They picked "The Ugly Stepsister" for Makeup & Hairstyling: "I jumped out of my skin!" With final Oscar balloting closed on March 5, we’re running our ninth annual series of  anonymous   interviews  with Academy voters from different branches for their unfiltered takes on what got picked, overlooked, and overvalued in the 2026 award season. Voters’ picks are in bold. Interview edited for brevity. This director saw over 300 movies last year, turned off “Avatar: Fire & Ash” midway through, and