MacFarlane announced “The Oscar Experience College Search” presented by The Academy and mtvU. College students who are interested in pursuing careers in film – writing, directing, producing, acting and more – are encouraged to vie for an opportunity to appear live onstage to deliver Oscar statuettes to telecast presenters. In addition to appearing on the Oscar show, winners will be flown to Los Angeles and provided hotel accommodations.

So, to all campus cinema buffs, here’s the deal. Think about the question, “How will you contribute to the future of movies?”, put together a video answer and then head over to the Academy’s Facebook page.

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While outgoing Academy president Tom Sherak’s attempt to have Lorne Michaels produce and Jimmy Fallon host was unsuccessful, Finke thinks today’s choice connects logically to NBC’s storied weekend franchise:

It now looks like MacFarlane’s hosting stint on Saturday Night Live’s premiere for this fall season was a tryout for telecast producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. He did well, especially during his stand-up where he sang and did voices and looked great and was thoroughly entertaining.

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Thanks to a recent Skype discussion between O’Neil, Chris Beachum, Matt Noble and Daniel Montgomery about the Best Supporting Comedy Actor chances of New Girl’s Max Greenfield (pictured), the performer’s Hollywood agents realized the wrong episode had been submitted on the co-star’s behalf. Instead of “Control,” which Greenfield’s reps had selected, the DVD reproduction house somehow pressed copies of the episode “Bad in Bed.” Tipped by Gold Derby, the TV  Academy worked with the actor’s team to remedy the mistake and get new discs out to voters with special instructions in time for the September 17 deadline.

“It’s definitely one of Gold Derby’s top ten scoops,” O’Neil tells FishbowlLA via telephone. “But nothing will likely surpass our story about Katherine Heigl lashing out at her writers after having withdrawn from Emmy consideration for Grey’s Anatomy. She was ticked off at her writers, and then there was that whole backlash against her after the story broke.”

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To Neil Meron and Craig Zadan, co-producers of next February’s Oscar telecast, we say: If you have not already contacted Nathan Lane’s reps to see if he would be interested in doing the Dolby Theatre honors, then please do so – pronto.

We have no idea if Lane would say yes. But here’s  a guy who can handle any necessary musical telecast components as smoothly as Hugh Jackman and Neil Patrick Harris. More importantly, per his regular sit-downs with David Letterman, Lane is also flat-out, ad lib hilarious.

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“It’s funny, the one place where we all end up is the Santa Barbara Film Festival,” Feinberg told FishbowlLA via telephone yesterday shortly after arriving in the rain. “It’s weird. Some of us can’t make it to Telluride, some of us can’t make it to Toronto. But the one that it just seems, year after year, all the usual LA Oscar beat writers end up at is Santa Barbara.”

Everything is walking distance in Telluride. It’s also a place where, with a very few exceptions, outlets pay the same hefty price for journalist passes as attendees. And because locals are used to living next to the likes of Ralph Lauren, Oprah Winfrey and Tom Cruise, the already secluded event has a welcome, casual feel for A-list attendees. Starting with today’s traditional kick-off picnic.

“At the end of last year’s awards season, George Clooney told me Telluride had been one of the highlights of the circuit, which he was on for a whole six months,” Feinberg recalled. “He felt that he could walk around here with no bodyguards, no entourage… Of course, one or two people might still ask him for photos. But it’s nothing like LA or Toronto.”

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That said, the awards went to the regular nominees. What better for an award than choosing the films that have already won the big awards, whether Oscars or Golden Globes or whatever,Hollywood Reporter reported.

“No Country for Old Men” and “Juno,” two of the most honored films of 2007, made one more appearance on the awards circuit Monday night as they took home top Artios prizes.

Ellen Chenoweth and Jo Edna Boldin were honored for “No Country” (location casting). In the studio feature-comedy category, the winners were Mindy Marin, Coreen Mayres (location) and Heike Brandstatter (location) for “Juno.”

The winning TV drama series was FX’s “Damages,” with the prize going to Julie Tucker. ABC’s “Pushing Daisies” earned the honors in the TV comedy series category for Meg Liberman, Cami Patton and Jennifer Lare.

Other winners:

TV pilot, drama: Beth Bowling, Kim Miscia, “Mad Men”; TV pilot, comedy, Liberman, Patton, “Pushing Daisies”; TV movie: David Rubin, Richard Hicks and Lori S. Wyman (location), Kathleen Chopin (location), “Recount”; and miniseries, Chopin, “John Adams.”

Children’s series: Carol Goldwasser, Howard Meltzer, “Hannah Montana”; TV animation: Gillian O’Neill, “Rick & Steve, The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World”; and daytime: Judy Blye Wilson, “All My Children.”

The CSA gave a few awards to Broadway and Off-Broadway casting, but since we’re in L.A. the Hollywood-centric audience didn’t really care.

But we’ll put them in anyway.

Broadway drama: Bernard Telsey, Will Cantler, “The Homecoming”; Broadway comedy: Jim Carnahan, “Boeing-Boeing”; Broadway musical: Telsey, Bethany Knox, “In the Heights”; off-Broadway: James Calleri, “The Seagull”; L.A. theater: Erika Sellin, “The History Boys”; and regional theater: Cantler, Telsey, “33 Variations.”

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The weekly mag has turned 40 and will celebrate its anniversary tonight in West Hollywood with a bash at Republic on La Cienega.

Some famous faces will help the mag toast their big night including a host committee that includes Ellen DeGeneres, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Sgt. Eric Alva, Bill Maher, T.R. Knight, John Stamos, Jane Lyncy, Julian McMahon, Heather Matarazzo, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron.

Congrats to the editors and all the gays who have helped keep The Advocate informed. For a survey of exactly how far they’ve come, the 40th anniversary edition is on newsstands now.

- CHRIS GARDNER

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