Inside the 2023 Oscar Nominees Luncheon: Tom Cruise Has 'Fun,' Academy Addresses Slap and More

The 95th Academy Awards are approaching, and this year's nominees gathered to celebrate.

On Monday, stars like Tom Cruise, Brendan Fraser, Hong Chau, Angela Bassett, Austin Butler, Michelle Williams, Steven Spielberg and more nominees showed up to the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif., for the 95th annual Oscars nominees luncheon.

Actors Michelle Yeoh and Paul Mescal greeted each other during the event, hugging and congratulating each other on their nominations for lead performances in Everything Everywhere all at Once and Aftersun, respectively.

Elvis star Butler, 31, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever actress Bassett, 64, and Cruise, 60, were spotted greeting each other, congratulating each other on their recognition while in a group hug.

Cruise, who is nominated as a producer behind the Top Gun: Maverick sequel up for Best Picture, also reunited with Spielberg, 76, at the gathering. (He and the director made 2002's Minority Report and 2005's War of the Worlds together.)

The menu for the star-studded event included a two-course meal with dessert, featuring a harvest salad and king oyster mushroom scallops, wild mushroom risotto, roasted Brussels sprouts, baby carrots and pea tendrils. For dessert, guests were served an opera cake, ganache and fresh berries.

"This is fun," Cruise told PEOPLE at one point during the luncheon Monday. "I'm enjoying it."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

During the event, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Janet Yang addressed Will Smith's infamous slap of Chris Rock during last year's Oscars, telling the room of nominees that the Academy's initial response to the incident was "inadequate." (Smith, who has apologized, resigned from the Academy, which banned him from attending its events for 10 years.)

"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 for ourselves and for our industry," Yang said in a speech. "You should and can expect no less from us going forward."

Yang added that the Academy's efforts to "maintaining the highest of standards while creating the changes we wish to see" in the film industry include inspiring young people who want to work in film.

"This is how we create the global film community of the future, one that's open to ideas and cultures from all corners," Yang said at the luncheon. "I urge us all to focus our efforts on nurturing the extraordinary, brilliant community that we inhabit."

When it came time for the group photo with all the nominees present for the luncheon, Jamie Lee Curtis was first called up, receiving a big round of applause.

Prior to that, Yang informed this year's nominees, "One rule we asks of those privileged to take the stage on Oscar night: the 45-second rule. Your acceptance speech must be 45 seconds tops. We've worked really hard to keep all the awards live this year, so we need to keep the speeches short."

The 95th Oscars will be held Sunday, March 12, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. The awards show will be televised live on ABC, with late-night host Jimmy Kimmel returning to host for the third time.