Tag: 98th Oscars

16 years ago, our “little website that could” did the unthinkable. We applied for press credentials for the Academy Awards. The Oscars! Hollywood’s Biggest Night!  Who did we think we were? But we took a shot, all those years ago, and now here we are once again. An incredible journey for WAMG (We Are Movie Geeks)! Moving from a “little website” taking a leap of faith to becoming a mainstay in the Academy Awards pressroom is the ultimate Hollywood success story for an independent outlet.

As we head back for another year of coverage, here is a quick look at the milestones and the upcoming big night – The WAMG Evolution.

The Beginning (16 Years Ago): WAMG took the “shot” by applying for credentials as an independent film site.

The Early Grind: We started with the pre-dawn Nomination Morning coverage to establish a presence with the Academy.

The “Pressroom” Status: WAMG achieved one of the most coveted spots at the Oscars, where journalists interview winners immediately after they leave the stage.

On March 19, 1953, the Oscars presentation was first televised. The NBC TV and radio network carried the 25th Oscars ceremonies live from Hollywood, with Bob Hope as master of ceremonies. And now 73 years later, hosted by Conan O’Brien, the 98th Oscars will air live on ABC and stream live on Hulu on Sunday, March 15, 2026.

Here’s the latest Oscar News!

To ensure public safety, support security strategies and facilitate the production of this year’s Oscars, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the City of Los Angeles have finalized street closure plans around the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood.

To accommodate the construction of press risers and pre-show stages along the Oscars red carpet, all lanes of Hollywood Boulevard are closed from Orange Drive to Highland Avenue from 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, March 5, until 6 a.m. on Wednesday, March 18, 2026.

MTA will begin re-routing bus traffic and subway trains will bypass the Ovation Hollywood station after the last regularly scheduled train on Saturday, March 14, until the first scheduled train after 6 a.m. on Monday, March 16.

Between Sunday, March 1, and Oscars Sunday, March 15, additional streets and sidewalks will be closed for varying periods.

Details of the closures and maps of affected areas are available from the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and the Thirteenth District City Council field offices and on the Academy’s website at https://www.oscars.org/closures.

Returning to the Oscars stage after winning last year in their respective acting categories., Academy Award winners Adrien Brody, Kieran Culkin, Mikey Madison and Zoe Saldaña will present at the 98th Oscars.

Javier Bardem, Chris Evans, Chase Infiniti, Demi Moore, Kumail Nanjiani and Maya Rudolph will also present.

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures has announced its Oscars® Season at the Academy Museum, running now through March 22. This season of public programming invites audiences to celebrate the 98th Oscars and immerse themselves in Academy Awards® history through rich, expansive, and one-of-a-kind Oscar-centered events and activities.

Oscars Season will see the Academy Museum campus activated for visitors to experience in-gallery tours, Oscar Nominee Spotlights, exclusive store merchandise, special pricing for The Oscars® Experience presented in the East West Bank Gallery, Oscar-winning film screenings, and the Official Oscars®  Watch Party—an evening to view the broadcast and celebrate this year’s nominees and iconic Oscars moments.

From March 7 to 14, leading up to the Oscars broadcast on March 15, guests can enjoy screenings of all Oscar-nominated documentary, live action and animated short films and attend Nominee Spotlights with this year’s nominated filmmakers in the Animated Short Film, Animated Feature Film, Documentary Short Film, Live Action Short Film, International Feature Film, Makeup and Hairstyling, and Best Picture categories.

On the days of the Animated Short Film, Animated Feature Film, and Makeup and Hairstyling nominee programs, visitors can view a showcase of items from the nominated films in those award categories for free in the Sidney Poitier Grand Lobby.

The Governors Ball, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ official post-Oscars celebration, which will immediately follow the 98th Oscars ceremony on Sunday, March 15, returns for its 67th year. Wolfgang Puck Catering celebrates its 32nd year at the Governors Ball with a menu created by Wolfgang Puck and Eric Klein, and pastry design by Garry Larduinat and Kamel Guechida.

Check out our ballot for your own stellar party!

