Behind the Curtain: Here’s the Scoop’s Oscars Special

Summary

Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist – "Behind the Curtain: Here’s the Scoop’s Oscars Special"

Original Air Date: March 15, 2026
Host: Yasmin Vossoughian (substituting for Willie Geist)
Guests: Rebecca Keegan (Senior Entertainment Reporter, NBC), Chloe Melas (Entertainment Correspondent, NBC)

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Episode Overview

In this lively Oscars preview special, Yasmin Vossoughian sits down with NBC’s veteran entertainment reporters Rebecca Keegan and Chloe Melas to break down the frontrunners, trends, scandals, and seismic industry shifts shaping the 98th Academy Awards. Their conversation unpacks not only the most likely winners and the night’s emotional stakes but also how issues like AI, industry consolidation, viewership declines, and inclusion—or the lack thereof—are fundamentally changing Hollywood’s biggest night.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Personal Oscars Picks & Emotional Stakes

00:58 – 03:23

• Chloe’s picks:

  • Best Picture: Hamnet (“I love a good cry. It was so emotional. It was hard to watch. Some of the best acting I feel like I’ve ever seen.” – Chloe, 01:26)
  • Best Actress: Jessie Buckley for Hamnet
  • Best Actor: Michael B. Jordan for Sinners
  • Best Director: Ryan Coogler for Sinners

• Rebecca’s picks:

  • Best Picture: Sinners (Praises its originality and wide appeal)
  • Best Actor: Michael B. Jordan for portraying twins (“You can tell who he’s playing when he walks into a scene. ...really a feat.” – Rebecca, 02:47)
  • Best Actress: Rooting for Renata Rencive for Sentimental Value (“I feel like we’re going to need to learn to say Renate’s name.” – Rebecca, 03:13)

2. Frontrunners & Industry Atmosphere

03:39 – 06:51

• Jessie Buckley is a clear frontrunner for Best Actress.
• Michael B. Jordan has surged in Best Actor odds, overtaking previous favorite Timothée Chalamet, partly due to Chalamet’s off-putting recent comments and public fatigue (04:49).
• Paul Thomas Anderson leads as a sentimental favorite for Best Director though has never won; Ryan Coogler is seen as an imminent future recipient (04:57 – 05:21).
• Sinners leads nominations, but One Battle After Another has momentum for Best Picture.
• Early Supporting wins could foreshadow a sweep for a particular film (05:57).

“If Ryan Coogler were to win, he would be the first Black individual to ever win in that category. ...That would be huge.” – Chloe, 06:16

3. Oscars Campaigns and Recent Controversies

06:51 – 10:20

• Timothée Chalamet’s remarks comparing film to niche arts like ballet and opera generated backlash, but likely came after Oscar voting closed. The hosts contextualize his “overenthusiasm” (07:03 – 08:30).
• Supporting Actress race highlighted: Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another) has buzz, Amy Madigan (Weapons) is another contender.
• The “need” factor in Oscar voting: Discussing why Leonardo DiCaprio doesn’t appear to campaign hard (“He doesn’t feel he needs to do that. And I think he’s right.” – Rebecca, 09:31)

4. New Rules: “You Must Watch to Vote”

10:20 – 12:03

• For the first time, Academy voters must check a box affirming they’ve viewed all films in a category; automated tracking for movies watched via the Academy’s streaming service.
• This aims to ensure informed voting but may also result in fewer votes in emotionally difficult or hard-to-find categories.
• Hamnet’s heavy subject matter may keep some voters away (“A lot of people found the subject matter very difficult...they were afraid to watch it.” – Rebecca, 11:19).

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5. Politics and the Oscars Stage

13:47 – 17:08

• Host Conan O’Brien is expected to keep political content light (“Known for his silliness and whimsy.” – Rebecca, 14:25).
• Industry-wide, actors are speaking less about current events out of concern for “adding to the noise,” though Jafar Panahi (nominated for It Was Just an Accident) may use a win to address Middle East crises (15:55).

“He’s balancing these two very different things...promoting a movie and trying to get an audience for a movie...at the same time...the heartbreak of not being able to communicate [with his family].” – Rebecca, 16:04

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6. Ongoing Inclusion & Industry Consolidation

17:08 – 22:54

• Oscars So White, Oscars So Male campaigns recapped as a counterpoint to this year’s grim statistics: female representation on screen is at a seven-year low (17:40).
• Paramount-Warner Bros. merger discussed; both have poor track records on inclusion, and consolidation may shrink opportunities (“The fear is...people lose jobs, fewer movies get made. It’s bad for the industry broadly.” – Rebecca, 20:29).
• Autumn Durald Arkhipal could become the first woman to win Cinematography (18:43).

