will tom cruise be at oscars tonight

Academy Awards

Tom cruise and steven spielberg at oscar nominee luncheon, watch host jimmy kimmel’s “top gun: maverick” 95th oscars promo and oscar week events will be hosted at academy museum.

By Michelle Hannett and Melissa Thompson

Nominees for the 95th Oscars were celebrated at a luncheon held at the Beverly Hilton, Monday, February 13, 2023.

Academy Governor DeVon Franklin made the roll call to all the 182 nominees to go on stage for the annual Class Photo.

Producers Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, David Ellison and Jerry Bruckheimer attended to celebrate their Best Picture nominee for TOP GUN: MAVERICK. The film received a total of six nominations at the 95th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Song, Best Sound, Best Film Editing, and Best Visual Effects.

But it was megastar Cruise, the last of the true Hollywood movie stars, who commanded the day.

As  Variety’s  Oscars expert Clayton Davis  previously reported , Cruise was the big hit of the nominees Luncheon. Spielberg was hardly the only nominee who fawned over the “Maverick” star. Brendan Gleeson, Paul Mescal, Baz Luhrmann, Michelle Yeoh, Austin Butler and more all made sure to approach Cruise during the event and take photos.

MAVERICK marks Tom Cruise’s highest-grossing movie ever and is the biggest global success in the 110-year studio history of Paramount Pictures.

Davis also reported “nominated for six Oscars including best picture, is a viable threat to take home the gold.” Check out what Spielberg tells Cruise about his film.

That quote alone is why it should win! “YOU SAVED HOLLYWOOD’S ASS!” And from Spielberg? That ain’t no bullshit!

Earlier this month it was announced that Tom Cruise will be honored with the 2023 David O. Selznick Achievement Award at the 34th Annual Producers Guild Awards on Saturday, February 25, 2023 at The Beverly Hilton.  Producers Guild Presidents Donald De Line and Stephanie Allain said, “His commitment to telling bold, cinematic, and entertaining stories has elevated the global theatrical experience and has resulted in some of the most popular motion pictures in history. We are thrilled to honor him with the David O. Selznick Award for his excellence in producing.”

Here’s a look at the star-studded Monday afternoon as well as the new Oscars promo with host Jimmy Kimmel.

The 95th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 12, 2023, at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide.

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have announced programming plans during the week leading up to the 95th   Oscars ®  on Sunday, March 12, 2023. Oscar ®  Week events will debut at the Academy Museum and are open to the public with purchase of same-day general admission. Film screenings will feature all nominated shorts, and panel conversations will feature Academy Award ® -nominated filmmakers celebrating this year’s nominees in the Animated Feature Film, Animated Short Film, Documentary Feature Film, Documentary Short Film, International Feature Film, Live Action Short Film, and Makeup and Hairstyling categories. All programs will take place in the museum’s David Geffen Theater. Purchase of general admission to the museum grants access to all same-day Oscar Week screenings and panels.

In addition, the Academy Museum will host its second annual Oscars Night at the Museum on March 12 from 3pm to 10pm. Guests, encouraged to dress in their best Hollywood glam looks, will be treated to a one-of-a-kind event at which they will walk the red carpet, savor food by Wolfgang Puck Catering plus a hosted bar, pose for photos, enjoy a 15% discount at the Academy Museum Store, and watch the Oscars ceremony livestream on ABC in the David Geffen Theater. Ticketing information is below. The schedule is as follows:

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8 Animation Short Film and Animated Feature Film Animated short films will screen twice at 11am and 3pm. Nominees in the Animated Short Film and Animated Feature Film categories will be in conversation in the David Geffen Theater. 

11am | Screening: Animated Short Films 1pm | Panel: Animated Short Film Nominees 3pm | Screening: Animated Short Films (encore) 6pm | Panel: Animated Feature Film Nominees

THURSDAY, MARCH 9 Documentary Short Film and Documentary Feature Film

Documentary short films will screen twice at 11am and 3pm. Nominees in the Documentary Short Film and Documentary Feature Film categories will be in conversation in the David Geffen Theater.

11am | Screening: Documentary Short Films 1pm | Panel: Documentary Short Film Nominees 3pm | Screening: Documentary Short Films (encore) 6pm | Panel: Documentary Feature Film Nominees

FRIDAY, MARCH 10 Live Action Short Film and International Feature Film

Live action short films will screen twice at 11am and 3pm. Nominees in the Live Action Short Film and International Feature Film categories will be in conversation in the David Geffen Theater.

11am | Screening: Live Action Short Films 1pm | Panel: Live Action Short Film Nominees 3pm | Screening: Live Action Short Films (encore) 6pm | Panel: International Feature Film Nominees

SATURDAY, MARCH 11 Makeup and Hairstyling The artists nominated for Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling will be in conversation in the David Geffen Theater. 1pm | Panel: Makeup and Hairstyling Nominees

Access to all Oscar Week programs will be first come, first served. The purchase of a general admission ticket does not guarantee entry to programs if theater capacity is reached. SUNDAY, MARCH 12 The  95th Oscars  will be held on Sunday, March 12, 2023, at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide. Join the Academy Museum for its second annual Oscars Night at the Museum on Sunday, March 12, from 3pm to 10pm, to celebrate the 95th Academy Awards ® . Individual tickets are $250.  Academy Museum Members  receive access to an exclusive Oscars Night at the Museum member presale, among other exciting member benefits throughout the year.

ACADEMY MUSEUM TICKETING Tickets to the Academy Museum are available only through advance online reservations via the Academy Museum’s  website  and mobile app.

Film screening tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for seniors (age 62+), and $5 for students (age 18+ with valid ID) and children (age 17-). Matinees are $5 for all. Ticket prices for Academy Museum Members are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors, and $4 for students, children, and matinee-goers.

General admission tickets for the museum’s exhibitions are $25 for adults, $19 for seniors (age 62+), and $15 for students (age 18+ with valid ID). Admission for Academy Museum Members, visitors ages 17 and younger, and for California residents with an EBT card is free.

