©Photo Credit: Valerie MACON / AFP
Steven Spielberg extolled the exceptional quality of this year's cinematic offerings as contenders for the Oscars convened in a bustling ballroom in Beverly Hills for the Academy's annual nominee luncheon on Monday, February 12. The gathering unified illustrious stars, directors, producers and the myriad of artisans responsible for the magic behind the scenes, providing them an opportunity to engage with their peers and curry favor with a few members of the electorate, amidst the convivial ambiance of champagne and canapés, in anticipation of the forthcoming awards ceremony.
Widely regarded as the frontrunner for the coveted Best Picture award at the upcoming Academy Awards on March 10, Oppenheimer garnered significant attention. However, Spielberg, who has a stake in the competing film Maestro, highlighted the remarkable breadth and quality of films this year beyond Christopher Nolan's narrative on the atomic era. "This has been a great and eclectic year for films, one of the best years in terms of high quality, in my opinion, of the past decade," he conveyed to AFP.
Spielberg lauded Maestro, Bradley Cooper's portrayal of the esteemed conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein, as "Bradley's triumph." Both films are integral components of a Best Picture shortlist that is both critically acclaimed and remarkably varied, including the commercial blockbuster Barbie and festival darlings such as American Fiction, The Holdovers, Past Lives and The Zone of Interest.
The luncheon was marked by a conspicuous absence of animosity or tension among competitors. Emma Stone and Lily Gladstone, both leading contenders for Best Actress for their roles in Poor Things and Killers of the Flower Moon respectively, engaged in a heartfelt exchange and embrace before mingling with other attendees. Robert Downey Jr, favored for Best Supporting Actor for Oppenheimer, amused his peers with humor, while a retake was necessitated for the "class photo" featuring the assembly of nominees.
Photo Credit: ROBYN BECK / AFPDespite perceived oversights in nominations for Best Actress and Best Director for Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig respectively, both were present in celebration of Barbie. Gerwig received a notably enthusiastic response as her screenplay nomination was announced, and Robbie stood out as a focal point in the collective photograph of nominees. "It can be hectic," Billie Eilish, nominated for Best Song for Barbie, humorously remarked to AFP, finding herself immediately besieged by requests for selfies in the midst of a gala already brimming with celebrities.
An intriguing presence at the event, though not among the nominees, was Messi, the charming canine star of the French Best Picture contender Anatomy of a Fall. The film's director and writer, Justine Triet, was also in attendance, showcasing the wide array of talent recognized at this year's luncheon.
Janet Yang, the Academy's president, celebrated the year as "an amazing year for cinema" and highlighted the diverse, "global" composition of this year's nominees, who hail from 93 different countries. This diversity was underscored by the presence of Bobi Wine, the Ugandan musician-turned-political figure, who donned a bright red beret alongside his black tuxedo. Wine's tumultuous 2021 presidential campaign, marred by a violent governmental response, is the subject of the nominated documentary Bobi Wine: The People's President. Wine posited in a recent interview with AFP that the Oscars could significantly impact his nation's visibility on the global stage, challenging Western countries to acknowledge the turmoil within Uganda.
Contending for Best Documentary alongside Wine's story is 20 Days in Mariupol, a poignant account of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The film's director, Mstyslav Chernov, took a hiatus from his ongoing projects to attend the luncheon, stressing the importance of not only creating impactful cinema but also vocalizing the ongoing crises. "It's not enough to just make films and survive. It's important to speak about this," Chernov asserted to AFP, lamenting the dwindling global attention towards Ukraine.
With AFP.
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