Oscars 2026: Paul Thomas Anderson wins first award
Paul Thomas Anderson has won his first Academy Award in 14 nominations.
Paul Thomas Anderson won his first Academy Award on Sunday (15.03.26) night.
The 55-year-old filmmaker scooped the Best Adapted Screenplay award for One Battle After Another ahead of Bugonia' Will Tracy, Frankenstein's Guillermo del Toro, Hamnet' Chloe Zhao and Maggie O'Farrell, and Train Dreams' Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar, and he admitted he was "incredibly honoured" by the recognition.
Speaking on stage at Los Angeles' Dolby Theatre, Paul - who has received 14 Academy Award nominations over the years - said: "Thank you very, very much. I’m incredibly honoured to be part of this history. This is an adaption so I owe a huge debt of admiration and love to Thomas Pynchon.
"Any writer knows you either beg for forgiveness or your special thanks is really to your family and the people you share a roof with who put up with what it means to be a writer…
“I wrote this movie for my kids to say sorry for the housekeeping mess we left this world in that we’re handing off to them but also the encouragement that they will be the generation that hopefully brings us some common sense and decency."
Meanwhile, Ryan Coogler received a standing ovation when he took the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for Sinners.
Like Paul, he had a poignant message for his children as he accepted the honour.
He said: "Please, please, please sit down because I'm very nervous and they'll play me off.
I want to thank the Academy for thinking of our movie which came out almost a year ago, this is an incredible honour.
"I want to thank my fellow nominees, I want to thank y'all for the gifts of your movies an your friendship.
"I want to thank everyone involved in this movie, all my cast and crew stand up, you guys are amazing. You all are winners in my book...
"Zinzi you're the best wife and mom in the world, every day I get to spend with you is better than the one before it.
"To my parents who are here, thank you for all the memories, thank you for making me believe in myself.
"To my babies who are at home watching, I apologise for all the time being away, dad loves you, memories are all that we have, I hope I've given you some great ones. If you're blessed to live a long life and dad becomes a distant memory, I want y'all to remember this one thing, that dad loves you."
Ryan won the award ahead of Robert Kaplow for Blue Moon, Jafar Panahi and collaborators Nader Saïvar, Shadmehr Rastin, and Mehdi Mahmoudian for It Was Just An Accident, Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie for Marty Supreme, and Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier for Sentimental Value.