7. New Category: Best Achievement in Casting

21:45 – 22:54

• First-time recognition for casting directors—industry has pushed for this; casting long considered the “secret weapon” (“Casting directors are the secret weapon of directors, that actors worship the good casting directors.” – Rebecca, 22:22).

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8. The Future: AI & Platform Changes

24:37 – 29:45

• The Academy updated rules around AI: films using AI tools are still eligible, but only humans can win acting awards (“Absolutely, unequivocally not. An Oscar will always be given to a human being.” – Academy via Rebecca, 26:02).
• Tilly Norwood, the first AI-generated “actress,” is discussed (“She startled many people in Hollywood…who knows what’s gonna happen next.” – Chloe, 26:06, 26:56).
• Screen Actors Guild is negotiating protections against synthetic actors.
• Oscars broadcast to shift from ABC to YouTube by 2029—seen as move to capture younger and global audiences even at risk of losing older viewers (28:41 – 29:45).
• The Oscars’ global reach continues to grow (“people from 225 countries watch the Oscars…” – Rebecca, 29:45).

“They wanted the largest possible global audience...it’s different from what matters to people all over the world.” – Rebecca, 29:45

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9. Behind the Scenes: Oscars from the Reporters’ View

31:41–34:46

• Rebecca describes high security (bomb-sniffing dogs, “sitting there in your fancy clothes, sweating”), the red carpet chaos, and “Envelope Gate” backstage panic (“The way I knew something had gone wrong was that the stage manager...I heard her drop an F bomb on her headset. ...Then the whole what you saw on stage unfolded.” – Rebecca, 33:26).
• Her most embarrassing Oscars moment: dress caught in escalator, escalator grease as “a good conversation starter” (33:55).
• Red carpet fashion reveals and after-party plans, including Elton John’s famed party and Vanity Fair.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the emotional impact of the films:
  “I love a good cry. It was so emotional. It was hard to watch.” – Chloe, 01:26

• On the actor’s race:
  “He plays two characters, twins, Smoke and Stack. ...It’s not like Full House where there’s actually twins in life.” – Rebecca, 02:40

• On political restraint:
  “They feel like they would be adding to the noise. ...It’s merely going to become kind of part of this noise that we all hear and see on social media.” – Rebecca, 15:12

• On industry consolidation:
  “If you have one less film studio, presumably people lose jobs, fewer movies get made. It’s bad for the industry broadly.” – Rebecca, 20:29

• On AI and acting awards:
  “An Oscar will always be given to a human being.” – Academy via Rebecca, 26:02

• Backstage at Envelope Gate:
  “The way I knew something had gone wrong was that the stage manager...I heard her drop an F bomb on her headset. And I was like, I haven’t heard that before.” – Rebecca, 33:26

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:26 – Chloe’s Best Picture & Actress picks
• 02:47 – Rebecca on Michael B. Jordan playing twins
• 03:39 – Jessie Buckley as Best Actress frontrunner
• 05:21 – Paul Thomas Anderson’s Oscar track record
• 06:16 – The significance of a potential Ryan Coogler win
• 07:03 – Chalamet’s “ick” factor and campaign fatigue explanation
• 10:29 – New “you must watch to vote” ground rules
• 14:25 – Conan O’Brien’s light political touch
• 16:04 – Panahi’s dual struggle: art & politics
• 18:43 – Possible first female cinematography Oscar
• 20:29 – Concerns over studio consolidation
• 22:22 – Importance of the new casting award
• 24:37 – The future of AI at the Oscars
• 28:41 – Oscars broadcast shift from ABC to YouTube
• 33:26 – Rebecca’s backstage “Envelope Gate” story
• 33:55 – Oscars fashion mishap: escalator grease saga

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Final Thoughts

The episode blends sharp insight and candid Hollywood war stories, balancing the excitement of awards season with clear-eyed accounts of the larger forces—technological, social, and corporate—remaking both the Academy and the broader film industry. Whether you’re an Oscar devotee or a casual viewer, this special offers a behind-the-scenes look at why, beyond the gowns and speeches, the Oscars still matter.

