It didn’t take long for fictional Best Picture contender “Hidden Fences” to pop up at the Oscars 2017 red carpet.
During a discussion about diversity at this year’s awards ceremony, People Magazine editor and host of ABC’s red carpet pre-show Jess Cagle said, “You’ve got a record number of black actors nominated this year and you’ve also got three incredible documentaries about the African-American experience. Part of that is because of a change in rules in the Academy membership. A change in the membership.”
“But also you just happen to have these extraordinary movies like “Hidden Fences” and “Moonlight” — I’m sorry, “Hidden Figures” and “Fences” and Moonlight” all coming out this year,” he continued. “So it’s partly coincidence and partly activism.”
This is not the first time the fictional film has popped up at a major awards show. At the Golden Globe Awards in January, multiple people accidentally cited the film as an awards contender.
Most notoriously, Michael Keaton was reading the nominees for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture and accidentally combined the titles for “Hidden Figures” and “Fences.”
Red carpet reporter Jenna Bush made exactly the same “Hidden Fences” goof while interviewing Pharrell Williams earlier in the night.
The movie “Hidden Figures” is based on a true story and stars Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae. The actresses play three black mathematicians who were instrumental in the early days of NASA and the U.S. space program.
Another real film, “Fences” stars Denzel Washington and Viola Davis as a black couple in the 1950s trying to raise their son and coming to terms with trauma from their past.