The left viewers and audience members in tears when it paid tribute to the slain actor and filmmaker on Sunday night.
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Rob Reiners Circle Honors Murdered Director at Oscars
The Academy Awards left viewers and audience members in tears when it paid tribute to the slain actor and filmmaker Rob Reiner on Sunday night.Leading the emoti...
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Leading the emotional tribute, which preceded the 2026 Oscars' In Memoriam segment, was Reiner's longtime friend Billy Crystal.
Crystal, who starred in Reiner's iconic romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally, delivered a somber but loving speech about his friend.
At the conclusion of the segment, a bevy of A-list stars who had appeared in Reiner's films over the years joined forces on stage and linked hands as they remembered their fallen pal.
The tribute comes in the wake of Reiner's tragic death at 78.
The filmmaker and his wife Michele, 70, were murdered on December 14 at their home, allegedly at the hands of their 32-year-old son Nick Reiner.
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The Academy Awards left viewers and audience members in tears when it paid tribute to the slain actor and filmmaker Rob Reiner on Sunday night. Leading the emotional tribute, which preceded the 2026 Oscars' In Memoriam segment, was Reiner's longtime friend Billy Crystal
Reiner, 78, and his wife Michele, 70, were murdered on December 14 at their home, allegedly at the hands of their 32-year-old son Nick Reiner; Rob and Michele Reiner pictured in 2019 in LA
At the conclusion of the segment, a bevy of A-list stars who had appeared in Reiner's films over the years joined forces on stage and linked hands as they remembered their fallen pal
Crystal looked back on his decades-long friendship with Reiner, which fittingly began when Crystal was cast as Reiner's best friend on All In The Family in 1975.
Crystal recalled that the shoot 'went so well' that Reiner told him after it wrapped, 'You know, it was fun playing your best friend. Why don't we keep it going?'
'It was a thrill to see him evolve from a great comic actor to a master storyteller,' Crystal continued, before marveling that Reiner was able to direct a comedy classic like This Is Spinal Tap on his first try behind the camera.
A source has revealed that the Academy wanted When Harry Met Sally stars Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal to honor the late director; the three were picture on set of When Harry Met Sally
Stand By Me actors Jerry O'Connell and Wil Wheaton were also reportedly invited to participate, but not Corey Feldman, who also starred in the 1986 movie; (L–R) Wheaton, O'Connell, Feldman and the late River Phoenix in Stand By Me
Feldman, 54, was said to be 'devastated' about his exclusion, which he considered a 'slap in the face'; He's seen in March 2025 in La
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Feldman, 54, was said to be 'devastated' about his exclusion, which he considered a 'slap in the face.'
The source said that Feldman 'loved Rob and expected to be asked, especially since Jerry and Wil were asked.'
They added that Feldman would 'love to be there, to honor Rob,' even if he wasn't part of the tribute.
The insider added that O'Connell and Wheaton had 'reached out to the Academy' for answers as to why Feldman had been excluded.
The Daily Mail reached out to Feldman, O'Connell, Wheaton and the Academy for comment.
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In 2020, Feldman resigned from SAG-AFTRA's Los Angeles Local Sexual Harassment Committee after SAG-AFTRA's national board passed a resolution saying that it had received 'numerous separate, detailed complaints from women who had been subject to or witness to sexual harassment, abuse and assault' from Feldman.
Feldman denied the accusations and claimed they had been made by the same women two years before in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
The 98th are celebrating the best films of 2025, with the glitzy ceremony taking place at the Dolby Theatre in .
Conan O'Brien, 62, is returning to host the show for a second consecutive year after taking over the role from .
Ryan Coogler's Sinners leads the pack with a record-breaking 16 nominations, the most for any film in Academy Awards history.
The horror flick is one of the ten films up for Best Picture alongside Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value and Train Dreams.
Sinners star Michael B. Jordan faces a stacked Best Actor category, competing against fellow nominees (Marty Supreme), Leonardo (One Battle After Another), (Blue Moon), and Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent).
