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Todd Wawrychuk
Hollywood stars had their Knives Out (along with their forks) for the traditional Oscars luncheon on Monday.
Every year, all the Academy Award nominees gather together for a general love-in over a nice spot of lunch – which was plant-based this year in line with other celebrity dinners during Hollywood’s 2020 awards season.
And it’s not just the big-name actors who are invited – nominated cinematographers, sound mixers, costume designers and everyone in between attend, too.
The highlight of this event, of course, is the big class photo they take at the end, which all of the 162 nominees in attendance posed for.
We’ve whipped out our magnifying glass and spotted a few of this year’s quirks and questionable outfits.
1. Quentin Tarantino’s tux might be at the dry cleaner’s
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Todd Wawrychuk
Or at least, we assume that’s why he turned up in a black and yellow bowling shirt while most others went for more formal attire.
The director’s ninth film Once Upon A Time in Hollywood is heavily nominated this year, including a nod for Tarantino in the best director category.
For the class photo, he stood just behind the movie’s star Leonardo DiCaprio, but there was another familiar face standing right next to him.
Robert De Niro is on Quentin’s left – reuniting the pair more than two decades after they worked together on 1997’s Jackie Brown.
This year, De Niro was flying the flag for The Irishman. While he missed out on a best actor nomination, he was there in his capacity as a producer on the film.
2. This couple appear to be Frozen together
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Todd Wawrychuk
If you’re one of the many people who were almost driven to violence by Frozen’s Let It Go, you may want to skip this one.
Because one thing songwriting couple Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez are not Letting Go of is each other.
The duo are nominated for best original song again this year for Frozen II’s Into The Unknown.
But nominations aside, they define absolute couple goals.
The Lopezes are seemingly as in love with each other now as they were on their wedding day in 2003 – which must make this one of the longest-lasting marriages in Hollywood history.
3. Brad Pitt is enjoying some peace and quiet
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Todd Wawrychuk
By all accounts, the class photo was pretty much the only moment where the best supporting actor nominee managed to catch his breath.
Pitt was reportedly accosted for selfies more than anyone else at the luncheon.
“Small hordes formed around folks like Brad Pitt (hey, if you’re a documentary short nominee, this might be your one chance to meet him),” noted Yahoo’s Kevin Polowy.
And you can understand why – he’s a Hollywood A-lister who is having a hell of a comeback this awards season, after a difficult few years personally.
Pitt has already won prizes at the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards for his supporting performance in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.
And he has aced his acceptance speech at each one, most recently joking as he won the SAG trophy last week: “I’ve got to add this to my Tinder profile.”
4. This chap really wants to win an Oscar
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So much so, he’s saying a little prayer ahead of the ceremony on Sunday 9 February.
Yves Piat might sound like the name of a new perfume from Saint Laurent, but in this case we’re referring to director of Nefta Football Club, which is nominated for best live action short.
Piat brightens up this year’s photo, standing in a plum spot next to the Oscar statuette in the centre with his hands pressed together.
Of course, his prayer gesture might be a way of thanking God for being in such close proximity to Charlize Theron, who’s standing just in front of him.
5. Scarlett Johansson escaped the cauliflower
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Scarlett Johansson was pictured at the Screen Actors Guild Awards last week
You’d think if anyone was going to turn up for this year’s class photo it’d be Scarlett Johansson, as she’s nominated twice.
Two different acting performances she delivered this year – in Marriage Story and Jojo Rabbit – see her recognised for best actress and supporting actress respectively.
But we don’t blame her for swerving this year’s luncheon.
Monday’s meal consisted of vegan cheese and a beets-and-citrus salad as the starter, while the main course was roasted maitake mushrooms over a bed of winter squash, cauliflower and forbidden black rice.
We’re not sure why only the black rice was forbidden because frankly there’s an argument for banning everything on that menu.
