The 2026 Academy Awards, like every year before it, was not without a handful of hitches and “Wait, what?” moments. There was one battle after another between One Battle After Another and Sinners, there was KPop Demon Hunters songwriter Yu Han Lee getting cut off during his acceptance speech for best original song, and then there was the In Memoriam, which left off a number of names from the televised segment that viewers really thought ought to have been there.
However, the executives behind the Oscars have an explanation for everything, in a post-show interview with Variety. The interview, while primarily with Rob Mills, apparently includes answers from a number of Oscars leads, who shared some interesting background on not just many of the show’s skits — including Conan O’Brien’s “host for life” stinger that spoofed Sean Penn’s fate at the end of One Battle After Another — and speeches, but also the “why” behind both the KPop Demon Hunters faux pax, and the missing In Memoriam names.
For Lee, who gave his speech in full at a press conference after the ceremony ended, it sounds like getting cut off while being celebrated for “Golden” was really just a miscommunication.
“One thing, as we post mortem for next year, will be to look at how we’re handling speeches,” Mills said. “You win the Oscar, you know you go on stage, it could be one person, it could be five or six. Immediately you’ll see the sort of allotted time we have for them. Do we need to look at it and say, okay, designate one person to speak. Maybe you continue it backstage, and we have a feed on social or something like that. We look at everything and figure out what is the most elegant solution, because it is difficult, especially when you’re cutting somebody off and it’s their one moment. We talk about it at the award luncheon, that you have this designated time to speak, and it’s difficult. I don’t know what the most elegant solution is, but it’s obviously something we should look really, really long and hard at.”
As for the In Memoriam, Mills says it gets more and more difficult every year, simply because more people in the business are passing away as it grows and everyone ages. The missing names (which included James Van Der Beek, Eric Dane, and Malcolm-Jamal Warner) were all honored on The Academy’s website in an online In Memoriam. But it’s ultimately the Academy’s call, and it’s a tough one to make.
“It always is hard when they are sort of villainized for this,” Mills said. “Yes, there’s always people who are left out. Unfortunately, we’re losing more and more people, and especially, we’re losing legendary people every year, so it is probably the hardest needle to thread. I do think what they did last night might have been the best In Memoriam in the history of the Oscars.”
In terms of O’Brien continuing to host the Oscars, at least for while it still airs on ABC before it moves to YouTube in 2029, it sounds like the bit that had Jim Downey reprising his role in Paul Thomas Anderson’s movie is legit. “Oh, that is no joke, Conan is host for life, yes,” Mills said. “He hasn’t even accepted yet. He’s just being told. We’re assuming that was not a comedy bit. We’re going to treat that as if that was fact.” He added that the offer is as “solid as oak.”
If you missed the Oscars last night, we’ve got a full round-up of all the winners right here, including One Battle After Another’s six wins, Sinners with four, and Frankenstein with three. You can also check out our reviews for popular nominees and winners One Battle After Another, Sinners, Frankenstein, KPop Demon Hunters, Weapons, Hamnet, and F1.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to [email protected].
