Oscar nominees luncheon: Largest turnout in history with 182 nominees
In continuation of the annual ceremony of celebrating Oscar nominees, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences hosted the 41st Oscar Nominees Luncheon on Monday. A total of 182 nominees attended the grand in-person event at the Beverly Hilton Hotel and witnessed the opening remarks from Academy president Janet Yang. From Tom Cruise to MM Keeravani, here's every celebrity who was in attendance.
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A bright and optimistic gathering of its kind took place Monday, ahead of the 95th Academy Awards that will be held on March 12 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, which will be hosted by American TV host Jimmy Kimmel. The annual luncheon allows nominees from all the categories to meet and mingle before the big night and this year was no different.
'RRR' composer Keeravani, 'All That Breathes' director Shaunak Sen attended
India has scored three nominations at this year's Academy Awards including Best Original Song -RRR's Naatu Naatu), Best Documentary Feature Film - Shaunak Sen's All That Breathes, and Best Documentary Short Film - The Elephant Whisperers. At the star-studded luncheon, composer Keeravani made an appearance with Naatu Naatu lyricist Chandrabose. Meanwhile, Sen, producer Guneet Monga, and director Kartiki Gonsalves also attended the ceremony.
Here's the list of all the attendees
This year's attendees at the luncheon included ace director Steven Spielberg (The Fablemans), a 15-time nominee Roger Deakins (Empire of Light), Top Gun: Maverick actor Cruise, Fabelmans's Michelle Williams, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery's Rian Johnson, Babylon's designer Mary Zophres, and 14-time nominee Diane Warren. Newcomer nominees included The Whale's Brendan Fraser and Hong Chau, Elvis's Austin Butler, and Aftersun's Paul Mescal.
Nominees who did not attend the grand luncheon
More than 200 guests attended the luncheon, of which 182 were official nominees. Although, some of the prominent names missing included actors Ana de Armas (Blonde), Andrea Riseborough (To Leslie), and Barry Keoghan (The Banshees of Inisherin), producer James Cameron (Avatar: The Way of Water), Rihanna (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), Lady Gaga (Top Gun: Maverick), and David Byrne (Everything Everywhere All at Once).
Academy president asked nominees to keep speeches short
Yang addressed the room of attendees and asked them to keep their speeches to 45 seconds in total, as there are 23 categories this year. In her opening remarks, she also referenced the Will Smith controversy, without mentioning names, that marred the 94th Oscars ceremony. She stated that what happened on the stage was wholly unacceptable and the response from the organization was "inadequate."
