Oscars 2026: Paul Thomas Anderson wins best director for ‘One Battle After Another’
Paul Thomas Anderson at the 98th annual Academy Awards. (Disney/Frank Micelotta)
In the battle for best director, Paul Thomas Anderson came away with the win for his film One Battle After Another.
“You make a guy work hard for one of these, I really appreciate it,” Anderson said in accepting the award, thanking the academy for “finding my work worthy of this highest honor.”
He also recognized his fellow nominees in the category, Chloé Zhao for Hamnet, Ryan Coogler for Sinners, Josh Safdie for Marty Supreme and Joachim Trier for Sentimental Value.
“I couldn’t ask for a better class. It’s an honor to be counted amongst you guys,” he said. “There will always be some doubt in your heart that you deserve it, but there is no question at the pleasure for having it for myself.”
Finally, Anderson noted, “This is a wonder gift, and I’m so happy to call the movies home. This is really terrific.”
The win comes after 14 career Academy Award nominations for Anderson. It was his second win of the night, after winning best adapted screenplay.
Charles Melton as Austin Davis, Carey Mulligan as Lindsay Crane-Martin, Oscar Isaac as Josh Martin and Cailee Spaeny as Ashley Miller in ‘Beef’ season 2. (Netflix)
Netflix has shared its first look at the second season of Beef.
The popular Emmy-winning anthology series from A24 and creator Lee Sung Jin arrives to the streaming service on April 16, and the first photos from the season arrived on Wednesday.
This season features a brand-new story with a completely different cast of characters. Oscar Isaac, CareyMulligan, Charles Melton and Cailee Spaeny star in season 2. The indecent that sparks the new “beef” is a Gen-Z couple witnessing an alarming fight between their millennial boss and his wife.
“Newly-engaged Ashley Miller (Spaeny) and Austin Davis (Melton), both lower-level staff at a country club, become entangled in the unraveling marriage of their General Manager, Joshua Martín (Isaac), and his wife, Lindsay Crane-Martín (Mulligan),” according to its official synopsis. “Through favors and coercion, both couples vie for the approval of the elitist club’s billionaire owner, Chairwoman Park (Youn Yuh Jung), who struggles to manage her own scandal involving her second husband, Doctor Kim (Song Kang Ho).”
The cast also includes Seoyeon Jang as Eunice, William Fichtner as Troy, Mikaela Hoover as Ava and the musician BM in his acting debut as Woosh.
There will be eight 30-minute episodes in season 2. Lee returns as its creator, showrunner and executive producer. The first season’s stars, Steven Yeun and Ali Wong, also return to executive produce season 2, joined by Mulligan, Isaac, Melton and Spaeny as executive producers.
Season 1 of Beef won eight Emmy Awards, including limited or anthology series, lead actor in a limited or anthology series for Yeun and lead actress in a limited or anthology series for Wong.
In this May 4, 2015, file photo, Savannah Guthrie poses alongside her mother Nancy Guthrie during a production break while hosting NBC’s ‘Today’ show live from Australia at Sydney Opera House in Sydney. (Don Arnold/WireImage via Getty Images, FILE)
Today show host Savannah Guthrie is begging for answers in the abduction of her mother, Nancy Guthrie, saying that “someone knows something.”
“How can someone vanish without a trace?” Savannah Guthrie said in the final part of her emotional interview with her friend and former co-host Hoda Kotb.
Nancy Guthrie, 84, was abducted from her Tucson, Arizona, house in the early hours of Feb. 1, authorities said. Investigators have released surveillance images from outside Nancy Guthrie’s house, but the person who took her remains unidentified.
“Our anguish is real. We need help,” Savannah Guthrie said. “We need someone to tell the truth. I have no anger in my heart — I have hope in my heart. I have love. But this family needs peace — I don’t think we deserve anything more or less than any other person.”
“It is never too late, and when you do, the warmth of love and forgiveness that will come will be greater than can be imagined,” she said.
As she waits for answers, Savannah Guthrie said she’s leaning on her faith and is inspired by the deep faith her mother’s had through hard times, like after Savannah Guthrie’s father died when the Today host was a teenager.
“I saw her grieve, I saw her world shatter,” Savannah Guthrie said.
“And I saw her get up and I saw her believe and I saw her love. And I saw her hope and I saw her smile and I saw her laugh. I saw her joy. … I saw her faith,” she said.
“She taught me, she taught all of us,” Savannah Guthrie continued.
“I may not do it as well as her, but I will do it. I will do it for my kids. I will. I will not fall apart,” she said through tears. “I will not let whoever did this take my children’s mother from them. I will not let them take my joy.”
“Faith is how I will stay connected to my mom. … And I won’t let sadness win for her,” she said through tears.
Kotb has been filling in for Savannah Guthrie on Today since Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance. Savannah plans to return to Today on April 6.
“I’m not gonna be the same,” she said.
But she added, “I want to smile, and when I do, it will be real. And my joy will be my protest.”
Anyone with information is urged to call 911, the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI, or the Pima County Sheriff’s Department at 520-351-4900.
Noah Wyle as Dr. Robby in season 2 of ‘The Pitt.’ (Warrick Page/HBO Max)
The Pitt is headed to movie theaters.
Fans of the Emmy-winning TV series will be able to watch its season 2 finale on the big screen. HBO Max and Warner Bros. Pictures have teamed with Alamo Drafthouse Cinema for advance theatrical screenings of the episode.
In a press release, HBO Max said this season 2 finale theatrical release is set “to honor the dedication and impact of healthcare professionals across the country.”
These screenings will take place on April 13 at select Alamo Drafthouse locations in the U.S. All health care workers, either active or retired, are being encouraged to reserve their seat with the purchase of a $10 food and beverage voucher.
Additionally, every person who attends the screenings will receive what HBO Max is calling “special The Pitt giveaways.”
New episodes of The Pitt stream Thursdays on HBO Max. The season 2 finale will be available for everyone to watch on the streaming service on April 16.
