See the 2023 Oscar nominees strike a pose for their class photo

The camera flashes were nearly blinding in the Beverly Hilton ballroom when Austin Butler started chatting with Tom Cruise at the 2023 Oscars nominee luncheon. Then Angela Bassett joined in… and Ke Huy Quan. Colin Farrell made the rounds saying hello to guests including his Banshees of Inisherin castmates Kerry Condon and Brendan Gleeson, the latter of whom also chatted with fellow Irishman Paul Mescal at one point.

Monday afternoon's fête was a packed one, with studio executives, press, and guests celebrating the achievements of this year's nominees — nearly 200 in attendance — who posed for their traditional class photo (below).

Roars from the audience got underway as Everything Everywhere All at Once supporting actress nominee Jamie Lee Curtis was called up first to the stands, which filled up over the next 45 minutes or so with nominees from all categories. Like Curtis, the applause grew for folks including Steven Spielberg, Cruise, Bassett, Brendan Fraser, Farrell, Butler, Michelle Yeoh, Cate Blanchett, and Quan, who pumped his fist in the air as he quickly bounced his way down to the stage.

Noticeably absent among the acting nominees were Andrea Riseborough, Ana de Armas, and Barry Keoghan, while best song nominees Lady Gaga and Rihanna (fresh off her Super Bowl halftime performance) were also missing.

Before getting to the luncheon's traditional highlight, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Janet Yang encouraged those who'll be lucky enough to take the Dolby Theatre stage next month to keep their acceptance speeches to 45 seconds — the Academy has put in a lot of work to include all categories in the telecast, she said to cheers.

She also addressed the "unprecedented event" at last year's ceremony, referring to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock on stage. Yang said the incident was "fully unacceptable" and admitted that "the response from our organization was inadequate." She promised that Academy will "act swiftly, compassionately, and decisively" in times of crisis moving forward.

The 95th Oscars will air Sunday, March 12, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on ABC.

Check out more from EW's The Awardist, featuring exclusive interviews, analysis, and our podcast diving into all the highlights from the year's best in TV. If you are an entertainment industry association, guild, or union member, sign up here to receive future EW print issues.

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