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Oscars Host Conan O’Brien, Still Displaced by Wildfires, Says the Show Is Being Planned Sensitively

Conan O'Brien attends the premiere of "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You" during the Sundance Film Festival on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, at Library Theatre in Park City, Utah. (AP)
Conan O'Brien attends the premiere of "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You" during the Sundance Film Festival on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, at Library Theatre in Park City, Utah. (AP)
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Oscars Host Conan O’Brien, Still Displaced by Wildfires, Says the Show Is Being Planned Sensitively

Conan O'Brien attends the premiere of "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You" during the Sundance Film Festival on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, at Library Theatre in Park City, Utah. (AP)
Conan O'Brien attends the premiere of "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You" during the Sundance Film Festival on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, at Library Theatre in Park City, Utah. (AP)

Oscars host Conan O'Brien says he's still unable to live in his home due to the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles and that the show's organizers “want to be sensitive to what's happened” to residents.

“Everybody I know has been affected,” O'Brien told The Associated Press Friday. “I’m out of my house. Fortunately, my house, ... the fire got very close but my house survived. But we won’t be back in there for a long time. And I’m the lucky one. I mean, I know so many people who lost their homes and I’m just, was ridiculously lucky. So we want to make sure that that show reflects what’s happening and that we put a light on the right people in the right way.”

Thousands of Angelenos had their homes destroyed in wildfires that tore through the Pacific Palisades and Altadena neighborhoods this month. Many of those whose homes survived cannot yet return due to smoke or other damage.

O'Brien was tapped last year to host the 97th Academy Awards, which will be held March 2 in Los Angeles. The fires twice postponed the academy's nominations announcement, which was held Thursday; “Emilia Pérez” emerged as the leading nominee.

The fires have upended Hollywood's awards season and effectively turned it into a pledge drive. Some have questioned whether the Oscars should be canceled but its organizers say they will transform the show in a way that “unites us as a global film community and acknowledge those who fought so bravely against the wildfires.”

“We want to be sensitive to the moment and we want to be sensitive to what’s happened,” O'Brien said Friday. “It is top of our minds and we are talking about it a lot.”

“The Oscars is still I think it’s five weeks away. And we want to make sure that we process all of that and that we put on the best show for March 2. Not the best show that we thought of tonight. Not the best show for March 3, the best show for March 2 that reflects what people are feeling in that moment.”

O'Brien, the former “Tonight Show” host, spoke at the premiere of his latest film, “If I had Legs I'd Kick You,” which also stars Rose Byrne.

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Entertainment

Mel Gibson’s ‘Flight Risk’ is No. 1 at Box Office, ‘The Brutalist’ Expands

FILE - Mel Gibson, right, interacts with crowd members as he leaves a Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony for actor Vince Vaughn, on Aug. 12, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
FILE - Mel Gibson, right, interacts with crowd members as he leaves a Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony for actor Vince Vaughn, on Aug. 12, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
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Mel Gibson’s ‘Flight Risk’ is No. 1 at Box Office, ‘The Brutalist’ Expands

FILE - Mel Gibson, right, interacts with crowd members as he leaves a Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony for actor Vince Vaughn, on Aug. 12, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
FILE - Mel Gibson, right, interacts with crowd members as he leaves a Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony for actor Vince Vaughn, on Aug. 12, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

Critics lambasted it and audiences didn’t grade it much better. But despite the turbulence, Mel Gibson’s “Flight Risk” managed to open No. 1 at the box office with a modest $12 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
On a quiet weekend, even for the typically frigid movie-going month of January, the top spot went to the Lionsgate thriller starring Mark Wahlberg as a pilot flying an Air Marshal (Michelle Dockery) and fugitive (Topher Grace) across Alaska. But it wasn’t a particularly triumphant result for Gibson’s directorial follow-up to 2016’s “Hacksaw Ridge.” Reviews (21% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and audience scores (a “C” CinemaScore) were terrible.
President Donald Trump recently named Gibson a “special ambassador” to Hollywood, along with Jon Voight and Sylvester Stallone.
Going into the weekend, Hollywood’s attention was more focused on the Sundance Film Festival and on Thursday’s Oscar nominations, which were twice postponed by the wildfires in the Los Angeles region, The Associated Press reported.
The weekend was also a small test as to whether the once more common Oscar “bump” that can sometimes follow nominations still exists. Most contenders have by now completed the bulk of their theatrical runs and are more likely to see an uptick on VOD or streaming.
But the weekend’s most daring gambit was A24 pushing Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist” a three–and-a-half-hour epic nominated for 10 Academy Awards, into wide release. Though some executives initially greeted “The Brutalist,” which is running with an intermission, as “un-distributable,” Corbet has said, A24 acquired the film out of the Venice Film Festival and it’s managed solid business, collecting $6 million in limited release.
In wide release, it earned $2.9 million — a far from blockbuster sum but the best weekend yet for “The Brutalist.”
The audience was downright miniscule for another best-picture nominee: RaMell Ross’ “Nickel Boys.” Innovatively shot almost entirely in first-person POV, the Amazon MGM Studios release gathered just $340,171 in 540 locations after expanding by 300 theaters.
Coming off one of the lowest Martin Luther King Jr. weekends in years, no new releases made a major impact.
Steven Soderbergh’s “Presence,” a well-reviewed horror film shot from the perspective of a ghost inside a suburban home, debuted with $3.4 million in 1,750 locations. The film, released by Neon and acquired out of last year’s Sundance, was made for just $2 million.
The top spots otherwise went to holdovers. The Walt Disney Co.’s “Mufasa: The Lion King,” in its sixth weekend of release, scored $8.7 million to hold second place. After starting slow, the Barry Jenkins-directed film has amassed $626.7 million globally.
“One of Them Days,” the Keke Palmer and SZA led comedy from Sony Pictures, held well in its second weekend, dropping just 32% with $8 million in ticket sales. In recent years, few comedies have found success on the big screen, but “One of Them Days” has proven an exception.