Inside the Oscars Luncheon 2016

The nominees for the 88th Academy Awards gathered at the Beverly Hilton Hotel for the annual Oscars luncheon and Awards Daily was there to cover the event. A few protesters had gathered outside the hotel calling for a boycott of the Oscars by holding up placards with the hashtag #Oscarssowhite. Anthony Breznican of Entertainment Weekly tweeted this photo:

Group of protesters outside today’s Oscar Nominee luncheon, with signs marked #OscarsSoWhite. pic.twitter.com/aow8VANWJW

— Anthony Breznican (@Breznican) February 8, 2016

The nominees began arriving, and inside the interview room the world’s press had gathered waiting for the nominees to come in and field questions. They’re not obligated to come to the Interview room but many did.

Alicia Vikander, who had a busy 2015, has been nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Gerda in The Danish Girl. She was first to enter the room. Asked about her experience of awards season so far, Vikander mentioned how she had just bumped into Ex Machina director Alex Garland, “I met Alex Garland on the way in here and we both couldn’t really say anything. We’re like, ‘What are we doing here?’ It’s not only the last few months; it’s the journey of all the films you’ve done.” She went on to talk about the experience of being nominated for an Oscar. “I’m still trying to get used to it. I haven’t done many interviews at all until this year.”

The Big Short’s director, Adam McKay was next to make an appearance. He talked about screening the film for members of Congress this Wednesday. “This is not a left-right issue. This is about us losing our homes or jobs.” Directing a remark toward Congress, he said, “Your constituents, whether you’re a Republican or Democrat, could lose everything because of this.” McKay was also asked about the ever-shifting race for Best Picture. He said, “We don’t really think about which movie is going to win what. What we’re happy about is that movies that are dealing with entrenched power and corruption, like ‘Spotlight’ and like our movie, are being considered.”

Brie Larson, nominated for Best Actress in Room was next to speak. When asked about her dress, her reply was, “Oh. Is that what you want to ask?” The next question was about her co-star Jacob Tremblay. Larson told reporters from CNN, BBC, Reuters, “I’m a better person for knowing and having worked with him. He was a wonderful buffer through making the film. I was never allowed to get precious about my performance because it was always about him. It’s such a gift that’s carried over to this experience where I’m paired up with him constantly. All of these ‘firsts’ are with this child who has brought so much joy and light to my life that I can focus on him again and not have to worry so much about this weird thing that’s happening.”

Larson was also asked about Tremblay’s dad who’s been nicknamed Hot Daddy. She smiled and replied, ” It’s really funny. He’s here, just so everyone’s aware. ‘Hot Dad’ is here. It’s been going on quietly for a while and it’s really amazing how the internet has finally caught on almost a year later.”

The diversity question was finally asked. It had been avoided until this point. Eddie Redmayne was on the receiving end of it. “We haven’t actually sat down and met together until this occasion. But certainly it’s something that’s on everybody’s mind. And I think you can see the way it’s been handled as a positive step,” he commented.

Redmayne was also asked about how The Danish Girl has had an impact on the transgender community, he replied, “I would never pretend that our work would have any huge effect. I hope what we were doing was continuing the conversation. It’s an extraordinary thing that in the past year or two transitions have come to the mainstream media. What staggers me is how long it’s taken.”

Redmayne, who won the Oscar last year for his portrayal as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything, made a crack about the weather in LA saying, “At last year’s Oscars I was a bundle of nerves. This year, I’m going to try and enjoy every moment. I always promise [my wife] Hannah it’s going to be sunny in L.A. and it was raining last year. This year, it looks good.”

The biggest cheers and round of applause came when Sylvester Stallone entered the room. Humbled by the welcome, Stallone said, “”I never thought I’d be able to cross this threshold again. I wish I had done more, being a bit more adventurous. I couldn’t be more thrilled at the fact that my daughters look at me now as an actor and not a bad golfer.”

Stallone is the only nominee from Creed and he talked about the #OscarsSoWhite issue. He said, “Certainly, there is a universal law of existence. You either adapt or cease to exist. Adaptation and evolving were definitely necessary,” he said, referring to the Academy’s new efforts at inclusion, which were announced after the uproar. “I remember I spoke with Ryan Coogler when this happened. I said, ‘Ryan how do you want to handle this? Because I really believe you are responsible for me being here. Michael Jordan, every time I looked in his eyes as an actor, I said, he was making me better. I think he should’ve been given a lot more respect and attention.’ [Coogler] goes, ‘Sly, just go there, try to represent the film, and we feel you deserve it. Eventually things will change.’ I said, ‘If you want me to go I’ll go. If you don’t, I won’t.’ He said, ‘No I want you to go.’ That’s the kind of guy he is. He wants us to go and represent the film.”

