Tom Cruise, who is considered “the last actual movie star”, recorded a prominent presence on Monday during a luncheon organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which awards the Oscars, and included about two hundred candidates vying for these rewards. While this event was an opportunity for the stars to promote themselves, it was an opportunity to raise the level of competition between them.
Among the biggest stars at the luncheon were director Steven Spielberg and actress Cate Blanchett, Tom Cruise caught everyone’s attention, as Hollywood stars rushed to Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai to say hi.
“Top Gun: Maverick,” which Cruz produced and also starred in, was nominated for an Oscar for Best Motion Picture Drama.
This work achieved remarkable success in cinemas, with a total revenue of $ 1.5 billion.
“The movie is amazing (…) I would like people to go to the cinemas to see it,” Cruz told AFP. And about the atmosphere that prevailed in the Beverly Hills Ballroom, where the luncheon was held, which was crowded with candidates and members of the Academy, Cruz said, “It is magical.”
The 95th Academy Awards will be held on March 12. This year, members of the Academy nominated blockbuster films, including “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” in a move aimed at countering the steadily declining television viewership of the event.
During her speech at the luncheon, Academy President Janet Yang reaffirmed her desire to turn the page on the controversial incident that was recorded at the Oscars last year, when actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock, and said: “What happened on the stage was unacceptable.” Totally acceptable. The academy’s response was not sufficient.
Despite slapping Rock, Smith did not leave the party at the time, but rather went up to the stage to receive the Oscar he won in the Best Actor category. Smith was later banned from these movie award ceremonies for ten years. Yang, whose speech drew standing ovations, stressed that the academy “should act with compassion and firmness” in times of adversity.
After the luncheon, the names of the 182 nominees present were read out, as well as directors representing their countries in the international business categories. The candidates then took the traditional photo with which this event usually ends.
Nobel laureates
Those in attendance enjoyed the moments, such as writer Kazuo Ishiguro, who received a nomination for his screenplay for the British drama “Living”. Ishiguro had won the Nobel Prize for Literature five years ago in Stockholm, and he said: “The atmosphere is completely different (…) and it is like a version of the American dream… Many people dream of being here.”
Ishiguro noted that “the Oscars are more like an electoral process, requiring multiple campaigns” than is required for other prestigious awards.
Also among the Nobel laureates was the Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for being the executive producer of “Stranger at the Gate,” a short documentary about a former American soldier seeking to blow up a mosque in his hometown. On meeting Tom Cruise, Malala commented, “It’s surreal. I saw it on screen and now I see it in person.”