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How ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and Tom Cruise’s Need for Speed Could Fly to the Oscars

By Clayton Davis

Clayton Davis

Senior Awards Editor

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After a making a record-breaking $160.5 million and sporting an exceptional 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, Tom Cruise ‘s high-flying “ Top Gun: Maverick ” is among the top movie successes of the year. With love pouring in for the second chapter of the story of test pilot and flight instructor Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, can this fighter stay airborne for the next seven months and lead to Academy Awards success?  

Casual awards viewers and fans have made comparisons to George Miller’s “Mad Max: Fury Road” as a possible Oscars point of comparison – a pretty wild and far-fetched correlation. One of only six movies to be nominated in every artisan category, Miller’s movie rejuvenated its franchise and arguably the entire action genre. “Maverick,” likewise, is a wonderful callback to its 1986 predecessor and boasts some fantastic effects and achievements.

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But the chatter surrounding a best pic nom for “Top Gun: Maverick” feels more like it could be the first instance of the “CODA” effect — a reference to the best picture winner that made h opeful cinephiles feel like “anything is possible” when it comes to awards. But we’ve heard this song before when films like “The Avengers” (2012) and “Furious 7” (2015) become box office juggernauts that also garner critical acclaim. While nominating “Top Gun: Maverick” could help goose Oscarcast ratings, it’s highly unlikely Joseph Kosinski’s air adventure can summon the G-force to crack the best picture lineup — albeit not impossible.  

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The road to awards success begins in the artisan branches, where more than 60% of the Academy’s membership resides. The threshold for blockbuster movies has bubbled around five to six tech noms that are typically needed to help land a best picture nod. Recent movies like “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” (2015) and “Blade Runner 2049” (2017) landed five in their respective years but couldn’t get over the finish line while others like “Inception” (2010) and last year’s “Dune” have cleared their markers.  

At the least, “Maverick” has a runway to a manageable four noms. The film editing and sound categories have gone to the same movie in the last decade (no two categories have a longer correlation in the 94-year Oscar history), and that tradition could continue with editor Eddie Hamilton (“Mission: Impossible – Fallout”) and the sound team (the Academy determines which craftspeople are eligible). The pulse-pounding pace and stellar aural beats put the viewers right in the cockpit, creating an experience that’s the most accessible for recognition.

Oscar-winning DP Claudio Miranda (“Life of Pi”) fetches exquisite aerial shots and a breathtaking framework that puts him in line for his third career nom. Cinematography has also had a solid correlation to visual effects with practical effects-driven films such as “1917” (2019) being embraced in the last few years.

With four credited composers — Lorne Balfe, Harold Faltermeyer, Lady Gaga and Hans Zimmer — it’s going to be an uphill battle as the music branch isn’t typically kind to multiple musicians. Not since the 12-person assembly for “The Color Purple” (1985) has a film with four or more composers been nominated. However, you can bet your bottom dollar every concerted effort will go into campaigning the chart-topper “Hold My Hand,” penned by Balfe and Gaga, for original song. After being snubbed for “House of Gucci” last year, Gaga would be wise to take a softer approach on the awards circuit.

Any hopes of the film cracking best picture will rely on whether or not its actor and producing star Tom Cruise comes out and campaigns for the film’s achievements. Always known for his love for the big screen, and his relentless advocacy for movie theaters and the technical wizards that bring them to life, he’ll need to adopt a more hands-on approach to ensuring his movie is not forgotten come voting time. This will include sitting for Q&As with his crafts team, especially as the fall festival will bring new and shinier awards prospects.

The first “Top Gun” was able to muster four noms — editing, sound, sound effects and original song for “Take My Breath Away,” which it won. What will make it so different this time around? The Tom Cruise and the Academy of today are far different than in 1986.

Before the film was screened at this year’s Cannes Film Festival , the audience was treated to a ten-minute montage of Cruise’s illustrious career. Whether it’s sliding across the floor in his underwear in “Risky Business” (1983) or telling Claudia that she’s been a very naughty girl in “Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles” (1994), the package reminded us that his presence is likely a core memory in our cinematic psyche. An accomplished actor, his role as a movie star has brought a dynamic range of characters that have received critical raves and secured awards attention.

After sitting next to two best actor winners — Paul Newman in “The Color of Money” (1986) and Dustin Hoffman in “Rain Man” (1988) — he landed his first Oscar nom for Oliver Stone’s anti-war biopic “Born on the Fourth of July” (1989), followed by his beloved sports agent in Cameron Crowe’s romantic dramedy “Jerry Maguire” (1996). However, it was his supporting actor turn in Paul Thomas Anderson’s multifaceted dramatic epic “Magnolia” (1999) that became his artistic offering to cinema. In the 188-minute character mosaic, Cruise played Frank T.J. Mackey, a self-proclaimed pickup artist for men. Too big of a movie star for the “spirit” of the category, Cruise stepped into one of the finest supporting actor lineups in Oscar history, losing to Michael Caine in the less-than-average “The Cider House Rules” (who already had an Oscar for “Hannah and Her Sisters”).  

After the “Magnolia” shut out, it seemed like Cruise would still find his way into the winner’s circle. He was the kind of actor who it was tempting to think “will definitely win an Oscar one day.” But as the years fly by and he embraces mostly action blockbusters, somehow that moment of glory is looking more out of reach – just ask the likes of Peter O’Toole, Albert Finney or Thelma Ritter. This year will mark 24 years since Cruise received an Academy Award nomination.  

As he approaches his 60th birthday (are you kidding?), can we say with any definitive certainty that he’ll win one day?

Cruise has felt like a prime candidate to be awarded an Honorary Oscar. He could also become the figurehead for the film community to campaign for the Academy to add a category for stunts. Based on Oscar history, “Maverick” doesn’t suggest (nor warrant) the arrival of his overdue Oscar moment. For a nom, the movie would need to bleed into cultural zeitgeisty territory a la Johnny Depp in “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” (2003), and that seems too far-fetched.  

