OSCARS: Student watchers get star treatment

The Canes Night Live Oscars party on Sunday night was perhaps one of the classiest events ever to take place at the Rat.

Canes Night Live [CNL], a division of Hurricane Productions, hosted a party to watch the Oscars on the big screen at the Rat, complete with champagne glasses and a red carpet walk. CNL expected 250-400 people to come; however, only about 60 people showed up.

Limos shuttled students from each dorm to the Rat from 5 to 8 p.m. and dropped them off at the end of the red carpet, where the “guests” strutted their stuff down the brick walk to the door of the Rat.

Outside the door guests could put their handprints and signatures on the Walk Of Fame.

Inside, tables were covered in white tablecloths with film, gold star centerpieces and more food than Thanksgiving at your grandma’s house.

The big screen coverage included all of the pre-show footage as well as the actual Oscars.

In addition to raffles during commercials, guests played prediction games to win a $50 gift certificate to All Sports.

Other attractions included tarot card readings and a photo booth.

CNL is a fairly new committee set up by President Shalala to organize alternative late night programming for students.

“We thought an Oscar pre-party with celebrity treatment would be cool, to go along with the Oscar theme,” Leah Abell, of the CNL committee, said. “So, we decided being picked up in a limo is something the celebrities do to get to the Oscars.”

The CNL committee is pleased with the results at the Oscars event.

“I think for the students who are going to watch the Oscars anyway, this is a perfect event,” Abell said. “For students on campus it’s a fun way to get out of their rooms, away from studying, but not having to leave campus and go too far.”

The CNL committee consists of 10 students and an advisor, Cynthia Chapel. It meets once a week to plan events.

For more information about CNL and how to join, check out the Hurricane Productions website, www.um-hp.com, or call the Office of Student Activities and Leadership Programs at 305-284-6399.

Jaclyn Lisenby can be contacted at j.lisenby@miami.edu.

PAST WINS

Here’s a list of past

Oscars Best Picture winners:

2002 75th Academy Awards CHICAGO

Martin Richards

2001 74th Academy Awards

A BEAUTIFUL MIND

Brian Grazer and Ron Howard

2000 73rd Academy Awards

GLADIATOR

Douglas Wick, David Franzoni, Branko Lustig

1999 72nd Academy Awards

AMERICAN BEAUTY

Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks

1998 71st Academy Awards

SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE

David Parfitt, Donna Gigliotti, Harvey Weinstein, Edward Zwick, Marc Norman

1997 70th Academy Awards

TITANIC

James Cameron, Jon Landau

1996 69th Academy Awards

THE ENGLISH PATIENT

Saul Zaentz

1995 68th Academy Awards

BRAVEHEART – Mel Gibson, Alan Ladd, Jr., Bruce Davey

1994 67th Academy Awards

FORREST GUMP – Wendy Finerman, Steve Tisch, Steve Starkey

1993 66th Academy Awards

SCHINDLER’S LIST- Steven Spielberg, Gerald R. Molen, Branko Lustig

1992 65th Academy Awards

UNFORGIVEN – Clint Eastwood

1991 64th Academy Awards

THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS – Edward Saxon, Kenneth Utt, Ron Bozman

1990 63rd Academy Awards

DANCES WITH WOLVES – Jim Wilson, Kevin Costner