After a year away due to the Los Angeles wildfires, the Oscars’ iconic luncheon returned to a room full of artists who understood the gravity of gathering again. The air was hungry for community — with anticipation wrapped in excitement and fandom amongst peers. On one side of the room, Teyana Taylor and Jacob Elordi embraced like best friends in triumph. Across the ballroom, Michael B. Jordan and Miles Teller hugged as if every reunion outdid the last.
On February 10 in Los Angeles, The Beverly Hilton hosted the 98th Oscars luncheon, and ESSENCE was in the room. Before guests broke bread, the foyer swelled with laughter echoing off the walls as nominees and collaborators reunited. When legendary costume designer Ruth E. Carter arrived, she was immediately approached by friends and peers. The joy on her face said everything. However, in a room where gold statues hover just out of reach, joy and pressure often share the same breath.
“We won. Truly, we already won with the historic nominations. The cherry on top is what’s going to happen next, but we are already winning. So no, it doesn’t feel like pressure at all.”
Nearby, Michael B. Jordan embraced castmates, pausing long enough to reflect with ESSENCE on the magnitude of the moment. “This is all great. I’m just taking it in moment by moment, sharing this with my family and honestly staying focused on the work,” he shared. It tracks. This is a man who carried two fully realized protagonists across a two-hour, 17-minute film without breaking stride. For him, the work remains the anchor.
That sentiment echoed through the room. When we caught up with Raphael Saadiq, he spoke less about winning and more about the journey that gets you there. “It’s the trajectory when you work. You start here, love what you do, and you just end up in the room. So win, lose, or draw, I’m here and enjoying the ride.”
Then Academy President Lynette Howell Taylor took the stage and commanded the room. “What a year 2025 was,” she began. “The world broke our hearts, but somehow every nominee in this room found a way to use their art, their gifts, their tenacity, and their bravery to inspire us and bring us back together.”
The ballroom erupted in applause, a shared understanding moving through the room all at once. “Some movies brought me to my knees,” Howell Taylor continued. “Some raised me up. Some brought joy, human exhilaration, musical originality, and much needed escapism. Some forced us to confront our fragile humanity and our history. And some made us question our capacity for true empathy. This was a year we needed all of that.” Her words settled gently over the room.
She later revealed that the seating chart was no accident. Collaborators were intentionally separated from their own projects — creating space for conversation across films and experiences.
Before relinquishing the mic, Howell Taylor offered the nominees one final note of guidance. “Please do not be unprepared and say you did not expect it,” she smiled. “There is a one in five chance you will win.” Laughter rippled through the room. “You may feel urged to thank everyone who helped you get here, but you will probably forget someone. Keep your speech heartfelt. Say something that matters to you.”
Even in a room full of celebration, the question of who would ultimately win lingered. We asked casting director and Academy governor Kim Taylor Coleman if she had a favorite.
“I love them all,” she chuckled. “I don’t have a favorite. We’ll see what happens at the Oscars!” she exclaimed.
Then came the ritual everyone anticipates each year: the nominees class photo.
Names were called one by one, nominees made their way to the stage, smiling ear to ear. Behind us, someone whispered, “This is the best luncheon yet.”
We turned to the woman beside us curious to hear more. “We did not have one last year because of the fires,” she said softly. “So being back in this room reminds everyone what it takes to get here. Everyone still feels like a winner.”
And then, just like that, the nominees stood shoulder to shoulder, filmmakers and storytellers adjusting their footing, asking which camera to look at, laughing together before the unified chorus of “cheese.” If the Oscars luncheon proved anything, it is that the win is not confined to envelopes opened on stage. For many in that ballroom, the victory was already there, in the art that brings us together.
The 98th Academy Awards, hosted by Conan O’Brien, will air Sunday, March 15, 2026, at 7 p.m. EST.
ESSENCE will be there on Hollywood’s biggest night — not just on the carpet, but in the rooms where the stories begin — bringing you closer to the artists and architects shaping this year in film.