Oscars 2012: Nominees Luncheon

Click to enlarge Monday was a big day for the nominees. But the pressure was off. Honored actors and directors, along with more than 100 ...

Click to enlarge

Monday was a big day for the nominees. But the pressure was off. Honored actors and directors, along with more than 100 others, hobnobbed amongst each other at the Beverly Hilton.

There were 150 of 188 nominees at the luncheon, according to the Academy. In attendance were 18 of the 20 acting nominees, sans Christopher Plummer and Jessica Chastain. Three of the five nominees in the Directing category also: Michel Hazanavicius, Alexander Payne and Martin Scorsese. Woody Allen and Terrence Malick did not attend.

Press room quotes

George Clooney was one of the first nominees to arrive.

"I thought I'd get here early … free booze,” he remarked in the press room. He continued: “People at home think we all just hang out together … the truth is I hadn't seen Brad in about a year. It's fun to catch up.”

Clooney is nominated for Best Actor (“The Descendants”) and Adapted Screenplay (“The Ides of March”), with Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon.

The next to enter the press room was Rooney Mara, Best Actress nominee for "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."

"When I read the books, she never felt that foreign to me,” she said of her character in the movie. “The character I played in ‘Social Network’ felt much more foreign to me."

On dress shopping for Oscar Sunday, Mara said, “It's a fairly simple process — people just send you things and you try them on and find what you like.”

Max von Sydow (Supporting Actor, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”): “This nomination moves me because who nominates you? Your colleagues. And they should know something about your craft.”


Viola Davis (Actress, “The Help”): “I am not glamorous. My biggest fear is paparazzi … see me in my backyard in my pool. That would be very unfortunate.”

As Janet McTeer (Supporting Actress, “Albert Nobbs”) walked into the press room, her phone went off in her purse. “Can you turn your phones off please?” she joked. “No respect for talent.”

Glenn Close (Actress, “Albert Nobbs”): “I have always thought being an actor is a privilege and a responsibility.” On being nominated: “You are one of five. How could you possibly think of yourself as a loser?”


Octavia Spencer (Supporting Actress, “The Help”), joking: “Hello, I brought you all here today to discuss the way things are…” She also said: “I hope that I can be a symbol of hope for all the other actors that have been doing it as long as I have.”

Bérénice Bejo (“The Artist”) said she found her dress for Oscar Sunday — Elie Saab — and that the most important thing about it is was her husband liking her in it.

Gary Oldman (Actor, “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”): “The Oscar’s better than the money. The villains are the ones you do for money. They're expensive … or they will be now.”


Melissa McCarthy (Supporting Actress, “Bridesmaids”): “It’s been a pretty amazing, surreal year … I'm hoping I don't get the call where somebody goes, ‘Kidding!’”

Michelle Williams (Actress, “My Week with Marilyn”) gave some advice on what to bring to the Academy Awards: “Pack a snack. Bring a granola bar.”

Demián Bichir (Actor, “A Better Life”): “I wish this nomination could solve a lot of problems in Mexico … but that's not going to happen … This is not a political issue, but a human issue. That is what ‘A Better Life’ is about.”

On the menu
Cold Hors d’Oeuvres: Sesame seared Ahi tuna on crisp won ton with wasabi aioli; Buffalo mozzarella, tomato and basil on toasted Italian bread; Tandoori chicken with boursin cheese in a red tortilla pinwheel; Roasted Asian BBQ duck in phyllo basket with scallions and hoisin sauce; Indochina spiced beef with avocado mousse; and California rools with wasabi soy sauce.

Lunch: Soy-Mirin sear fillet of Atlantic salmon, with Tamarind ginger sauce; white and wild rice; broccolini; and red and yellow teardrop tomatoes.

Dessert: Trio of Sorbets in chocolate cup; and mango sauce and fresh berries.

