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There can be more than 100 Oscar-nominated filmmakers and actors in a room … but nobody can stop Lady Gaga from standing out.
Ahead of the 91st Academy Awards this month, nominees gathered for the annual celebratory luncheon in Beverly Hills on Monday for a class photo featuring 212 artists from the 52 films honored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences this year.
Stars like Glenn Close, Mahershala Ali, Christian Bale, Rachel Weisz, Spike Lee, Bradley Cooper, Melissa McCarthy, Yalitzia Aparicio and Rami Malek stood shoulder to shoulder around a giant Oscar statue for the star-studded portrait.
“Meet the 91st #Oscars #OscarsLunch,” the academy captioned the official snapshot.
While it’s difficult to spot any one person, given the sheer number of performers, filmmakers and producers in the photograph, fans immediately noticed Gaga in the top left of the photo, dressed all in white.
As per tradition, academy Governor Laura Dern announced each of the nominees by name, and they took the stage. The first person called up was Spike Lee, who received a long overdue nomination for Best Director this year.
“Here, now, in a time marked by great fragmentation, noise and unrest, we have the opportunity to join together as a single community and shape a coherent narrative, a narrative that gives voice to those without a voice, that honors the experience and the dreams of not just the few but the many,” Dern said before welcoming the nominees.
She even made special mention of Gaga in her introduction by adding “queen” before the singer’s name.
Eagle-eyed fans noted that “Green Book” actor Viggo Mortensen threw up a peace sign in the photo.
“Bohemian Rhapsody” star Malek was apparently the “darling of the event,” according to Entertainment Weekly, and was showered with congratulations by his fellow nominees for his performance in the Queen biopic.
But the luncheon wasn’t just about famous types toasting to one another’s accomplishments with what we imagine was very nice Champagne.
Academy President John Bailey was on hand to preview this year’s ceremony and remarked on the diversity of this year’s class, which featured 63 female nominees — the most to date.
“This year has the largest class of women nominees. Far from parity, and of course we need to do better,” he told the guests. “Gender parity is an industry matter, not just an academy matter.”
He added, “Inclusion, diversity, racial, ethnic and gender equality are not just buzzwords. They go to the heart of what our academy is doing.”
The 91st annual Academy Awards airs Feb. 24 on ABC.
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