Oscars 2017

But it was his ongoing faux-feud with Matt Damon that was truly worthy of gold Sunday night.

Kimmel kicked off his night of Damon torment with a nod to the actor -- who has long been a playful target of Kimmel's -- in his monologue.

"Tonight in the spirit of bringing people together, I would like to bury the hatchet with someone I've had issues with -- Matt Damon," he said. "Now, Matt, I've known Matt for a long time. I've known Matt so long, when I first met Matt, I was the fat one."

The burn was just the beginning.

They initially announced "La La Land" as best picture.

The cast and producers from "La La Land" had already taken the stage and began their acceptance speeches when they were interrupted and told "Moonlight was the actual winner.

Host Jimmy Kimmel took the stage to explain the mistake as the crew from "La La Land" exited and the news sunk in for the "Moonlight" cast and producers.

"Guys, this is very unfortunate what happened," Kimmel said. "I would love to see you get an Oscar anyway. Why don't we just give out a whole bunch of them?"

But in reality, lots of other factors influence who gets their hands on a golden statuette.

Do the Oscars pick the best films? "God, no," laughs film critic Thelma Adams. "That's the simple answer."

There are plenty of winners from Academy Awards history that stand the test of time. But there are many examples where film buffs look back and think: "Really?"

One of the biggest travesties occurred in 1959 when Gigi, a sub-My Fair Lady musical, won nine Oscars.

BEST PICTURE

"Arrival"

"Fences"

"Hacksaw Ridge"

"Hell or High Water"

"Hidden Figures"

"La La Land"

"Lion"

"Manchester by the Sea"

"Moonlight"

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Casey Affleck in "Manchester by the Sea"

Andrew Garfield in "Hacksaw Ridge"

Ryan Gosling in "La La Land"

Viggo Mortensen in "Captain Fantastic"

Denzel Washington in "Fences"

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

ISABELLE HUPPERT

Age: 63

Nominated for: Elle

The character: Michele Leblanc, the head of a video game company, who is raped in her home.

Oscar record: None.