Oscars 2026 Recap
Host Conan O’Brien speaks onstage during the Oscars show at the 98th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 15, 2026. REUTERS/Mike Blake
The Celebrity Beat…
Paul Thomas Anderson had a good night at the Oscars. Prior to this year, he’d been nominated 11 times, and lost them all.
But now he’s THREE for 14, after winning Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture for “One Battle After Another”. He’s only the ninth person to win three Oscars for a single film.
Sean Penn also won Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film, becoming only the fourth man ever to win three acting Oscars. He didn’t attend the ceremony, though, so we were spared having to hear him speak.
But Leonardo DiCaprio did NOT win Best Actor. Michael B. Jordan got that one for “Sinners” … which also won Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, and Best Adapted Screenplay for Ryan Coogler.
FYI, cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first woman to win that award.
Jessie Buckley from “Hamnet” won Best Actress, and Amy Madigan won Best Supporting Actress for playing Aunt Gladys in the horror flick “Weapons”.
The show wasn’t overly political, although Javier Bardem did say, quote, “No to war and free Palestine” before presenting an award.
Conan O’Brien was, as usual, a good host, and he dropped a truth bomb in his monologue, after noting that there were no Brits in the Best Actor or Actress categories.
He said, quote, “A British spokesperson said, ‘Yeah, but at least we arrest our pedophiles.”
He also noted that Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos was in the audience, and joked that it was, quote, “his first time in a theater.”
This year’s Oscars can also boast only the seventh tie in history. It was for Best Live-Action Short.
During the In Memoriam segment, Billy Crystal paid tribute to Rob Reiner, Rachel McAdams honored Diane Keaton, and Barbra Streisand sang for Robert Redford.
Here are some of the show’s awkward moments … and you can find clips of just about everything that happened here.
