Behind the Scenes at the 2026 Oscars: Moments You Missed

The Oscars ceremony that airs on television is a polished, choreographed production. What happens inside the Dolby Theatre during commercial breaks is something else entirely.

At Sunday’s 98th Academy Awards, The Associated Press had reporters positioned inside the venue to capture what the broadcast cameras missed. The result is a more human picture of Hollywood’s biggest night, one full of family moments, quick drinks, and genuine warmth between peers.

Kate Hudson arrived early to the lobby bar during one of the first commercial breaks, following Conan O’Brien’s opening segment. She was soon joined by her mother, Goldie Hawn, and Kurt Russell. For a brief moment, Hudson appeared uncertain whether she was needed back in the auditorium. She found a nearby staffer, who pulled up the evening’s schedule on an iPad and confirmed she had time to spare.

“I’m good!” Hudson said before returning to her mother and Russell.

The three stayed close for much of the evening. Hudson had been nominated for best actress and did not take home the prize, but she carried herself well after the loss. As the crowd filtered out of the auditorium after the ceremony ended, she moved through the room with visible energy and stopped to congratulate Michael B. Jordan on his win. The interaction caught the attention of Kieran Culkin, who paused to tell Hawn and Russell that watching them with their daughter had been a genuinely moving experience.

“It was really cool watching you interact with your daughter,” Culkin told them.

It was a candid moment that no broadcast camera caught, the kind of thing that makes the Oscars feel less like an industry event and more like a gathering of people who have spent decades in the same complicated business.

The lobby bar also offered a window into how stars unwind between the evening’s biggest moments. After Sean Penn, who was absent from the ceremony, took the best supporting actor award, Jacob Elordi made his way to the bar. He kept his mother close, his arm around her shoulder, and ordered Don Julio 1942 tequila with ice and lime. Across the room, Nicole Kidman socialized and laughed with those around her, a glass of champagne in hand.

Penn’s absence added an unusual note to the night. He won the award without being present to collect it, leaving others to fill the space his win might otherwise have occupied. The reasons behind his decision not to attend have drawn considerable attention in the days since.

For those who were inside the Dolby Theatre, though, the camera-ready moments were often secondary to the ones that happened in passing. A daughter reassured by a staffer. A son keeping his mother close at the bar. A screen legend receiving a quiet compliment from a younger colleague.

The Oscars have always run on two tracks simultaneously. There is the broadcast, carefully timed and globally distributed, and there is everything happening just off camera, in the lobby, in the aisles, in the low murmur between seats during a commercial break. Sunday’s ceremony was no different. The winners and the speeches and the fashion will be analyzed and debated for weeks. But the image of Kate Hudson, Goldie Hawn, and Kurt Russell laughing together in the lobby while an awards show carried on without them captures something the broadcast rarely does.

The people inside that building are, for one night, caught between performance and genuine feeling. The cameras catch the performance. The lobby catches the rest.