Hoosiers in Hollywood for the 2026 Oscars
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Indianapolis native Chase Infiniti at the 32nd Annual Actor Awards in Los Angeles. Photo: Emma McIntyre/FilmMagic
A pair of North Central High School grads are ready for their close-ups on Hollywood's biggest stage.
Why it matters: The presence of Chase Infiniti and Steve Pinder at the 98th Academy Awards gives Hoosiers another reason to tune in Sunday night.
Driving the news: In front of the lens, Infiniti dazzled audiences in her film debut as one of the leads in Paul Thomas Anderson's best picture nominee "One Battle After Another."
- Playing the daughter of Leonardo DiCaprio and Teyana Taylor, the 25-year-old stood shoulder-to-shoulder with veteran silver screen heavyweights Sean Penn and Regina King in some of the movie's most gripping moments.
Yes, but: Despite contributing to the film's success and earning 13 Oscar nominations, she was snubbed in her effort to be considered in the lead actress category.
- She will take the stage Sunday as a presenter.
Yes, but but: Infiniti is still getting her flowers.
- She snagged best actress nominations at the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the BAFTA Film Awards.
- On Thursday, the 19th Essence Black Women in Hollywood luncheon recognized her as one of this year's Starlet honorees and presented an award by Taylor.
- "It's an incredible honor," she told Essence. "I'm getting the opportunity to work with people who I've looked up to for so long, and also be, I guess, one of the faces of the new generation of Hollywood. And hopefully I can connect with the people who are coming after me."
Fun fact: Infiniti's parents named her after Nicole Kidman's "Batman Forever" character Chase Meridian, and Buzz Lightyear's "to infinity and beyond" catchphrase from "Toy Story."
Behind the camera, Pinder is going for gold as the co-writer and co-director of "Jane Austen's Period Drama," a nominee in the best live action short category.
- The 13-minute comedy is the latest collab between Pinder and Julia Aks, who went viral on YouTube in 2019 for their parody of Ariana Grande's "7 Rings" that references "The Sound of Music."
- The 2011 Indiana University graduate, who went by the last name Greist before taking on a professional surname, told IBJ he and Aks got support for "Jane Austen's Period Drama" from two-time Oscar winner Emma Thompson.
- The entire film can be watched now on YouTube.
What he's saying: Pinder told the Indiana Daily Student that the Regency era of Austen's novels provided the perfect backdrop for a quick comedy about that time of the month.
- "Everybody has, like, very stiff posture, and they're very polite and they try very hard to sort of talk around uncomfortable subjects," he said. "And so that dynamic creates a wonderful conflict when suddenly you're dealing with something like menstruation that nobody wants to talk about."
Fun fact: Pinder's film was shortlisted as one of 15 Oscar finalists on Jane Austen's 250th birthday before getting an official nomination two months later.
How to watch: 7pm on ABC and Hulu.