Meet this year’s class of Oscar nominees! #OscarsLunch pic.twitter.com/rXqgNUOYMM— The Academy (@TheAcademy) January 27, 2020
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 27: Brad Pitt (L) the 92nd Oscars Nominees Luncheon on January 27, 2020 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
US-ENTERTAINMENT-OSCARS-NOMINEES-LUNCHEON
(L-R) British actress Cynthia Erivo, US actor Brad Pitt and Academy CEO Dawn Hudson pose during the 2020 Oscars Nominees Luncheon at the Dolby theatre in Hollywood on January 27, 2020. (Photo by Robyn BECK / AFP) (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
Brad Pitt is definitely the belle of the ball #OscarsLunch pic.twitter.com/iNi44Tl0Nt— Lauren Huff (@_LaurenHuff) January 27, 2020
Inside the strangely joyful #Oscars2020 luncheon.— Anthony Breznican (@Breznican) January 28, 2020
Tarantino called it "an event that's not an event."
And @TheAcademy mixes up seating so nominees can't cluster by film.
"They intentionally force us to mingle," @Mangold said. "Like shy highschoolers."😆https://t.co/QiRckoeO1d
It's the one event that's not even an event. That's what I like about it."
That's how Quentin Tarantino described the Oscar nominee luncheon to Vanity Fair on Monday afternoon. What movie fans like about the gathering, however, is studying the annual "class photo" as favorite after favorite lined up beside each other to pose for the world's most glamorous snapshot.
What Tarantino meant by "an event that's not an event" might seem inscrutable to those outside the bubble of award season, but after months of backslapping, handshaking, and politicking the luncheon was conceived as a way of putting the race aside and encouraging friendship among the makers of the best films of the past year.
This time, the event took place in the Hollywood & Highland complex, exact same room where the Academy's Governors Awards ceremony was held back in October — which is an event that is very much an "event," a place to see and be seen, raise the profile of a performer or film, and engage in the campaigning that can make or break awards prospects. In many ways, the Governors Awards are the kick-off of campaign season, and the Kodak Theatre is just next door, where it all ends on Feb. 9.
The nominees luncheon serves as a kind of time-out, a breather before final voting opens on Jan. 30 and closes again on Feb. 4. As the Oscar telecast producer Stephanie Allain told the crowd in her remarks Tuesday: "This luncheon is one of the best parts of the whole experience because today you're all winners." In two weeks, only one in each category will hold on to that distinction.
Best Expression: Randy Newman, a double nominee for original score (Marriage Story) and original Song (Toy Story 4). He's a 22-time nominee who has won twice. He's seen it all before.
Little Women director and screenwriter Greta Gerwig, The Irishman supporting actor Al Pacino, and songwriter Diane Warren, whose 11 lifetime nods with this year's Breakthrough makes her currently the most-nominated contender without an actual win ("I'm ready to end that," she told us). Petite Cynthia Erivo, Harriet's best actress and songwriting nominee, stands her ground beside towering Bombshell acting rival Charlize Theron. Judy actress Renee Zellweger is right in front of them.
Best Placement: Frozen 2 songwriting couple Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, positioned just above the giant Oscar's head.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood supporting actor Brad Pitt, Marriage Story filmmaker Noah Baumbach,, Little Women supporting actress Florence Pugh, Richard Jewell's Kathy Bates, rocking shades, Marriage Story's Laura Dern.
Best Friends: Jojo Rabbit's Taika Waititi and Parasite's Bong Joon Ho, ready to star in a road picture or a buddy cop film.
Bong, who is Vanity Fair's cover subject for its new Oscar special edition, is enchanting the world with his laid-back enjoyment of the award season crush. He road around on a cloud of charisma at the luncheon, at one point welcoming Waititi to the crowd and introducing him around to other nominees.
It wasn't all laughs. The lunch began with Academy president David Rubin asking for a moment of silence for Los Angeles icon Kobe Bryant and the eight other victims of the helicopter crash that took the life of the basketball great and his 13-year-old daughter Gigi. Rubin reminded the audience that Bryant had been at the event two years ago, when he was nominated for (and later) won best animated short for Dear Basketball. "Kobe attended the nominees luncheon two years ago, and with all his mega-success on the court, he was possibly the most excited person in the room," Rubin said.
Allain and fellow Oscar telecast producer Lynette Howell Taylor also used the gathering as a chance to plead with nominees to make their acceptance speeches more interesting than a litany of names. "Here are some pointers on how to make that moment memorable not only for you, but for audiences around the world," Howell Taylor said. "No. 1 — be prepared. You won't jinx yourself."
No. 2, she added: "Get to the stage quickly. You have one minute from the time your name is called to complete your speech. ... We don't want to play you off."
"But we will," Allain said. "You can kiss everyone around you, and high-five, but that's part of your time."
"No. 3 — keep it short and heartfelt," Howell Taylor said. "You can list all the people who contributed to your success leading up to this moment and thank them publicly, but the truth is, we all know it, you'll forget someone. You'll feel terrible; they'll feel terrible."
"Instead, talk about what it means to you, and try to communicate that," Allain added.
The other guidelines were: groups should select a single voice to speak for them, winners should try not to read from a piece of paper or (worse) their phone, and be careful not to lean too close to the microphone. Howell Taylor said they wanted to "create an atmosphere of joy and celebration," and whatever happens on Oscar night, that mood was achieved at the luncheon.
