Beginning with red carpet arrivals and ending over four hours later with the Academy Award for Best Picture, the Malibu Film Society (MFS) held its 6th annual Oscar party Sunday in the Malibu Screening Room at the Malibu Jewish Center & Synagogue (MJCS).
A capacity crowd attended the fundraising gala to watch Hollywood’s Big Night during an event that included thousands of dollars in raffle prizes and silent auction items donated by local businesses, along with an open bar, hors d’oeuvres, three-course catered dinner, party favors and an award for the person with the most correct Oscar predictions on their official ballot.
In the lead-up to the Oscars, MFS’s annual “Awards Season Screening Series” showcases many of the top contenders, frequently including an audience Q&A with guest speakers involved in each film. So, a special note for those in the “biz” who are even a little superstitious: every year since it was founded in 2009, at least one guest speaker has gone on to win their first (or second) Oscar.
This year, it was screenwriter Graham Moore, who took part in the Q&A discussion following the MFS screening of “The Imitation Game” last November. In one of Sunday night’s most moving acceptance speeches, Moore received a standing ovation after disclosing his own attempted suicide.
In 2013, two MFS guest speakers went on to win Oscars – cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki for “Gravity” and producer/director/writer Morgan Neville for Best Documentary Feature, “20 Feet from Stardom.” In 2012, Q&A guest Rick Carter won the Best Production Design Oscar for Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln.”
In 2011, MFS guest speaker Tom Fleishman won the Oscar for Best Sound Mixing (“Hugo”); and in 2010, it was “Social Network” film editor Kirk Baxter. In 2009, MFS’s inaugural season, “The Cove” won best Documentary Feature after a Q&A by one of the film’s producers.
Just prior to the start of this year’s Oscar ceremony, MFS recognized three volunteers for extraordinary service: Maggie Luckerath for bringing in new members and securing many of the silent auction and raffle prize donations, Scott Hillman for automating the MFS website and reservations system, and Kathy Demac, who came out of the audience one night to help when she saw the volunteer staff was short-handed, and has been volunteering regularly ever since. Each was presented with two bottles of champagne.
During the telecast itself, the mostly Malibu audience applauded whenever their film industry friends and neighbors won an award; there was also plenty of applause whenever an Oscar winner spoke out politically, such as “Birdman” director/producer/writer Alejandro Inarritu’s plea for fair treatment of Mexican immigrants to the U.S., “Boyhood” actress Patricia Arquette’s call for equal pay for women and “Selma” Best Song winners John Legend and Common over the erosion of minority voting rights.
During commercial breaks, Oscar-partygoers left tables decorated with mini Oscars and reels of film to check out the silent auction items, pick up raffle prizes, and visit the open bar and dessert buffet. Each course of the three-course meal catered by Chef Ruth (Tarte Catering) was also served during commercial breaks. For the event advertised as “black tie optional,” almost all of the men came in a tux or a suit while most of the women were dressed in cocktail attire – a rarity in otherwise casual Malibu.
MFS was founded in 2009 for the purpose of showing interesting and/or overlooked films that otherwise might not be shown in Malibu, and to foster a sense of community through film. It has grown to nearly 200 paid members, who have the option of attending over 50 different movie screenings a season, and receive various other member benefits, like free concessions. Most screenings are open to non-members for an admission fee. Screenings are generally held at the Malibu Jewish Center & Synagogue, which now has the latest in digital cinema equipment – the same used in commercial movie theaters. Thanks to strong support from the community, the facility will be upgraded this week with a brand new 21-foot wide screen and wide-coverage loudspeakers.
