Cassandra Kulukundis accepts the casting award for ‘One Battle After Another’ onstage during the 98th Oscars at Dolby Theatre on March 15, 2026 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
The first-ever Oscar for achievement in casting was handed out Sunday, with Cassandra Kulukundis winning for her work on One Battle After Another.
Kulukundis thanked the academy for adding the category and the “casting directors that fought tirelessly to make it happen despite everything in their way.”
She also dedicated the award to “casting directors who never got a chance to get up here, who didn’t even get a chance to get their name on the movie.”
Addressing the film’s director, Paul Thomas Anderson, Kulukundis noted that they’ve worked together on 10 movies in the span of more than 30 years. She added, “I have one before you, which is also crazy. … I hope you get one tonight.”
The achievement in casting category is the first new competitive award at the Oscars in 24 years.
Each nominee in the category was introduced by a member of the film’s cast: Paul Mescal for Nina Gold (Hamnet), Gwyneth Paltrow for Jennifer Venditti (Marty Supreme), Wagner Moura for Gabriel Domingues (The Secret Agent), Delroy Lindo for Francine Maisler (Sinners) and Chase Infiniti for Kulukundis (One Battle After Another).
(L-R) Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans, and Michelle Wong accept the best animated feature film for ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ onstage during the 98th Oscars at Dolby Theatre on March 15, 2026 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
KPop Demon Hunters has taken home the gold at the 2026 Academy Awards, picking up the award for best animated feature film.
It beat out fellow nominees Arco, Elio, Little Amélie or the Character of Rain and Zootopia 2.
Directors Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans and Michelle Wong took the stage to accept the Oscar, with Kang dedicating the award to Koreans everywhere. “For those of you who look like me, I’m so sorry that it took us so long to see us in a movie like this,” she said. “This is for Korea and for Koreans everywhere.”
Wong thanked their partners at Netflix, Sony Pictures Animations and Sony Pictures Music, as well as their spouses; she ended with a special shoutout to her mother.
Appelhans sent encouraging words to young filmmakers, artists and musicians around the world. “Tell your story. Sing in your voice,” he said. “I promise you the world is waiting.”
KPop Demon Hunters 2 is officially in development at Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation, with Kang and Appelhans coming back to direct.
Amy Madigan accepts the best actress in a supporting role award for ‘Weapons’ onstage during the 98th Oscars at Dolby Theatre on March 15, 2026 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Amy Madigan won best supporting actress at the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday night.
This was her second Oscar nomination and first win. Madigan was awarded the prize for her performance as Aunt Gladys in Weapons. She was nominated alongside Elle Fanning, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Wunmi Mosaku and Teyana Taylor.
Last year’s winner, Zoe Saldaña, took to the stage to announce this year’s best supporting actress nominees. Saldaña won the award in 2025 for her performance in Emilia Pérez.
Madigan made history with her nomination for Weapons. It came a record-setting 40 years after she was first nominated for best supporting actress for her performance in the 1985 film Twice in a Lifetime. Her win for Weapons has now set a record for the longest gap between nominations before a win.
While onstage, Madigan shouted out her fellow nominees in her category, saying that everyone has been so welcoming to her across the entirety of awards season. She also made the crowd laugh as she talked about how she created her acceptance speech.
“I was in the shower last night trying to think of something to say as I was shaving my legs,” Madigan said, before looking down at her outfit. “I have pants on, I don’t have to worry about that.”
Adriana Gillett and James Hetfield attend the “Metallica Saved My Life” screening during the 2025 Tribeca Festival at BMCC Tribeca PAC on June 11, 2025 in New York City. (Roy Rochlin/WireImage)
James Hetfield will soon be off to married married land.
The Metallica frontman has announced he and his girlfriend, Adriana Gillett, are now engaged.
The “Enter Sandman” metallers revealed the news in a photo posted to Instagram featuring Hetfield and Gillett underwater in scuba gear. Hetfield is holding a sign reading, “Adriana Gillett will you marry me?” while Gillett holds the ring in one hand and gives a thumbs-up with the other.
“She said yes!” the caption reads. We can only hope Gillett responded with a patented Hetfield “Yeah!”
Hetfield was previously married to Francesca Tomasi for 25 years before divorcing in 2022. They share three children.
ABC’s The Oscars hosted by Conan O’Brien. ((Disney/Mark Seliger)
The 98th annual Academy Awards went down in Hollywood Sunday, with host Conan O’Brien kicking things off with a taped segment set to Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage,” which had him made up to look like Amy Madigan’s character in Weapons and dropping into Oscar-nominated films.
He opened his monologue by saying he was honored to be the “last human host of the Academy Awards,” before joking, “Last year when I hosted Los Angeles was on fire, but this year everything’s going great.”
Noting that security was tighter at the Oscars this year, he joked it was because of concerns over “attacks from both the opera and ballet communities,” a reference to Timothée Chalamet’s recent comments, adding “they’re just mad you left out jazz.”
