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Inside the 2023 Oscar nominees luncheon: Stars mix and mingle

Actors Tom Cruise and Michelle Yeoh laugh as they fact each other in a crowd.
Tom Cruise and Michelle Yeoh attend the 95th Oscar nominees luncheon at the Beverly Hilton.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Paul Mescal chatted with Jenny Slate. Cate Blanchett tucked into her salad beside Tony Kushner. Tom Cruise gave Steven Spielberg a bear hug and congratulated the filmmaker, with whom he worked on “Minority Report” and “War of the Worlds,” on his latest film, “The Fabelmans” —“Beautiful stuff,” Cruise said, beaming. “Beautiful stuff.”

In all, more than 180 of this year’s Oscar contenders gathered on Monday afternoon at the annual nominees luncheon to celebrate their achievements — and pose together for Hollywood’s most illustrious class photo.

With the Academy Awards on March 12 only one month away, the gathering at the Beverly Hilton — the only Oscar-season stop at which a majority of the nominees are actually in the same room prior to the awards themselves — offered the chance to mix and mingle for those who might otherwise never cross paths.

A man in a suit shakes hands with a woman in traditional Pakistani dress.
Brendan Fraser and Malala Yousafzai.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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While the atmosphere at the luncheon, an academy tradition dating back to the early 1980s, was convivial and joyful, only 20% or so of the attendees will actually emerge victorious when Oscar season reaches its climax.

Film composer Carter Burwell (“The Banshees of Inisherin”), a nominee for the third time, wryly acknowledged the background hum of competition. “We should have a tug-of-war between the ‘Banshees’ crew and the ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ folks,” Burwell joked. “With Brendan Gleeson, I think we could take them.”

Taking the stage to welcome the nominees, Academy President Janet Yang attempted to address any lingering misgivings about last year’s Oscars telecast, which was upended when Will Smith struck Chris Rock over a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

“What happened onstage was wholly unacceptable, and the response from our organization was inadequate,” Yang said. “We learned from this that the academy must be fully transparent and accountable in our actions. And particularly in times of crisis, we must act swiftly, compassionately and decisively for ourselves and for our industry. You should and can expect no less from us going forward.”

A woman in the shadows next to a smiling older man and a beaming young man.
Tia Carrere, left (in shadow), Steven Spielberg and Ke Huy Quan.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Turning to the upcoming ceremony, Yang drew applause from the crowd when she noted that, after last year’s controversial decision to shift eight below-the-line and short-film categories out of the live telecast, all awards will once again be handed out on air.

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That said, with the Oscar producers facing continued pressure to trim down the often bloated show, Yang said the nominees bear their own responsibility to help keep things moving at a lively pace. “If you win a coveted gold statue, your acceptance speech must be 45 seconds, tops,” Yang said, asking the attendees to repeat the number to hammer home the point.

Though the luncheon was celebratory, for the nominees it’s just one in what can seem like an endless series of receptions, screenings, cocktail parties, Q&As and industry schmooze-fests as Oscar season grinds on.

“I need some hand sanitizer,” songwriter Diane Warren, celebrating her 14th Oscar nod this year for the song “Applause” from the film “Tell It Like a Woman,” said with a slight note of weariness. “I have shaken so many hands.”

A smiling man with a woman by his side greets another man.
Brian Tyree Henry.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Two gray-haired men talk as another man looks on.
Martin McDonagh, left, and Roger Deakins.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
One man in a suit speaks into the ear of another man in a suit.
Austin Butler, left, and Tom Cruise.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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A blond woman stands behind a brunette woman as they pose for a selfie.
Marlee Matlin, left, and Diane Warren.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
A crowd of people at an event.
Tom Cruise in the center of the crowd.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
A man embraces the shoulders of an older man.
Ke Huy Quan, left, and Judd Hirsch.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Two men hugging.
Tom Cruise and Guillermo del Toro hug.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
A smiling man in a gray suit.
Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
A woman pats a passing young man on his arm.
Paul Mescal and Michelle Yeoh.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Three men in dark suits and a woman in a white sleeveless top.
Colin Farrell, left, Kerry Condon, Martin McDonagh and Brendan Gleeson.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
A man clasps a woman's hand and rests his other hand on her shoulder. Both smile broadly.
Tom Cruise and Jamie Lee Curtis.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Stephanie Hsu attends the 95th Academy Awards Nominees Luncheon.
Stephanie Hsu.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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