The 98th Academy Awards took place last Monday in LA, with the major prize going to One Battle After Another.

It dominated the night with six wins  - including Best Picture and Best Director, edging out Sinners.

Best Costume Design went to New Zealander Kate Hawley for Frankenstein, and the Weta FX team won Best Visual Effects for Avatar: Fire and Ash.

Entertainment correspondent Steve Newall recapped the 2026 event.

LISTEN ABOVE

The 98th Academy Awards took place last Monday in LA, with the major prize going to One Battle After Another.
It dominated the night with six wins &nbsp;- including Best Picture and Best Director, edging out Sinners.
Best Costume Design went to New Zealander Kate Hawley for Frankenstein, and the Weta FX team won Best Visual Effects for Avatar: Fire and Ash.
Entertainment correspondent Steve Newall recapped the 2026 event.
LISTEN ABOVE

News, opinion, analysis, lifestyle and entertainment – we’ve got your Sunday morning listening covered with The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin on Newstalk ZB.

The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

Steve Newall: entertainment correspondent on recaps the 2026 Oscars

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/713d0a79-f828-48f9-9d00-b41401767ed3/transcript

& Juliet has taken Broadway and the West End by storm and earned 8 Olivier nominations and it's set to debut in New Zealand.

The show was created by Schitt’s Creek writer David West Read and it offers a new twist on the Shakespeare classic, where Juliet gets to live out her own story - soundtracked by Max Martin hits everyone knows. 

Kiwi actress and singer Awhimai Fraser is set to star and director Hamish Mouat is in charge of bringing the show to life - and they're promising everyone will be on their feet by the end. 

"There's great humour in it, but there's great heart and there are these really amazing stories of discovery and identity and standing up for yourself and what you believe in and who you believe you should be."

LISTEN ABOVE

&amp; Juliet has taken Broadway and the West End by storm and earned 8 Olivier nominations and it's set to debut in New Zealand.
The show was created by Schitt’s Creek writer David West Read and it offers a new twist on the Shakespeare classic, where Juliet gets to live out her own story - soundtracked by Max Martin hits everyone knows.&nbsp;
Kiwi actress and singer Awhimai Fraser is set to star and director Hamish Mouat is in charge of bringing the show to life - and they're promising everyone will be on their feet by the end.&nbsp;
"There's great humour in it, but there's great heart and there are these really amazing stories of discovery and identity and standing up for yourself and what you believe in and who you believe you should be."
LISTEN ABOVE

Awhimai Fraser and Hamish Mouat: Kiwi singer and actress and & Juliet director on launching the hit musical in NZ

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/7982102d-58a7-4558-936b-b415000b76a2/transcript

Kiwi actress Madeleine Sami's been successful across the Tasman, and she's drawing in more international acclaim.

Fresh from directing a NZ series called The Sanctuary in West Auckland and getting the nod to be the new host of The Traitors, she's back on our screens for the second season of Deadloch, and it's a hit with critics. 

She says it feels 'pretty cool' to be part of something that people are really connecting to, and it's a privilege to be part of the series.

"I'm really grateful and I'm happy and I'm excited, it's so exciting to get to go to a place like Darwin, which is so far away from New Zealand, and so different." 

LISTEN ABOVE

Kiwi actress Madeleine Sami's been successful across the Tasman, and she's drawing in more international acclaim.
Fresh from directing a NZ series called The Sanctuary in West Auckland and getting the nod to be the new host of The Traitors, she's back on our screens for the second season of Deadloch, and it's a hit with critics.&nbsp;
She says it feels 'pretty cool' to be part of something that people are really connecting to, and it's a privilege to be part of the series.
"I'm really grateful and I'm happy and I'm excited, it's so exciting to get to go to a place like Darwin, which is so far away from New Zealand, and so different."&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE

Madeleine Sami: Kiwi actress on the release of the second season of Deadloch

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/498eba6c-c044-4f4b-9ef5-b4150003ff6c/transcript

Look What You Made Me Do by John Lanchester. This book is marvellous - the premise being that every marriage has its own language which is meaningless to anyone listening in. A new Netflix show called Cheating becomes the talk of the town and appears to contain verbatim words and phrases which were unique to Kate and Jack - but Jack has died and Kate’s left wondering whether their long and faithful marriage was actually something else entirely. How else could the scriptwriter have possibly known? 

Kids, Wait till You Hear This! by Liza Minnelli. This is the memoir of the famous Liza with a z……she writes about growing up with her mother, Judy Garland, who was troubled and difficult and of course immensely talented; and about her career which started when she joined Judy on stage as a very young child and progressed to Broadway when still a teenager, and the subsequent remarkable career, addictions and many marriages. It’s full of famous names. She’s had an extraordinary life, and this is it in her own words. 

LISTEN ABOVE

Look What You Made Me Do by John Lanchester. This book is marvellous - the premise being that every marriage has its own language which is meaningless to anyone listening in. A new Netflix show called Cheating becomes the talk of the town and appears to contain verbatim words and phrases which were unique to Kate and Jack - but Jack has died and Kate’s left wondering whether their long and faithful marriage was actually something else entirely. How else could the scriptwriter have possibly known?&nbsp;
Kids, Wait till You Hear This! by Liza Minnelli. This is the memoir of the famous Liza with a z……she writes about growing up with her mother, Judy Garland, who was troubled and difficult and of course immensely talented; and about her career which started when she joined Judy on stage as a very young child and progressed to Broadway when still a teenager, and the subsequent remarkable career, addictions and many marriages. It’s full of famous names. She’s had an extraordinary life, and this is it in her own words.&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE

Whitcoulls Recommends: Look What You Made Me Do and Kids, Wait till You Hear This!

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/ff99d593-59e9-4ea5-aacd-b4140188ae74/transcript

Steve Newall: entertainment correspondent on recaps the 2026 Oscars

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