Oscars 2026: Here are all the moments you didn’t see on TV

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Nardine Saadat the 98th Academy Awards in Hollywood

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It’s Hollywood’s biggest night. The 98th Academy Awards featured emotional speeches, comical relief and a bevy of backstage fun.

While movie magic plays a role in the show itself (the ceremony, after all, is actually hosted at the Dolby Theatre in a shopping centre), there is a lot you don’t see on TV.

Frankenstein production designer addressed the media with his Oscar statuette in one hand and what appeared to be a beer in the other and Mr Nobody Against Putin filmmaker Pasha Talankin re-lived his Oscars win by re-reading the envelope that announced that his movie won the award for documentary feature film.

We saw some of the tightest security in recent years and witnessed the frenzied panic after one Oscar award became two when those vying for best short action film was announced as a historic tie.

Here’s what it’s like on the scene during Hollywood’s biggest night and everything you did not see on TV.

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Security was very tight this year

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Authorities in Los Angeles enhanced this year’s security due to the US and Israel’s war in Iran.

Preparations included layered security perimeters, traffic management plans, and a highly visible police presence throughout the Hollywood area. There were what appeared to be SWAT vehicles and fencing lining most of the streets surrounding the typically bustling Dolby Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.

I saw that security presence first-hand on my way into the Loews Hotel, where media covering the event are stationed. It’s just across the street from the Dolby Theatre.

Security seemed to be posted every 100 feet (33 metres) or so and I had to go through two sets of metal detectors and have my bags sniffed by police dogs before settling into my position in the interview room, where stars go after they win an Oscar.

Street closures have snarled the area over the past week to make room for the lengthy red carpet and metal detectors are set up in designated ceremony entry areas at Ovation Hollywood - the large shopping centre that houses the Dolby in the heart of Hollywood.

The whole setup evokes a bit of movie magic, with large curtains covering the local shops and eateries to make way for the red carpet and a path to enter the Dolby features tall poles that include the name of each best picture winner from years past.

An Oscars tie sends reporters scrambling

Rare tie occurs in the best live action short film category

The Academy Awards are nearly 100 years old but only five times in that storied history has there been a tie for an award. This year marked the sixth time with best short action film, which was awarded to both The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva.

In the winners room here at the Oscars, the Academy brings in librarians to help fact check details from the night.

And several reporters made a beeline to the corner of the ballroom - notebooks and pens in hand - to turn to those experts to confirm when the last time two films had tied for Oscars and how many times it had happened in Academy Awards history. The last time it happened was 2013, when the 2012 films Skyfall and Zero Dark Thirty tied for best sound editing.

A special note from Conan

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Comedian Conan O’Brien hosted the Academy Awards for the second year in a row

Oscars host Conan O’Brien left a hand-written message under the seats inside the Dolby Theatre,to welcome nominees, their plus ones or seat fillers to the Oscars.

The note - which was posted on social media - accompanied a few snacks that the comedian dubbed a “Conan O’Brien ‘Moderately Happy Meal’.”

“These snacks may not look like much but in any movie theater they would run you $85,” the note says. “Good luck tonight, have fun, and remember that loud, enthusiastic laughter is good for your health and my ego.”

When asked by the BBC if the note was real, an Academy spokeswoman told me: “It’s real and it’s under every seat.”

Alas, it was not provided to those of us in the interview room, but the Loews did provide dinner and snacks for us throughout the night.

KPop Demon Hunters stars finish their speech backstage after being cut off

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KPop Demon Hunters film-makers Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans and Michelle LM Wong

The Oscars are fairly famous for cutting off speeches when they go too long and that happened tonight - for a historic win.

The musicians and songwriters behind Golden in the hit animated film KPop Demon Hunters won big for best original song - the first time a K-pop song was honoured by the Academy.

But during their speech, they were cut off, so backstage, they got to share more of their thoughts you didn’t hear on TV, including thanking their families, singers Audry Nuna and Rei Ami, IDO members and Teddy Park for this “incredible honour”.

Golden songwriter Mark Sonnenblick, who didn’t get to speak at all during the ceremony, happily took the microphone and thanked his husband and everybody who worked on the movie, especially the animators.

"It was a real collaboration across the board. It’s a movie where part of the movie is about looking at someone that you have been taught to hate and to fear and starting to trust them, maybe even love them. And that’s part of what the movie is about.

He adds: “It’s not ‘I’m going up up up.’ It’s, 'we’re going up up up. And that’s part of the reason that we’re on stage right now.”

Also backstage, film-maker director Maggie Kang doubled down on her remarks during her acceptance speech at the ceremony, saying she’s “just so proud of Korean film and movies about Korea”.

“It just feels like we have both trophies, and I just feel immensely proud. And really, to be honest, I didn’t want to disappoint Korea.”

Sinners cinematographer missed something in her historic speech

Sinners cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw said she missed an important point during her speech when she became the first woman to win the award in Oscars history.

“A lot of little girls that look like me will sleep really well tonight because they want to become cinematographers,” she said.

“And I know that just being on stage, getting this award or movie, that will change so many girls’ lives because they’ll be inspired when they weren’t before.”

She also thanked all the women who supported her during awards season.

“Moments like this don’t happen without women kind of standing up for you and advocating for you. I know that this happened because of that, so I want to say thank you”.

Weapons star Amy Madigan teases Aunt Gladys prequel film

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Amy Madigan is game for an Aunt Gladys prequel

Best supporting actress winner Amy Madigan, who plays the villain in the horror film Weapons, told us in winners room after coming away with an Oscar for best supporting actress that she’s been asked about a prequel a number of times and leaned on cues she’s received from writer-director Zach Cregger

“He kind of says, ‘Yes, this is going to happen.’ But we know how long stuff takes. We know what this business is like, and nothing’s real till it is,” she says.

“But if it worked out that would be great, because I trust Zach, and he’s got a lot of wacky ideas.”

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