While Memorial Day weekend was marked by barbeques, honoring our veterans, and this year, snagging a ticket for “Maverick,” the altitude Paramount’s film climbs to will depend on its sustainability through the summer. Paramount has what are theoretically more awards-friendly vehicles on its docket, such as “Babylon” from Damien Chazelle, so if the flick hopes to go the distance, Cruise will need to take the stick and steer the film to an Oscar landing.

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Tom Cruise is Skipping the Oscars

Lady Gaga, on the other hand, is expected to make a surprise appearance to sing her Top Gun: Maverick song

One of Hollywood’s biggest stars will be absent from Hollywood’s Biggest Night

Despite saving Hollywood’s ass with Top Gun: Maverick , Tom Cruise will not be in attendance for tonight’s Academy Awards . Instead, according to Deadline , Cruise has opted to stay in the UK and continue filming Mission Impossible 8 .

Cruise did not receive a Best Actor nomination for Top Gun: Maverick , but the film is one of the finalists for Best Original Picture. While it’s not considered a favorite to win, if Top Gun: Maverick pulls off a surprise upset, co-producer Jerry Bruckheimer will accept the award on Cruise’s behalf.

While Cruise will be missing from the festivities, a different member of the Top Gun: Maverick family is expected to make a surprise appearance. Lady Gaga will take the stage to perform “Hold My Hand,” her Oscar-nominated contribution to Top Gun: Maverick , during tonight’s ceremony. It was previously announced that Gaga would not be singing due to scheduling conflicts with Joker: Folie à Deux . However, Variety reports that after a last-minute back-and-forth with Oscar producers, she will perform after all.

The other four finalists nominated for Best Original Song — including Rihanna and David Byrne — are also confirmed to perform during tonight’s Oscars.

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Jimmy Kimmel jokes about Will Smith slap, roasts celebs at 95th Oscars

Kimmel kicked off the ceremony by parachuting onto the state, 'Top Gun' style.

LOS ANGELES -- Jimmy Kimmel parachuted onto the stage to kick off the 95th Oscars Sunday night and soon began firing off one-liners at the celebrities in attendance -- and some who were conspicuously absent.

Among those missing from the Dolby Theatre but still a key element in Kimmel's monologue: Will Smith, who earned himself a 10-year ban from the Oscars after storming the stage and slapping Chris Rock last year .

"We want you to have fun," Kimmel told the audience. "We want you to feel safe. Most importantly we want me to feel safe."

"So we have strict policies in place: If anyone in this theater commits an act of violence at any point during the show, you will be awarded the Oscar for Best Actor, and permitted to give a 19-minute long speech," he added.

WATCH: Biggest moments from the 2023 Oscars

Kimmel noted after last year's incident, the Oscars has a crisis team in place for this year.

He joked: "If anything unpredictable or violent happens during the ceremony, just do what you did last year: Nothing. Sit there and do absolutely nothing. Maybe even give the assailant a hug."

Kimmel opened the ceremony with a nod to Tom Cruise's "Top Gun: Maverick," digitally inserting himself into a flight scene and reluctantly ejecting himself from the cockpit -- landing on the Dolby stage.

That happened even as real-life fighter jets performed their own tribute to the film with a flyover above Los Angeles. The U.S. Navy pilots in F/A-18 Super Hornets flew above Hollywood Boulevard after taking off from Naval Air Station Lemoore near Fresno.

Kimmel, hosting for the third time, also had a little fun with some of the distinguished Hollywood luminaries at the ceremony.

Steven Spielberg, for example, who is now the only director to be nominated in six different decades, with his nomination for the semiautobiographical "The Fabelmans."

Noting Spielberg was seated near Seth Rogen, he urged the notorious stoner to share some substances with the director.

"Steven claims he's never even smoked weed. Which I find hard to believe. You mean to tell me you were sober when you made a movie about an alien who eats Reese's Pieces all day and can't remember how to phone home? You were high as a bike when you made that movie."

He also had some fun with the traditional length of the Oscars show, which this year had more categories added back in.

He noted both director James Cameron and Tom Cruise were absent from the show.

"You know a show is too long when even James Cameron can't sit through it."

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The Projectionist

At the Oscar Nominees Luncheon, a Crowd in Cruise Control

The “Top Gun: Maverick” star and producer is mobbed as Austin Butler, Angela Bassett, Ke Huy Quan and others angle to chat with him.

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By Kyle Buchanan

For the privileged few embarking on an Oscar campaign, the path to a nomination asks you to hobnob with so many of the same people that over the course of many months, your competitors can begin to feel like classmates.

But on Monday afternoon, at a luncheon held in Beverly Hills for this year’s Oscar nominees, the arrival of a new student caused quite a stir.

That would be Tom Cruise, nominated this year as a producer of the megahit best-picture contender “ Top Gun: Maverick .” He was among the first notable names to walk into the ballroom of the Beverly Hilton. The 60-year-old star had sat out both the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Awards this season, so many of his fellow nominees were encountering him for the first time. Before long, the ballroom had turned into a massive meet-and-greet.

“I love you, I love you, oh my God!” said the “Everything Everywhere All at Once” star Ke Huy Quan , who hopped in place, exclaiming, “I want a picture with this man!” before seizing a selfie with Cruise. Director Guillermo del Toro went over for an embrace, as did the nominated actors Brendan Fraser, Angela Bassett and Michelle Williams . Cruise even posed for pictures with Steven Spielberg , a once-frequent collaborator whom the star has not been publicly photographed with in over a decade.

The nominees luncheon is supposed to be an egalitarian affair where big stars and behind-the-scenes technicians are on equal footing, but there was no mistaking Cruise as the ballroom’s top dog: He had the gravitational pull of the sun and its burnt-orange countenance, too. Any of the nominees who might have pulled focus from Cruise had declined to attend: Original-song contenders Lady Gaga and Rihanna were busy with other obligations (including, for the latter, a just-concluded Super Bowl stint ), and even surprise best-actress nominee Andrea Riseborough was missing in action.