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Transcript

[A]

Foreign. Welcome to here's the scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasmin Vesugian. Okay, let us roll out the red carpet. Hollywood's biggest night is coming up with the 98th Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars. If you are a movie fan, this is your Super Bowl. Of course, everyone is focused on the movies, the actors, and the red carpet looks. But there is a lot more to talk about than just what is in those envelopes. Hollywood is changing. There has been a lot of industry consolidation, and the awards themselves could look very different in just a couple of years from how you tune in to the rules around AI. So to break this all down, I sat down a little earlier with NBC's top entertainment reporters, senior reporter Rebecca Keegan and entertainment correspondent Chloe Meloss.

[B]

Hi, guys. Hi. Hi.

[A]

Before we kind of get into the nitty gritty and what is expected to be a big night, I wanna know what is coming from your guts, what you guys actually want to see win on the Oscar stage Sunday night. Best picture, best director, best male actor, best female actor or actress. I should say Chloe, you go first. And then I want Rebecca to go. Who are you? Who are you wanting to take home? Some of those sure.

[C]

Want is different than should. Yeah. All right, let's start with best picture.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

I'm just gonna take a big swing here. Hamnet. I loved it. I cried. I love a good cry. So it was so emotional. It was hard to watch. It was some of the best acting I feel like I've ever seen. And I do think that Jessie Buckley will should. And I want her to win best actress for Hamnet.

[A]

It seems like she's gonna take it home.

[C]

And then when it comes to actor in a leading role, I'm gonna say Michael B. Jordan for Sinners and then Ryan Coogler for best director for Sinners. So those are my picks.

[A]

Go ahead, Rebecca. Take us through it.

[B]

Okay. Well, my best picture now this is my personal taste to win would be Sinners. And largely because this is a big popular movie that a lot of people saw that is made with kind of impeccable craft. It's an original story. It's not based on a book or preexisting piece of intellectual property. It came out of Ryan Coogler's brain, and it's sort of in every level. It's really well executed. The acting, the cinematography, the design, the music. As for performers, I too would like to see Michael B. Jordan win his role in Sinners. He plays two characters, twins, Smoke and Stack. And you can tell who he's playing when he walks into a scene. By the way, it's not like Full

[A]

House where there's actually twins in life.

[B]

No, there's Omer.

[C]

Like, everybody loves Raven.

[A]

Yeah, exactly.

[B]

Sadly, there is one Michael B. Jordan in the world, and he is playing two different characters, which is really kind of a feat. As for actress, I do think Chloe's right. You know, Jessie Buckley has won the Precursor Awards. I am rooting for Renata Rencive, who is the Norwegian actress in Sentimental Value. I feel like just like we learned to say Saoirse Ronan's name a few years ago, we're gonna need to learn to say Renate's name. I think she gives this really layered performance that is quite special.

[C]

It's a really good movie. Sentimental value. And I told Rebecca earlier today, I keep having these dreams or, like, visions of sentimental value winning awards that we're not expecting. I just think that there are always these dark horse moments.

[A]

Let's talk about some of the front runners here. So we've got your wish list, who you guys want to see win, but let's talk about who actually is going to win here. And you obviously, both of you mentioned Jessie Buckley, and I think that's for a reason, because it seems like she is far and away the front runner when it comes to Best Actress. Take us through Chloe, if you would, some of the other front runners in these big categories.

[B]

Well, you know, I want to talk

[C]

about the Best Actor category because there seems to have been a dramatic shift because for a while, at least, I was talking about Timothee Chalamet.

[B]

Right.

[C]

And I liked Marty Supreme, Although my husband looked at me at the end and he goes, that's it. I was like, oh, Brian, this is why we don't go to movies.

[A]

It's very stressful to watch, I have to say. It was very stressful.

[C]

I thought that Timothee did a really good job. He really wants that Oscar. I think this is his third attempt, but I feel like the tides have turned against him a little bit. I think he's giving some people the ick factor, and he obviously is in the headlines right now for making comments about ballet and opera, but those were made, I believe, after Oscar voting ended, but I think that he's unfortunately lost the Oscar. I really believe it's gonna be Michael B. Jordan.

[A]

What about Rebecca? What about Best film, Best Director? Who are some of the frontrunners you feel like when it comes to the Academy?

[B]

Well, Paul Thomas Anderson is so beloved and has never Won for best director. He feels like he has sort of the real steam heading into this. I think a lot of people believe that Ryan Coogler's got a lot more movies in him. They will have an opportunity to award him in the future.

[A]

Paul Thomas Anderson has never won an Oscar as best director. That is shocking to me, Rebecca.

