Conan O’Brien might be experiencing nightmares about the 2026 Oscars nominee, "Train Dreams." As he prepares to host the March 15 ceremony, the former late-night host confessed that his team and he had a plethora of "bad" jokes, especially since they struggled to come up with a witty remark about the Best Picture nominee. After writing thousands of jokes, they ultimately cut all of them. "This is the best 'Train Dreams' joke out of 5,000," Conan shared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on March 11. "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."
The response from the audience was lukewarm, with only a handful acknowledging that they had even seen the film starring Joel Edgerton about a logger and railroad worker in the early 20th century. "No! No! No! No! Pity applause doesn't work," Conan exclaimed to the crowd. "You waited, you were sad, as I was. That's why you're not gonna see this joke."
"There are times where there are certain areas we cannot crack," Conan had explained earlier in the interview with Jimmy Kimmel. "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."
The 62-year-old added, "And these are very good writers, so I blame Train Dreams. It’s a beautiful movie, but no joke sticks to it."
Despite this challenge, Conan has been trying every piece of material he can ahead of his second time hosting the Oscars, even testing out his jokes in front of live audiences by making surprise appearances at comedy clubs throughout Los Angeles.
"I get obsessive," he told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published on March 9. "I want to turn it off, but I can’t. That’s not always a fun ride, but that’s the deal. At 62, I understand it."
And despite the stress of hosting Hollywood’s biggest night, the opportunity to do so was one Conan could not turn down—although he had a very interesting reason as to why.
"There’s a little bearded Viking inside me," he said. "He’s been there since I was 10 years old. And when that Viking decides on something—whether it’s replacing David Letterman with no experience, skiing some advanced slope I have no business going down or hosting the Oscars, that’s what’s going to happen."
