Jamie Lee Curtis and Shirley Kurata at the Oscar nominees Luncheon
As every year, before the most important night in Hollywood, the Oscar nominees are invited to a special luncheon.
Baz Luhrman and Cate Blanchet at the Oscar Nominees Luncheon
This party is the unofficial start of the countdown to the ceremony, where the stars get together, enjoy a fancy meal, have their pictures taken and generally get to know each other before the big night.
Diane Warren and Guillermo del Toro at the Oscar Nominees Luncheon
The event took place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The event featured opening remarks by Academy President Janet Yang.
Odessa Rae and Austin Butler at the Oscar Nominees Luncheon
For his part, Devon Franklin, member of the Board of Governors was in charge of reading the list of this year’s 182 attendees, which began with Jamie Lee Curtis and ended with Guillermo del Toro.
Oscar Nominees Luncheon
During the opening remarks, Yang addressed the attendees and made a request that they respect the rules and limit their speeches to 45 seconds, a most reasonable request but one that seems complicated to comply with, especially given the awards’ history. The president also addressed last year’s viral Will Smith controversy, though without mentioning his name.
Baz Luhrman, Brendan Gleeson and Austin Butler at the Oscar nominees Luncheon
Some of the most prominent names attending the event were best actress nominees Ana de Armas and Andrea Riseborough, supporting actor nominee Barry Keoghan, James Cameron, Rihamma, Lady Gaga or David Byrne.
Michelle Yeoh and Tom Cruise at the Oscar Nominees Luncheon
But one of the stars of the night was undoubtedly Tom Cruise, the actor could barely take two steps without someone from the industry approaching him to say hello or chat briefly with him.
Tom Cruise and Steven Spierlberg at the Oscars nominees Luncheon
Among them were Brendan Gleeson, Paul Mescal, Michelle Williams and Steven Spielberg himself.
Tia Carrere, Steven Spielberg and Ke Huy Juan at the Oscar Nominees Luncheon
The Oscar Awards gala will take place next Sunday, March 12 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Guests at the Oscar Nominees Luncheon
In this 95th edition of the Oscar Awards, the presenter and host of the gala will be the comedian and producer Jimmy Kimmel, this being the third time he has been invited to carry out this mission.