The Oscars nominees luncheon is a chance for Hollywood’s finest to rub shoulders and bask in each other’s glory before the majority of them inevitably lose on the big night.
And with the star-studded event comes one of the most jam-packed group photos of the year.
Ellen’s Oscars selfie, eat your heart out.
The 92nd Oscars nominees luncheon took place at the Ray Dolby Ballroom on Monday, and as per tradition, all the nominated attendees gathered for a massive group picture around a big old Academy Award statuette.
On the left hand side of the picture, Leonardo DiCaprio can be seen standing in front of Robert DeNiro, who is chilling next to Once Upon A Time In Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino; while 1917 director Sam Mendes is over on the left of the group.
In the middle section, Little Women director Greta Gerwig stand out in red, while best actress nominees Charlize Theron, Cynthia Erivo and Renee Zellwegger were gathered together to the right of the statuette.
Towards the right, Jojo Rabbit director Taika Waititi and Parasite director Bong Joon Ho are two besties we want to party with, Marriage Story’s Laura Dern was looking effortlessly cool, Florence Hugh made a statement in orange, and Brad Pit was all Brad Pitt (without his name tag, though).
As glittering as the group shot was, there were some noticeable absences from some of the Oscars’ most famous nominees.
Margot Robbie, who is nominated for best supporting actress for Bombshell, was in London promoting Birds Of Prey, while The Irishman director Martin Scorsese and supporting actor Joe Pesci also gave it a miss.
Best actor nominee Joaquin Phoenix, Antonio Banderas and Adam Driver, best actress nominees Saoirse Ronan and Scarlett Johansson and best supporting actor nominees Tom Hanks and Anthony Hopkins were all missing, while Rocketman songwriter Elton John, Pain and Glory director Pedro Almodovar and The Rise of Skywalker composer John Williams also opted out.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, as the nominees were read out, Parasite’s Bong Joon Ho got the biggest cheer from his fellow nominees, while Laura Dern, Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Renee Zellwegger, Brad Pitt, Greta Gerwig and Jonathan Pryce also got major applause.
At the luncheon, nominees were given tips on how not to make a boring, overly long acceptance speech by telecast producers Stephanie Allain and Lynette Howell Taylor – from being prepared, not reading from a phone and living with the fear of being played off.
However, the event began on a sombre note, as Academy president David Rubin held a moment of silence for Oscar winner Kobe Bryant, who died on Sunday in a helicopter crash.
Reflecting on Kobe’s 2018 nomination for his animated short film Dear Basketball, Rubin said: ‘He was probably the most excited person to be in the room.’
The Academy Awards take place on 9 February.
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