How the Oscars preferential ballot turns the best picture race into a celebration of the 'least disliked'
by Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times
Mar 02, 2018
4 minutes
We can debate the reasons why "Moonlight" prevailed over "La La Land" in last year's best picture race - maybe it was the movie that better reflected the moment, perhaps new voters gravitated toward a new sensibility, possibly an aversion to Ryan Gosling mansplaining jazz.
But there's no argument as to how "Moonlight" won. More academy members ranked Barry Jenkins' intimate coming-of-age story higher on their ballots than Damien Chazelle's retro-leaning, romantic musical.
With its 14 nominations, "La La Land" may well have had more No.1 votes for best picture than "Moonlight." PricewaterhouseCoopers won't spill the beans on that count.
But the
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