 
|
|||||||||
              
|
 Gala Oscar party to light up Waterfront Thursday, March 22, 2001 By Barbara Vancheri, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
As Jerry Seinfeld once said: "I can't go to a bad movie by myself. What, am I gonna make sarcastic remarks to strangers?"
The same could be said of the Oscars. If you're not with a crowd, how are you going to comment on Russell Crowe's date -- be it beauty or bodyguard -- or Julia Roberts' gown or Benicio Del Toro's hair?
The Pittsburgh Film Office is taking over most of a megaplex Sunday night so people can celebrate the 73rd annual Academy Awards at a fund-raising gala called "Lights! Glamour! Action!"
Joan Rivers won't be there, but Loews Waterfront theater in West Homestead will feature other awards accouterments: red carpet, klieg lights, photographers and models dressed as if they had stepped off the sets of "Gladiator" and other Best Picture nominees.
No one can promise the stars of "The Mothman Prophecies" -- Richard Gere will be filming in Kittanning, and Best Actress nominee Laura Linney will be at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles -- but an autographed Gere photography book, "Pilgrim," will be among the items in a silent auction.
Also on the block: T-shirts signed by Gere and Linney; a football autographed by "Replacements" star Keanu Reeves; a "Wonder Boys" script signed by Michael Douglas and writer Steve Kloves; a bowling pin signed by the cast of the NBC sitcom "Ed"; two US Airways trans-Atlantic coach tickets; plus other prizes. Many carry minimum bids.
The film office is working with Susie Franklin, the event strategy consultant who made her name by helping to raise $1 million for the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium. Although this gala will raise a fraction of that, the money is just as important -- it will replace funding from the county hotel-room tax that has been diverted to big-ticket city projects.
The film office is subsisting on $197,500 in grants from the state Department of Commerce and Economic Development. "Money from this fund-raiser is what will continue to allow us to be operational through the end of the year," director Dawn Keezer says. "We're still working hard to secure long-term funding for 2002 and beyond." The film office is approaching other sources such as foundations and nearby counties.
"When they came to me, they said we want to do a fund-raiser," Franklin recalls. "I took it a step beyond. If we can do something truly blockbuster the first year, perhaps this can become an annuity, something they can count on."
Franklin and the office secured assistance and money from a long list of sponsors, led by PNC Financial Services Group.
In the past, the Pittsburgh Film Workers Association has held parties on Oscar night, although costs forced the group to skip last year. This year, the group will participate in the gala, which will be bigger, more elaborate and pricier (tickets are $250 and $100 and include top-shelf food and liquor) than anything in the past.
The $250 ticket brings VIP extras such as reserved parking and a champagne reception from 6 to 7 p.m. The other ticket allows partygoers to enter at 7 when the gala begins. To order, call ProArts at 412-394-3353 through Saturday afternoon.
Inside Loews (which will remain open for limited regular business), two auditoriums and assorted monitors will show the Oscar telecast live, while other theaters will feature made-in-Pittsburgh movies such as "Wonder Boys," "Striking Distance," "Flashdance" and "Night of the Living Dead." In honor of Gere, one screen will flicker with "An Officer and a Gentleman."
Keezer says the "Mothman" cast has been invited, and there's a chance some could stop by on their way to Armstrong County. Three actors who are booked to appear: "General Hospital" stars Rebecca Herbst, Tava Smiley and Lisa Vultaggio.
The party will take over much of the megaplex, which will be bustling with a disc jockey and band in the back lobby and a piano player upstairs. The $100 tickets cover food and liquor. According to Franklin, wines are being donated by five to six liquor companies and 12 restaurants.
Guests can come in black tie or not. "You interpret what you choose to be that night," Franklin says. "It can be sequins and black tie, if people want to. If someone comes looking like John Wayne, that's great."
|
||||||||
