Sharjah24 – Reuters: Will Smith, Kristen Stewart and other Academy Awards contenders gathered on Monday to celebrate at the annual Oscar nominees' luncheon, one of the film industry's largest gatherings since the COVID-19 pandemic limited the Hollywood awards circuit.

Benedict Cumberbatch, Jessica Chastain, Steven Spielberg and Bradley Cooper also joined the crowd in a packed ballroom at the Fairmont Century Plaza hotel in Los Angeles. Stars mingled with sound mixers, costume designers and other behind-the-scenes workers in contention for this year's Oscars, which will be awarded in a live ceremony on March 27.

In 2021, the nominees luncheon was scrapped and the Oscars ceremony was held in front of a small audience at a train station in downtown Los Angeles.

This year, organizers are planning for a big crowd at the show's long-time home of the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Dark Western "The Power of the Dog" leads the field of contenders with 12 nominations, followed by sci-fi epic "Dune."

At Monday's luncheon, Packer gave nominees advice on how to give a memorable acceptance speech. He urged them to be concise and to skip the tradition of thanking agents, managers or other representatives.