Set in 1930s , Sinners follows twin brothers (both played by Jordan) who return to their hometown only to face a supernatural evil.
Ryan Coogler's Sinners leads the pack with a record-breaking 16 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Michael B. Jordan
Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another landed in second place with 13 nominations, including Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio, Supporting Actor nods for Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn, as well as a Supporting Actress nomination for Teyana Taylor
Marty Supreme, directed by Josh Safdie, netted nine Oscar nods, with leading man Timothee Chalamet up for Best Actor and the movie nominated for Best Picture
The Best Actor race is currently a dead heat. While Chalamet dominated the early season with wins at the Golden Globes and Critics' Choice Awards, the momentum shifted after Jordan won at the Actor Awards, formerly known as the SAG Awards.
Adding to the tension, the ceremony arrives on the heels of Chalamet's controversial comments about how 'no one cares' about ballet or opera, which sparked a wave of backlash from the arts community.
Based on the life of professional ping-pong player Marty Reisman, Josh Safdie's Marty Supreme stars Chalamet as a table tennis prodigy in 1950s New York whose ambition to become world champion jeopardizes his personal relationships.
Irish star Jessie Buckley is the frontrunner in the Best Actress category for her work in Hamnet. She faces a star-studded field including Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I would Kick You), Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue), Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value), and Emma Stone (Bugonia).
Helmed by 2021's Best Director winner Chloe Zhao, Hamnet dives into the reimagined story of William Shakespeare's home life and how the death of his 11-year-old son provided the emotional blueprint for his masterpiece, Hamlet.
Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another earned 13 nominations.
Along with a Best Director nod, the film also nabbed a Best Actor mention for DiCaprio, and Supporting Actor nods for Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn.
The black comedy action-thriller follows a washed-up ex-revolutionary (DiCaprio) who is forced to come out from hiding to rescue his daughter, after she is targeted by his former nemesis, a corrupt military officer (Penn).
Irish star Jessie Buckley is the frontrunner in the Best Actress category for her work in Chloe Zhao's Hamnet, which is also up for Best Picture
Yorgos Lanthimos's Bugonia earned a Best Actress nod for Emma Stone
Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein secured nine nominations. Leading the film's acting honors is Jacob Elordi, who earned a Best Supporting Actor nod for his portrayal of the Creature
Aside from Penn and del Toro, the Best Supporting Actor category includes Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein), Delroy Lindo (Sinners) and Stellan Skarsgard (Sentimental Value).
Paul Mescal (Hamnet), Adam Sandler (Jay Kelly), and Jesse Plemons (Bugonia) were the most notable snubs from the category.
Frankenstein and Sentimental Value both earned nine nominations at this year's ceremony.
Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein is a lavish reimagining of Mary Shelley's classic, focusing on a heart-wrenching tale of a father's rejection and a creature's quest for love.
Meanwhile, Joachim Trier's Sentimental Value follows two sisters forced to reconcile with their estranged filmmaker father.
Nominees for Best Supporting Actress include Elle Fanning (Sentimental Value), Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Sentimental Value), Amy Madigan (Weapons), Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners) and Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another).
There was a massive backlash after Ariana Grande was snubbed in the Supporting category for Wicked: For Good.
She had been nominated last year for her work in the first film of the musical franchise.
Conan O'Brien, 62, is returning to host the show for a second consecutive year after taking over the role from Jimmy Kimmel; Pictured in 2025
Wicked: For Good was completely shut out of nominations. This came despite an acclaimed leading performance by Cynthia Erivo, as well as new songs written for the film, including No Place Like Home and The Girl In The Bubble.
Gwyneth Paltrow was also left off the list in the category for her work in Marty Supreme.
There was a new award announced this year for Best Casting as the inaugural field includes: Nina Gold - Hamnet, Jennifer Venditti - Marty Supreme, Cassandra Kulukundis - One Battle After Another, Gabriel Domingues - The Secret Agent, and Francine Maisler - Sinners.
The ceremony kicks off at 7pm ET/ 4pm PT, airing live on ABC and streaming live on Hulu. It will also be streaming via Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, AT&T TV and FuboTV.
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