Achievements in up to 24 regular categories will be honored on March 15, 2026, at the 98th Oscars presentation. However, the Academy won’t know how many statuettes it will hand out until the envelopes are opened on Oscar Night. Although the number of categories will be known prior to the ceremony, the possibility of ties and multiple recipients sharing the prize in some categories makes the exact number of Oscar statuettes to be presented unpredictable. As in previous years, any surplus awards will be housed in the Academy’s vault until next year’s even

The official live red carpet show airing at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.

Check the Oscar videos too! https://www.youtube.com/@Oscars/videos

Contributed by Michelle McCue and Melissa Thompson

Oscar®-nominated actor Danielle Brooks and actor Lewis Pullman announced the 98th Oscars® nominations today (Thursday, January 22, 2026), live from the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills via a global livestream on Oscars.org, Oscar.com and the Academy’s digital platforms, ABC’s Good Morning America and ABC News Live, Disney+, Hulu, broadcast media and an international satellite feed.

With 16 nominations, SINNERS (released in cinemas on April 17) set the record for most nominations for a film. The previous record of 14 was shared by All about Eve (1950), Titanic (1997) and La La Land (2016). ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER saw 13 nominations while FRANKENSTEIN, MARTY SUPREME and SENTIMENTAL VALUE each saw 9. HAMNET received 8 nods. Chloé Zhao’s nomination for HAMNET is the 11th Directing nomination for a woman. She is the second woman to receive multiple directing nominations, following Jane Campion. Steven Spielberg received his 14th nomination for Best Picture, a record for an individual producer (since 1951 when producers were first named as nominees).

Warner Bros. saw the most nominations for a studio with 30.

With some nominees still to be determined, a record 74 women are currently nominated this year. The previous record of 71 was set in 2023.

Brooks and Pullman announced the nominees in two groups starting at 5:30 a.m. PT, followed by the remaining categories at 5:41 a.m. PT.

Academy members from each of the 19 branches vote to determine the nominees in their respective categories – actors nominate actors, costume designers nominate costume designers, etc.  In the Animated Feature Film, Animated Short Film, International Feature Film and Live Action Short Film categories, nominees are selected by a vote of members from all branches who opt in to participate and have met the eligibility requirements.  All active members are eligible to select the Best Picture nominees.  Members submitted nomination ballots from 88 countries.

Twenty-four categories will be awarded at the 98th Oscars.  Each category has five nominees, except for Best Picture, which has 10. Active members of the Academy must view all nominated films to be eligible to vote.

Finals voting begins on Thursday, February 26, 2026, and concludes on Thursday, March 5, 2026. Visit https://www.oscars.org/oscars/voting for more information.  

All rounds of Oscars voting are conducted by secret online ballot, tabulated by the independent accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The 98th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC, streamed live on Hulu and airs live in more than 200 territories worldwide.

Actor in a Leading Role

Nominees
Timothée Chalamet
Marty Supreme

Nominees
Leonardo DiCaprio
One Battle after Another

Nominees
Ethan Hawke
Blue Moon

Nominees
Michael B. Jordan
Sinners

Nominees
Wagner Moura
The Secret Agent

Actor in a Supporting Role

Nominees
Benicio Del Toro
One Battle after Another

Nominees
Jacob Elordi
Frankenstein

Nominees
Delroy Lindo
Sinners

Nominees
Sean Penn
One Battle after Another

Nominees
Stellan Skarsgård
Sentimental Value

Actress in a Leading Role

Nominees
Jessie Buckley
Hamnet

Nominees
Rose Byrne
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

Nominees
Kate Hudson
Song Sung Blue

Nominees
Renate Reinsve
Sentimental Value

Nominees
Emma Stone
Bugonia

Actress in a Supporting Role

Nominees
Elle Fanning
Sentimental Value

Nominees
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas
Sentimental Value

Nominees
Amy Madigan
Weapons

Nominees
Wunmi Mosaku
Sinners

Nominees
Teyana Taylor
One Battle after Another

Animated Feature Film

Nominees
Arco
Ugo Bienvenu, Félix de Givry, Sophie Mas and Natalie Portman

Nominees
Elio
Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina and Mary Alice Drumm