There were also cracks about the Oscars getting political, joking there’s an alternate Oscars hosted by Kid Rock at Dave & Buster’s, as well as jokes about it being Netflix’s Ted Sarandos’ first time in a theater and several about the nominated films, including Hamnet and Bugonia sounding “like off-brand lunch meat.”
But it wasn’t all jokes, with Conan then getting serious about why the Oscars are important.
“Everyone watching around the world is all too aware that these are very chaotic, frightening times,” he said. “It’s at moments like these that I believe that the Oscars are particularly resonant.”
“Every film we salute is the product of thousands of people speaking different languages, working hard to make something of beauty,” he added. “We pay tribute tonight, not to just film but to the ideals of global artistry, collaboration, patience, resilience and that rarest of qualities today, optimism.”
Finally he noted, “So let us celebrate not because we think all is well, but because we work and hope for better in the days ahead.”
Doja Cat performs at the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, November 8, 2025 (Disney/Frank Micelotta)
Doja Cat has revealed that she has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.
In a TikTok video, Doja described how it has affected her this way: “I’ve learned from a very young age to pretend that I like stuff, to pretend that I’m happy, to pretend that I don’t like stuff that I do, to appear like everything is okay: ‘I’ll get it done!’ And it caught up with me, and I think it always does for people. I’m now struggling with BPD.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, BPD “affects how you see yourself” and “includes unstable and intense relationships, extreme emotions, and impulsiveness.”
Doja said she’s been living with BPD “probably forever,” adding, “It’s an agonizing condition, curable, thank God, and I’ve been in therapy for years now and I am so relieved and so proud of myself. I have made it so far and I still make mistakes but it is like an eight-year process of curing — of treatment and healing, in order to cure it.”
Doja then talked about how much she admired Chappell Roan’s ability to be “uncomfortable, comfortably in front of people, and protect herself and be honest,” which is something she aspires to do.
“I had to learn how to be honest. I had to learn how to be honest with myself. I lied to myself for years. For most of my life,” Doja said. “And to see her sit there — and I love it. I love that she can do that without hurting people. She hasn’t hurt one person by being herself, and that shows that I can do the same.”
She concluded, “Let her have an attitude. Because I’d love to have one as well and I f***** will, hopefully, in the future.”
Jack White at 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Disney/Cristian Lopez)
It’s been a weekend of highs and lows for Jack White.
To start with the positive, the “Seven Nation Army” rocker has been announced as the musical guest for the April 4 episode of Saturday Night Live. The set will mark his fifth SNL performance as a solo artist, following his appearances in 2012, 2018, 2020 and 2023. He also performed with The White Stripes in 2002.
The episode will be hosted by actor and Tenacious D frontman Jack Black, so we expect it will feature a sketch called “Jack Gray.”
As for the sadder news, White announced on Saturday that his mother, Teresa Gillis, has died.
“Teresa Gillis 1930-2026. Rest in peace with the Lord,” White wrote in an Instagram post.
Harry Styles performs on ‘Saturday Night Live,’ March 14, 2026 (Will Heath/NBC)
Did you know Harry Styles can do a pretty good Sebastian Maniscalco impersonation? Have you ever seen him kiss a six-foot-five redhead? If you watched Saturday Night Live, the answer is “yes.”
Harry was the host and musical guest on Saturday Night Live, and in his monologue, he joked about being a “tremendously boring” person. He then added, “As a British man who spent a lot of his life in the public eye, I can assure you, there’s something nice about being boring. It’s better than the alternative.” Cut to the notorious picture of the former Prince Andrew in the back of a car after his arrest.
Harry also addressed a criticism he faced a few years ago. “Some people accused me of something called ‘queerbaiting,’” he said. “But did it ever occur to you that MAYBE YOU DON’T KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT ME, DAD?”
At the end of the monologue, Harry said he only “kissed all the time” with someone who had a “tight little bum.” When cast member Ben Marshall showed up and asked, “Where’s my kiss?” Harry replied, “Come on Ben, everyone knows there’s nothing little about that thang!” But then he planted one on Ben anyway, turned to the camera and said, “Now that’s queerbaiting!”
Harry also appeared in multiple sketches, mostly doing an American accent. In one, he successfully matched Marcello Hernandez’s Sebastian Maniscalco impersonation with his own impression of the comic; in another, he showed off a European accent.
The sketch “Harry for Him” focused on a line of Target clothing that allows men to wear the same outrageous outfits Harry’s worn over the years. Of course, unlike Harry, they become the subject of ridicule.
And oh yeah: Harry also sang. Last week’s SNL host Ryan Gosling introduced his performance of “Dance No More,” and legendary Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Paul Simon introduced his performance of “Coming Up Roses.” That was a full-circle moment, because a track on Harry’s new album, “Carla’s Song” is about his friend Carla discovering Paul’s music, and then her reaction when he played her one of Paul’s most famous songs, “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”
Protesters gather in front of the The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts after President Donald Trump’s name was added to the facade on Dec.20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Photo by Maxine Wallace/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled Saturday mostly in favor of Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, in her effort to obtain more details about the planned closure and renovation of the Kennedy Center, which is set for a board vote at the White House on Monday.
