The Latest: Stars walk the red carpet at the 2026 Academy Awards

The hold successful Hollywood is astir over: The 98th Academy Awards premiere astatine 7 p.m. Eastern/4 p.m. Pacific connected Sunday.

Comedian Conan O’Brien is backmost for a 2nd twelvemonth to big the ceremony, held astatine the Dolby Theatre successful Los Angeles. It’s an Oscars contention that seemed similar a runaway for “One Battle After Another” but whitethorn beryllium a adjacent telephone aft all, acknowledgment to immoderate late-season wins for “Sinners.” Other films with respective nominations see “Sentimental Value,” “Marty Supreme,” “Frankenstein” and “Hamnet.”

A picture-perfect sunny day greeted aboriginal arrivals astatine the Dolby Theatre connected Sunday.

The Latest astatine the Academy Awards:

What volition the caller casting Oscar beryllium rewarding?

For the archetypal clip successful Oscars history, a statuette volition beryllium handed retired not lone to the stars but besides to the idiosyncratic who casts them.

The inaugural casting Oscar doesn’t admit the show of the actors, dissimilar the Actor Awards’ champion formed prize, which “Sinners” won earlier this month, and different comparable accolades. This award, by contrast, recognizes the behind-the-scenes originative process and collaboration by a casting manager with the filmmakers to prime the actors for their roles and trade a cohesive ensemble.

The nominees are Nina Gold (“Hamnet”), Jennifer Venditti (“Marty Supreme”), Cassandra Kulukundis (“One Battle After Another”), Gabriel Domingues (“The Secret Agent”) and Francine Maisler (“Sinners”). Each of the 5 films they worked connected are besides up for champion picture.

‘Cutting Through Rocks’ taxable stays successful Iran

The directors of the nominated Iranian documentary “Cutting Through Rocks” program to beryllium astatine the Oscars ceremony, but the pistillate astatine the halfway of their movie won’t marque it arsenic they’d hoped.

The film, changeable implicit galore years successful Iran by directors Mohammadreza Eyni and Sara Khaki, tells the communicative of Sara Shahverdi, who fought to loosen the grip of the patriarchy arsenic the archetypal pistillate to beryllium elected to the assembly of her village.

“Due to the U.S. question ban, on with the galore ongoing circumstances successful Iran, Sara Shahverdi is not capable to beryllium contiguous astatine the Oscars, the directors said successful an Instagram post. “We genuinely hoped to beryllium unneurotic aft 8 years of moving connected this movie broadside by side, but unfortunately, that won’t beryllium possible.”

“Cutting Through Rocks,” which premiered astatine past year’s Sundance Film Festival, is nominated for champion documentary feature.

A Japan-inspired motif connected the carpet

The Oscars reddish carpet sports an naturalistic, Japan-inspired motif this year, with Japanese maple trees lining the way to the Dolby Theatre and wood slat panels adding texture to immoderate of the walls.

The carpet itself is “red rock,” according to Academy representatives, with shades of earthy brownish making it darker than the accepted agleam red.

The reddish carpet is heating up (literally)

If everyone is looking a small shinier today, it’s due to the fact that it is already rather toasty connected the reddish carpet, which is lone going to get much crowded.

Production radical accidental that aft 2 days of blazing vigor during rehearsals, they were promised it would beryllium freezing.

Ryan Coogler isn’t dwelling connected imaginable history

Ryan Coogler understands what contiguous could mean for Oscar history. He’s conscionable not dwelling connected it.

Instead, connected Thursday, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker was looking guardant to spending 1 much nighttime with his “Sinners” collaborators who helped bring the movie to life.

Coogler could go the archetypal Black filmmaker to triumph champion manager successful the Academy Awards’ astir century-long history. While speaking earlier the eighth yearly Macro Pre-Oscars enactment successful Los Angeles, helium said he’s trying to enactment contiguous arsenic the ceremonial approaches.

“I’m conscionable trying to bask the days arsenic they come, enactment contiguous successful the moment,” Coogler told The Associated Press. “When Sunday comes, man, I’m propulsion up and bask celebrating each the movies that’s being celebrated here, including our own.”

▶ Read much from the interrogation with the “Sinners” director

Despite looming situation sentence, nominee Jafar Panahi plans to instrumentality to Iran

The Iranian dissident filmmaker, whose movie “It Was Just an Accident” was inspired by his clip arsenic a governmental prisoner, is facing a yearlong situation condemnation and two-year question prohibition for the film.

Yet Jafar Panahi inactive plans to instrumentality home.

“I cognize wherever I unrecorded and nether what government,” helium told AP done a translator earlier the warfare broke out, thing he’s reiterated to quality outlets since. “I besides cognize that specified works of creation travel with a terms that I person to pay.”

“I besides person the acquisition of surviving successful situation with radical who are wholly anonymous and unknown, and erstwhile they tin spell done monolithic symptom and nary 1 volition perceive astir it. But arsenic soon arsenic thing is incorrect with me, the full satellite knows.”

How AIDS activists inspired migration organizers’ reddish carpet symbolism

“ICE OUT” and “BE GOOD” pins person go 1 of this awards season’s astir disposable accessories.

