A Brief History of Oscar Ties

by Cláudio Alves

Best Live-Action Short Film is the only category to count two ties in its Oscar history.

Last month, at the 98th Academy Awards, the world got to witness the seventh official tie in Oscar history. Presenter Kumail Nanjiani was quick to assure the audience that this was not a bit but something that was really happening as the Best Live-Action Short Film race came down to two victors – The Singers and Two People Exchanging Saliva. For someone like me, what made this even more momentous was how, for once, the Academy made a good choice, even if they didn’t make up their mind. In a category where good taste goes to die, our champions are good examples of the form, amply deserving of this honor and their new place in the annals of Oscar history. Who would have thought?

For some added context, join me as I go over these seven ties. Were they all deserving? Let’s find out…

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Reader Poll: Who would you love to see as the next Amy Madigan?

This question was posed by a loyal reader and to double the fun we want you to participate with our Team. 

AMY MADIGAN "FLUMMOXED" AND BEAUTIFUL OSCAR SPEECH

At the 98th Oscars Amy Madigan improbably returned to the Oscars 40 years after her first nomination (Twice in a Lifetime, 1985) and WON for Weapons. Who would we like to see as the next Amy Madigan? Here is the criteria for eligibility for this niche actressexual poll: 

• The actress must have received only one one previous Oscar nomination (they lost)
• That nomination was 20 or more years ago
• They are at least 50 years of age at this writing.

Check out the eligibility list and VOTE FOR YOUR TOP TEN by Wednesday night April 8. Share the link with friends you think would like to play. We'll discuss the results from TEAM EXPERIENCE and from readers here on the weekend of April 10th.

Review: "The Drama" is a Nightmare to Watch and Even Worse to Describe

By Ben Miller

I won't lie and say you will absolutely enjoy Kristoffer Borgli's The Drama. In fact, there's a pretty good chance you will either hate it, or feel repulsed having watched it. This film lives in an uncomfortable and awkward world of anxiety which will turn many viewers off.

This film exists in an impossible world to market a film. You can't delve too much into the guts of the story without revealing the main conflict. You also can't spoil the parts of the film that come from that, because it just comes across as confusing. What you get is this vague picture of what the film might be about. The reality is: what if Tim Robinson tried to make a romantic drama, but secretly wanted to make a comedy? That's about what you can expect from The Drama...

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Drag Race RuCap: “Karens Gone Wild”

This episode of Drag Race is brought to you by the STOP! THAT! TRAIN!, in theaters this summer.

CLÁUDIO ALVES: Well, that was an interesting hour of television. David Benioff and D.B. Weiss would be proud of Mama Ru, because she truly subverted our expectations. Now, let’s wait and see if Drag Race can stick the landing after this shocker or if, like the last season of Game of Thrones, it’ll crash and burn and relinquish all the audience goodwill it accrued so far. Maybe it’s wrong of me to reduce the entirety of “Karens Gone Wild” to its ending, but that’s surely what it’ll be remembered for, a moment of such unprecedented Drag Race gaggery that we must go to the All Stars seasons to find another example of someone with so many challenge wins going home before the finale. I’m still trying to process the results, whether they’re fair, so this RuCap will be an opportunity to sort out my feelings. How about you, dear Nick? Are you glad for a surprise? Or are you livid? Somewhere in between?

NICK TAYLOR: It’s a gag, though mostly it just bums me out...

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What's next for key players from Oscar season?

by Nathaniel R

Elle Fanning and Michelle Pfeiffer in the forthcoming series MARGOT'S GOT MONEY TROUBLE

Let's gently segueway now to a new year in film. When Cláudio reminded us that  Timothée Chalamet has high profile projects coming up in the wake of two consecutive years of 'close-but-no-cigar' Best Actor runs, it got me to thinking about what's next for each of this year's nominees. We're skipping anything we already covered in the  first 2026 previews we did (Dune Part Three, Digger, The Odyssey, The Weight, etc) So herewith 20 enticing projects from film, tv, and stage featuring one or more of the players who were just up for Oscar gold. Will they return to the Oscar stage and, if so, how soon? The projects are listed in rough ascending order of current interest though that could obviously change once we see stills, trailers, or hear more buzz...

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