With Hollywood's biggest night just weeks away, some of the biggest stars gathered for the annual Oscars luncheon Monday -- a pre-awards show gathering where the nominees mingle and pose for the iconic "Oscars Class Photo."
Bradley Cooper, Spike Lee and Mahershala Ali were among some of the fan-favorites to step out at the star-studded event held at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California.
“It feels good, you know, being here today with your fellow nominees and being a part of this -- this village of artists,” Regina King told ABC News. King, who is nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Sharon in “If Beale Street Could Talk,” added that “everyone up on that stage, in that room, truly loves what they do.”
Meet the 91st #Oscars Class! #OscarsLunch pic.twitter.com/mB7oziiXfM
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) February 5, 2019
Melissa McCarthy -- up for Best Actress for her role in “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” -- was also at the event and brought along her mother.
“We asked if she'd want to go and she's like, ‘Well, do we really get lunch?’ And I said ‘We do. The luncheon will provide a lunch,’” she said, later asking in jest, "Is the deal off if they don't give lunch?’"
At the event, Lee chatted with "Good Morning America" about his Oscar-nominated film, "BlacKkKlansman," saying that when they went into production they looked at it as just "another film."
"I've been doing this for four decades," he said. "I wasn't thinking about Oscars ... I mean we're just trying to make the best movie."
(MORE: 2019 Oscar nominations: 'Roma,' 'The Favourite' lead, 'Black Panther' also scores big)Still, the recognition coming at this time in his decades-long career seems to be appreciated, based on what he said about hearing he was nominated.
“It felt great. We all jumped up and down. Our Yorkshire terrier, Ginger, was barking like crazy because she didn't know what was going on,” Lee said. “What you saw was a very genuine, happy moment … that was shared, you know, with my family.”
The legendary filmmaker also shared his advice for people looking to break into the industry.
"Number one, if you wish to go into the industry, hopefully it will be [for] something that you love and not that you just want to make a lot of money because that is no guarantee," Lee said. "Do what you love."
selfie during the class photo for the 2018 Oscar nominees #OscarsLunch pic.twitter.com/q79ru6HvzN
— Bryn (@brynmooser) February 5, 2019
Lee’s words are especially true for Sam Elliott, whose up for Best Supporting Actor for his turn as Bobby in “A Star is Born.”
“I wanted to do this when I was a young kid. And on some level, I felt I was against all odds, it was like a pipe dream. But that was my pipe dream, and, you know, prepared to spend a lifetime pursuing it.”
(MORE: 'I'm over it': Kevin Hart on Oscars controversy, why he's not hosting the show)Adam McKay, director of the Oscar-nominated film, "Vice," shared with "GMA" his favorite part of working on the political biopic about former Vice President Dick Cheney.
"I love the mystery of this movie, trying to find out who Dick Cheney, and once you dig into Dick Cheney, Lynn Cheney, who they are, where do these people come from?" McKay said. "How did they change the course of American history?"
"The whole movie felt like an investigation," he added.
Greg Cannom, who was also nominated for his work as a makeup artist on "Vice," dished on how he transformed Christian Bale into Cheney, telling "GMA" it could at times take three to four hours just for the makeup.
"Christian Bale is fantastic to work with, so lucky to have gotten to work with him, and he had a lot to do with the makeup, designing it, he kept wanting certain things," Cannom said. "None of us ever thought it was going to work, but luckily it worked where he looked pretty much a lot like Cheney."
Y’all!!! Oscars!!! @iamRuthECarter #chinchilla1970 pic.twitter.com/sXB9PqpVNS
— Hannah Beachler (@chinchilla1970) February 4, 2019
The Academy released an inspirational video on their Twitter page that they showed during the luncheon, of stars opening up backstage about what it feels like to win an Oscar from years past.
We put together this video to show this year's nominees what it feels like backstage after you win an Oscar. #OscarsLunch pic.twitter.com/PKNcWpSOwe
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) February 4, 2019
