Movie connoisseurs suit up for local Oscar parties

The broadcast of the Academy Awards is more than just a TV show -- it's an event. It is preceded by weeks of hype and guessing games about who will win in the major categories and which designer will dress the majority of the celebrities that night.

And before the actual awards begin, the annual Barbara Walters celebrity interview show is aired. Oscar night is a four- to five-hour television commitment for those who await it each year and the night ends up being just another excuse for a party.

Mike Negra, president of Mike's Movies and Music, hosts one of the area's biggest and longest-running Oscar night parties.

"It's really not that big a deal," he said. "All of our management and music and movie buyers come here. We don't get stupid and dress up in tuxedos or anything, but we'll probably have 35 to 40 people. It's a low-key party, but everybody who's here is really into it."

Aside from the usual party goings-on, Negra also said he runs a pool for all the guests. The pool allows each guest to record his or her choice for the winner in 15 categories.

And then there are the festivities hosted by the Penn State Oscar Association. This year, the organization, though not an official University club, has attracted more than 150 guests to its Oscar night party in the Founders Room at The Bryce Jordan Center.

"This is our second year having an Oscar night party," said Dan Stone (sophomore-hotel/restaurant management), who is co-president of the PSOA with his roommate Brian Etchell (sophomore-accounting and international business). "Last year it was in Sproul Hall in East Halls, and six people showed up. Basically, it was just five of my closest friends."

Stone said he enjoys planning large-scale events like the one he organized for this year's Oscars. But little did he realize how involved it would be. He initially had expected around 50 to attend, but it mushroomed when he ran it by the Penn State Lion Ambassadors, of which he is a member.

So he and his roommate arranged it all, from the printing of the invitations to the reservations at the center, hiring the caterers and arranging for a private accounting firm to tally the award ballots each guest will have handed in before the awards begin in the hopes of winning an Oscar statuette replica.

"It's providing each student an opportunity to get dressed up, meet people and have a good time," said Stone. "We want to recreate the Oscar atmosphere."

And they have done quite a job in that recreation.

Guests will begin to arrive at 6 p.m. in formal dress for a full-course dinner catered by Penn State.

Each guest paid $15 to attend, though all leftover money will be put toward gifts for the accountant and caterers. It is strictly a non-profit evening and is done all for the benefit of community members who enjoy Oscar night.

"It's just a way for us to say, 'Okay, the awards are in State College and you're invited,' " Stone said.