The 2026 Oscars, taking place on March 15, will be hosted by Conan O’Brien.
Conan O’Brien has revealed that one of this year’s Best Picture nominees completely stumped him and his writing team.
The host admitted that they wrote 5,000 jokes about Train Dreams — only to scrap every single one.
Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on March 11, just days before his return as Oscars host on March 15, Conan O’Brien shared the closest thing his team managed to a joke about Joel Edgerton’s film Train Dreams.
“Train Dreams was nominated for Best Picture. Finally, a movie that proves being a Pacific Northwest lumberjack in the early 1900s wasn’t as fun as it sounds,” O’Brien quipped. The audience reaction was muted, with only a few having seen the film.
“No! No! No! Pity applause doesn’t work,” he shot back. “You waited, you were sad, as I was. That’s why you’re not gonna see this joke.”
Earlier in the interview, O’Brien had flagged the difficulty to host Jimmy Kimmel:
“There are times where there are certain areas we cannot crack. One of them is the movie Train Dreams. Can’t get a good joke for Train Dreams, which means there is no good joke for Train Dreams.”
He added with characteristic self-deprecation: “And these are very good writers, so I blame Train Dreams. It’s a beautiful movie, but no joke sticks to it.”
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