Still, simply making it to Cruise took some time: In the schmoozy hour before lunch was served, he was so mobbed by his fellow nominees that he was hardly able to move more than a few feet. I watched for a while as “Elvis” star Austin Butler drifted with slow, inexorable determination toward Cruise, who finally pulled the younger man toward him by clamping a hand on his shoulder like a stapler. For several minutes, they were locked in such a tight bro-embrace that it was impossible to discern what they were talking about (or, more important, whether Butler was still speaking in his “Elvis” drawl ).

So instead, I made my way to “Top Gun: Maverick” producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who observed the scene serenely just a few feet away. “It’s my first time at the luncheon,” said the newly nominated producer, who’s better known for making explosive action movies than Oscar fare. “After 50 years in the business, I finally get here.”

It was not the first time at the luncheon for songwriter Diane Warren, who has been nominated for an Oscar 13 times before and is back in contention this year for the song “Applause,” from the film “Tell It Like a Woman.”

“It’s my favorite day,” Warren said. “No one’s a loser yet, everybody’s a winner.” I noted that Warren had received an honorary Oscar in November, and asked whether it had dimmed her desire to win a competitive statuette. “No, I still want to win,” she said, grinning. “He wants a friend!”

As the nominees and their guests took their seats to nosh on mushroom risotto, the academy president, Janet Yang, came to the stage and addressed the fallout from the organization’s handling of the Will Smith slap at last year’s ceremony.

“It was inadequate,” Yang said. “We learned from this that the academy must be fully transparent and accountable in our actions, and particularly in times of crisis, we must act swiftly, compassionately and decisively.”

One unrelated tweak has already been made: Unlike last year, when eight below-the-line Oscars were presented just before the telecast began, Yang promised that each category would be aired live during the March 12 telecast. Because of that, Yang pleaded with the nominees to keep their speeches short: “We need to be sensitive to our running time,” she said. “This is live television, after all.”

With that settled, the nominees were called one by one to the front of the stage, where they would pose together for one massive “class photo.” The first name announced was Jamie Lee Curtis , who had earned her first Oscar nomination this year for “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”

“I’ve been acting since I was 19 and I’m 64 — do the math,” Curtis told me. “That’s many years of watching this photograph being taken.” Her late parents, the actors Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, had both been Oscar nominees. “To be connected through this legacy of their work and my work and now being included here, it’s very powerful,” she said.

Eventually, with all the nominees assembled,   the producer and academy governor DeVon Franklin counted down to a flashbulb — pop! — then counted down again as the academy photographer took another picture. “All right, three more,” Franklin said.

“I’ve got one more expression,” shouted best-actor nominee Colin Farrell (“The Banshees of Inisherin”).

Moments earlier, Farrell had been in an animated conversation with Warren, who was standing on the riser behind him. When the pictures were finished and the attendees started to make their way out of the ballroom, I asked Warren what they had discussed.

“We talked about how we both did very badly at school,” she said, “and now here we are, at the coolest graduation picture ever.”

Kyle Buchanan is a pop culture reporter and serves as The Projectionist , the awards season columnist for The Times. He is the author of “Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road.” More about Kyle Buchanan

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Inside The Oscar Nominees Lunch With Tom Cruise, Steven Spielberg, Jamie Lee Curtis & More

By Pete Hammond

Pete Hammond

Awards Columnist/Chief Film Critic

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Guillermo del Toro made a beeline for the star too, as he approached Cruise, “I must talk to Tomás. I must talk to Tomás,” he said as he made his way down the steps. Cameras were clicking constantly and Cruise looked like he was having a blast, welcoming everyone who wanted a piece of his stardust. Top Gun: Maverick producer Jerry Bruckheimer was right nearby as well, basking in the glow of the luncheon which was his first ever since, believe it or not, the film’s Best Picture nomination is the first for any of his blockbuster movies.

RELATED: Oscar Nominees 2023: The Class Photo

I pointed out a famous moment in the 1976 TV special TVTV Goes To The Oscars which chronicled that particular season when Spielberg’s Jaws was a Best Picture nominee, but its director missed out on a nomination. The camera was on the then-not-nominated director as nominees were being revealed for the first time on television in his category. The name Federico Fellini for Amarcord was the first one called out and Spielberg dejectedly and instantly said, “I didn’t get it.” He knew right then it wasn’t to be for Jaws, and he says it taught him a lesson in how to roll with the punches of all this. Incidentally, he told me he actually met Fellini four years earlier when his 1971 ABC TV Movie, Duel was being released in Italy, and the master Italian filmmaker took him under his wing and gave him a five-hour tour of the iconic Cinecitta movie studio. When he was nominated over the young director, Spielberg now simply says “it was an honor” to lose that nomination to Federico Fellini.

14-time nominee Diane Warren caught up with new AMPAS CEO Bill Kramer in one corner of the Hilton. I asked her if she has also been to 14 nominee lunches . “I don’t quite remember all of them. Were they being held when I first got nominated?” she asked me, and I told her ‘yes’, so then she was sure. “If they invited me to this lunch I definitely would have come every time.”

The remarkable Malala Yousafzai was there due to being an executive producer on Joshua Seftel’s nominated Documentary Short Stranger at the Gate for the first time, and greeted lots of admirers. I asked if she had attended the lunch for her 2015 feature documentary He Named Me Malala but she didn’t. “We were shortlisted but didn’t make the final list of five nominees,” she said. This time she is going to the Oscars.

Jamie Lee Curtis, another first-time nominee, had told me during the taping last week for my Deadline video series, The Actor’s Side which will run on Wednesday, that she would be wearing the string of pearls from her godmother, Edie Wasserman, and when I caught up with her as she was exiting, indeed she was, a sentimental gesture that seemed perfect for this day. This nomination is a huge thrill Curtis says, ranking right behind her marriage to Christopher Guest and her two daughters (I spotted Annie Guest at the luncheon as well).