[B]

It is. And he's sort of the film bro favorite, the cine est favorite. He's also just really well liked. He's very involved in sort of preserving classic film. All these things that are important to academy members who are not just sort of regular Joes. They're people who work in the film industry and they care about that stuff.

[A]

What's the front runner for best film right now?

[B]

Well, it's interesting. I mean, the movie with the most nominations is Sinners, but the movie that feels like it has the most momentum is one battle after another.

[A]

Is there a possibility, Chloe, that we could see history in the making if in fact, Sinners does take home best film?

[C]

I mean, yes. But also, we were talking earlier today that I think we're gonna have a good indication early on in the award show if you want some inside baseball knowledge. The first category is usually a supporting actor or actress category. If you see, you know, Sinners or One battle after another, you know, dominating those categories, it could be a big sweep for the entire night. And if Ryan Coogler were to win, he would be the first black individual to ever win in that category. And that's a huge director for best director. That's a huge moment. And obviously, just like Paul Thomas Anderson, he is beloved. And yes, there probably are some more opportunities in the future for him to win, but that would be huge. But there's such buzz around Sinners. And I gotta say, Sinners. I thought a vampire horror movie, like, what is this? I don't know if I really wanna watch this, but I sat and I loved it. I thought so. Well done, Rebecca.

[A]

Chloe mentioned the controversy, as she kind of explained it, around Timothee Chalamet and his comments around ballet and opera. Can you walk us through what happened there? What did he say?

[B]

Yeah, I mean, this is sort of what happens when someone does just an extraordinary amount of press and promotion. It is almost impossible not to step in it, as most young actors will find. Timothee Chalamet stepped in it. He was trying, which is very character

[A]

esque of him, by the way. It's very marvelous.

[B]

He was really. I mean, the whole point of Marty supreme, is this guy really going for it in the Medium of ping pong. And Timothy was really going for it with his Oscar campaign. But he made a comment where he talked about that he didn't want film to become kind of like opera and ballet where it's this art form that's enjoyed by so few people and it's kind of niche. I think his comment was taken a little bit out of context and it sort of exploded into an Internet controversy. It's a suggestion being that he thinks those art forms are sort of dumb or a waste of time, which I don't think was actually his point. If you listen to this conversation he had with Matthew McConaughey, it was sort of a town hall that Variety did. And as Chloe said, the video of that came out after Oscar voting ended, which was, you know, five o', clock, Louisiana time last Thursday. So I don't think that really will play a role in whether he's nominated, whether he wins or not. But it does show kind of his over enthusiasm, perhaps his thirst and exuberance this awards season, which maybe didn't land the way that he intended it to land.

[A]

Chloe, who else is on your bingo card? Who are we missing? Who didn't we talk about?

[C]

Let's talk about supporting actress, shall we?

[B]

Yes.

[C]

Teyana Taylor. She has had quite the moment during awards season and quite a long one. Her Golden Globe speech was incredible. You know, I wouldn't be surprised if she does win, but I know she's not the favorite here. A lot of buzz around Amy Madigan in Weapons.

[A]

And by the way, Teyana Taylor was in one battle after another with Leonardo DiCaprio. For those that didn't know. Gosh, no one has mentioned Leo. Rebecca. Leonardo DiCaprio.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

He's already won.

[A]

Yes. But he was, by the way, incredible in one battle after another and obviously didn't get any love at the Golden Globes either.

[B]

Yeah, I mean, the interesting thing about Leo is I think there's a perception that he doesn't, quote, need this. He has not. But is that a campaign?

[A]

But is that a part of the judging process? Like, do people take that into account? This person doesn't need this and this person does.

[B]

There are certain moments in an actor's career when they seem likelier to get recognized later in their career if they've gone a long time and done great work and not had an opportunity, that can happen. But I think in Leo's case, he not unlike his extremely chill character in one battle after another. He has kind of like rolled through this awards season. He's shown up at the things he was supposed to show up at, like the Oscar nominees luncheon. But he has not been kind of going out and shaking hands and trying to remind people how wonderful he is. That's part of the game, you know, is part of it is sort of going and talking with Oscar voters and connecting with them. And I think he doesn't feel he needs to do that. And I think he's right.

[A]

I wanna talk, Rebecca, if we can, about these new ground rules, which are shocking to me, by the way. And the ground rules are you have to actually watch the movie.

[B]

I have three news.

[A]

I had no idea you couldn't. You didn't have to watch the movie in order to vote.

