Stars line up for Oscar nominees luncheon

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Fourteen of the 20 nominees in this year's Oscar acting categories attended a luncheon Monday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.

More than 120 Academy Award nominees took part in the event, during which the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored the Oscar contenders.

Among the leading actor and actress contenders who broke bread together were Jeff Bridges, George Clooney, Colin Firth, Morgan Freeman, Jeremy Renner, Sandra Bullock, Carey Mulligan, Gabourey Sidibe and Meryl Streep.

Vera Farmiga, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Anna Kendrick, Woody Harrelson and Christoph Waltz were on hand to represent the supporting actress and actor categories.

All five nominees from the directing category -- Kathryn Bigelow, James Cameron, Lee Daniels, Jason Reitman and Quentin Tarantino -- also attended.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2009 are to be presented March 7 at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Los Angeles.