NZ stars attend pre-Academy Awards lunch in Hollywood

4.30pm

Whale Rider star Keisha Castle-Hughes and Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson joined other Oscar hopefuls at the annual gathering of Oscar nominees for a pre-Academy Awards lunch at the Beverly Hills Hilton today.

Thirteen-year-old Keisha told journalists she was thrilled to have met one of her fellow nominees for best actress. "I just met Charlize Theron and I was like, 'Oh, my God'," she said

Theron, nominated for "Monster," a role for which she did a total transformation, wore white and looked more like a goddess than a monster.

Keisha said she hadn't decided what to wear to the awards but it would be a New Zealand-designed outfit. Jackson said he would probably wear the Versace suit made for him for the first picture in the Rings trilogy.

Joe Roth, the veteran filmmaker producing his first Academy Awards telecast, admitted to a certain nervousness about the Feb. 29 show to be hosted by Billy Crystal, a show he promised would be "funny and quick" and have a surprise at the end when the cameras goes back stage to catch all the winners at once.

When he said that, people at various tables chuckled and wondered, 'Did he just give the surprise away?"

But Roth also gave winners the traditional warning: victory speeches must not last longer than 45 seconds, no matter how many relatives you have to thank.

Several actors at the lunch questioned whether the Oscar telecast should have a five-second delay, a move prompted by Janet Jackson's breast-baring at the Super Bowl halftime show.

Asked Tim Robbins, nominated for nest supporting actor in "Mystic River," "What are they afraid of? Spontaneity is great."

- REUTERS