Tom McCarthy, director of Spotlight was next into the interview room and was asked about why the film’s cast didn’t feature more diversity, he replied, “We’re portraying real people in real times, and we are dealing with an incredibly disenfranchised group – survivors of sexual abuse. But it’s Boston. It’s a very specific culture. That’s what we’re representing. The Visitor was a very different situation. You always have to be true to the material, but also aware. What is the society I’m presenting? These are all wonderfully challenging and creative issues and discussions, and I think what’s happening right now will further promote them.”

Director Lenny Abrahamson said he was shocked to find out about his nomination. “Luckily I was sitting down when I found out, because I think I probably would’ve fallen over. I’m very honored. The thing that means so much is that it’s the vote of your peers; it’s the directors in the Academy who make that decision, so I just felt very honored. I think ‘Room’ is a film where the direction is, I hope, subtle and almost invisible, so it’s particularly nice that other directors recognize the work.”

I asked him about the biggest risk he had taken and how it had paid off, he joked, “Getting married is probably the answer to that question. And it has paid off. I’d like to say that. Just in case.” He added, “In ‘Room’… It was casting Jake [Tremblay], because it’s never possible to know, when you make that decision, just how it’s gonna work. But just believing that the chemistry would come between him and Brie, believing that he would become confident enough to give that performance. He did it. I’m very, very proud of him.”

Rooney Mara, nominated for Carol was asked about diversity, and said, “I think it’s a conversation that we should all be having. On top of that, I read this piece in the New York Times yesterday where they were talking about it and they were also talking about Carol. And they were saying there should also be a hashtag #OscarsSoStraight. I think these are all important conversations for us all to be having.”

Mara was also asked about how this year’s awards season changed her, she answered, “I don’t know that it’s changed me. I’ve obviously been through this process one other time, and I was slightly younger then and very new to it all. It felt like a much different experience that time and now I sort of know what to expect. There’s two sides to it. It’s a huge honor and it’s such a great way to celebrate all of our films, but then on the other hand it can be very overwhelming and sometimes it feels like we’ve been celebrating the same person’s birthday for months on end and it’s just never gonna stop. Sometimes it can feel like a little bit much, like I want the birthday party to end. But then there is this other wonderful side to it where you get to meet all these people that you’re inspired by and want to work with. It’s really nice to be able to celebrate film with other people who also want to celebrate film.”

Rachel McAdams who scored a Best Supporting Actress nod made an appearance in the interview room and was asked about the least glamorous thing she did this awards season. McAdams answered, “It’s always really not glamorous when you go home at the end of the night. It’s so sad and you just fall on the floor in a puddle. It’s so fun, but you really do feel like you turn into a pumpkin – go from Cinderella to a pumpkin, in the best way. I shouldn’t say this out loud, because Elie Saab might kill me, but I had a great photoshoot with my sister’s Chihuahua on the dress after the SAG Awards with the SAG award. Don’t tell anyone I did that. She’s tiny, so it was fine.”

McAdams also talked about Sacha Pfeiffer, the journalist she plays in the film. “She’s very, very modest. You can’t interview her. I had such a hard time getting anything out of her because she cares about other peoples’ stories more than herself. So it was nice to be able to put her on the pedestal for once.”

Mad Max:Fury Road’s Director George Miller was asked whether the diversity controversy will change the way he makes films, Miller replied, “To be honest, I hadn’t thought about it in terms of the next movies I hope to make. It’s there in the back of your mind. Casting is story driven, but I think what’s really good about what’s happened, if there’s a positive to come out of it, is it’s alerted everyone to the problem. It’s interesting to me that television has responded way earlier than cinema has, in all countries, in terms of diversity,” he said, before adding. “Films are story driven and if the story warrants it, of course there should be diversity of all kinds.”

The last nominee to make an appearance was Jennifer Jason Leigh. Leigh was asked about working with Tarantino, she said, “I think Quentin knows what he’s doing. Somehow he saw Daisy in me. I have no idea how. I don’t even know where she came from, in a certain way. I don’t laugh that way, I don’t move that way. We found her in a very organic way and she came to be. That has so much to do with Quentin. It was a blast. I had the greatest time.”