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Pop singer Lady Gaga, Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron and African-American filmmaker Spike Lee were among scores of Oscar nominees who gathered for a group photo on Monday ahead of the Academy Awards ceremony in three weeks time. 

Actors Glenn Close, Bradley Cooper, Rami Malek and Amy Adams, along with dozens of producers, editors, costume designers, documentary makers and musicians in 24 categories were also among those attending the annual Oscar nominees luncheon in Beverly Hills.

John Bailey, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences whose members vote on the Oscar winners, said the class of 2019 was notable for its diversity, despite the photo featuring predominantly white men.

Cream of the crop: Pop singer Lady Gaga, Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron and African-American filmmaker Spike Lee were among scores of Oscar nominees who gathered for a group photo on Monday ahead of the Academy Awards ceremony in three weeks time

'This year has the largest class of women nominees. Far from parity, and of course we need to do better. Gender parity is an industry matter, not just an Academy matter,' Bailey told the guests.

'Inclusion, diversity, racial, ethnic and gender equality are not just buzzwords. They go to the heart of what our Academy is doing,' he added.

But some Twitter users felt differently, as they took to the platform to point out the lack of racial diversity.

'I knew the oscar photo was gonna be mostly white people but oh my god... that's so bad' wrote @brieIrsons.

Another person tweeted: 'the oscar noms photo is so white i had to lower the brightness of my screen and put on sunglasses to see it'. 

Cream of the crop: Glenn Close, Rami Malek, Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga are seen along the back row

It comes three years after the #OscarsSoWhite controversy in 2016 when all 20 actors nominated in the lead and supporting acting categories were white, for a second year in a row.

After the 2015 nominations were revealed, BroadwayBlack.com managing editor April Reign created the trending Twitter hashtag #OscarsSoWhite. 

In total, four black men have won Best Actor (Sydney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Forrest Whitaker and Jamie Foxx) one has won Best Actress (Halle Berry); five have won Best Supporting Actor (Louis Gossett Jr, Denzel Washington, Cuba Gooding Jr, Morgan Freeman and Mahershala Ali); and seven have won Best Supporting Actress (Hattie McDaniel, Whoppi Goldberg, Jennifer Hudson, Monique, Luipta N’yongo, Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis). 

There are only five Latinos who have won Oscars (Rita Moreno, José Ferrer, Anthony Quinn, Mercedes Ruehl, and Benicio del Toro), three Asians (Miyoshi Umeki, Sir Ben Kingsley and Haing S. Ngor) and two Spanish actors (husband and wife Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem).

The luncheon took place with still no official word on whether the February 24 Oscar ceremony would go ahead without a host for only the second time in its 91-year history.

The Oscar show producers urged the eventual winners to keep their acceptance speeches short on the big night, particularly as the Academy has pledged to cut this year's telecast by about 30 minutes to three hours.

Biggest names: Richard E. grant, Regina King and Yalitza Aparicio are seen along the back row in this section. Melissa MCarthy is pictured in the row in front of them

Spot the stars: Sam Elliott, Amy Adams and Spike Lee are seen in the back row in this section. Christian Bale is seen next to Rachel Weisz one row forward

'So bad': Some Twitter users felt there was a lack of diversity within the Oscar nominees again, as they took to the platform to point out it looked mostly white

Another person tweeted: 'the oscar noms photo is so white i had to lower the brightness of my screen and put on sunglasses to see it'

Producer Glenn Weiss said the goal was to deliver 'an enjoyable and entertaining evening while we work hard to produce a three-hour show for the first time.'

Cuaron's Roma and Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos comedy The Favourite lead nominations for the Oscars with 10 apiece.

The nominations this year have been historic, with a superhero movie nominated in the best picture category for the first time and foreign language film Roma getting 10 nods.

Black Panther making the best picture category was a major milestone for the superhero/comic genre.

Three stars from one movie; Olivia Colman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz, have nominations for The Favourite.

The period dark comedy is also up for Best Picture alongside Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. 

