Beverly Hills, California — On Tuesday, almost all of the 230 people nominated for Oscars in 24 categories came together for the Academy Award nominees luncheon. This event serves as a celebration, a group photo opportunity, and an introduction to next month's big presentation.
Jessie Buckley, Timothée Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Emma Stone were all nominated. They ate lunch and took a class photo with nominees for honors like best animated short and the new casting Oscar.
The ballroom at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, was notably full of nominees for "Sinners," the most nominated movie ever. Some of the nominees were star Michael B. Jordan and director Ryan Coogler.
In July, Lynette Howell Taylor was elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She spoke to the Oscar nominees for the first time and told them how to manage their acceptance speeches if they win.
"Get ready," she said. "Don't say you didn't see it coming." You have a 20% chance of winning.
She told the winners not to try to thank everyone they could think of, but to "make it heartfelt." She also told them to choose one person to speak for the group of winners and keep their statements to 45 seconds.
The lunch is very fair, with big stars and small names mingling and seasoned nominees posing for pictures with first-time nominees.
Craig Renaud, whose short documentary "Armed Only With a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud" was nominated for best documentary short, got to talk to DiCaprio, who was nominated for best actor for "One Battle After Another," at the tables before the group shot.
Mohammaddreza Eyni, who co-directed the documentary feature nominee "Cutting Through Rocks" with Sara Khaki, talked about his movie with Ethan Hawke, who was nominated for best actor for "Blue Moon."
The most important part of the event is the roll call, where all the nominees who are there are called to the stage. It sounds a lot like the names being read at a high school graduation. When nominees leave, they even get a certificate that looks like a graduation. When she got hers on the way out, best supporting actress nominee Elle Fanning shouted, "Woo-hoo!" and asked for a picture with it.
Lou Diamond Phillips, an actor and member of the Academy Board of Governors, recited this year's roll call. It started with Delroy Lindo, who was nominated for best supporting actor for "Sinners," and finished with Teyana Taylor, who was nominated for best supporting actress for "One Battle After Another," its greatest contender.
The lunch was a return to tradition after last year's was canceled because of the flames that were destroying Southern California. It was replaced by a cocktail party with the class picture just a few days before the ceremony.
Many nominees were thrilled to see each other when they got there. Steven Spielberg, who was nominated for best picture for "Hamnet," talked to Paul Thomas Anderson, who was nominated for best director for "One Battle," in the lobby. Anderson was leaning on an Oscar statue when Spielberg took a picture of him.
Chloé Zhao, who is vying for her second Oscar for best director for "Hamnet," hugged Janet Yang, the previous head of the academy.
Jacob Elordi, who is 6 feet 5 inches tall, hugged Oliver Laxe, the director of Sirât, who is almost as tall as he is, near the entrance. Most of the cameras in the room turned to them. "Frankenstein" and "Sirât" are both up for best foreign movie, and Elordi is up for best supporting actor.
Howell proudly mentioned during her remarks that members of the Academy from 88 countries voted for the nominees. There was at least one international nominee in every category.
