Oscars | The candidates happy to be able to return to Los Angeles

(Los Angeles) From Steven Spielberg to Will Smith via the Bhutanese director Pawo Choyning Dorji, the Oscar candidates met happily in a large hotel in Los Angeles on Monday, after too long a break linked to the pandemic.

The annual luncheon hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which awards the Oscars, was canceled last year, but international stars thronged there again on Monday afternoon.

You could see Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz chatting over a drink with Guillermo del Toro and Maggie Gyllenhaal while, not far from there, Denzel Washington took pictures for a long line of admirers.

“If ever there was a time to be grateful and rejoice in an occasion that allows us to be in the same room, ladies and gentlemen, it’s this year,” said Will Packer, who will produce the evening. of the 94^and edition of the Oscars, March 27.

Last year, the most popular ceremony in American cinema took place in Los Angeles Central Station, with candidates who only rubbed shoulders in the open air and took turns on the stage in dribs and drabs during the show.

This year, the gala evening will be almost normal and will return to the traditional Dolby Theater on Hollywood Boulevard and its red carpets.

Benedict Cumberbatch, star of the film The Power of the Dog in the running for the Oscar for best feature film, the supreme reward, told AFP to be “happy to continue to beat the recall” of the votes for this dark western in the final stretch of the votes. Especially since the director of the film, Jane Campion, could not be present after having tested positive for COVID-19.

“I believe this film will stand the test of time,” said the British artist, himself a candidate for the Best Actor Oscar for his role as a tormented cowboy.

In the running for the category of best director, Jane Campion is “well” and does not feel any symptoms, he said.

The candidate from the end of the world

The film crew CODA, remake of the French film The Aries family which depicts a deaf family and their hearing daughter, was also present.

The independent film received the first prize at the SAG Awards at the end of February, awards given by the union of American actors who generally weigh heavily in the race for the Oscars.

“We’re a very tight-knit cast, so it was wonderful to receive such an award, and very unexpected,” said one of its stars, young Emilia Jones.

The film premiered — via the internet because of the pandemic — at Sundance in January 2021, which means the cast of CODA campaign against competitors whose films were released “months after ours”.

Among the international stars, we also find the author of The school at the end of the worldan astonishing film from Bhutan, a small country in the Himalayan peaks, which is participating in the Oscars for the first time.

The feature film had been presented at the 2021 edition, but had not been selected at that time for technical reasons.

Its director, Pawo Choyning Dorji, assured AFP that he “thought it was a mistake” when he learned of the film’s nomination.

“I just cried meeting Jessica Chastain,” adds his wife, producer Stephanie Lai, seated at the table next to the star of In the eyes of Tammy Fayefavorite for the Oscar for best actress.