[B]

Yes, well, this, the Academy has always had an honor system for Oscar voters. And as they fill out their ballots, the assumption is that you will have seen every movie in a category in order to vote on it. The reality, there are certain categories where people had not seen every movie. So what the Academy did this year was they made a sort of basically a box that you have to check on your ballot. If you watch the movie on the Academy streaming service, it will automatically mark that you have watched it. Perhaps you saw it at a screening or a film festival or your multiplex. Then you have to sort of manually mark that you've seen it. And the idea is to make people really cognizant that, yes, you should have seen every movie in this category in order to vote on it.

[A]

Do you think it's gonna change anything?

[B]

I do, actually. I mean, I've talked to multiple people who didn't vote in a category because they didn't watch all of the movies. Interestingly, Hamnet, Chloe's favorite movie, one of my favorite movies of the year. A lot of people found the subject matter very difficult. It has to do with grief and they were afraid to watch it. And so that's nominating the best picture. I've talked to people who did not vote in the best picture category. Cause they didn't feel that they could sort of emotionally handle watching Hamnet. Then there's also some of the documentaries and animated films. Things can hard to track down. The people who vote on the Oscars are working all over, all over the world on sets. They might not have watched all of the animated short films, say. And so this year they will not vote if they. If they haven't watched them.

[A]

All right, we are going to take a very quick break. More with Rebecca and Chloe when we are back.

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[A]

And we are back with our special Oscars episode of Here's a scoop from NBC News with Rebecca Keegan and Chloe Melanie. I want to talk politics. Rebecca, I'll start with you on this. The elephant in the room, right? Everything that has really happened over the last year or so. I'm talking about the Israel, Gaza war, the U.S. israel, Iran war, now the ICE raids in Minneapolis. Where are we when it comes to talking about politics in Hollywood these days, especially on the Oscar stage? Conan o' Brien is hosting this year. What are our expectations both now and from what we've seen historically?

[B]

Well, Conan o' Brien is not known as a particularly politically vocal host. He's sort of liked and appreciated for his silliness and his whimsy. If you look at his jokes from hosting last year, they were about, you know, the running time of the brutalist. Say he doesn't engage in the way that previous hosts like Jimmy Kimmel did with politics in a larger way. And I think in some ways that's mirroring what we're seeing in Hollywood more broadly, where actors and public figures are tending to talk less about current events. And when I ask them why, it's not that they don't have feelings about things that are going on in the world, it's that they feel like they would be adding to the noise that saying something on a red carpet or in a speech is not necessarily going to change the outcome of a war or of an election. It's merely gonna become kind of part of this noise that we all hear and see on social media.

[A]

There is, though, one person that, if given the opportunity, will likely have to address what is happening overseas right now, and that is Jafar Panohy, who directed the film. It was just an accident. It was an incredible movie. I know that you spoke to him recently, Rebecca. How is he kind of handling the potential of having to get up on that stage and address what is happening in his home country and really just the dedication that he's had to make to the press tour of promoting his film while his family is back at home trying to remain safe.

[B]

Yeah, it's been kind of heartbreaking running into Panahi periodically at events throughout awards season because I ran into him, say, at the Golden Globes, we're in a ballroom, everybody's sort of glamorous and having fun. And I see him looking on his phone at images out of Iran. That was during the crackdown on protesters. There was recently he was in New York to do some press and it coincided with the start of strikes by the US And Israel on Iran. He wasn't at the time able to get in touch with his family members there. So he's balancing these two very different things, promoting a movie and trying to get an audience for a movie that he sees as valuable in terms of communicating to the world the impact of the current regime in Iran. At the same time, you know, balancing the pain and the heartbreak of not being able to communicate with their caring deeply about what's going on. So if he were to win, he's nominated in two categories, original screenplay and international film. Certainly I would expect that his speech would get into politics and to world events.

[A]

Chloe, you know, we talk about politics here and obviously that oftentimes comes up in ceremonies like the Oscars. There is also the controversy surrounding who the Oscars chooses to recognize or not recognize at that.

[B]

Right.

[A]

We remember kind of the campaigns of Oscars. So white Oscars, so male as well. In the early 2000s, the women were kind of seeing a run. Right. They were moving towards more and more inclusion in every category across the board. But it looks like now we are going in the other direction. You've been looking into this.

