oscars 2017

The Other Oscars Blunder: The ‘In Memoriam’ Segment Used a Photo of a Woman Who Isn’t Dead

Australian producer Jan Chapman is very much alive. The Oscars’ “In Memoriam” segment, however, paired Chapman’s photo with the card for Janet Patterson, an Australian costume designer who died in October 2015. Patterson had been nominated for four Oscars over the course of her career (for The Piano, The Portrait of a Lady, Oscar and Lucinda, and most recently in 2010 for Bright Star). Chapman, who worked frequently with Patterson, told Variety she was shocked by the image mix-up. “I was devastated by the use of my image in place of my great friend and longtime 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,” Chapman told Variety over email. “I am alive and well and an active producer.”

The Other Oscars Blunder: The ‘In Memoriam’ Segment’s Photo