Nominees
KPop Demon Hunters
Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans and Michelle L.M. Wong

Nominees
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han, Nidia Santiago and Henri Magalon

Nominees
Zootopia 2
Jared Bush, Byron Howard and Yvett Merino

Animated Short Film

Nominees
Butterfly
Florence Miailhe and Ron Dyens

Nominees
Forevergreen
Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears

Nominees
The Girl Who Cried Pearls
Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski

Nominees
Retirement Plan
John Kelly and Andrew Freedman

Nominees
The Three Sisters
Konstantin Bronzit

Casting

Nominees
Hamnet
Nina Gold

Nominees
Marty Supreme
Jennifer Venditti

Nominees
One Battle after Another
Cassandra Kulukundis

Nominees
The Secret Agent
Gabriel Domingues

Nominees
Sinners
Francine Maisler

Cinematography

Nominees
Frankenstein
Dan Laustsen

Nominees
Marty Supreme
Darius Khondji

Nominees
One Battle after Another
Michael Bauman

Nominees
Sinners
Autumn Durald Arkapaw

Nominees
Train Dreams
Adolpho Veloso

Costume Design

Nominees
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Deborah L. Scott

Nominees
Frankenstein
Kate Hawley

Nominees
Hamnet
Malgosia Turzanska

Nominees
Marty Supreme
Miyako Bellizzi

Nominees
Sinners
Ruth E. Carter

Directing

Nominees
Hamnet
Chloé Zhao

Nominees
Marty Supreme
Josh Safdie

Nominees
One Battle after Another
Paul Thomas Anderson

Nominees
Sentimental Value
Joachim Trier

Nominees
Sinners
Ryan Coogler

Documentary Feature Film

Nominees
The Alabama Solution
Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman

Nominees
Come See Me in the Good Light
Ryan White, Jessica Hargrave, Tig Notaro and Stef Willen

Nominees
Cutting through Rocks
Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni

Nominees
Mr. Nobody against Putin
Nominees to be determined

Nominees
The Perfect Neighbor
Geeta Gandbhir, Alisa Payne, Nikon Kwantu and Sam Bisbee

Documentary Short Film

Nominees
All the Empty Rooms
Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones

Nominees
Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud
Craig Renaud and Juan Arredondo

Nominees
Children No More: “Were and Are Gone”
Hilla Medalia and Sheila Nevins

Nominees
The Devil Is Busy
Christalyn Hampton and Geeta Gandbhir

Nominees
Perfectly a Strangeness
Alison McAlpine

Film Editing

Nominees
F1
Stephen Mirrione

Nominees
Marty Supreme
Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie

Nominees
One Battle after Another
Andy Jurgensen

Nominees
Sentimental Value
Olivier Bugge Coutté

Nominees
Sinners
Michael P. Shawver

International Feature Film

Nominees
Brazil
The Secret Agent

Nominees
France
It Was Just an Accident

Nominees
Norway
Sentimental Value

Nominees
Spain
Sirāt

Nominees
Tunisia
The Voice of Hind Rajab

Live Action Short Film

Nominees
Butcher’s Stain
Meyer Levinson-Blount and Oron Caspi

Nominees
A Friend of Dorothy
Lee Knight and James Dean

Nominees
Jane Austen’s Period Drama
Julia Aks and Steve Pinder

Nominees
The Singers
Sam A. Davis and Jack Piatt

Nominees
Two People Exchanging Saliva
Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata

Makeup and Hairstyling

Nominees
Frankenstein
Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey

Nominees
Kokuho
Kyoko Toyokawa, Naomi Hibino and Tadashi Nishimatsu

Nominees
Sinners
Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine and Shunika Terry

Nominees
The Smashing Machine
Kazu Hiro, Glen Griffin and Bjoern Rehbein

Nominees
The Ugly Stepsister
Thomas Foldberg and Anne Cathrine Sauerberg

Music (Original Score)

