Diversity feted as Oscar nominees gather for class photo, and lunch

BEVERLY HILLS, California -- Pop singer Lady Gaga, Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron and African-American filmmaker Spike Lee were among scores of Oscar nominees who gathered for a group photo on Monday ahead of the Academy Awards ceremony in three weeks time, when only a handful will go home as winners.

Actors Glenn Close, Bradley Cooper, Rami Malek and Amy Adams, along with dozens of producers, editors, costume designers, documentary makers and musicians in 24 categories were also among those attending the annual Oscar nominees luncheon in Beverly Hills.

John Bailey, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences whose members vote on the Oscar winners, said the class of 2019 was notable for its diversity.

"This year has the largest class of women nominees. Far from parity, and of course we need to do better. Gender parity is an industry matter, not just an Academy matter," Bailey told the guests.

"Inclusion, diversity, racial, ethnic and gender equality are not just buzzwords. They go to the heart of what our Academy is doing," he added.

The luncheon took place with still no official word on whether the February 24 Oscar ceremony would go ahead without a host for only the second time in its 91-year history.

The Oscar show producers urged the eventual winners to keep their acceptance speeches short on the big night, particularly as the Academy has pledged to cut this year's telecast by about 30 minutes to three hours.

Producer Glenn Weiss said the goal was to deliver "an enjoyable and entertaining evening while we work hard to produce a three-hour show for the first time."

Cuaron's "Roma" and Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos comedy "The Favourite" lead nominations for the Oscars with 10 apiece.

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Will Smith shuns Oscars in diversity protest, Ruffalo to attend

Will Smith on Thursday joined director Spike Lee and his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith in not attending the 2016 Oscar ceremony in February in protest over the absence of nominated actors of color, while nominee Mark Ruffalo said he will attend the show after confusion over his stance.

Smith, star of football head trauma movie "Concussion," was the highest-profile black actor to be snubbed by Oscar voters when nominees were announced last week. No actors of color were nominated in any of the 20 acting categories for a second straight year.

"My wife's not going... We've discussed it. We're part of this community. But at this current time, we're uncomfortable to stand there and say this is OK," Smith told ABC television's "Good Morning America."

Ruffalo, who is white, is a best supporting actor nominee for playing an investigative journalist in Catholic Church abuse probe "Spotlight."

After some confusion over whether he would join the protest, the actor said on Twitter he will be at the Oscars "in support of the victims of clergy sexual abuse and good journalism," but that he did support those not attending in protest.

Lee, Smith, Pinkett-Smith and documentary director Michael Moore are the only major stars so far to announce they will not attend the Oscars.

Their protest has sparked a major debate over the lack of diversity both at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, whose majority white male members vote on the Oscars, and in Hollywood at large.

Smith said that both times he had previously been nominated for an Oscar, he had "never lost to a white person."

"When I see this list and series of nominations that come out — and everybody is fantastic and that's the complexity of this issue, everyone is beautiful and deserving and it's fantastic — but it feels like it's going the wrong direction," he said.

Lee on Wednesday said he had never used the word "boycott" to characterize his protest.

Oscars host Chris Rock has made no public statement on the issue, but has also come under pressure from rapper 50 Cent and "Fast & Furious" actor Tyrese Gibson to quit.

"There is no joke that he can crack. There is no way for him to seize the moment and come into this thing and say, 'I'm going to say this and say that I'm going to address the issue but then I'm still going to keep my gig as the host,' " Gibson told People magazine. "The statement that you make is that you step down."

(Additional reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy in Los Angeles; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Andrew Hay)

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