She wasn’t the only person to click “Can’t Go” on the Facebook event page – Joaquin Phoenix, Anthony Hopkins, Antonio Banderas, Adam Driver, Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie were all missing as well.
6. Costume designers wore impressively designed costumes
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The nominees for best costume design admittedly have an advantage when it comes to dressing up for events.
And for the Oscars luncheon, Sandy Powell took full advantage of the spare bright yellow fabric she had left over from working on The Irishman.
She also wore a bright orange tie to match her bright orange hair, making for a fully colour co-ordinated bright look.
Powell has worked with director Martin Scorsese on several of his previous films – including The Aviator, Hugo, Shutter Island and The Wolf of Wall Street.
Here, she’s seen posing with best actress nominee Kathy Bates, who’s keeping her sunglasses on to remind us all just how good the weather is in Hollywood.
7. But the Brits were colourful too
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Todd Wawrychuk
Two of the UK’s biggest acting hopes this year helped brighten up the sea of grey suits and boring ties.
Little Women star Florence Pugh is nominated for best supporting actress, and she looked thoroughly at home alongside Hollywood stars in a beautiful orange gown.
Meanwhile, Harriet star Cynthia Erivo wore a vibrant green jacket, which matched her green sunglasses.
She also managed to resist the temptation of putting bunny ears on Renée Zellweger, who is almost certainly going to beat her to best actress for her portrayal of Judy Garland.
8. This year’s photo looks… different?
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Todd Wawrychuk
If these walls could talk, they’d say “you might not recognise us because this is a different venue from last year’s class photo”.
(All the guests would then say “Oh my god, a talking wall!” before Netflix bought the rights to make a docu-series.)
For the first time, the event had to relocate from the Beverly Hilton Hotel because of the earlier awards season this year.
So instead, the Academy used the Ray Dolby Ballroom in Los Angeles, the same venue where the actual ceremony will take place on Sunday 9 February.
Unlike the dark grey carpet and curtain we’re used to at the Beverly Hilton, the backdrop at the new venue is all-white, which is in keeping with most of this year’s nominees.
9. Mark Bridges didn’t bring his jet ski
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L-R: Jonathan Pryce behind Greta Gerwig, Mark Bridges, and Noah Baumbach with his stripey tie
The costume designer won a joke prize two years ago when host Jimmy Kimmel awarded him a jet ski for making the shortest speech.
The Academy have tried all kinds of tactics to get the winners to hurry up and not prattle on too much when they’re accepting their award.
“Get to the stage quickly. You have one minute from the time your name is called to complete your speech,” producer Lynette Howell Taylor advised nominees at the luncheon.
“We don’t want to play you off… but we will,” added co-producer Stephanie Allain.
Bridges is back at the Oscars this year for his work on Joker, and he accessorised with a green handkerchief in his suit pocket.
He wasn’t the only attendee to go for a bit of subtle accessorising – The Two Popes star Jonathan Pryce (pictured behind a resplendent-in-red Greta Gerwig) wore a nice leafy tie.
Marriage Story director Noah Baumbach’s tie game was also strong, subtly catching the eye with his colourful stripes.
More Oscars coverage:
10. Laura Dern didn’t have to juggle
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Todd Wawrychuk
Every year, actress and Academy governor Laura Dern is in charge of calling out the register and putting everybody in their allocated place for the class photo.
But there was a minor conflict of interest this year – in that she is one of the nominees herself.
So instead of leaving all the men in attendance in awe by doing a bit of multi-tasking, Dern took the year off from announcing the nominees.
“I’m so sorry I can’t do it this year, because I love it,” Dern told The Wrap before the luncheon began. “But it’s a nice reason to not be able to do it.”
That job instead fell to actress and director Illeana Douglas, leaving Dern free to just enjoy the afternoon and add a nice splash of colour to the Oscars class photo with a dress designed, appropriately, by Oscar de la Renta.
The Oscars 2020 ceremony takes place in Hollywood, Los Angeles on Sunday 9 February.