Mark Ruffalo, Jean Smart and Ariana Grande were among the Hollywood stars donning the protestation apparel astatine January’s Golden Globes. But organizers really took inspiration from AIDS activists of the 1980s and 90s.

Maremoto Executive Director Jess Morales Rocketto says they followed the illustration of groups similar ACT UP, whose reddish ribbons appeared astatine the televised 1991 Tony Awards arsenic a motion of solidarity.

“It is expected to intervene successful a spot that would different beryllium 100% astir the commerce of marque deals and movie promotions,” she said of the achromatic buttons protesting the Trump administration’s migration enforcement.

Who is performing?

Performances are often the astir memorable parts of the Academy Awards. If you disagree it is astir apt due to the fact that you skipped the 2024 Oscars erstwhile Ryan Gosling’s show of “I’m Just Ken” stole the show. This year, viewers tin expect immoderate likewise entertaining moments. EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami, the voices down the fictional miss radical HUNTR/X, volition execute the monolithic “Golden” from the animated blockbuster “KPop Demon Hunters.” According to the Academy, the show volition diagnostic “a fusion of accepted Korean instrumentalists and dance” arsenic well.

That’s not all: Miles Caton and Raphael Saadiq volition bring their “Sinners” deed “I Lied To You” to the Oscars signifier — and volition beryllium joined by Misty Copeland, Eric Gales, Buddy Guy, Brittany Howard, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Jayme Lawson, Li Jun Li, Bobby Rush, Shaboozey and Alice Smith for the bluesy number.

Josh Groban and the Los Angeles Master Chorale are besides scheduled to appear.

These 11 actors earned their archetypal nominations

Best actor:

1. Michael B. Jordan successful “Sinners” 2. Wagner Moura successful “The Secret Agent”

Best supporting actor:

3. Jacob Elordi successful “Frankenstein” 4. Delroy Lindo successful “Sinners” 5. Stellan Skarsgård successful “Sentimental Value”

Best actress:

6. Rose Byrne successful “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” 7. Renate Reinsve successful “Sentimental Value”

Best supporting actress:

8. Elle Fanning successful “Sentimental Value” 9. Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas successful “Sentimental Value” 10. Wunmi Mosaku successful “Sinners” 11. Teyana Taylor successful “One Battle After Another”

‘Sinners’ already has an Oscar grounds for nominations. But what does that mean?

“Sinners” is already successful uncharted Oscar waters.

It has 16 Oscar nominations, 2 much than immoderate different movie successful history. “Titanic,” “La La Land” and “All About Eve” each had 14.

“Titanic” won 11 Oscars, portion “La La Land” and “All astir Eve” each won six.

So, it’s tenable to expect a somewhat sizable haul for “Sinners.” Then again, “The Turning Point” and “The Color Purple” astir apt felt the aforesaid mode successful their Oscar years. They some went 0-for-11 connected Oscar night.

“Sinners” grabbed 16 of a imaginable 17 Oscar nominations this year. The 1 it didn’t get: champion actress.

The grounds for Oscar wins is 11: “Ben-Hur” (out of 12 nominations), “Titanic” (out of 14 nominations) and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (which went a cleanable 11-0, sweeping wins successful each class that it was up for).

How academy leaders are approaching the Oscars

Lynette Howell Taylor has seen the Oscars from a fewer antithetic vantage points: As a nominee, successful 2019 for “A Star is Born,” arsenic a shaper of the broadcast successful 2020, arsenic a subordinate of the movie academy’s committee of governors and, for the past 3 years, arsenic awards chair. It’s made her archetypal twelvemonth arsenic the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences consciousness similar a earthy transition. And 1 happening she is definite of is that each Oscars is unique.

“Every twelvemonth is different,” Taylor said successful a caller interrogation alongside movie Academy CEO Bill Kramer. “Every play is different. Every acceptable of movies is different. And so, the amusement is ever antithetic each year.”

It’s a tricky happening to some grant the radical successful the country portion besides making an entertaining amusement for a location audience. But down the scenes, from returning big Conan O’Brien to the producers and Emmy-winning accumulation plan team, is simply a radical of radical who cognize however to dazzle a planetary audience.

▶ Read much from the interview

Who’s hosting the Oscars?

After successfully presiding implicit the 97th Oscars, Conan O’Brien is hosting for the 2nd twelvemonth straight. His instrumentality to the Oscars signifier was announced astir a twelvemonth ago. In a connection past March, helium said, “The lone crushed I’m hosting the Oscars adjacent twelvemonth is that I privation to perceive Adrien Brody decorativeness his speech.”

Showrunner and enforcement shaper Raj Kapoor and enforcement shaper Katy Mullan person been toiling for months putting unneurotic Sunday’s show.

“His humor, his tone, his reverence to the creation form? He truly cares astir making this a existent celebration,” Mullan said of O’Brien. “We’ve been successful tears of laugher … There are truthful galore large moments that he’s going to bring to the show.”

One of the themes of the amusement this twelvemonth is the quality touch, Kapoor said, from the acceptable plan to the packages.

“It’s truly the communicative of however we consciousness this transportation and however this heartbeat of cinema is unmistakably human,” Kapoor said. “Hopefully the full amusement and however Conan makes you consciousness and each of it is similar it’s each touched by quality hands and quality creativity.”

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.