LOS ANGELES _ There was a star at almost every table: Pharrell Williams, taking daytime formal to the extreme in a NASA sweatshirt and ripped jeans. Emma Stone, flanked by her mother, who was busy capturing the event with her iPhone. Casey Affleck, still reveling in the New England Patriots' Super Bowl win hours before.
All told, 160 of this year's Academy Award nominees turned up at the Beverly Hilton on Monday afternoon to celebrate their accomplishments at an annual luncheon. But despite the impressive roster, and the generally boisterous mood, attention was paid to nominees who weren't in the room _ notably Asghar Farhadi, the Iranian director of "The Salesman," who said last week he would not attend the Oscars in the wake of President Donald Trump's executive order banning travel from seven majority Muslim countries.
"Each and every one of us knows that there are some empty chairs in this room," acknowledged Cheryl Boone Isaacs, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as she addressed the crowd. "There is a struggle, globally, today over artistic freedom that feels more urgent than at any time since the 1950s. Art has no borders. Art has no language and doesn't belong to a single faith. No _ the power of art is that it transcends all of these things, and strong societies don't censor art; they celebrate it. America should always be not a barrier but a beacon."
Just a year ago, Isaacs stood at the same plexiglass podium, calling out the "elephant in the room" after the #OscarsSoWhite controversy. In 2015, not a single actor of color was recognized by the academy, but last month, the organization nominated seven minority actors from 2016 films.
With an almost palpable sense of relief, Isaacs noted that the academy grew by 683 members this year, saying the progress made should set a "shining example" for the movie business.
"When our storytellers tackle issues of importance _ from religious intolerance, to racism, to sexism _ when we bring to the screen stories from around the world, we become agents of change," she said. "When we speak out against those who try to put up barriers, we reinforce this important truth: That all artists around the world are connected by a powerful bond, one that speaks to our creativity and common humanity."
Though Isaacs' remarks set a somewhat sober tone, the celebratory mood in the ballroom was hardly muted as the nominees were called, one by one, by academy Gov. Laura Dern to gather on risers for their class photo. When everyone was in place, five photos were taken _ and a copy of one of them will eventually be sent to each nominee.
And while there were no empty holes in the photo, there was still a sense that something was missing.
Namely, Meryl Streep, nominated for her turn in "Florence Foster Jenkins," and not in attendance. Perhaps after 20 of these things, you simply don't have any more space on your wall for the class photos.