Even the most famous people on the planet can become starstruck, and the event managed to bring together a compelling mix of personalities — like dream casting in need of a story. In one corner of the room, Pugh and Erivo chatted intensely, while 1917 actor George Mackay chatted with Erivo's guest, WME marketing executive Bozoma Saint John, an agency powerhouse. In the background were Knives Out filmmaker Johnson and writer-director Dean DeBlois, the creative force behind the How to Train Your Dragon franchise, nominated in the animated feature category for The Hidden World.
Mangold, who had previously attended the luncheon in 2018 when Logan was nominated for best adapted screenplay, said the event (that's not an "event") is like a school lunchroom — and this is recess.
"It's a chance for us all to get together," he said. "A lot of them are our friends, and compatriots we came up with, and this is free of the stress of awards night, who's going to be called, who's going to be not called ... You just get the chance to celebrate. It's really convivial and joyous."
Best of all, he noted, the Academy mixes and matches the seating assignments, so nominees from the same film can't cluster at their own tables. "They intentionally force us to mingle," Mangold said, "like shy high schoolers."
Thompson in Hollywood
At Oscars Luncheon, Bong Joon Ho Wins the Nominees Popularity Contest
“I’ve had dinner with Bong five or six times between here and Korea,” said Bong Joon Ho’s Oscar rival Quentin Tarantino (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”), who has been a fan of the director’s work longer than anyone else at the annual “daytime formal” Oscar Nominees Luncheon. Now the Korean filmmaker’s fans are legion, it seems.
Per usual, the nominees mingled during cocktails at this year’s venue, the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood and Highland, featuring a new set of risers for the real purpose of their visit: to be called onstage for the annual class picture.
The Academy was forced to find a new location due to the earlier-than-ever schedule, which made the Beverly Hilton unavailable. “The Two Popes” star Jonathan Pryce was there without Anthony Hopkins, chatting with fellow Brits George MacKay (“1917”) and Florence Pugh (“Little Women”). “The Irishman” director Martin Scorsese and Saturday’s “SNL” host Adam Driver stayed in New York, along with his “Marriage Story” costar Scarlett Johansson, while Antonio Banderas and Pedro Almodóvar stayed in Spain; the frontrunner for Best Actor, Joaquin Phoenix (“Joker”) was another no-show.
ASC-winning “1917” cinematographer Roger Deakins is in good spirits partly because after working for 18 months, he’s kicking back by the beach in Santa Monica. “I like a challenge,” he said of his harrowing experience making the long-take war movie. “I didn’t know if it would work with audiences.”
Actress Illeana Douglas, who compared the lunch’s trendy plant-based menu to the post-apocalyptic “The Day of the Triffids,” replaced the usual person to call the nominees up to stand on the risers — Academy Governor Laura Dern — who was herself one of the nominees, for “Marriage Story.” Her director Noah Baumbach went up right after his partner Greta Gerwig (“Little Women”). And IDA-winning “For Sama” documentarian Waad Al-Kateab, at table 11, recognized immediately that any woman in high heels called late in the process had reasons to be grateful.
As usual, movie stars nab the loudest clapping, from Leo and Brad to Renée and Charlize, who stood next to diminutive newbie Cynthia Erivo. (I love watching studio heads, producers, and directors suck up to power-magnet movie stars.) Drawing rousing applause were Deakins and “1917” production designer Dennis Gassner, “Bombshell” makeup artist Kazu Hiro, and “The Irishman” producer Robert De Niro and editor Thelma Schoonmaker, along with, oddly, any mention of dual nominee “Honeyland,” nominated in both Documentary and International Feature Film, an Academy first.
But there was no question who drew the warmest cheers and whistles: “Parasite” director Bong Joon Ho. (His distributor, Neon’s Tom Quinn, flew in from Sundance Monday morning and kept checking his phone to monitor various deals in progress.) How that translates on Oscar night is anyone’s guess. Many people are steering into “Parasite” winning both International Feature Film and Original Screenplay now that PGA and DGA winner “1917” is heading toward Best Picture and Director. Tarantino is still in that mix.
When I introduced “1917” screenwriter Krysty Wilson-Cairns to “Joker” writer/director Todd Phillips, he said, “Your movie’s a steamroller!” His studio boss Ann Sarnoff, meanwhile, standing with the film’s likeliest Oscar winner, composer Hildur Guðnadóttir, is still glorying in the movie’s Oscar field-leading 11 nominations. Wearing black sneakers, Al Pacino stood on the side applauding enthusiastically until it was his turn.
As usual, the Academy president, David Rubin, celebrating 174 days in office, introduced the gathering and talked up Disney chief Bob Iger achieving 95% of the Academy Museum’s fundraising goals — “you haven’t donated yet? See Bob after lunch, I’m not kidding” — and continuing moves toward inclusion among Oscar voters. “We are evolving into a diverse global community of filmmakers,” he said. “As our industry changes, so does the world.”
Rubin turned somber when he asked the room to take a minute of silence in honor of the late Kobe Bryant, who had attended the lunch two years ago as an Oscar nominee for the animated short “Dear Basketball.” Bryant scored the day’s biggest applause that year, on the way to an inevitable Academy Award.
This year’s first-time Oscar-show producers Stephanie Allain (“Beyond the Lights”) and Lynette Howell-Taylor (“A Star Is Born”) made the usual plea for brief one-minute speeches: “Keep it short and heartfelt.”
Dream on, ladies.
