Malala meets Tom Cruise at the Oscars luncheon. At the Academy’s buzzed-up annual luncheon on Monday, over 200 of this year’s Oscar candidates gathered to celebrate and appraise their competitors, with Tom Cruise living up to his reputation as the “last true movie star.”
There was no denying that Cruise remained the biggest draw in a room full of A-listers like Steven Spielberg and Cate Blanchett, with a line of well-wishers that stretched the whole of the event, from Hollywood heavyweights to Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai.
Cruise is nominated this year as a producer of Top Gun: Maverick, in which he also starred. The film is considered a growing frontrunner for the best picture Oscar – Hollywood’s most prestigious prize. “It’s been incredible… I just want to get people into theaters,” Cruise further told AFP. “But this is lovely,” he admitted, motioning to the Beverly Hills ballroom, packed with Oscar nominees and Academy voters, and kitted out with giant golden statuettes and open champagne bars.
Pakistani activist Yousafzai, donning a Saniya Maskatiya outfit, attended as an executive producer of Stranger at the Gate, a short documentary about a US Marine veteran who plotted to blow up a mosque in his hometown. “It’s surreal,” she told the publication after meeting Cruise. “I’ve seen him on the screen and now I’m seeing him in person.”
The 95th Academy Awards will be held on March 12th. Academy voters this year handed out various nominations for box office smash hits such as Maverick, Avatar: The Way of Water and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – raising hopes that Oscars TV audiences will pick back up.
“The awards gods have smiled on us – there’s nothing we can do about that,” joked Glenn Weiss, who is returning to produce next month’s Oscars telecast ceremony.
Janet Yang, the president of the Academy, expressed her desire to move past the “extraordinary” uproar that Will Smith’s infamous slap of Chris Rock on the Oscars stage last year caused during her statement at the luncheon.
“What happened on stage was totally unacceptable. And the response from our organisation was inadequate,” she said.
The Academy “must actively compassionately and decisively” in times of crisis, said Yang, to applause. After lunch, the names of all 182 attending nominees and directors representing their countries in the international feature film category, were read out, and the nominees posed for the traditional, giant-sized “class photo.”
The film with the most nominations this year, Everything Everywhere All At Once, a whimsical sci-fi with a largely Asian cast that many experts believe will win best picture, received some of the loudest applause on Monday.”We paid them a lot of money to do that!” joked best actor – female nominee Michelle Yeoh, describing the indie film’s giant success as “a dream come true.”
Colin Farrell and Austin Butler as the best actor nominees and stars of best picture rivals “The Banshees of Inisherin” and “Elvis,” also drew raucous cheers from the luncheon crowd.
Malala expressed her gratitude after the documentary received a nomination for Best Documentary Short Film. Malala had already stated her intention to watch Stranger at the Gate.
Joshua Seftel is the director and producer of the film Stranger at the Gate, which depicts the story of a US Marine named Richard “Mac” McKinney who originally intended to destroy a mosque but ended up converting to Islam. He abandoned his plan to destroy the mosque after being moved by the Muslims in the mosque and decided to become a Muslim instead. He is currently the mosque’s president.
“This film is a powerful true story of forgiveness and redemption,” Yousafzai had said in a statement to Variety. “I hope the film challenges every viewer to question their assumptions and show kindness to everyone they meet.” She later shared on Twitter, “When I first saw this film, it opened my mind and changed my perspective. I am honoured to support Joshua Seftel’s Stranger at the Gate, a powerful true story about redemption.”
In an interview with Star Press, McKinney recalled, “These people were killers,” of his first impression of those inside the centre. Those inside, however, saw the ex-Marine as troubled and in need of their friendship.
“When Josh Seftel, director of Stranger at the Gate, contacted me as the president of the Islamic Center of Muncie with the idea for this short film,” Bibi Bahrami shared. “I jumped at the opportunity to showcase how our Muslim community in Muncie was able to welcome Mac with open arms.”
