"American Fiction," "The Holdovers," "Past Lives," and "The Zone of Interest" in addition to the $1 billion-grossing "Barbie."

As Oscar contenders gathered in a crowded Beverly Hills ballroom for the Academy's annual nomination luncheon on Monday, Steven Spielberg celebrated a wonderful year for cinema.

Before the Oscars next month, the event allowed A-list celebrities, directors, producers, and behind-the-scenes artists to mingle and mingle with the competitors while enjoying champagne and canapés.

Though "Oppenheimer" is favored to win best picture at the Academy Awards on March 10, Spielberg, who produced the film "Maestro," said that the year had been extraordinary even outside of Christopher Nolan's drama set in the nuclear era.

"This has been a great and eclectic year for films -- one of the best years in terms of high quality, in my opinion, of the past decade," he stated to AFP.

"Maestro," the biographical film starring Bradley Cooper about the great conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein, "is Bradley's triumph," according to Spielberg.

The two films are a part of the highly regarded and incredibly varied best picture shortlist, which includes hits from festivals like "American Fiction," "The Holdovers," "Past Lives," and "The Zone of Interest" in addition to the $1 billion-grossing "Barbie."

There were no signs of animosity or rivalry amongst opponents during Monday's event.

After months of intense campaigning, Emma Stone and Lily Gladstone, the front-runners for best actress with "Poor Things" and "Killers of the Flower Moon," respectively, exchanged a heartfelt hug and a lengthy private conversation before leaving to socialize.

During the process of having to shoot a massive "class photo" with hundreds of nominations, Robert Downey Jr., the best supporting actor frontrunner for "Oppenheimer," amused his fellow contenders with a joke.

Despite being "snubbed," as some may have said, in the best actress and best director categories at the Oscars, Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig nonetheless showed up on behalf of the popular film.

When Gerwig's nomination for writing the movie's script was revealed, she perhaps garnered the greatest applause of the day. Robbie, the "Barbie" producer, was a well-liked figure in the middle of the group shot, dressed in pink.

Billie Eilish, who is nominated for best song for "Barbie," quipped to AFP, "It can be hectic," as she was immediately barraged with demands for photographs upon entering an already star-studded event.

Despite not being officially nominated, Messi—the devoted and endearing dog hero of the French best picture candidate "Anatomy of a Fall," which director and writer Justine Triet also attended—was one of the most sought-after performers.

''Global' contenders"

Academy president Janet Yang praised "an amazing year for cinema," pointing out that this year's candidates, chosen by voting members from 93 different countries, are remarkably "global."

Bobi Wine, the former pop sensation from Uganda who is now a politician, stood out in the gathering because she wore a bright red hat with her black tuxedo.

The violent suppression of Wine's 2021 presidential run in Uganda is the topic of the nominated documentary "Bobi Wine: The People's President."

He said to AFP in a recent interview that the Oscars might be "a game changer" for his nation since the West "will no longer have the luxury to pretend that they don't see what is happening in Uganda."

"20 Days in Mariupol," whose director took a detour from filming two additional films about Russia's invasion of his own Ukraine, to attend the luncheon, is competing against Wine's film for best documentary.

Producing movies and hoping to live is insufficient. It's critical to have this conversation," Mstyslav Chernov told AFP.

He went on, "Almost no one" is still following Ukraine.

End//voice7news.tv