Tom Cruise lived up to his billing as "Last true movie star" as nearly 200 of this year's Oscar nominees gathered to celebrate and size up their competition at Academy's boozy annual luncheon.

In room packed with A-listers such as Steven Spielberg and Cate Blanchett, there was no doubt Cruise remained biggest draw, with crowd of wellwishers from Hollywood moguls to Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai lining up to greet him throughout event.

Cruise is nominated this year as producer of Top Gun: Maverick, in which he also starred. Film is considered growing frontrunner for best picture Oscar- Hollywood's most prestigious prize.

Pakistani activist Yousafzai, donning Saniya Maskatiya outfits, attended as an executive producer of Stranger at Gate, short documentary about US Marine veteran who plotted to blow up masjid in his hometown.

Everything Everywhere All At Once, quirky sci-fi with predominantly Asian cast which is many pundits' tip for best picture winner, earned most nominations this year with 11 and its cast received many of loudest cheers on Monday.

Published in The Daily National Courier, February, 15 2023

Like Business on Facebook, follow @DailyNCourier on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.