Nominees
Bugonia
Jerskin Fendrix

Nominees
Frankenstein
Alexandre Desplat

Nominees
Hamnet
Max Richter

Nominees
One Battle after Another
Jonny Greenwood

Nominees
Sinners
Ludwig Goransson

Music (Original Song)

Nominees
Dear Me
from Diane Warren: Relentless; Music and Lyric by Diane Warren

Nominees
Golden
from KPop Demon Hunters; Music and Lyric by EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seon and Teddy Park

Nominees
I Lied To You
from Sinners; Music and Lyric by Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Goransson

Nominees
Sweet Dreams Of Joy
from Viva Verdi!; Music and Lyric by Nicholas Pike

Nominees
Train Dreams
from Train Dreams; Music by Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner; Lyric by Nick Cave

Best Picture

Nominees
Bugonia
Ed Guiney & Andrew Lowe, Yorgos Lanthimos, Emma Stone and Lars Knudsen, Producers
Nominees

F1
Chad Oman, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Joseph Kosinski and Jerry Bruckheimer, Producers

Nominees
Frankenstein
Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale and Scott Stuber, Producers

Nominees
Hamnet
Liza Marshall, Pippa Harris, Nicolas Gonda, Steven Spielberg and Sam Mendes, Producers

Nominees
Marty Supreme
Eli Bush, Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie, Anthony Katagas and Timothée Chalamet, Producers

Nominees
One Battle after Another
Adam Somner, Sara Murphy and Paul Thomas Anderson, Producers

Nominees
The Secret Agent
Emilie Lesclaux, Producer

Nominees
Sentimental Value
Maria Ekerhovd and Andrea Berentsen Ottmar, Producers

Nominees
Sinners
Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian and Ryan Coogler, Producers

Nominees
Train Dreams
Marissa McMahon, Teddy Schwarzman, Will Janowitz, Ashley Schlaifer and Michael Heimler, Producers

Production Design

Nominees
Frankenstein
Production Design: Tamara Deverell; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau

Nominees
Hamnet
Production Design: Fiona Crombie; Set Decoration: Alice Felton

Nominees
Marty Supreme
Production Design: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Adam Willis

Nominees
One Battle after Another
Production Design: Florencia Martin; Set Decoration: Anthony Carlino

Nominees
Sinners
Production Design: Hannah Beachler; Set Decoration: Monique Champagne

Sound

Nominees
F1
Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo and Juan Peralta

Nominees
Frankenstein
Greg Chapman, Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira, Christian Cooke and Brad Zoern

Nominees
One Battle after Another
José Antonio García, Christopher Scarabosio and Tony Villaflor

Nominees
Sinners
Chris Welcker, Benjamin A. Burtt, Felipe Pacheco, Brandon Proctor and Steve Boeddeker

Nominees
Sirāt
Amanda Villavieja, Laia Casanovas and Yasmina Praderas

Visual Effects

Nominees
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett

Nominees
F1
Ryan Tudhope, Nicolas Chevallier, Robert Harrington and Keith Dawson

Nominees
Jurassic World Rebirth
David Vickery, Stephen Aplin, Charmaine Chan and Neil Corbould

Nominees
The Lost Bus
Charlie Noble, David Zaretti, Russell Bowen and Brandon K. McLaughlin

Nominees
Sinners
Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl, Guido Wolter and Donnie Dean

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Nominees
Bugonia
Screenplay by Will Tracy

Nominees
Frankenstein
Written for the Screen by Guillermo del Toro

Nominees
Hamnet
Screenplay by Chloé Zhao & Maggie O’Farrell

Nominees
One Battle after Another
Written by Paul Thomas Anderson

Nominees
Train Dreams
Screenplay by Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar

Writing (Original Screenplay)

Nominees
Blue Moon
Written by Robert Kaplow

Nominees
It Was Just an Accident
Written by Jafar Panahi; Script collaborators – Nader Saïvar, Shadmehr Rastin, Mehdi Mahmoudian

Nominees
Marty Supreme
Written by Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie

Nominees
Sentimental Value
Written by Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier

Nominees
Sinners
Written by Ryan Coogler