Academy Awards Nominees Luncheon 2010

Beverly Hills, CA (Hollywood Backstage) - Oscar nominees attended the official 29th Academy Awards Nominees Luncheon at the lavish Beverly Hilton Hotel on Monday. The Academy Luncheon is an annual event. All of the luncheons have been held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

The luncheon was an opportunity for Academy members who received Oscar nominations this year to celebrate, greet one another and for them to hear from the Academy Awards show's producers Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman. Attending the Academy luncheon were 121 nominees in every category.

121 Oscar Nominees Academy Awards 2010

Seating for the luncheon was not done by category or by film. Rather, the tables throughout the room had nominees from the various categories and films mixed together. Each table was "hosted" by a governor or past president of the Academy. The Oscar nominees were seated at various tables at the elegant event in scattered groupings in a seating arrangement designed to allowed major stars to interact with those in all nominee categories, including those "behind-the-scenes" -- producers, directors, writers, cameramen, editors, sound technicians, and other nominees. This allowed attendees who might not know each other to be introduced and provided a useful and friendly interaction with one another.

Academy Awards show co-producer and former CEO of Fox Filmed Entertainment, Bill Mechanic spoke to the group in a "short" speech to the Oscar nominees. He emphasized that they should refrain from long acceptance speeches (i.e. thanking their agents, production companies, friends, and family). According to Mr. Mechanic, long, drawn out, laundry list style acceptance speeches are "the single most-hated thing on the show."

Instead, Mechanic instructed the attending nominees that should they win, their acceptance speeches should encapsulate how they feel. Then, he presented to the audience some clips of acceptance speeches in a style and direction they would like to see this year, from previous winners, including, Renee Zellweger, talking about what it feels like at that moment to win. That is exactly what they are looking for in acceptance speeches this year. This clip will be part of the show's opening this year.

"Share your passion on what the Oscar means to you" with the audience, Academy Awards co-producer Adam Shankman echoed to nominees at the luncheon. Shankman is both the co-producer and the choreographer of the show. "This is an important event that I am very emotionally attached to. This is where I got my start 20 years ago."

The producers have decided that winners will give two speeches: one onstage telling audiences what winning an Oscar "means to them," and a second backstage for a "Thank You Cam" where winners can say "Thanks" to whomever they want. These backstage thank you speeches will be interspersed into the broadcast. If it goes too long, too strange, too mumbled -- it will surely end up "on the cutting room floor."

The Academy Awards show has been criticized in the past for not moving along quick enough. Long-winded acceptance speeches and long musical numbers are now outdated. This year, actual film clips will be used to spotlight nominees in the "Best Original Song" category. In the past, live performances have been featured. Of the 121 nominees at the luncheon, nine are double nominees (Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Christopher Boyes, Lee Daniels, Pete Docter, Andy Nelson, Paul N.J. Ottoson, Gary Summers and Quentin Tarantino) and two are triple nominees (James Cameron and Jason Reitman).

82nd Annual Academy Awards Nominees Luncheon, February 15, 2010.

Her are some notable Academy Award Winner and backstage press room quotes:

Sally Field: " ...you like me, right now, you like me! " Places in the Heart (1985) Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (a.k.a. Best Actress).

Elizabeth Taylor: " ...I don't know what I'm doing here... (in the press room, she was a presenter) ...I didn't win anything." Academy Award, Best Actress: Butterfield 8 (1960), Academy Award, Best Actress: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) Academy Award, Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (1992).

Warren Beatty (on losing): "It's an honor to be nominated." Beatty received the Academy Award for Best Director Reds (1981) . He's been nominated for "Best Actor" many times. Splendor in the Grass (1961), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Heaven Can Wait (1978), Reds (1981) and Bugsy (1991).

Jack Nicholson (on losing): "It's an honor to be nominated." Nicholson received the Academy Award for his performance in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), and again in As Good As It Gets (1997). Nicholson was also nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in Five Easy Pieces (1967), The Last Detail (1967), Chinatown (1967), Prizzi's Honor (1967), Ironweed (1967), and About Schmidt (1967).

James Cameron: "I feel like I'm the King of the World." Titanic (1997) was nominated for 14 Academy Awards and won 11, including the Best Picture and Best Director. This was also a quote from a scene in the movie where actor Leonardo DiCaprio as "Jack Dawson" was standing at the tip of the bow of the doomed ship and he was expressing his joy to actress Kate Winslet, who played the character "Rose DeWitt Bukater."

Hillary Swank: "I don't know what I did in this life to deserve all of this." Million Dollar Baby (2004) Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (a.k.a. Best Actress).

Simon Beaufoy: "There are certain places in the universe you never imagine standing. For me, it's the moon, the South Pole, the Miss World podium and here." Slumdog Millionaire (2009) Best Adapted Screenplay.