Emersonians share Oscar excitement

Oscar excitement is building at Emerson College. From alumni and faculty involved with nominated films to student journalists reporting from the red carpet, numerous Emersonians boast close connections to the 2011 Academy Awards, to be broadcast Sunday, February 27, on ABC.

To help capture the excitement, the College’s Office of Communications and Marketing is hosting an Online Watch Party via social media. Emersonians can come together on Twitter to share their observations and opinions before and during the show, using the hashtag #ECOscars. They can also vote right now in the major awards categories and see what other Emersonians are thinking in an Emerson poll.

Marketing Communication major Valerie Molina ’11, who works in the Office of Communications and Marketing as a social media assistant, will host Sunday night’s online party from the @EmersonCollege Twitter account. She will post her thoughts and share the most interesting tweets from other community members.

The following is a selection of Emersonians who have close ties to the 2011 Academy Awards:

• A group of Emerson Journalism students will work the red carpet and interview key players in Sunday night’s awards show, such as Tom Sherak, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and Wolfgang Puck, the master chef selected by the Academy to create the menu for the Governors Ball, the annual celebration immediately following the Oscars. The students will also report and tweet from the backstage press room Sunday night. Participating students are: Kate Andrews, G ’11; Brittany Berkowitz ’12; Victoria Bergland ’12; Chad Boyle, G ’11; Katie Bryant ’11; Zachary Cusson ’12; Justine Frostad, G’ 11; Kayla Harrity ’11;  Joshua Miller ’10; and Anaridis Rodriguez, G ’11. Advisor and technology director for the School of Communication Jonathan “Satch” Satriale ’94, G ’09, is accompanying them.
• Maria Menounos ’00 will be reporting for NBC’s Access Hollywood.
• Joe Celli ’91 is the art director for the Academy Awards ceremony.
• Dorothy Aufiero ’80 produced the acclaimed film The Fighter, which was shot locally and stars Boston native Mark Wahlberg. The movie is nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Directing, and Best Editing.
• Part-time faculty member Mo Flam, new to Emerson’s Visual and Media Arts Department (VMA), is a chief lighting technician and gaffer who has worked on a number of big-name films, including this year’s Oscar-nominated Black Swan.
• Assistant Professor of VMA Harlan Bosmajian was the director of photography for the crew race scenes shot on the Charles River in the nominated film The Social Network.
• VMA part-time faculty member Bob Nesson will be in Denver with family members Sunday night, rooting for his daughter Sara Nesson, who is nominated in the Documentary (short subject) category for her film Poster Girl.

Several student-organized Oscar watch parties will take place Sunday, including one organized by Film Immersion students at the new Paramount Center residence hall, complete with its own red carpet; a Little Building fete with residents competing for a chance to win DVDs of Best Picture nominees; and a Los Angeles-based party, to be held at the Oakwood Apartments, for students in the LA Program this semester.