[C]

That's right. USC Annenberg, they've put out a study saying that women in film in terms of representation has hit a seven year low. And we're talking about 20, 25. So they compared, like Warner Brothers, Netflix, all of the different studios, and the percentage of how many women are featured in film in front of the screen. And it's shocking. And as for why this is happening, they couldn't really put their finger on it. But then the conversation turned to something I've been covering a lot, which we might hear about at the Oscars. We might hear Conan or people mention it in their speeches. Is David Ellison over at Paramount trying to acquire Warner Brothers? And it looks like it's going to happen. And Warner Brothers and Paramount, turns out they are notorious for not having women in lead roles in their films. But I do want to cite one thing that is positive when it comes to women. This weekend at the Academy Awards, history could be made with nominee Autumn Durald Arkhipal. She could become the first female cinematography winner for Sinners. Okay, so this could be a major moment for women, but when it comes to inclusion, I mean, I think it was incredibly shocking.

[A]

That is. Rebecca, do you have any more information on that? This idea that both Paramount and Warner Brothers, they're less inclusive, especially when it comes to women in leading roles?

[B]

I mean, one thing we know from USC's research and others is that if there is a female director, there are more likely to be women working down the line behind the camera. So if at those studios, there is less of a premium on hiring a female director, you're going to see that sort of ripple out in terms of the. The rest of the film. And, you know, it's interesting, Hollywood wide, because of the Trump administration, there has been a sort of quiet approach to inclusion. It was. There was much more talking about it openly. There were programs specifically for female directors, programs specifically for directors of color. I think some studios have felt that they needed to back off from those. And that's not specific to the studios you mentioned. It's across the board in the entertainment industry.

[A]

How are folks, Rebecca, from your understanding, handling and or reacting to Paramount basically snatching this deal away from. From Netflix? Right. There was a point in which it seemed like Netflix had it in the bag. Right. They were going to merge with Warner Brothers Pictures. Warner Brothers films and the cable entities would fall by the wayside. Now, Paramount came around, said, no, no, we're going to offer you way more money. The board then backed off. Paramount is now really kind of in the running of snatching up Warner Brothers in its totality. What is the reaction that you're hearing in Hollywood?

[B]

Well, from the beginning, whether it was Paramount or Netflix, the Fear was of consolidation in general. If you have one less film studio, presumably people lose jobs, fewer movies get made. It's bad for the industry broadly. Ted Sarandos, the co CEO of Netflix, had done a good job in the last month of sort of convincing the entertainment industry like, we come in peace. We are not gonna lay off as many people. We are still gonna put. We're gonna put movies in movie theaters. And he had sort of launched this charm offensive that was. I think ultimately Paramount seems to be the studio that has prevailed. And I think there's a lot of fear about what that means in terms of layoffs. Paramount has said they're going to continue to release 30 movies in theaters, which would be the number Warner Brothers released and the number Paramount previously released. That's a lot. I mean, that would mean they would be competing with themselves certain weekends. So I think people are viewing that with a healthy dose of skepticism.

[C]

Something that I found interesting is we did some digging with our entertainment producer, Laura Wilson, and she was telling me that the last time that Paramount won a in the best picture category for a film was in 2008, no country for Old Men, and then before that was Titanic. So they need Warner Brothers more than Warner Brothers needs them.

[A]

Essentially, as we're sticking kind of with this idea of inclusion. Rebecca, I know there's also a new category this year, Best achievement in casting. Why this category? Why now?

[B]

Yeah, there has been a long drive to create this category. One person who I interviewed about it is Francine Meisler, who's the casting director of Sinners. And she told me that it was very awkward for her to suddenly find herself sort of thrust into the spotlight. The career of a casting director is to push actors into the spotlight. And this year, for the first time at the Oscars, we're gonna see a casting director on stage at the Dolby Theater. Everybody who works on a movie knows that casting is crucial to whether it works, that casting directors are the secret weapon of directors, that actors worship the good casting directors. The reason I think that it took so long for us to see is, was in some ways, the casting directors themselves, they just had not been putting themselves forward. They see their whole role as being to showcase actors.

[A]

We are going to take one more break and when we are back will have more on the Oscars future. Stay with us.

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And we are back with. Here's a scoop from NBC News. I want to talk about the future of the Academy Awards after they roll up that red carpet on Sunday. And I think obviously the thing that we have been talking about most is AI and film, right? The future of AI and film. The Academy actually added language about artificial intelligence to its rules after last year's Oscars, saying a film's use of AI and digital tools will, quote, neither help nor harm its chances of nomination. And Academy leaders have underlined that AI is, in fact, a tool. Rebecca, if you would walk us through what's going on here.

