The '1917' director receives congratulations from his team at the upcoming Broadway play 'The Lehman Trilogy' as an Oscar winner hours before the Academy Awards officially kicks off.
- February 10, 2020
AceShowbiz - Officials behind Sam Mendes' upcoming Broadway play were left red-faced on Sunday, February 9, 2020 after accidentally releasing an advertisement prematurely listing the director as a double winner at the 2020 Oscars.
The Academy Awards take place in Los Angeles on Sunday night, but hours before the biggest event of the Hollywood calendar, a representative in charge of the social media account for "The Lehman Trilogy" leaked a pre-prepared Instagram promo, hailing Mendes as the recipient of the Best Picture and Best Director Oscars.
The filmmaker's critically-acclaimed war movie, "1917", is nominated for 10 awards at the prestigious ceremony, including the two mentioned.
The post read, "From Sam Mendes, winner of the Academy Award for Best Director and Best Picture for his WWI epic '1917,' THE LEHMAN TRILOGY opens on Broadway March 26. Previews begin March 7."
It remained live for several hours before it was removed.
A spokesperson for the production tells TMZ the upload was done by mistake, insisting they have no idea if Mendes will win big, although they will be rooting for him.
