Beverly Hills, Calif. - The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and mtvU, MTV's 24-hour college network, announce that three teams of college journalists have advanced as finalists in the 2011 Oscars Correspondent Contest. Each team will head to Hollywood for Oscar Week as they compete for a coveted spot on the red carpet at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards.
The finalists are (listed in alphabetical order by university):
Hofstra University, Long Island, NY – Luz Pena (anchor) and Philip Robibero (videographer)
University of Georgia, Athens – Blake Mitchell (anchor) and David Torcivia (videographer)
University of Southern California, Los Angeles – Sarah Erickson (anchor) and Joel Kutz (videographer)
New videos from each finalist team, along with the original entry videos, will be posted online at http://oscars.mtvu.com for a final round of online polling Monday, February 7, through Friday, February 18, at 2 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. ET.
All three teams will cover Academy Awards pre-events in Hollywood, including the Animated Feature Symposium, Foreign Language Film Award photo op, the Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Symposium and the Governors Ball preview. Teams will post their video coverage of these events online at http://oscars.mtvu.com for the public to view.
The Grand Prize-winning team will be revealed on Saturday, February 26, at an Academy press conference. The anchor and videographer will be awarded a spot on the red carpet for the 83rd Academy Awards arrivals, as well as access to the backstage press rooms. The two runner-up teams will receive bleacher seats along the red carpet and admission to an Oscar viewing party. The three finalist teams beat out seven other teams of college journalists as selected by the Academy, mtvU, and by popular vote.
The Oscars Correspondent Contest was open to teams of two college students, one anchor and one videographer, residing in the United States.
For a complete list of rules and regulations for the Oscars Correspondent Contest, visit http://oscars.mtvu.com.
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2010 will be presented on Sunday, February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.