[B]

Yeah. I asked Academy CEO Bill Kramer and president Lynette Howell Taylor to sort of clarify the Academy's position on AI. Those new rules were introduced after last year's Oscars. What they told me was essentially they're aware that the movie business is embracing AI tools and they don't want to get in the way of that. What they want to be sure is that there's still a human element in the creation of a film. But they themselves said they have work to do to sort of figure out what does that mean when you're talking about a highly technical category like visual effects, say, or sound mixing. The one thing they did say for sure, I asked them whether a synthetic performer like Tilly Norwood could ever be nominated for an Oscar, and they said, absolutely, unequivocally not. An Oscar will always be given to a human being.

[A]

Chloe, for those that don't know, who is Tilly Norwood.

[C]

So she is an AI generated actress that was created by an actress herself, Elaine Van Der Velden. She has a company called Particle 6. And, and she launched her in September of 2025 and not just put out, you know, clips of her that startled many people in Hollywood, but she said that she was going to be auditioning for roles and was in talks with big time agencies in Hollywood to represent her. And that's when you saw this onslaught of comments from celebrities like Whoopi Goldberg and others who were like, absolutely not. This can not happen. This is disturbing. Um, and then you, her creator kind of like walk things back and kind of go silent for a little bit. And now she's back with this music video where she's like flying through the sky with lyrics like, come on, actors, you don't wanna be left behind. Join in. And so who knows what's gonna happen next. But Particle 6 has said that they plan to create like a Tillyverse, so unclear what that means. But perhaps other AI generated actors. Could we see Tilly in a movie one day? I mean, maybe never say never, but does upset some people. But others say that this is the way of the future. And you see AI in all industries, including music.

[A]

Is the idea, Rebecca, that Tilly could act on her own in a movie with other AI actors, or that she would act alongside, for instance, Brad Pitt in Ocean's 20? If in fact they ever go with that one.

[B]

I mean, I think anything is up for grabs at this point. A real barrier to her working with other living actors is whether those other living actors want to sort of help a digital character have that sort of career step up. The Screen Actors Guild has come out against these sort of synthetic performers and has. Is currently negotiating with the studios in their contract for ways to sort of deal with this issue and how it affects the compensation of human actors and the way they are treated contractually.

[A]

The Oscars, by the way, saw its lowest ever viewership in 2021, which, when I saw that I thought, wow, that's shocking. Cause we were all still home during the pandemic. But Chloe, if you remember, it was also when it was incredibly pared down, a lot of people were showing up virtually. They were all in those small boxes. I believe there was in fact a host on a stage. But nonetheless, they are now doing everything in their power to keep the momentum going in, trying to drive viewership up, because it's been ticking up ever since then.

[C]

Sure.

[A]

They're now saying, we're gonna go stream. Right. Come 2029, they're gonna go on. On YouTube.

[C]

My kids will now know what the Oscars are because all they watch is YouTube television.

[A]

I mean, that's a very big deal.

[C]

It is a big deal. I mean, look, I'm still a linear television kind of gal. I feel like they're gonna probably lose a lot of viewers, but maybe they just see that YouTube TV is the way of the future and they're not worried about it. It's still a few years away. I think it's like 2029, right, Rebecca, when this is gonna go into effect. But if you look at last year, like, over 19 million people watched the Oscars. I mean, this is still appointment television.

[A]

Maybe, Rebecca, they're less worried about the viewers that they could lose. Like the people that Chloe is talking about and looking at the potential of the viewers that they could gain younger viewers, viewers outside of the United States. What is your kind of impression of this huge decision to start airing the oscars not on ABC, which is where they normally air, but. But on YouTube?

[B]

Yeah. When I asked the Academy President and CEO about this decision to move from ABC to YouTube, they said it was driven by a few factors. One is they wanted the largest possible global audience. So people from 225 countries watch the Oscars. The films are from all over the world this year. We've got Brazilian films, Iranian films, French films. So it's a global audience. So what matters to us as people who grew up watching it on ABC, which is the network it's been on since the 1970s, is different from what matters to people all over the world. The other thing that they talked about was this ability to have a sort of second screen experience. So I, you know, if I'm sitting at home watching the Oscars, I can watch. Have the YouTube TV up on my TV. I can have my laptop or my phone in front of me and be watching commentary and be sort of participating in other ways to engage with the show, which is how people increasingly watch live events like this.

[C]

Rebecca, I gotta ask you, do you think that things could go south and they bring it back to abc? Is this more of an experiment?

