George Clooney, Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air
Fourteen Academy Award nominees in the acting categories are expected to be among more than 120 nominees gathering today at noon for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' annual Oscar Nominees Luncheon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. [Oscar Nominees Luncheon Group Photo.]
Jeff Bridges, George Clooney, Colin Firth, Morgan Freeman, Jeremy Renner, Sandra Bullock, Carey Mulligan, Gabourey Sidibe and Meryl Streep are expected to attend. And so are supporting nominees Vera Farmiga, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Anna Kendrick, Woody Harrelson and Christoph Waltz. Nine supporting actress nominee Penelope Cruz was at the Spanish Academy's Goya Awards in Madrid last night. Perhaps she felt that zooming to Los Angeles that same night would have been a bit much — though she's done that in the past.
All five nominees from the Directing category – Kathryn Bigelow, James Cameron, Lee Daniels, Jason Reitman and Quentin Tarantino – are also expected to attend.
We have some images from the 2009 Nominees Luncheon and the 2008 Nominees Luncheon. We'll be adding photos of the 2010 Nominees Luncheon as they become available.
The 2010 Academy Awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, March 7 at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center. In the United States, it'll be televised live by ABC.
Photo: Up in the Air (Dale Robinette / Paramount)