See the official class photo of the 2020 Oscar nominees

Lauren Huff
·4 min read

All of the nominees for the 2020 Oscars were feted on Monday at the annual Oscars Nominees Luncheon, and luckily for those of you who weren’t on the star-studded guest list, photographers (and EW) were on hand to capture all of the best moments.

Every year, that means a class photo of the nominees, high school yearbook-style. For this year’s snap, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Renee Zellweger, Bong Joon Ho, Laura Dern, Quentin Tarantino, Al Pacino, and more of Hollywood’s biggest names gathered in one frame to commemorate the occasion. There were some notable faces missing from the festivities, though. Joaquin Phoenix, Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson (a double nominee for Jojo Rabbit and Marriage Story), Adam Driver, Joe Pesci, Elton John, Margot Robbie, and Martin Scorsese were not among the attendees.

The luncheon celebrates the achievements of the nominees in a low-key way before the big show. This year’s lunch, which featured an all plant-based menu, was held at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at the Hollywood & Highland Center in Los Angeles, instead of its usual home at the Beverly Hilton.

The lively event started on a somber note, with a moment of silence for the late Kobe Bryant and the other eight victims of Sunday’s helicopter crash that claimed the lives of everyone on board. The NBA star won an Oscar in 2018 for his animated short film, Dear Basketball.

Afterward, Academy president David Rubin gave updates about the organization, including the news that the forthcoming Academy Museum has reached 95% of its fundraising goal. He also addressed the Academy’s push for inclusion in recent years. “These programs do work, they are enormously effective,“ he said, adding, “excellence is enhanced when we widen the lens.”

All of the nominees were asked to stand and given a large round of applause before the lunch portion officially kicked off. It seemed as if hardly anyone was able to eat, however. A crowd formed around Pitt throughout the day, with everyone clamoring for a chance to get a picture with the Best Supporting Actor nominee. For his part, Pitt didn’t seem to mind, as he happily obliged everyone who stopped by. Zellweger and Dern shared a hug, and Tarantino made the rounds (wearing a bowling shirt, no less), stopping to chat with just about everyone he came across.

Before taking the infamous class photo, Oscars producers Lynette Howell Taylor and Stephanie Allain had a few tips for all of the nominees, because “no pressure, but millions of people will be watching the show.” Tip number one for being a perfect Oscar winner? “Be prepared, you will not jinx yourself by doing so. And don’t say you didn’t expect it, you do have a one in five chance after all.”

Tip number two warned the nominees of the dreaded speech countdown (the room was told they’d have one minute from the time their name is called to complete their speech). The rest of the pointers included: keep it short and heartfelt, have a single voice accepting the award, be paperless (and phoneless), and don’t lean into the microphone.

With the business side taken care of, actress Illeana Douglas called up each of the nominees one by one to the stage for the class photo. And while every nominee was clapped and cheered for, the room really seemed to show extra love to Parasite helmer (and triple Oscar nominee) Bong Joon Ho, Robert De Niro, Pacino, Dern, Little Women writer/director Greta Gerwig, Pitt, and the 1917 team.

The Oscars show, which is going hostless for the second year in a row, will feature performances by Elton John, Cynthia Erivo, Chrissy Metz, Idina Menzel, and Randy Newman. Previous Oscar winners Rami Malek, Olivia Colman, Mahershala Ali, Regina King, and many more are slated to present.

See how many famous faces you can spot in the class photo, below.

The Academy/Twitter
The Academy/Twitter

The 92nd Academy Awards are set to air live on ABC at 8:00 p.m. EST/5:00 p.m. PST on Sunday, Feb. 9.

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