As new Academy president Janet Yang said in her welcoming speech (where she also was very stern about AMPAS’ shortcomings when it came to dealing with the Will Smith slap last year – see separate story ) “You are all winners here,” she said. She also got the crowd to repeat in unison that they understand they have 45 seconds to make their Oscar acceptance speech. “How long do you have?” Yang asked. “45 SECONDS!” the packed ballroom yelled back.

Here is my first prediction for the 95th Academy Awards . Come March 12th at the Dolby Theatre, not every winner is going to do what they just promised Janet Yang they would do.

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Why Tom Cruise Skipped The 2023 Oscars

When you think of the Oscars , you think of all the biggest movie stars in the world gathering in the same place. From the likes of Brad Pitt, to Leonardo DiCaprio, to Tom Cruise , they're total staples year after year at the event, right? Well, not always.

You may be surprised to learn that, at least prior to the 2023 Oscars, the latter has never actually won an Academy Award before. We know! Crazy, right? Cruise has been nominated an impressive four times though, landing his first nomination back in 1990 for Best Actor playing the role of real life Sergeant Ron Kovic in "Born on the Fourth of July," before he earned himself another in the same category in 1997 for "Jerry Maguire" in which he played, well, Jerry Maguire, of course! He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for "Magnolia" in 2000, and then, 2023 brought him the coveted Best Picture nomination for "Top Gun: Maverick." But while we're sure the cast and crew of the massive sequel were celebrating the movie's huge success all night, the main man himself wasn't there.

Tom Cruise is across the pond

Yep, Tom Cruise didn't cruise on in to the 2023 Oscars, because he's a little busy living it up in Europe. Entertainment Tonight reported that the actor is actually across the pond in the U.K. — but he's not just enjoying a little vacation time, oh no. The star is feeling the need, not for speed, no, but for hard work, as he's filming another installment of one of his other most famous movie franchises, "Mission: Impossible." Cruise is actually working on "Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part II," with Deadline reporting he'd also been shooting for the upcoming movie in Sicily, Italy.

Cruise is one of the producers on the super well received "Top Gun: Maverick" (as well as playing the main role of the iconic Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell), so it's a real shame the star wasn't around to celebrate alongside his co-workers and co-stars — but at least we'll get a Lady Gaga performance of the movie's theme , though! Nevertheless, we seriously doubt there won't be more chances to win an Oscar in this actor's future. Hey, maybe he'll even be back next year for "Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part II"?

Tom Cruise's co-stars addressed his Oscars absence on the red carpet

While Tom Cruise no doubt would probably have been the leader of the pack had he been able to attend the 2023 Oscars, the cast and crew of "Top Gun: Maverick" weren't without enthusiasm — or Cruise on their minds! — when they hit the red carpet for the big award show. Charles Parnell, who played Rear Admiral Solomon "Warlock" Bates in the movie, addressed Cruise's absence to Entertainment Tonight during a joint interview with his co-star Jay Ellis, confirming Cruise wasn't there because of work commitments. "He's off doing TC things that make TC, TC. Working while other people are playing. Stuntin' while other people are sleeping," Parnell then added, also noting that Cruise was doing his bit to keep the movie industry running.

According to Entertainment Tonight , "Top Gun: Maverick" producer Jerry Bruckheimer will accept the movie's award shall it win Best Picture. Moreover, the movie was nominated in a slew of other categories, including Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Visual Effects, and Best Sound.

Tom Cruise wasn't totally absent from the 2023 Oscars celebrations

Tom Cruise did manage to get in on a little bit of 2023 Oscars action despite him skipping out on the ceremony, as he attended a luncheon for the award show's nominees in February. At the event, Cruise received very high praise from none other than Steven Spielberg who couldn't stop gushing about him or "Top Gun: Maverick." "You saved Hollywood's a** and you might have saved theatrical distribution," the director told him , referring to the movie's very impressive box office takings following the COVID-19 pandemic. "Seriously, ['Top Gun:] Maverick" might have saved the entire theatrical industry," he added.  Variety also reported there was a little controversy involving the actor when Jerry Bruckheimer hosted an event at his home that was attended by a number of Academy Awards voters, which raised some eyebrows as it was voting season and, as we know, "Top Gun: Maverick" has multiple nominations.

Cruise was also remembered at the start of the Oscars ceremony, as host Jimmy Kimmel entered the world-famous Dolby Theatre following a skit that featured a scene from "Top Gun: Maverick." The "Jimmy Kimmel Live" host actually fell from the ceiling with a parachute after he pretended to be ejected from Cruise's Captain Pete Mitchell (aka Maverick himself)'s plane while the movie's iconic guitar riff played. Kimmel then went on to joked about Cruise not being at the show and quipped maybe he was there as Judd Hirsch. Spoiler alert: he wasn't.

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Tom Cruise Really Could Finally Win an Oscar for Top Gun: Maverick

Let’s start here: It’s entirely likely that Top Gun: Maverick will win multiple Oscars. With her ubiquitous power ballad and an Oscar already in hand, Lady Gaga is perfectly poised to steamroll the best-original-song category with “Hold My Hand.” And though there are blockbusters yet to come, including Black Panther 2 and Avatar 2, the best-sound category basically exists for the zooms and crashes of Top Gun ’s aerial spectaculars.

There’s one more honor that’s a little bit more out of reach, but irresistible to imagine for fans of both the movie and one of the oldest Oscar narratives: the overdue reward. Tom Cruise has already been celebrated as the sole savior of moviegoing, thanks to Maverick ’s incredible returns. But what if he also got a best-actor statue for his effort?

The idea was floated back when Maverick first opened, and at the time, it seemed a little fanciful. But as Maverick has continued its box office dominance, to a degree that seemed impossible for any movie about non-superpowered human beings, Cruise and his Herculean efforts to entertain the world remain difficult to ignore. Would an Oscar really be so outlandish at this point?

