The Oscars team says the 98th Academy Awards aims to feel warm, tight and built for both the room and viewers at home. The show's producers are finishing final preparations with host Conan O’Brien, planned performances, tributes and a spotlight for the newer casting award. Academy president Lynette Howell Taylor and CEO Bill Kramer say they start planning earlier now. They say that cuts panic and helps the show flow. Ratings keep rising since the 2021 slump, helped by streaming on Hulu and outreach to younger viewers online. They also promise a big, emotional in memoriam.
Fox News apologizes for showing old video of a hatless Donald Trump at a dignified transfer ceremony
Fox News has apologized for airing old video of a hatless President Donald Trump at a dignified transfer ceremony as part of its coverage. In polarized times, online critics suggested that Fox was trying to make Trump look better with pictures that suggested he wasn't wearing a baseball cap on Saturday during the ceremony for the return of the remains of six service members killed in the Middle East war. Fox insisted this wasn't so, that a staff member inadvertently called up video of an old ceremony when preparing the story. Fox News anchor Johnny “Joey” Jones said he believed it was an honest mistake, “but that doesn't mean it was an acceptable one.”
After a near awards-season sweep by “One Battle After Another,” “Sinners” won best ensemble at the Screen Actors Guild’s 32nd Actor Awards on Sunday, setting up a potential nail-biter finale in two weeks at the Academy Awards. Michael B. Jordan won best male actor, upsetting the category favorite, Timothée Chalamet, and handing the 39-year-old Jordan the most significant prize of his acclaimed career. As expected, Jessie Buckley won best female actor for her performance in “Hamnet.” Sean Penn won best supporting male actor for “One Battle After Another” and Amy Madigan won best supporting female actor for “Weapons.” A month after her death,
Today is Saturday, Feb. 28, the 59th day of 2026. There are 306 days left in the year.
Netflix is declining to raise its offer to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming business in a stunning move that effectively puts Paramount in a position to take over its storied Hollywood rival. On Thursday, after Warner’s board announced that Skydance-owned Paramount’s offer was superior to the agreement it had previously struck with Netflix, the streaming giant said the new price that would be required to buy Warner would make it a deal that is “no longer financially attractive.” Unlike Netflix’s bid, Paramount wants all of Warner’s operations, including networks like CNN and Discovery. That would put CNN under the same roof as Paramount’s CBS and combine two of Hollywood’s last five remaining studios.
The British Academy Film Awards and BBC have apologized Monday for a racial slur that was broadcast during Sunday’s show while two stars of the film “Sinners” were onstage. The Tourette syndrome campaigner who shouted the slur said he was “deeply mortified” and what he said was “not a reflection of my personal beliefs.” The highly offensive word could be heard as “Sinners” stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo, who are both Black, were presenting the award for best visual effects during Sunday’s ceremony. The BBC left the slur in a delayed broadcast of the ceremony but removed a streaming version and said the slur would be edited out.
Eric Dane shared his thoughts about his life and a final message for his daughters in a new episode of a Netflix series called “Famous Last Words.” The actor died on Thursday, less than one year after he announced an ALS diagnosis. “Famous Last Words” is adapted from a Danish show where a person is interviewed in secret and the footage is not released until after their death. The Netflix version is hosted by Brad Falchuk. This is the second episode of “Famous Last Words.” The first was with primatologist Jane Goodall who died in October. That interview is also available on Netflix.
The Federal Communications Commission is investigating ABC’s “The View” over possible violations of the requirement that broadcast stations give equal time to political candidates when they appear on-air. That's according to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. At issue is a Feb. 2 appearance by James Talarico, a Democratic candidate for the Senate in Texas. There are exceptions to the equal time rule, including for newscasts, “bona fide” interview programs, and coverage of live events or documentaries. Carr has raised questions about the talk show exemption and whether it should stand. Stephen Colbert said CBS executives pulled an appearance by Talarico on Colbert's program this week over fears it ran afoul of equal time provisions.
Late-night host Stephen Colbert isn't backing down from his public dispute with CBS bosses over what he can air on his show. He said Tuesday night that he was surprised by a network statement that denied Colbert had been told he couldn't air an interview with a Texas Senate candidate for fear of triggering a little-known “equal time” rule by the FCC. CBS said its lawyers had only advised him that he couldn't broadcast the interview, which aired on YouTube instead. Colbert said that he was surprised that CBS parent company Paramount “would not stand up to these bullies” in the Trump administration.
Stephen Colbert says his interview with Texas Democrat James Talarico was pulled from Monday's broadcast over fears it would violate “equal time” guidance from the Federal Communications Commission under the Trump administration. The situation came hours before the start of early voting in Texas. Colbert says the network also told him not to mention the change but discussed it on air and pointed viewers to the full interview posted on YouTube. CBS said it only provided legal guidance. Talarico also posted a clip, calling it the “interview Donald Trump didn't want you to see.” The FCC guidance warns talk shows to treat candidates like other broadcast programs. Colbert says the rule does not apply to streaming.