Judge Christopher Cooper also ruled that as a trustee, Beatty must be afforded a “meaningful opportunity to provide input” and not be “categorically barred” from speaking at the meeting, which President Donald Trump is set to chair.
But Cooper stopped short of requiring at this stage that Beatty be permitted to cast a vote as a trustee, saying that is a “trickier question” with no clearcut answers.
“As the foregoing facts suggest, a project of this salience and magnitude—which threatens to involve at least some demolition and reconstruction of a major national memorial and active performing arts theater—does not happen overnight,” Cooper said in his ruling.
The judge directed the government to provide Beatty with materials on the project ahead of the Monday meeting.
“The government’s assertion, both in its briefing and at the hearing, that such information is ‘preliminary’ and not yet sufficiently ‘finalized’ to share with the full slate of decisionmakers—just four days before the Board is set to vote on a complete, two-year closure of the Center they are statutorily charged with overseeing—borders on preposterous,” Cooper said.
Beatty’s pending lawsuit challenges the renaming of the Kennedy Center to the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as well as the pending closure and renovations. Cooper said the court will address those issues at a later date.
“No president has the authority to shut Congress out of the governance of the Kennedy Center, much less unilaterally rename or demolish it,” Beatty said in a statement Saturday. “We will not stand by while an important part of our national heritage is jeopardized, and I intend to make that clear at next week’s board meeting.”
The White House didn’t immediately have a comment about the ruling.
Asked for comment on the lawsuit previously, White House spokesperson Liz Huston told ABC News in a statement that the Kennedy Center’s board voted to rename it after Trump “stepped up and saved the old Kennedy Center.”
As for whether a sitting member of the House who serves on the Kennedy Center board as a function of her office can vote, Judge Cooper said that the legal argument in Beatty’s favor is strong, but how the board has operated in practice in that respect is not clear.
Some veterans of the Kennedy Center recalled ex-officio members of the board voting, while others say they never observed that.
The board approved a bylaws change last May to delineate presidentially-appointed general trustees from “nonvoting” ex-officio members.
“Though the Court thinks that Beatty has the better statutory argument as to both participation and the right to vote, her battle for emergency relief on these fronts is not yet won,” Cooper ruled.
(NEW YORK) — The first of two storms has passed through the Great Lakes and is now moving through the northern tier of the Northeast, bringing widespread strong winds and snow from the eastern Great Lakes to northern New England.
On Friday, wind gusts greater than 70 mph were reported in Ohio, Minnesota, Michigan and Indiana. Wind alerts remain in place from northeast Ohio and central Pennsylvania up to Upstate New York and the higher elevations of Massachusetts through Saturday morning and afternoon for wind gusts between 45 and 60 mph.
Saturday morning, snow continues across Upstate New York and into northern New England. An additional widespread 1 to 3 inches of snow can be expected from northwest New York to Maine, with some localized areas possibly getting over 3 inches of snow.
Heavier snow and severe weather The next storm will be a stronger, cross-country storm that has been impacting the Pacific Northwest and northern Rockies since Friday and will sweep into the northern Rockies and Plains Saturday and the Midwest later Saturday into Sunday.
Winter storm warnings stretch from the Idaho Panhandle to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, with some flight agencies cancelling flights ahead of this major winter storm.
Blizzard Warnings have also been issued for parts of South Dakota and southwest Minnesota for snowfall of more than a foot and strong winds up to 60 mph possible, with the National Weather Service warning that travel will likely become impossible late Saturday and Sunday.
By Sunday morning, snow stretches from South Dakota and Nebraska into the Great Lakes.
On the southern side of the powerful system, a line of severe storms will develop from Michigan down to Texas Sunday afternoon into the night.
An “Enhanced” risk (Level 3/5) has already been issued for parts of the Midwest on Sunday, from Indianapolis to just north of Memphis. Widespread damaging wind gusts will be the main threat although a few tornadoes will be possible along with large hail.
Chicago could go from thunderstorms on Sunday night to snow and whiteout conditions on Monday.
On Monday, the major storm will continue to move east. There will still be snow and wind across the Great Lakes and rounds of heavy rain and strong winds moving into the Northeast.
More severe weather will continue across the East Coast on Monday late afternoon into the evening from the Florida Panhandle up to Pennsylvania.
An “Enhanced” risk (level 3 of 5) has been issued for parts of the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland and southern Pennsylvania. This includes Columbia, South Carolina; Raleigh, North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia; Washington, D.C; Baltimore, Maryland; and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
The main threat will be damaging winds, some large hail and a few tornadoes.
By the time this storm passes through, a widespread 3 to 6 inches of snow will be likely from Montana to the northern fringes of Upstate New York. The heaviest snow is expected from northeast South Dakota to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where 10 to 20 inches of snow will be possible, as well as gusty winds that could cause blowing snow and reduced visibility.