[B]

No. Well, when you watch how quickly media is changing, 2029 is actually a long time from now. If you think of how much things have changed in the last three years, how much viewing habits have changed. So another consideration for the Academy, the Academy's a nonprofit organization that makes the Vast majority of its money from the sales of, of the rights to the show. So I think it's a safe assumption that YouTube had a good amount of money to put up for the rights to the show and they have all of these other things that they do. Like Chloe, you were at the Academy Museum recently. Those are the kinds of things that are financed by the sale of the rights to the show. So it's sort of a bigger picture, not only about how we watch, but also about how this nonprofit organization pays its bills.

[A]

Listen, guys, I want to get to the ever important part of this show, which is the fact that both of you are going to be in or around the Oscars. Khloe, you said you're going to be at the Elton John party covering the Oscars from there. Rebecca, you're going to be at the oscars for the 16th, 15th time, you said.

[B]

I think it's my 15th.

[A]

Your 15th time.

[C]

God, that's like more than Hollywood stars.

[A]

Rebecca, will you start? Can you just take us inside from when you get there?

[C]

Yeah. What's it like?

[A]

What is it like? You step out of your car, what do you do?

[B]

Well, the funny thing is just getting there in the car. Your car is examined by bomb sniffing dogs, usually multiple times. The Oscars are a big, high security event. So you're sort of sitting there in your fancy clothes, sweating, going through that process. When you walk in the red carpet is this completely overwhelming blast of photographers. There are sometimes fans shouting from risers. I've been there in certain years where it's pouring down rain and you could see like the soap coming up from, from the red carpet. It's on screen extremely glamorous, but sort of behind the scenes, there are all these people working to put it together. One year I was in the stage Wings. It happened to be the year of Envelope Gate, which was the year that La La Land was incorrectly awarded Best Picture. I remember that. And so I happened to be standing next to the accountant and the stage manager who realized there was an error. I mean, trust me, I backed away quick. But all of the people backstage who were trying to get it right, who were trying to put on this kind of incredible show, the way I knew something had gone wrong was that the stage manager who had been cool as a cucumber all night, I heard her drop an F bomb on her headset. And I was like, I haven't heard that before. And then of course, the whole what you saw on stage unfolded. But so there were all these, I hate to say it, but but sometimes the Oscars is the most fun when something goes a little bit wrong, when there's something a little bit unexpected or surprising.

[A]

Do you have a most embarrassing moment of something that happened to you or someone that you interacted with at the Oscars that you were like, I cannot believe I said that to uncertainty here.

[B]

Wow, there's so many to choose from, Yasmin. But I probably one of my all time worst Oscar years was when my white flowing gown got caught in the escalator at the Dolby Theater. And so it was terrifying. And I'm sort of yanked to pull it out of the escalator. When I yanked it out, it was covered in escalator grease. So then I just sort of like went through the Oscars and the after parties covered in escalator grease. And it was honestly a good story, you know, a good conversation starter. If you're sort of chit chatting with the stars. Yeah.

[A]

You're like, yeah, Brad, but it's just grease on my dress.

[B]

It's just grease. You know, this is what the cool girls do.

[A]

Speaking of dresses, what are you wearing?

[B]

I'm wearing a Donna Karan, like, tuxedo gown that's currently at the table because the zipper broke. So cross your fingers on that one.

[A]

I love that. I can't wait to see it.

[B]

Chlo. Wow.

[A]

What are you looking forward to? What are you wearing?

[C]

I have three options. All my outfits are sparkly and sequiny and gold and bronze, and I'm just excited to be there. I was told that it gets really fun at the after party portion. So I'm gonna get to Elton John's party. There's a big dinner. I think there's an auction. There's a performer that I can't tell you who's performing there, but you'll see it. And then when the show's over, that's when some of the people who were at the Oscars are supposed to make their way either to this party or Vanity Fair. So I'm hoping that. I know a lot of people love Vanity Fair, but I hope a lot of people come to Elton's party and I'll get to see maybe some of the winners there.

[A]

Well, guys, I cannot wait to watch the Oscars. I'll be looking for pictures of the two of you with hopefully no escalator grease on either one of your beautiful dresses this Sunday evening. Thank you for spending some time with me on this Oscars special. Clay Malas, Rebecca Keegan.

[B]

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[A]

That is going to do it for us. It here's the scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasmin Bisugin. I'll be back on Monday with whatever the day may bring. And if you like what you heard, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. We'll see you Monday.

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