The nominees for this year met to celebrate as the 95th Academy Awards drew near. A number of celebrities attended the 95th annual Oscars nominees luncheon on Monday at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, including Tom Cruise, Brendan Fraser, Hong Chau, Angela Bassett, Austin Butler, Michelle Williams, Steven Spielberg, and more nominees.
Paul Mescal and Michelle Yeoh, who both received nominations for their main roles in the films Everything Everywhere at Once and Aftersun, respectively, met and hugged each other as they arrived at the ceremony.
Butler, a 31-year-old Elvis impersonator, Bassett, 64, a star in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and Cruise, 60, were seen embracing, congratulating one another on their success, and shaking hands.
At the event, Spielberg, 76, and Cruise, who is up for a Best Picture nomination as a producer on the Top Gun: Maverick sequel, caught up. (He and the filmmaker worked together to produce the films Minority Report (2002) and War of the Worlds (2005).)
A harvest salad, scallops with king oyster mushrooms, wild mushroom risotto, roasted Brussels sprouts, baby carrots, and pea tendrils were all on the menu for the celebrity-studded event. Dessert was also featured. An opera cake, ganache, and fresh berries were offered to the guests as dessert.
Throughout the luncheon on Monday, Cruise sometimes said to People, “This is fun.” I find it enjoyable. Janet Yang, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, spoke at the ceremony about Will Smith’s notorious slap on Chris Rock during the previous year’s Oscars, informing the nominees in the room that the Academy’s original response to the incident was “inadequate.”
Smith resigned from the Academy after apologizing; the Academy had given him a 10-year attendance restriction.
In a speech, Yang stated, “We learned from this that the Academy must be totally open and responsible in its operations, and particularly in times of crisis we must act immediately, compassionately, and resolutely for ourselves and our industry.”
As we move forward, you should and can expect no less from us. Inspiring young people who want to work in the film business is part of the Academy’s attempts to “keep the highest standards while bringing about the improvements we desire to see” in the industry, Yang continued.
Yang noted during the luncheon that this is how the future global cinema community will be created, one that is receptive to concepts and cultures from all over the world. I want everyone to concentrate their efforts on preserving the beautiful, bright community we call home.
After a rousing round of applause, Jamie Lee Curtis was invited forward to pose for the group photo with all the candidates present for the luncheon.
Yang first briefed the candidates for this year: “The 45-second restriction is one of the rules we require of individuals who are honored to speak on stage during Oscar night. There is a 45-second time limit on your acceptance speech.
We had to make the remarks brief since we had to work so hard to keep all of the prizes live this year.” The Hollywood Dolby Theatre will host the 95th Academy Awards on Sunday, March 12. Jimmy Kimmel, a late-night host, will once again serve as the show’s host, and it will be broadcast live on ABC.
