

LOS ANGELES -- "Moonlight" won the best picture trophy at the Academy Awards in a historic Oscar upset that followed Warren Beatty at first reading the wrong winner.

Shock and chaos spread through the Dolby Theatre when producers of "La La Land" were stopped in the middle of their acceptance speeches to be informed that Beatty had incorrectly read "La La Land" as the winner.

"I wasn't trying to be funny," Beatty explained, saying he had seen the name Emma Stone from "La La Land" when he opened his envelope.

Host Jimmy Kimmel came forward to inform the cast "Moonlight" had indeed won, showing the inside of the envelope as proof.

"I knew I would screw this up," said Kimmel, a first-time host. "I promise to never come back."

Presenter Warren Beatty shows the envelope with the actual winner for best picture as host Jimmy Kimmel, left, looks on at the Oscars on Sunday. The winner originally was announced as "La La Land" but later was corrected to "Moonlight." (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Presenter Warren Beatty shows the envelope with the actual winner for best picture as host Jimmy Kimmel, left, looks on at the Oscars on Sunday. The winner originally was announced as "La La Land" but later was corrected to "Moonlight." (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)Chris Pizzello ~ Invision/AP

Producer Jordan Horwitz then passed his statue to the "Moonlight" producers.

Up until the chaotic end, the telecast had seesawed between jabs at Donald Trump and passionate arguments for inclusivity, with awards going to "La La Land," "Moonlight" and "Manchester by the Sea."

Damien Chazelle's celebrated musical "La La Land," up for a record-tying 14 nominations, took a while to start cleaning up.

But as the night went on, its haul began piling up, winning for cinematography, production, score, song "City of Stars" and best actress for Emma Stone.

Chazelle, the 32-year-old filmmaker, also became the youngest to win best director.

Emma Stone accepts the award for best actress in a leading role for "La La Land" at the Oscars on Sunday at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Emma Stone accepts the award for best actress in a leading role for "La La Land" at the Oscars on Sunday at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.Chris Pizzello ~ Invision/AP

"This was a movie about love and I was luckily enough to fall in love while making it," said Chazelle, speaking about his girlfriend and Oscars date, Olivia Hamilton.

Barry Jenkins, the writer-director of "Moonlight" and Tarell Alvin McCraney, whose play it was based on, won for adapted screenplay.

"All you people out there who feel like there isn't a mirror out there for you, the academy has your back, the ACLU has your back, and for the next four years, we will not leave you alone; we will not forget you," said Jenkins.

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Academy Award winners

Academy Award winners

List of winners for the 89th annual Academy Awards presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Best Picture: "Moonlight."

Actor: Casey Affleck, "Manchester by the Sea."

Actress: Emma Stone, "La La Land."

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Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali, "Moonlight."

Supporting Actress: Viola Davis, "Fences."

Directing: Damien Chazelle, "La La Land."

Foreign Language Film: "The Salesman," Iran.

Adapted Screenplay: "Moonlight," screenplay by Barry Jenkins, story by Tarell Alvin McCraney.

Original Screenplay: Kenneth Lonergan, "Manchester by the Sea."

Production Design: "La La Land," Production Design: David Wasco; Set Decoration: Sandy Reynolds-Wasco.

Cinematography: Linus Sandgren, "La La Land."

Sound Mixing: "Hacksaw Ridge," Kevin O'Connell, Andy Wright, Robert Mackenzie and Peter Grace.

Sound Editing: "Arrival," Sylvain Bellemare.

Original Score: "La La Land," Justin Hurwitz.

Original Song: "City of Stars" from "La La Land," music by Justin Hurwitz, lyric by Ben Pasek and Justin Paul.

Costume Design: Colleen Atwood, "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them."

Documentary (short subject): "The White Helmets," Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara.

Documentary Feature: "O.J.: Made in America," Ezra Edelman and Caroline Waterlow.

Film Editing: "Hacksaw Ridge," John Gilbert.

Makeup and Hairstyling: "Suicide Squad," Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini and Christopher Nelson.

Animated Feature Film: "Zootopia," Byron Howard, Rich Moore and Clark Spencer.

Animated Short Film: "Piper," Alan Barillaro and Marc Sondheimer.

Live Action Short Film: "Sing," Kristof Deak and Anna Udvardy.

Visual Effects: "The Jungle Book," Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones and Dan Lemmon.

-- Associated Press

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