The lineup
After lunch and comments from Academy President Tom Sherak (“This is the last time you'll be rooting for each other,” he told the nominees), it was time to lineup for the group photo. The presentation of the nomination certificates followed. Since it took quite a while for the 150 certificates to be handed out, nominees where enjoying themselves on the bleachers. Those at the end of the alphabet had the most time to kill.

#NomLunch
There was no live stream for the 2012 Nominees Luncheon, but The Gold Knight followed all the tweets straight from the event.

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Stay tuned for more coverage right here on The Gold Knight Blog. Read about the 2011 luncheon.

Click to enlarge

Caption for the group photo:
Seated (left to right): Matthew Butler, Julie Anderson, Kira Carstensen Tsunami, Mark Bridges, Demián Bichir, Lon Bender, Michael De Luca, Danfung Dennis, Rebecca Cammisa, Joe Berlinger, Bérénice Bejo, Letty Aronson, Max von Sydow, Kirk Baxter and J.C. Chandor. 2nd row (left to right): Erik Aadahl, Ron Bochar, Deb Adair with guest, Amanda Forbis, Stan Chervin, Glenn Close, Jean Dujardin, George Clooney, Chris Columbus, Marshall Curry, Ludovic Bource, Terry George, Patrick Doyon, Gigi Causey, Erik Nash, Jeff Cronenweth, Viola Davis, Siedah Garrett, Dave Giammarco, Lisy Christl, Nick Dudman, Enrico Casarosa, Sam Cullman, Kenneth Branagh and Scott Benza. 3rd row (left to right): Peter Devlin, Jim Burke, Brandon Oldenburg, William Joyce, Eugene Gearty, Victor Ray Ennis, Dan Lemmon, Alain Gagnol, Jean-Loup Felicioli, Scott Farrar, John Frazier, Oorlagh George, Sarah Green, Nat Faxon, Brunson Green, Swen Gillberg, Stefan Gieren, Dede Gardner, Robert Gould, Mark Coulier, Robin Fryday, Dante Ferretti, Rick Carter, Laurence Bennett and Michael Barnathan. 4th row (left to right): Daniel Barrett, Emmanuel Lubezki, Daniel Junge, Grant Heslov, Sergio Mendes, Rachael Horovitz, Nick Nolte, Amanda Knight, Alberto Iglesias, Ren Klyce, Thomas Langmann, Michel Hazanavicius, Richard Hymns, Jeffrey Haboush, John Rosengrant, Gary Oldman, Janet McTeer, Matthew Mungle, Dan Lindsay, Lynn Johnston, Peter McDonald, Chris Miller, Alex Henning, Jonah Hill, Bret McKenzie, Ben Grossman and Tom Fleischman. 5th row (left to right): Graham King, Janusz Kaminski, Bill Pohlad, Philip Stockton, Thelma Schoonmaker, Rob Legato, Kennedy, Kathleen, John Logan, Mike Lerner, Stephanie McMillan, Jim Rash, David Parker, Anne Seibel, Christopher Tellefsen, Lisa Tomblin, Guillaume Schiffman, Ethan Van der Ryn, Angus Wall, Ed Novick, Andy Nelson, Annie Mumolo, T.J. Martin, Arianne Phillips, Sandy Powell, Eimear O'Kane, Melissa McCarthy, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Andrew Bowler and Greg Butler. Back row (left to right): J. Roy Helland, Richard Middlemas, Brad Pitt, Meryl Streep, Rooney Mara, Fernando Trueba, Wendy Tilby, Jennifer Yuh Nelson, Max Zähle, Michael Semanick, Kevin Tent, James Spione, Beau Willimon, David Vickery, Gore Verbinski, Michelle Williams, Aaron Sorkin, Stephen Tenenbaum, Octavia Spencer, Peter Straughan, Greg Russell, Dan Taylor, Lucy Walker, Jim Taylor, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Hallvar Witzø, R. Christopher White and Steven Zaillian.