Hear more about this not-so-wild idea on this week’s Little Gold Men podcast.  

Yes, this is a narrative that, with a few details changed, seems to resurface every year. There was the quixotic campaign for Spider-Man: No Way Home to get a best-picture nomination, largely on the strength of its own box office success. There are the summer hits that hold out hope of being remembered when the Oscars roll around six months later, from tiny triumphs like The Farewell to the notorious case of The Dark Knight . There’s the whole mess of the #OscarsCheerMoment for the Snyder Cut , which we just cannot get into right now. But pretty much as long as there have been Oscars, there have been pushes from various corners to reward populist hits, with the somewhat persuasive argument that millions of fans can’t be all wrong.

And every once in a while, it works. Following its splashy premiere at Cannes in May, Top Gun: Maverick was compared fairly favorably to Mad Max: Fury Road, which began its own unlikely road to Oscar dominance at the same festival. Black Panther won three Oscars. Get Out, a horror movie released a full year before the ceremony, was nominated for four Oscars and won best original screenplay. When critics, audiences, and Oscar voters line up so completely, it can be genuinely thrilling—a throwback to the days when Tootsie and E.T. were the highest-grossing films of 1982 by the time they lost best picture to Gandhi.

But the Mad Max: Fury Road comparisons only went so far, even at Cannes. Top Gun: Maverick is an achievement on many levels, but not quite the same as George Miller ’s wild directorial vision, or even Fury Road ’s metaphorical resonance. ( Maverick goes out of its way to avoid any connection to real global politics, which, fair enough.) And even though Maverick is far and away the biggest box office hit of the year, cultural dominance now doesn’t mean quite the same thing that it did for E.T. The urgency to celebrate a hit, even one this big, is not likely to mean as much to the globally spread, future-minded Academy voters of the moment.

But that brings us back to Tom Cruise, the man without whom Maverick would not exist for many reasons. Nominated for three career Oscars—two for definitive leading-man roles in Born on the Fourth of July and Jerry Maguire, one for transformative supporting work in Magnolia —he’s been on quite a journey since his last nomination in 2000. On the brink of irrelevance by the time Jeremy Renner was tapped as his fresh, young colead in 2011’s Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol, Cruise instead wrested that franchise back into his control, building up box office clout so strong that even a long-gestating, seemingly implausible Top Gun sequel suddenly became real. His non– Mission: Impossible work—two Jack Reacher movies that barely exist, an attempt to reboot The Mummy, whatever American Made turned out to be—has been almost uniformly irrelevant, but every Ethan Hunt movie has reset the clock. Watch Tom Cruise in his element, and it is impossible not to be in awe. There is still truly no other movie star like him.

And though the physical challenges of the Mission: Impossible franchise are not the stuff Oscar nominations are made of, there’s more going on in Maverick. Cruise gets to play the lingering anguish over Goose’s death that informs Maverick’s relationship with Goose’s son ( Miles Teller ); his continuing struggle to follow orders, barely containing a smirk in the face of Jon Hamm ’s imposing admiral; even a surprisingly robust romantic subplot with Jennifer Connelly, whose chemistry with Cruise feels genuinely well-earned. The spectacle of Maverick ’s flying sequences may be the big selling point, but it’s not hard to imagine audiences returning again and again to see the bracingly emotional reunion between Cruise and Val Kilmer ’s Iceman, an almost 40-year-old, famously homoerotic tension transformed into a deep—and sad—understanding.

Maverick is not Cruise’s best performance, sure. But as a distillation of everything that has made Cruise a generation-defining star, Maverick is pretty much perfect. If the Academy wants to finally award Cruise a statue, it’s not likely there will be a better opportunity to do so.

The question, of course, is how much the Academy really wants that—and how hard Cruise is willing to work for it. Long protected by his tower of mega-fame and Scientology, Cruise would need to embark on some kind of authenticity tour for an awards campaign, different from the exhaustive work he already did to promote Maverick. It’s one thing for Cruise to fly onto an aircraft carrier or hold court in front of a crowd in Cannes, and another entirely to open up for the kind of profiles or roundtable conversations that are ever-present in modern Oscar campaigns. There’s a very, very recent precedent for this: Will Smith was more visible, and vulnerable, than he has been in years in his promotional duties for King Richard, and his carefully calibrated campaign worked beautifully (until, of course, it didn’t). The path megastars must walk in the Oscar circuit is different from the path for fresh-faced newcomers or even previous winners, but Cruise could make it all look as natural as clinging to the side of an airplane.

Many, many factors—including the slew of films that will premiere at the early fall festivals in Toronto, Telluride, and Venice—will determine Cruise’s Oscar chances, far more than the quality of his work; that, unfortunately, is always the way. And it’s possible that there’s a much easier path for him, parlaying the success of Maverick —and maybe some outrage over an Oscar snub—into a win for a juicy, more Oscar-friendly supporting role in the next year or two.

But in this period before we really know what’s on the horizon, it’s worth just floating the idea of Cruise as a serious contender. As The Hollywood Reporter ’s Scott Feinberg pointed out back in June , if Paul Newman could win for The Color of Money and John Wayne for True Grit, why not this? The reward for making a giant blockbuster is the money and the cultural impact, but every once in a while, the stars align to merit something more.

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From Tom Cruise, James Cameron to Glenn Close, the surprising stars to skip Oscars 2023

Cruise’s ‘top gun: maverick’ nominated for six academy awards, article bookmarked.

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Tom Cruise will be absent from the 2023 Oscars even though Top Gun: Maverick was nominated for Best Picture.

The Hollywood star was set to miss the movie industry’s biggest night on Sunday as he is shooting Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part II in the UK, according to ET .

Cruise has never won an Oscar and although he was not nominated for Best Actor, the Best Picture award would be his first.

If the movie does take home the award, producer Jerry Bruckheimer will accept it , although Everywhere All At Once remains the favourite to win.

