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BEVERLY HILLS, CA-The last stop on the road to the 75th Academy Awards ceremony attracted 17 out of the 19 nominees in the acting categories for a free lunch and a last chance to smooze before competing hand–to-throat for the coveted golden statuette on the eve of March 23rd. The traditional Oscars Luncheon, given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, gathers the nominees for an honorary feast and a historical class photo. Most names on the nomination list and the class photo are familiar – Julianne Moore in her polka dot top standing in the front role with her hands clasped demurely behind her back and Harvey Weinstein’s mien is, without fail, somewhere in the midst. He is as constant a figure as the giant statuette propped in the annual photo.

The name of the event, however, can be deceiving. Indeed the fete at the four star hotel proved festive for those being honored, but the reporters and writers only enjoyed the occasional aroma of food wafting in and out of the small press room when the wind changed. At times, the rumbling in my own stomach, seemed to drown out the Pre-Oscar Q&A as I sat in the corner of the room next to the event’s sound guy on perhaps the sunniest day in Los Angeles. The seduction might have proved too much for some of the weak-willed as staple questions about Oscar outfits were peppered with questions about the looming threat of nuclear warfare. During Nicole Kidman’s brief moment with the press, angry words erupted as one reporter cut the actress off mid sentence. Kidman, however, genially laughed off the tiff.

The theme of the press junket was brevity as nominees were ushered in one after another and the some of the press members were audibly censured more than once for not respecting the time limit. Over all, the concern of having the Academy Awards Gala in the very threat of war seemed pervasive on everyone’s mind.

"It would be obscene if we were trouncing up the rep carpet grinning and waving while people are dying around the world," said Best Actor Nominee Daniel Day Lewis.
The concerns were best and most eloquently put into perspective by Best Supporting Actress Nominee, Queen Latifah.
"If you are not going to speak up, freedom is not freedom. You have to speak up about things that are important to you that mean something to you. We’re all Americans whether we’re actors, musicians or what have you, producers. It doesn’t matter we’re still American and we’re still affected by what happens in other countries. I’m the daughter of a Vietnam Veteran, so I lived with the effect of what can happen to a person who goes through a war, so for me, war is should not be the first, should not be something that is taken lightly," said Latifah.

The somber threat did not, however, take away from the afterglow of victory at the Screen Actors Guild Awards where Chicago tap-danced away with a haul of honors, including best ensemble cast and the lead-actress prize for star Renee Zellweger.


"Gosh I try to put my feet in the room and enjoy the moment," effused Chicago director Gary Marshall at the Luncheon. "I’m working on being in the room and enjoying the moment because I know it doesn’t happen very often!"

For Marshall, it is indeed a rare occasion to garner thirteen nominations especially since Chicago is his first feature film. Chicago cast member and expectant mother, Catherine Zeta Jones was also present and looking radiant.
"Don’t jinx it! The baby is not going anywhere!" Zeta-Jones quipped when asked how she will prepare for the unexpected. "An OB-GYN tucked into my dress? It’s certainly big enough!"
Questions about expected Oscar gowns were deflected by Diane Lane, who described herself as "going between panic and denial" while in the process of choosing an ensemble for her possible crowning night. Kidman was a little more specific in describing her preferences.
"I do like to be able to sit down in it and I like to be able to go wee," said the Aussie actress who is favored to win after emerging victorious at the Golden Globes. Will she be accompanied by a hot date? Actually, she’s bringing her parents. "I’m pathetic!" she announces as she leaves the room.

Christopher Walken, nominated for his role as Frank Abagnale in Catch Me If You Can admitted that there was a specific scene in the film that surprised him. "It’s in that one scene when they give me a hair cut, the hat and the coat – I look like my father!"

Fellow nominee for his role in Adaptation, Chris Cooper, ceremoniously admitted that he did not vote for himself in the Best Supporting Actor Category at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. "I voted for another person in this category because I liked the other person’s performance," said Cooper dressed in a black t-shirt and a blue suit. "I’ll say that he has the first same name as me."

In tenuous times of political strife coupled with extraordinary artistic heights, it is Walken who sums up the emotions of the Oscars the best, "I think that every year there’s terrific acting, but this year it’s really strong. The people who get nominated are not only very good, but they’re lucky."

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