Oscar history seems to love a good curveball. If one year it is Adrien Brody shocking the room as the youngest best actor, the next it is Olivia Colman toppling Glenn Close's apparently unbeatable record, combined with Anthony Hopkins winning while literally asleep at home. The Academy has never been predictable.

But what happens is that, this unpredictability is exactly what keeps the awards night endlessly fascinating for movie lovers everywhere.

Even among these astounding moments, there might only be a few that can contend with the night Beatrice Straight turned just five minutes of screen time into Oscar history.

Sidney Lumet's sharp satire Network stormed the 1977 Oscars with ten nominations and walked away with four victories. Among them was Beatrice Straight, claiming Best Supporting Actress for her role as Louise Schumacher. Playing the heartbroken spouse of William Holden's character, Max Schumacher. Straight shone in her scenes as the betrayed wife, unleashing a whirlwind of raw feelings amid her husband's affair.

While leads Peter Finch and Faye Dunaway earned Oscars for their meaty parts in the film, Beatrice Straight clocked in at roughly five minutes on screen. Louise, in fact, became a key piece in Network's biting narrative, and Straight's impact, capped by that golden statuette, feels even more remarkable given her brief appearance. 

The edge also prevailed over her fellow nominees from Network, like William Holden and Ned Beatty, with the latter squeezing in about six minutes. Straight triumphed over heavy hitters in the Best Supporting Actress race, including Jane Alexander for All the President's Men, Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver, Lee Grant from Voyage of the Damned, and Piper Laurie in Carrie.

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On the topic of breaking records and Oscars, coming back to 2026, composer Ludwig Göransson will set many records if his Sinners score wins the Academy. 

Ludwig Göransson already boasts wins for Black Panther in 2019 and Oppenheimer in 2024. His competition comes in the form of a five-way tie for the century's most original score Oscars against the likes of Howard Shore, Gustavo Santaolalla, Trent Reznor, and Atticus Ross. Their works in The Lord of the Rings, Brokeback Mountain, Babel, The Social Network, and Soul have formed the basis.

Alexandre Desplat is also a contender with the scores for The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Shape of Water under his belt.

A victory would make him the first composer since Santaolalla to claim back-to-back Oscars, who did so in 2006 and 2007. At forty-one, Göransson would trail only André Previn as the youngest to snag a third Oscar for Best Score, after triumphing on his first two score nominations.

While Ludwig Göransson's streak would become a feast of scores on one side of the Academy, Beatrice Straight's record could be remembered as a streak-breaker on the other, yet both, part of showbiz's glimmering history. 

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What are other short screen time performances you think should have won the Oscars? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.