Oscars 2022: Nominees ‘grateful’ to be back at the annual luncheon

Oscar nominees from Steven Spielberg and Will Smith to first-time Bhutanese director Pawo Choyning Dorji gathered at a Los Angeles ballroom on Monday, as Hollywood’s award season enters its final stretch.

The Academy’s glitzy annual luncheon for nominated A-listers and indie auteurs did not take place last year because of the pandemic but returned with a starry in-person crowd of those who made the best films released in 2021, a year during which many movie theatres reopened.

STARS MINGLE AT OSCARS LUNCHEON

Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz chatted to Guillermo del Toro and Maggie Gyllenhaal over drinks, while Denzel Washington posed for photos with a long line of admirers.

“If there’s ever been a time to be grateful for, and to revel in, an occasion that allows us to be in the same room, ladies and gentlemen, this is the year,” said Will Packer, who will produce the 94th Academy Awards show.

Last year’s Oscars took place at a Los Angeles train station, with nominees mingling outdoors and then rotated in and out of the venue during the show, but this year is expected to be closer to normal.

Voting begins next week ahead of the 27 March prize-giving gala, meaning film campaigns that began as long as a year ago are mounting one last push.

MAJOR CONTENDERS AT THIS YEAR’S OSCARS

Benedict Cumberbatch – star of Oscar best picture contender The Power of the Dog, which first premiered at September’s Venice film festival – told AFP he was “happy to keep banging the drum” for the Western, especially with director Jane Campion absent due to a positive Covid-19 test.

“I believe this (film) will stand the test of time,” he said, adding that Campion was “fine” and experiencing no symptoms.

Benedict Cumberbatch (Actor)

Also in attendance were the cast of CODA, a drama about a deaf family and their musical child, which surged back into Oscars contention with a key win at last week’s Screen Actors Guild awards for best cast.

“We’re such a tight cast, so it was a lovely prize to win – it was so unexpected,” said its star Emilia Jones.

Emilia Jones (Actress)

The film first premiered at the virtual Sundance festival in January 2021, meaning Jones and her ensemble are still campaigning against rival movies that “came out months after ours.”

‘LUNANA’ DIRECTOR WAS STAR-STRUCK AT OSCARS LUNCHEON

And then there is Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, the first Bhutanese film ever nominated for an Academy Award, which was originally submitted the previous year but held over due to a technicality.

Director Dorji told AFP he at first “thought it was a mistake” when his film’s historic nomination was finally announced.

Pawo Choyning Dorji (Movie Director)

“I just cried meeting Jessica Chastain,” added his star-struck producer and wife Stephanie Lai, sitting one table away from the Eyes of Tammy Faye star, who is a favourite to win the best actress.