mistake #17

Last night, as I was watching the Oscars, I was caught up by a grammatically awkward moment during Reese Witherspoon's presentation of the award for Best Achievement in Directing, won by "Slumdog Millionaire."

Witherspoon said, "The director is a grand collaborator, taking inspiration from all the artists around them to create one singular vision."

"The director" is singular, but she uses a plural pronoun later on in the statement. Although it would be awkward to say, "Directors are grand collaborators," or "from all the artists around him or her," perhaps in this situation it might have worked to use just "him," since all the nominated movies had male directors.

Video: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) - Best Director - Oscars 2008 (81st Academy Awards)
The statement takes place at about the 44-second mark.