Inside The Oscar Nominated Lunch with Tom Cruise, Steven Spielberg, Jamie Lee Curtis and more

The annual Oscar nominee luncheon was held at the Beverly Hilton again, as it used to be (well, 2019) before the pandemic changed everything. But if the atmosphere and turnout at tonight’s luncheon are any indication that the Oscars themselves are in for a very good night, the Academy seems determined and determined to bring the show back to its old self, and that means ‘ a more traditional Oscars experience. after the surreal, pandemic-ridden ceremony at Union Station in 2021 and last year’s Will Smith Slap edition. We could use some Oscars comfort food, and I just have a feeling that with Jimmy Kimmel as the host, this could be just what the doctor ordered for the Academy’s big night.

The reception was supposed to start at 11:30 a.m. today, but the Hilton’s ballroom quickly filled with many meetings and networking without a mask in sight. Apparent own the place was Top Gun: Maverick Best Picture nominee Tom Cruise makes his debut appearance at an awards show this season and is literally molested. And it was a guy who had been mobbed by some very famous people himself, as well as industry figures like former Dreamworks CEO and AMPAS board member Bonnie Arnold, who told me her day was made. “I just got a picture with Tom Cruise!” she exclaimed happily.

Guillermo del Toro approached the star, as did Cruise: “I need to talk to Tomás. I need to talk to Tomás,’ he said as he descended the stairs. The cameras kept clicking and Cruise looked like he was having a good time, welcoming anyone who wanted a piece of his stardust. Top Gun: Maverick Producer Jerry Bruckheimer was also nearby, basking in the glow over lunch, his first since, believe it or not, the Best Picture nomination was the first for one of his blockbuster films.

On the contrary, Steven Spielberg has been there more than a few times The Fables represents his 12th nomination for best picture (a record for a producer) and his ninth for directing, but you wouldn’t know it from the overwhelming enthusiasm he displayed. That’s because it’s also just his first Oscar nod as a screenwriter, as he and co-writer Tony Kushner are nominated in the Best Original Screenplay category. When I met him at Will Call where we went to pick up our badges, Spielberg proudly showed me his badge and pointed out the three categories he had listed for him. “This is the first time that I personally have three nominations for the same film,” he said, clearly delighted. The film received 7 nominations, but inexplicably none for film editing, which I told him was well deserved, if only for the scene where Spielberg’s alter ego is Sammy. produce the family film he made to discover his mother in a disturbing embrace with a family friend. It’s all played in silence and masterfully shot and edited. Spielberg told me he learned a long time ago to be grateful for what you do Do to get

I pointed out a famous moment in the 1976 TV special TVTV goes to the Oscars who recorded that particular season with Spielberg Jaw was nominated for Best Picture, but the director missed out on a nomination. The camera was on the then-unnominated director as the nominees in his category were revealed for the first time on television. The name Federico Fellini for Amcord was the first to be called out, and Spielberg was disheartened and immediately said, “I didn’t get it.” He knew right away that it wasn’t for him Jaw, and he says it taught him a lesson about how to handle the blows of anything. Incidentally, he told me that he had met Fellini four years earlier, when his 1971 ABC TV movie duel was released in Italy and the Italian master filmmaker took it under his wing and gave it a five-hour tour of the legendary Cinecitta film studio. Now, when nominated for up-and-coming director, Spielberg says simply, “It was an honor” to lose that nomination to Federico Fellini.

14-time contestant Diane Warren met Bill Kramer, new CEO of AMPAS, in a corner of the Hilton. I asked her if she was nominated when she was 14 Lunch. “I don’t remember them all well. Were they retained when I was first nominated?” she asked me and I said yes, so she was sure. “If they had invited me to that lunch, I would have definitely come every time.”

The remarkable Malala was there as executive producer of Joshua Seftel’s award-winning short documentary stranger at the gate for the first time and greet many admirers. I asked if she had attended the luncheon for her 2015 documentary He called me Malala but she didn’t. “We were on the shortlist, but did not make the final list of five nominees,” she said. This time she’s going to the Oscars.

Jamie Lee Curtis, another first-time contestant, told me last week while filming my Deadline video series: The actor’s side who was leaving on Wednesday that she would be wearing her godmother Edie Wasserman’s pearl necklace, and when I caught up with her saying goodbye, she was indeed a sentimental gesture that seemed perfect for the day. This nomination is a huge sensation, says Curtis, who is just behind her marriage to Christopher Guest and their two daughters (I also caught Annie Guest at lunch).

Curtis was the first name called for the class photo and she received a hearty round of applause from the crowd as she made her way up before 181 other nominees, a record turnout for that luncheon, were called for the iconic photo a staple of any of these Oscar-nominated lunches. Among the other nominees convened by AMPAS board member DeVon Franklin were Cate Blanchett, Michelle Yeoh, Colin Farrell, Austin Butler, Ke Huy Quan, Judd Hirsch, Brendan Gleeson, Brendan Fraser, Paul Mescal, Hong Chau, Michelle Williams, Bill Nighy and Angela Bassett, the latter receiving the loudest applause when her name was called. There was also a lot of enthusiasm from the upper left corner of the room for everything, everything, everywhere, all at once, but if you’re basing your Oscar predictions on the applause in that room, think again. It was hard to determine who was the most popular this year, pretty evenly split, although after about 150 names it gets a bit tiring to keep gossiping.

As the academy’s new president, Janet Yang, said in her welcome speech (where she was also very vocal about AMPAS’s failings in handling Will Smith’s punch last year – see separate story), “You’re all winners here.” She said. She also had the audience repeat in unison that they understood they had 45 seconds to deliver their Oscar acceptance speech. “How long do you have?” Yang asked. “45 SECONDS!” shouted back the full ballroom.

Here is my first prediction for the 95th Academy Awards. On March 12 at the Dolby Theater, not every winner will do what they just promised Janet Yang would Do.