Nominee Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) with Academy President Hawk Koch. Photo: Richard Harbaugh / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Unlikely Oscar nominee Quvenzhane Wallis standing in front of a roomful of the Academy's Class of 2012 paints a poignant portrait. One year ago, Beasts of the Southern Wild was heading from its dramatic debut at the Sundance Film Festival to a surprise Closing Night slot at Film Society of Lincoln Center, wrapping up New Directors/New Films 2012. The film built momentum throughout the year en route to four Oscar nominations and Wallis's shining moment with her new peers on Monday at an Academy Award Nominee lunch in Beverly Hills.
Rare pairings were captured by AMPAS photograhers as they roamed around the exclusive event on Monday. A handful of notable shots are gathered here courtesty of our friends at the Academy.
Who are you rooting for as Oscar night approaches? We invite you to share your picks in the comments section below.
Nominees Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), Amy Adams (The Master), Steven Spielberg (Lincoln) and Sally Field (Lincoln). Photo: Michael Yada / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Nominees Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook) and Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables). Photo: Todd Wawrychuk / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Nominees Joaquin Phoenix (The Master) and Sally Field (Lincoln). Photo: Todd Wawrychuk / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Nominees Steven Spielberg (Lincoln) and Ang Lee (Life of Pi). Photo: Richard Harbaugh / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Dan Sudick (The Avengers), David France (How To Survive A Plague), Andy Nelson (Les Miserables), Mark Boal (Zero Dark Thirty), Espen Sandberg (Kon-Tiki), Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables) and Timothy Reckart (Head Over Heels). Photo: Michael Yada / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Nominees Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables) and Tim Burton (Frankenweenie). Photo: Matt Petit / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Nominees Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook) and Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained). Photo: Richard Harbaugh / ©A.M.P.A.S.
Photo Greg Harbaugh / ©A.M.P.A.S.
From Alt Film Guide
2013 Oscar Nominees Luncheon: Ang Lee, Jessica Chastain
By Andre Soares
Ang Lee and Jessica Chastain, both nominated for the 2013 Academy Awards, were in attendance at this year’s Oscar Nominees Luncheon, which took place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. According to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ press release, approximately 160 Oscar 2013 nominees were expected to attend the Nominees Luncheon. (Photo: Ang Lee, Jessica Chastain.)
Best Director nominee Ang Lee is in the running for Life of Pi, starring Suraj Sharma as a young man who finds himself floating in a small boat in mid-ocean, with only a tiger as his companion — much like a young Nazi-Germany refugee finds himself floating in a small boat in mid-ocean, with only a jaguar as his companion, in Brazilian author Moacyr Scliar’s novel Max and the Cats.
Best Director Oscar winner Ang Lee
Ang Lee won the Best Director Oscar in early 2006 for the gay cowboy / sheepherder drama Brokeback Mountain, starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as the star-crossed lovers. Lee was also nominated for the Chinese-made Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). Back in early 1996, Sense and Sensibility was nominated for Best Picture, but Lee was bypassed in the Best Director category. Additionally, The Wedding Banquet (1993) was a Best Foreign Language Film nominee.Busy actress Jessica Chastain
Jessica Chastain became a film sensation of sorts in 2011, when the stage actress was featured in what seemed like 300 movies. Chastain was eventually singled out by numerous critics groups for her multifarious performances (e.g., Jeff Nichols’ Take Shelter, Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life, Ralph Fiennes’ Coriolanus, etc.), ultimately receiving a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nomination for Tate Taylor’s The Help.Jessica Chastain slowed down a bit in 2012: she only had about 30 movies out. This year, she’s a Best Actress nominee for Kathryn Bigelow’s controversial Zero Dark Thirty, about the U.S. government’s hunt for Osama bin Laden.
Ang Lee, Jessica Chastain 2013 Oscar Nominees Luncheon photo: Todd Wawrychuk / ©A.M.P.A.S.
From THR
Oscar Nominees Reveal Fashion Plans, Funny Anecdotes Before Luncheon
Getty Images
Before the annual event at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Ben Affleck invented a new word for Oscar analysts, and Jennifer Lawrence revealed her goals for the red carpet.
More than 160 Oscar nominees swarmed the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Monday, Feb. 4, to celebrate their nominations at the annual nominees luncheon.Here are 10 interesting reveals from the press room of the Oscar luncheon:
1. Tim Burton Fails the Metal Detectors
Tim Burton whose film Frankenweenie is nominated for best animated feature, was the first person to appear in the press room, and was sporting a unique accessory – a sling for his arm. “I slipped and fell on the streets of London,” he said, adding that he has a metal plate in his body now. “I go off at airports now, which makes flying extra fun.”
