On Tuesday night, over 100 Oscar nominees gathered at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles for a class photo in the David Geffen Theater.
In the upper left corner of the group, seated two rows above Timothée Chalamet, Ralph Fiennes clasped his hands and looked deep in thought, as though he were still pondering matters of papal importance in “Conclave.” Grouped together in the front row, the Oscar-nominated actresses Zoe Saldaña, Mikey Madison, Monica Barbaro, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande formed a power quintet. “Everyone say ‘Oscar nominee!’” Erivo crowed as the flashbulbs went off.
Still, with so many A-list filmmakers in the frame, there was bound to be someone who asked for another take. Here, it was the “Dune: Part Two” auteur Denis Villeneuve, who noted that the best director nominee James Mangold (“A Complete Unknown”) had the misfortune of arriving in the theater just after the class photo had been snapped.
“Can we take a picture again?” asked Villeneuve.
Academy president Janet Yang granted his wish, though she noted good-naturedly, “No more stragglers.”
Typically, the nominees would have gathered earlier this month for the annual Oscar nominees luncheon, an event that was canceled this year as the academy reshuffled its schedule because of the Los Angeles wildfires. In its place, the nominees were invited to a cocktail hour and dinner held just days before this Sunday’s Oscar ceremony.
Over cocktails before the class photos were taken, the “Sing Sing” star Colman Domingo chatted with the “Nickel Boys” director RaMell Ross, while Grande hugged the journalist Tracy Gilchrist, who had conducted the widely memed “holding space” interview with her and Erivo. Nearby, the “Substance” director Coralie Fargeat was engaged in a deep conversation with Jane Fonda, who had inspired the character played by Demi Moore in the film.
With Oscar voting long concluded, the night’s schmoozing felt more fraternal than frantic. There were no winners and losers, nor campaigns to still be waged. Instead, there was free-flowing champagne and conversation, and best of all, none of it had to fit into an acceptance speech or commercial break.