Cruise’s movie is also nominated for Writing (Adapted Screenplay), Film Editing, Sound, Music (Original Song) and Visual Effects.

Glen Powell, who plays Lt Jake “Hangman” Seresin in the movie also won’t be at the awards ceremony tonight.

Meanwhile, Glenn Close had to withdraw from presenting at the awards because of a positive Covid test.

The 75-year-old actress had been due to present alongside Air Force One co-star Harrison Ford, 80.

“Yes, she has Covid, and she is of course required to bow out. She was very much looking forward to taking part,” a representative for Close told People .

Close, is an eight-time Academy Award nominee, while Ford has been nominated once.

Jame Cameron, the director of Avatar: The Way of Water, was also not present for the show.

“You know a show is too long when even Jim Cameron won’t sit through it” joked host Jimmy Kimmel during his monologue as he pointed out Cameron was not nominated for Best Director.

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“How does the Academy not nominate the guy who directed Avatar ? What do they think he is, a woman?”

“Tom and James Cameron didn’t show up, the two guys who insisted we go to the theatre are not in the theatre,” he joked.

Cameron’s co-producer, Jon Landau, told The New York Times that the director has missed the ceremony for “personal reasons.”

Will Smith, who won Best Actor last year, is obviously not attending the event after his infamous slap of presenter Chris Rock in 2022.

Smith hit Rock on stage after the comedian made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head.

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences banned Smith from any Academy event for the next 10 years and Smith also pre-emptively resigned from the Academy.

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Oscars 2023: Jimmy Kimmel zings Tom Cruise, ‘Babylon’ in monologue with just a little edge

In case of another slap, host promises michael b. jordan, pedro pascal and michelle yeoh are ready to intervene..

Host Jimmy Kimmel tells the Oscar crowd that long-winded winner will be dashed off stage by “RRR” dancers during his opening monologue Sunday.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

“There are some things that movies can do that TV just can’t. For example, a TV show can’t lose $100 million. Is the gang from ‘Babylon’ here? They know.” – From Jimmy Kimmel’s opening monologue at the 95 th Academy Awards.

Better safe than sorry.

The 95th Academy Awards kicked off with Brad Pitt in “Babylon” saying, “Time to go make a movie!,” which was followed by a montage of behind-the-scenes footage and brief clips from dozens of 2023 releases reminding us of the magic of movies.

Then it was time for third-time host Jimmy Kimmel to make his entrance — first via a little special effects trickery that put him in Tom Cruise’s jet fighter plane in “Top Gun: Maverick” (a bit Billy Crystal pulled off multiple times back in the day), and then “parachuting” from the rafters and cracking, “Give me a second to adjust my Danger Zone here.” In a solid albeit straightforward monologue, Kimmel took his time and interacted with the celebs in attendance, while also taking a few mild shots at Cruise and at “Avatar: The Way of Water” director James Cameron for NOT attending.

• Sure things at tonight’s Oscars: Ke Huy Quan, a slap joke, and In Memoriam outrage
• Oscar predictions: Signs point to ‘Everything’ turning to gold

Kimmel did a solid job, consistently scoring laughs — he’s as comfortable as one can be in this relatively thankless roles — but there wasn’t a whole lot of edginess beyond some mild jabs at the self-involved grandiosity of this business of show, e.g., when Kimmel noted, “I also want to say that I’m happy to see that Nicole Kidman has finally been released from that abandoned AMC where she has been held captive for almost two full years now … And thank you for encouraging people who were already at the movie theater to go to the movie theater.”

Kimmel scored some laughs and few groans when he talked about the difference between television and movies: “There are some things that movies can do that TV just can’t. For example, a TV show can’t lose $100 million. Is the gang from ‘Babylon’ here? They know.”

There was a Pauly Shore joke, a line about Steven Spielberg and Seth Rogen being “The Joe and Hunter Biden of Hollywood,” a corny one-liner about composer John Williams being 91 and “still scoring,” and the inevitable reference to last year’s slapping incident, as when Kimmel noted, “Five Irish actors are nominated tonight. Which means the odds of another fight onstage just went way up.”

And, in a bit that wasn’t far off from my prediction that Kimmel would reference some of the attendees and say they’d intervene if there was any trouble, he name-checked Michael B. Jordan, Pedro Pascal and Michelle Yeoh, among others, and said they were ready to pounce if necessary.

More 30 minutes into the broadcast, only one trophy had been handed out: to Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio,” for animated feature.

Looks like it’s going to be a long night.

Tom Cruise is the star attraction at Oscars 2023 nominees luncheon

Ahead of the main awards night, celebrities gather to celebrate each other... and size up their competition.

February 14, 2023

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So, Why Wasn't Tom Cruise At the Oscars?

On the heels of Top Gun: Maverick , Tom Cruise is one of the most celebrated actors in Hollywood today. Maverick was a massive success, the box-office blockbuster was nominated for Best Picture, and he's currently doing insane stunts for Mission: Impossible— Dead Reckoning . Well, did you notice something about the Oscars red carpet? Tom Cruise was nowhere to be seen. Is it because he wasn't nominated for Best Actor? Could it be because he sent back his Golden Globe awards after the Hollywood Foreign Press Association controversy? (Maybe it's all the scientology jokes.)

It turns out that Cruise is too busy filming Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning, Part II in the UK , Entertainment Tonight reports . He's doing what he loves, folks—making movies for us. Cruise previously teased his upcoming Mission Impossible stunt where he jumps a motorcycle off of a cliff . Here's hoping he tries to blast into space next. Next time the man is up for more trophies, I'll give Hollywood an impossible mission: get Tom Cruise to show up at your awards show.

