ADVERTISEMENT

Glitz and glam: Stars rehearse for the Oscars

Published Mar 15, 2026 08:32 am
The cast of the film 'Bridesmaids' (from left) Melissa McCarthy, Ellie Kemper, Rose Byrne, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Maya Rudolph, and Kristen Wiig (AP)
The cast of the film 'Bridesmaids' (from left) Melissa McCarthy, Ellie Kemper, Rose Byrne, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Maya Rudolph, and Kristen Wiig (AP)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The “Bridesmaids” gathered for a rehearsal the day before the big show, but this time they’re playing the role of awards presenter. Melissa McCartney, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Kristen Wiig and Ellie Kemper took the stage at the Dolby Theatre Saturday to run through their lines one last time.
The Associated Press got a behind the scenes look at some of what’s to come during the 98th Oscars Sunday, with a few big caveats: What they’re presenting and what they’ll be saying are to be left surprises.
But 15 years after “Bridesmaids” hit theaters, the actors looked happy to be together again, laughing and chatting and blowing kisses to the theoretical audience. Wiig especially had Byrne in stitches as they got ready for their cue. But when it came for the rehearsal Wiig turned de factor director, asking about lighting timings and camera cuts to make sure that their bit landed just right.
Byrne is in the unusual position of also being a nominee Sunday for her leading performance in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.” All were dressed informally, except for their sky-high show heels.
The male actors tend to be more casual with their footwear. Both Javier Bardem and Adrien Brody wore sneakers. Most of the presenters are also in and out of the room fairly quickly with their power publicists and agents ushering them along, but Bardem ventured into the auditorium to greet and chat with Academy president Lynette Howell Taylor and CEO Bill Kramer.
“Am I fired?” he asked with a laugh. “I promise I’ll learn the lines.”
Brody, who won best actor last year, ran through his script several times. Sporting a black T-shirt with “Hollywood” printed on the front in big, white, block letters, a black baseball hat and red-rimmed sunglasses, he looked serious as he knelt and discussed something with a producer.
There was an air of calm inside the theater with just 24 hours until showtime as producers, technicians and camera operators milled about going through their tasks. Rehearsals have been going on for a few days now, and more will continue into the evening. Friday, the theater hosted the rehearsal for “I Lied to You,” from “Sinners,” which Kramer promised will be “epic.”
“There’s not a bad beat,” Kramer said. “It’s a stacked show.”
In addition to a planned Marvel reunion, likely with Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow, producers said there will also be a “Moulin Rouge!” reunion with Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor taking the stage together.
The Academy Awards, hosted again by Conan O’Brien, will be held on Sunday at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The show, to be broadcast live by ABC, is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });

Sign up by email to receive news.