Residents enjoy own gala Oscars events

Spotlights glared. Men and women walked down the red carpet decked out in their best threads while a three-piece band serenaded them.

No, it wasn't the Oscar ceremony, but it was close. It was the 3rd Annual Academy Awards Celebration given by the Independent Student Oscar Association (ISOA).

The event, which took place at 6:30 last night at the Atherton Hotel, 125 S. Atherton St., was organized by the ISOA to give students an opportunity to experience a taste of star treatment while enjoying one of the movie industry's biggest nights of the year on an 8-by-8-foot screen.

Stone and his 11-person committee spent a month putting together the event and trying to recreate the experience of the Academy Awards, complete with the red AIDS ribbons.

"They did a wonderful job recreating the Oscars," said Charles Dumas, associate professor of theatre. "I feel like I'm in L.A., except when I go outside, I freeze my too-toos off."

The ISOA tried to give all guests the chance to go home winners. The night also included various contests such as voting for which stars guests thought would go home with an Oscar.

Prizes included gift certificates from local businesses, cash and even replica Oscars for the "Best Predictors." Another prize was a movie poster from each of the Best Picture nominees.

Due to the popularity of the nominated movies, the posters were not easy to acquire, Stone said, adding that the poster for Good Will Hunting had to be donated by the movie's studio, Miramax.

To ensure fairness in the voting process, Fetter and Associates P.C., a local accounting firm, was hired to tabulate the votes throughout the telecast and then determine the best and worst predictor.

Stone, president of the ISOA, attributes most of the evening's excitement to the movies nominated.

"Good Will Hunting and Titanic were very popular and people tend to have favorites and feel very passionate about them," he said.

"The characters were good and I thought it was amazing that two young men had written something like that," said Melissa Egelsky, University staff member, about Good Will Hunting, her choice for Best Screenplay.

"I think Titanic is going to win," Dumas said. He was also excited about one of the lesser-known nominees. "I'm really excited that Spike Lee has the opportunity to win his first Oscar for his documentary (4 Little Girls)."

Stone says that a great deal of work went into the making of this evening, including traveling to Philadelphia to get the replica Oscars for the night's winners and renting audio equipment for the broadcast.

"Maybe I can go to an actual ceremony one year," Stone said, "then I won't have to worry about planning it."