2. Jessica Chastain Dreams of Oscar Dresses
Zero Dark Thirty star Jessica Chastain, a fashion force-to-be-reckoned with on the red carpet, said she was eagerly looking forward to what she’ll wear on Feb. 24. “As a little girl, most girls dream about their wedding dress, but I always dreamed about my Oscar dress,” she told reporters. She added that she’s looking for something colorful. “I love fashion that celebrated a woman’s body, and that maybe is a throwback to the glamour of Old Hollywood, that silhouette, but somehow making it modern," she said.
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3. Amy Adams Is Having Fun
Adams, nominated for best supporting actress for The Master, took the stage in the press room by saying, “Sorry, you just interrupted my flirting with Bradley Cooper and Christoph Waltz.” After a round of laughs, a reporter asked who was more receptive. “They’re both pretty open, “she said. “So it’s going to be a good lunch for me.” Adams, who is nominated for her fourth Oscar, said this year is special for one reason. “You know, I’m always saying, ‘Oh this year, I want to have fun.’ But this year, I am having fun,” she said. “Four times is awesome so I really just want to enjoy it.”
4. Ben Affleck Invents a New Word
Ben Affleck has given a lot of speeches this awards season, so maybe he needed a new word for his vocabulary. He invented one while speaking to press before the luncheon. When asked if he thinks the best director category should be expanded to 10 nominees to match the best picture category, Affleck, who was snubbed the best director nom this year, said he would “leave those sorts of calculations to the press and the pundits and the Oscarologists, or whatever it is.” The Argo producer/director/star added that he felt “so incredibly honored to be nominated as a producer for this movie, to be here at the big party.” Affleck added: “I’ve had many, many, many, many, many years watching from home.”
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5. Anne Hathaway Has a New High-Ranking Friend
Hathaway once said that at times in her career there were rooms she could not get into. When a reporter asked if that has changed now with her supporting actress nomination for Les Miserables, the actress said, “I don’t know how to say this without sounding so obnoxious, but I’ve been hanging out with Steven Spielberg lately, so it doesn’t feel like it at the moment. But I don’t take anything for granted.”
6. Bradley Cooper Is Having a Moment
Bradley Cooper, nominated for lead actor for Silver Linings Playbook, was asked if this role as a bipolar man recently released from a mental institution was a game-changer for his career. “I know that I wasn’t up here for Hangover, so maybe,” he said, getting a round of laughs from the room.
7. Jennifer Lawrence Will Focus on Fashion
Silver Linings Playbook star Jennifer Lawrence, who has sported some stunning looks this awards season already, joked with the press that she was “going to wear sweatpants” to the Oscars. She revealed that she’s gotten some sketches together for her look, but nothing decided on yet. “Last time was comfort, this time I’m going to suck it up, wear a corset. I’m going to go for fashion. I say that, but that’s the problem with the Oscars, they’re at the end and you’re just exhausted from dressing up, so I never care, but now I will.”
8. Christoph Waltz Isn’t Celebrating
Waltz, who starred at the dentist-turned-bounty hunter in Django Unchained, said that he hasn’t been doing much celebrating at home about his best supporting actor nomination. Why? Because of nerves. “An Oscar nomination for me is a little bit for nervous anticipation. I don’t really consider nervous anticipation a reason to celebrate. We don’t talk much about it at home, and we all know it. I think that’s fine for now.”
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9. Helen Hunt Got a Nice Note
“There’s nobody like her that I’ve ever met,” said Helen Hunt of the sex surrogate, Cheryl Cohen-Greene, who she portrayed in The Sessions. Hunt, nominated for best supporting actress, revealed that Cohen-Green shared words of support for her portrayal. “She wrote me a note when the movie was done that said, ‘Thank you for understanding my intentions with Mark,’ And I think she’s lived a lot of her life with people screaming really weird things at her and not understanding her intentions.”
10. Denzel Washington Has Someone He Wants to Meet
Nominated Flight star Denzel Washington told the press room before the lunch that there was one actress he was eager to meet: Beasts of the Southern Wild’s 9-year-old star Quvenzhané Wallis, who is nominated for lead actress. “I gotta meet her. Maybe if I’m nice to her, she’ll put me in one of her movies.”
Email: Rebecca.Ford@thr.com; Twitter: @Beccamford
Marshall Flores
Love this picture from the DGA breakfast of Spielberg and Ang Lee - two directorial titans embracing. #godsamongmortals http://bit.ly/Wmi8Dx