Dream team: Best actress nominees Lady Gaga and Glenn Close are pictured along with best supporting actress nominees Amy Adams and Rachel Weisz at the 91st Academy Awards nominees luncheon on Monday in Beverly Hills

All love: Regina and Mahershala embraced as they caught up at the event while costars Sam and Bradley chatted away

Pals: Amy and Rami also enjoyed a natter during the luncheon before guests were seated

Glam: Gaga was giving some old school Hollywood vibes as she entered the venue

Lady Gaga grabbed two nominations for A Star Is Born (for Best Actress and Best Original Song), and will take on Glenn Close for best actress as both women hope to walk home with their first Oscar when the winners are announced on February 24 at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. 

The film also earned an acting nod for star Bradley Cooper, who was not nominated for Best Director for his work at the helm, in his directorial debut.

Black Panther picked up eight nominations overall, and will battle with A Star Is Born, Bohemian Rhapsody, The Favourite, Green Book, BlacKkKlansman, Roma and Vice for Best Picture

Talent: Best director nominee Spike Lee (BlacKkKlansman) is pictured along with best supporting actor nominee Sam Elliot (A Star Is Born) and best actor nominee Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born)

Color accent: Best actress nominee Melissa McCarthy looked fantastic in a navy v-neck midi dress with patent orange heels. She brought along her mom Sandy to celebrate with her

After his Golden Globe win, Rami Malek is considered the front runner for Best Actor, competing with Christian Bale for his performance as Dick Cheney in Vice (Bale's fourth Oscar nod), along with Cooper (A Star Is Born), Willem Dafoe (At Eternity's Gate) and Viggo Mortensen (Green Book).  

Along with Lady Gaga, Olivia Colman and Yalitza Aparicio, the best lead actress nominees were Glenn Close (The Wife) and Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?). 

The Supporting Actor category will see Mahershala Ali (Green Book) and Sam Rockwell (Vice) take on Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?), Sam Elliott (A Star Is Born) and Adam Driver (BlacKkKlansman).

The supporting actress category consists of Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk), Amy Adams (Vice), Rachel Weisz (The Favourite), Emma Stone (The Favourite) and Marina de Tavira (Roma).

Dapper gents: Best supporting actor nominee Mahershala Ali (Green Book), Best actor nominee Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) and best supporting actor nominee Sam Rockwell (Vice)

While diverse films such as Black Panther, Bohemian Rhapsody, Green Book, BlacKkKlansman and Roma are in the Best Picture race, just one quarter of the acting nominees are not white.

There are only five of the 20 acting nominees who are not white - Malek, King, Ali, Apricio and de Tavira.

However, the front runners for three of the four acting categories - Malek, King and Ali - are not white, so while there are is still much work to be done in terms of diversity, there are still strides being made. 

While progress is being made, others are still not being recognized, with no Asian actors nominated this year, despite the box office success of Crazy Rich Asians. 

Glowing: Best supporting actress nominee Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk) was ballerina chic in blush satin embellished with a floral design

Aside from the acting categories, women were also sorely underrepresented, with none of the Best Picture nominees directed by women, and only two of the 10 screenplay nominees co-written by women.

Nicole Holofcener co-wrote Can You Ever Forgive Me? with Jeff Whitty, with Deborah Davis co-writing The Favourite with Tony McNamara as the only female screenplay nominees. 

Some had hoped female directors such as Debra Granik (Leave No Trace) and Marielle Heller (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) would find a way to break through, but that didn't happen.

Only five women have been nominated for Best Director - Lina Wertmuller (Seven Beauties), Jane Campion (The Piano), Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation), Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) and Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird), with Bigelow the only woman to win the Best Director Oscar. 

Gathering: The luncheon happens every year at The Beverly Hilton Hotel about three weeks before the Oscars

Spike Lee, who earned his first ever Oscar nomination for Best Director after a storied career spanning more than 30 years, also highlights a modicum of progress with diversity among the directorial ranks.

Lee is only the sixth African-American filmmaker to be nominated for Best Director, following John Singleton (Boyz n the Hood, who still holds the record as the youngest Best Director nominee at 24), Lee Daniels (Precious), Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave), Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) and Jordan Peele (Get Out).

While none of those directors won Best Director, McQueen's 12 Years a Slave and Jenkins' Moonlight did win Best Picture.

Still, Adam McKay (Vice) is the only white American male up for Best Director, with Polish filmmaker Pawel Pawlikowski (Cold War) and Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite) up for the coveted award.