Still, that doesn't mean the Cruise jokes stopped at the 95th Academy Awards. "Everyone loved Top Gun , everyone," Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel joked at the beginning of the show. "Tom Cruise with his shirt off in that beach football scene? L. Ron Hubba Hubba!” Scientology bits! A classic Hollywood gag. "Tom (Cruise) and James Cameron didn’t show up tonight," Kimmel continued, after parachuting into the venue as part of a Top Gun skit."The two guys who insisted we go to the theater, did not show up at the theater." I'm sure some folks at home were wondering if jokes like these were the real reason Cruise didn't show up tonight. Either way, Cruise certainly isn't feeling down. Top Gun: Maverick received six nominations at the Oscars tonight, including Best Original Song, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture.

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How many Oscars does Tom Cruise have and how many times has he been nominated for the Oscars?

Tom Cruise has been a constant Hollywood presence since he arrived in the world of cinema. He’s evolved, developed as an artist, and has become one of THE legendary actors despite the fact despite a number of nominations, winning an Oscar has turned out to be an impossible mission.

Follow the 2024 Oscars ceremony and the red carpet latest updates live online on As.com.

Everything you need to know about the 2024 Oscars

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As a young man, Cruise stumbled around the United States in search of opportunities, starting in New York , where he signed up for different castings while working as a waiter , until he gave up. It was at the age of 19 that he changed the city that never sleeps for Los Angeles , landing in a Hollywood that was waiting for him with open arms.

The beginnings of Tom Cruise’s career

Cruise thus began his career on the big screen with a brief role in ‘Endless Love’ (1981), to later share a shooting set with another promising filmmaker Sean Penn, in ‘Taps’ (1981). However, his youth saw him participate in a number of adolescent comedies such as ‘Losin’ It’ (1983) and ‘Risky Business’ (1983).

But it wasn’t until 1988 that the actor truly began to shine, with ‘Rain Man’ , a film that won four Oscars, but with going to Cruise. The first film for which he received a nomination was ‘Born on the 4th of July’ (1989), and although he fell just short of his first Oscar, he did receive his first Golden Globe .

Lots of movies and no Oscars for Cruise

From then on, his career went skyrocketing, thanks to his participation in movies such as ‘Mission Impossible’; ‘Jerry Maguire’ , where he was nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars; ‘Magnolia’ , which also earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination; and ‘Top Gun’. A career that has also had its ups and downs, punctuated on various occasions by his interests in his personal life, where he devoted himself almost entirely to Scientology , which also affected his marriage to actress Katie Holmes .

A long, stellar career, but one little recognised in terms of awards. He has never won the coveted statuette . The actor is also a producer on what has been one of the big surprises of 2023, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ , which broke various box office records that year.

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Icons Unearthed: Tom Cruise – Season 1, Episode 4

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Tom cruise's new movie has a cast that rivals any from his ensemble $4 billion franchise.

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10 Things I Learned Rewatching Tom Cruise's Mission Impossible Movies In Order

1 failed tom cruise movie franchise proves his star power better than top gun & mission impossible, this 3-hour movie with 82% on rt earned tom cruise his last oscar nomination & he deserved to win.

An upcoming movie starring Tom Cruise has arguably the best ensemble cast of the celebrated actor's entire career. After maintaining his status as one of the biggest movie stars on the planet and the face of several massive action franchises such as Top Gun and Mission: Impossible , Cruise will be looking to take on more dramatic roles with experienced directors. Cruise recently signed a major deal with Warner Bros . which brings about all sorts of possibilities for sequels and original content.

Cruise had originally starred in more traditional dramas, comedies, and other genre films outside of action during his meteoric rise in Hollywood over the years. He made his feature film debut in the tragic romantic drama Endless Love (1981) before rising to prominence as the star of Risky Business (1983), The Color of Money (1986), and of course, the original Top Gun (1986). Cruise has been nominated for 3 Best Actor Oscars for Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Jerry Maguire (1996), and Magnolia (1999).

Tom Cruise's Alejandro Iñárritu Movie Has An Absolutely Loaded Cast So Far

The untitled film features several academy award winners and nominees.

Tom Cruise's new movie with director Alejandro G. Iñárritu will pair him with a slate of extraordinary and award-winning actors. While the plot details and title currently remain under wraps , the cast list alone already makes it one of the most highly-anticipated upcoming movies. Cruise will be joined onscreen by Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall), Riz Ahmed (Nightcrawler), John Goodman (The Big Lebowski), Michael Stuhlbarg (Call Me By Your Name), Jesse Plemons (The Power of the Dog), and Sophie Wilde (Talk to Me), via Deadline .

Warner Bros. will produce the film by Iñàrritu, a 4-time Oscar-winning screenwriter and director best known for Babel (2006), Biutiful (2010), Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014), and The Revenant (2015). Deadline reports that the script, which Iñàrritu co-wrote, will center " on the most powerful man in the world, who embarks on a frantic mission to prove he is humanity’s savior before the disaster he’s unleashed destroys everything ." While unconfirmed, Cruise seems like the most obvious choice for the described protagonist .

I recently watched every Tom Cruise Mission: Impossible movie in order, and I took away these 10 big realizations after finishing the series.

Not Even Mission: Impossible Has Assembled A Cast As Impressive Opposite Tom Cruise

Iñàrritu's next movie looks to be cruise's very best ensemble.

Needless to say, Cruise has been a part of some great casts over the years but has never been in one quite as ostensibly stacked as Iñàrritu's upcoming picture. Even though his Mission: Impossible movies are known for being ensemble films with good casts, featuring big-name actors such as Henry Cavill, Jeremy Renner, and Rebecca Ferguson, none quite compare to the expected prestige of this Cruise project. Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia , which stars Tom Cruise , Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Jason Robards may be in the same conversation, but Iñàrritu's next movie looks to be Cruise's very best ensemble.

Although Top Gun and Mission Impossible show how big of a star Tom Cruise is, the best proof is, actually, in one failed movie franchise.

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning

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Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning is an action-adventure spy thriller from director Christopher McQuarrie. It's the seventh entry in the Mission: Impossible series and a direct sequel to Mission: Impossible – Fallout. The title will star Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, and Ving Rhames.

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