Revisiting 39 years of fancy midday Hollywood hangs.
Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
This article originally ran on April 23, 2021, but has been updated to include new class photos.
It was an Academy luncheon in spirit.
It was a labor of love for us.
In fact, it was Kahn who initiated the tradition in the first place.
Back in 1981, the monthslong buildup to the Academy Awards needed an overhaul.
Film blogs, of course, didnt exist, so it was hard to sustain excitement.
Kahn was never a fan of that approach.
That was a rather staid and impersonal way of doing it, he says.
I worried,Would they come?
Of course they came.
I said to myself,Steven Spielberg just said Wow!
At the event, the nominees were seated randomly, a tradition that continues today.
During the cocktail hour, you have stars and filmmakers talking: Oh, I saw your film.
You get a lot of that vibe, veteran Los AngelesTimesphotographer Al Seibwho died in 2022, told Vulture.
I dont see that as much on the actual Academy Awards night, noted Seib.
The tension is higher.
During the 1990s, the process of gathering for the group photo was chaotic.
It was sort of a free-for-all.
Everybody would go up there, jostle for positions.
You had nominees whose names fall at the end of the alphabet standing up there forever, Pond says.
One year, the Academy decided to call the names in reverse alphabetical order and begin with Zimmer.
That kind of surprised him, says Kahn.
Around 2011, the Academy overhauled the procedure.
Its a faster, more efficient process.
Thats it, Pond says.
And these days, the Oscar-nominee sweatshirts are no more.
(She said, Imcold!, and ripped fire up the bag and put on the sweatshirt.)
All the great persons are gathered together where they share each others knowledge and skill.
Thats a highfalutin way of saying it, but its a great event.
Find the most recent years photohere.
Neither Field nor the other farm wives were present at this years luncheon, though.
Haing S. Ngor (back row, farthest left).
The two biggest stories at the time focused on Winfreys film debut and Hustons comeback of sorts.
The two weirdest historical nuggets from this race belong toThe Color Purpleactors.
And then he didnt even show up to collect it!
(He cited post production duties onThe Glass Menagerie, which starred his wife, Joanne Woodward.)
Dafoe would also end up teaming with Lynch in a few years on the 1990 filmWild at Heart.
But when you search 1987s picture, you somewhat surprisinglywontfind Cher gazing back at you.
Sadly, she passed away a few months after the photo was taken.
In 1989, no one was trying to create viral moments at the Oscars.
Its the pomp and circumstance (that hair!
the similarly stuffy event deserves.
I didnt even know her.
But whenDriving Miss Motherfucking Daisywon Best Picture, that hurt … No ones talking aboutDriving Miss Daisynow.
(Peopledubbed themthe oddest couple.)
(And that was just in Original Song.)
64thAcademyAwards(1992)
1991 was one of those years when Oscar seemed to buck key traditions.
Appropriately enough, these winners were often also the titles that had the most nominations.
(ThinkDances With Wolves, orThe Last Emperor, orOut of Africa, orAmadeus.)
But then, along came the left side of this photograph, TeamSilence of the Lambs.
TheresJodie Foster (front row, third from left).
No film has pulled the feat off since.
Merchant IvorysHowards Endwas the only film in the category with a woman as the main character.
Tomei co-starred inChaplin, and two years later she and Downey starred in the 1994 rom-comOnly You.
Two years later, they co-starred in Kathryn Bigelows dystopicStrange Days.
Title sadly passed away last year after a long battle with ALS.
Like his mom, he became famous as a teenager (TheGoonies).
His 1994 nomination was for a short film calledKangaroo Court.
Charmed) Her big sister Meg had been nominated nine years earlier in the same category.
The next year, he would serve as producer of the Oscars telecast.
DocumentarianFrieda Lee Mock (front row, ninth from left)is the most-nominated Asian woman in history.
Before there was #OscarsSoWhite, there was the Hollywood Blackout of 1996.
(In her opening monologue, Goldberg said Enough with the ribbons.)
The 90s were the heyday of actors getting Oscar nominations for short films.
Lubezki is now up to eight nominations and three wins.
In that first year, Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz won in the new category forPocahontas.
Best Actress nomineeKim Basinger (third row, eighth from left;L.A.
In the context of the very formal Oscar Luncheon photos, its certainly … a choice.
(Who approved these seating arrangements?)
Fix it, Academy!
72ndAcademyAwards(2000)
The dueling Best Picture frontrunners made their own little V.I.P.
They were in the middle of filming their impending bomb for next seasonPay it Forward.
Eight months pregnant at the time, people joked that Bening might go into labor on stage.
Not a bad night.
Hey, thatsBob Balaban (front row, furthest left)!
The character actor was a nominated producer for the Best Picture nominatedGosford Park.
AussiesNicole Kidman (third row, fifth from left;Best Actress nominee forMoulin Rouge!
The Academy was worried about politics in speeches.
The result was perfect television.
DiCaprio wasnt nominated that season despite an otherwise impressive ten-nod haul forGangs of New York.
76thAcademyAwards(2004)
What was absolutely certain at this years party?
ThatThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the Kingwas about to dominate.
What was less than certain?
Where the camera was.
A big year for moms, according to anLos Angeles Timestrend piece.Charlize Theronbrought hers, as didPennandKeisha Castle-Hughes.
And the thing about Swank is: when she gets nominated for an Oscar, she wins.
In the end, the Academy split the vote, giving Lee Best Director andCrashBestPicture.
She didnt win then, and she still hasnt won now.
Best Costume Design nomineeSandy Powell (front row, ninth from right),there forMrs.
After losing, Murphy left the ceremony altogether.
(Considering that achievement, how can we not point them all out?
They deflected with jokes, I took my old prison uniform and then just learned how to sew.
Clooneywas asked about giving advice to the young star and said that Page was too smart to need it.
Schnabel directed Bardem to his first Oscar nomination in 2000sBefore Night Falls.
The part of miserable housewife April Wheeler inRevolutionary Roadwas clearly a leading role.
And go either way it did!
That left Winslets shaky lead inThe Readeras her only nomination.
It didnt seem to bother voters, who handed her the win.
82ndAcademyAwards(2010)
Not every Oscars innovation is a bad idea.
As Cameronpredicted, it was Bigelow who came out on top.
(Well, not counting the misbegottenNailed, which was shelved for years and ultimately released pseudonymously asAccidental Love.
Their happy moment in the spotlight wouldnt last for much longer.
When Russell cast Bradley Cooper over Wahlberg forSilver Linings Playbook, the friendship reportedly dissolved.
What, you dont rememberGoyas Ghosts?
Natalie Portman playing multiple characters!
84thAcademyAwards(2012)
2011 was the year ofThe Help.
At the time of this photo, the nomination record was smaller.
Emmanuelle Riva (not pictured), nominated forAmour, was the oldest ever.
(She and the company arejust now getting back on their feet.)
86thAcademyAwards(2014)
The Best Actress category in 2014 was themost stacked lineupin Oscar history.
Hey, itsBono (second row, farthest right)!
Enjoying his second career Oscar nomination for co-writing the nominated Best Original Song fromMandela: Long Walk to Freedom.
(The films only other nomination was for Best Original Song.)
Furthermore, there were no women nominated in directing, screenwriting or cinematography categories.
The movie was seen by many asracistandjingoistic, and thats before we even get into itsweird fake baby.
Itsmassive box office successand popularity with conservative audiences illustrated a major divide in Hollywood.
Adjacent acting winners alert!
Best Supporting Actor winnerJ.K.
Why is Best Actress nomineeReese Witherspoon (second-last row, fifth from left)making a face?
Lubezki was on the eve of winningan unprecedented third consecutive Best Cinematography Oscar.
Hed previously won for the effects-heavyGravityand replicating a single-take inBirdman.
This time, hed be winning for the outdoor theatrics ofThe Revenant.
They lost to the James Bond song bySam Smith (fifth row, fifth from right), somehow.
But it was also a notable year for the Best Documentary Feature category.
- It also tested the blurry boundaries between film and television whenO.J.
Made in Americanabbed the prize.
A few months later, the Academy passed a new rule banning multi-part and limited series from the category.
He won in his category, she lost in hers.
If Melissa McCarthy could get recognition for her rowdy turn inBridesmaids, why not Haddish, too?
Alas, Universal Pictures was busy prioritizingGet Out, another mega-hit that became an unlikely awards darling.
That includes all of the movie stars there.
At the lunch, however, Spielberg insisted on sitting next to Gerwig,he toldVanity Fair.
In a fit of merriment, he and del Toro wound uptaking a selfie with her.
91stAcademyAwards(2019)
The 2019 Oscars were particularly snakebitten.
The actual awards were hardly less controversial.
Suddenly,Moonlights win felt much longer than two years in the past.
Think of all those acting-category no-shows in 84.
In 2019, you practically need a doctors note to miss this important stop on the campaign trail.
Today, shes here for herTarnod for Best Actress.
Andrea Riseboroughs noticeable absence.
96thAcademyAwards(2024)
Henceforth known as the Year of the Sneeze.
Hes mid-sneeze (or perhaps mid-laugh?
), and the reverberations throughout the pic are a joy to uncover.Anatomy of a Sneezeis sweeping the nation.
Next to him is Best Actor nominee forThe HoldoversPaul Giamatti, who is just attempting not to laugh.
The luncheon photo has never felt more like school-picture day.
Unlikely animal friendships <3.
A ScorseseKill Billstarring these women could be something so powerful.
The rest of the Best Actor category all sitting in the top row.
Is this a Chalamet-less clique?
One has to wonder.
What else would you expect from these two natural attention-grabbers?
Not pictured are Lachmans eyes, because the hat is entirely covering them.
