The Daily Item, Sunbury, PA

Lewisburg Region

Related Photos

  • Kama and Nick Bisaccia, as well as Austin and Kelsy Clark, all of Selinsgrove, enjoy a dance at the Hollywood Ball at the Campus Theater Saturday night in Lewisburg. Amanda August/The Daily Item

    ball24c.jpg

Discussion

February 25, 2013

Stars shine during the Hollywood Ball at the Campus Theater

By Ashley Wislock The Daily Item

— LEWISBURG — The stars were out and walking the red carpet at the Campus Theatre in Lewisburg as the iconic downtown movie house hosted a Hollywood Ball in honor of the Oscars on Saturday evening.

And most of the about 80 stars and starlets in attendance were torn between two historical movies for the top award at Hollywood’s premiere awards, set to be handed out tonight.

“I think ‘Lincoln’ is going to sweep (the awards),” said Jessica Paquin, director of outreach and fundraising for the theater. “It was such a powerful movie.”

“I think ‘Argo’ is going to win,” said Stacey Sommerfield, of Lewisburg. “Even though you knew the ending, you were nervous to see what’s going to be next.”

The two movies were the talk of the ball Saturday, with Lincoln himself even making an appearance, sort of.

“I thought it was one of the most historically accurate movies ever,” said David LaMont, of Muncy, who came to the gala dressed as the 16th president. His wife Hilary was decked out as Mary Todd Lincoln.

The film brought the characters to life, LaMont said.

“They were so well portrayed,” he said. “Everyone was so multi-dimensional.”

Rebecca Willoughby, of Danville, agreed, saying Daniel Day Lewis was excellent in the title role.

“He was so incredible, sometimes you forgot you were watching Daniel Day Lewis,” she said. “You thought you were watching Lincoln.”

Meanwhile, Brenda Bedoski, of Lewisburg, said she enjoyed the multi-layered storyline of Ben Affleck’s 1970s thriller, “Argo.”

“I liked the story within a story,” she said.

Bedoski said Affleck’s lack of nomination for directing was “a snub.”

“I don’t know why (he wasn’t nominated) because he’s getting the awards elsewhere,” she said.

But the two period dramas weren’t the only two movies with fans at the event. Several attendees also expressed their love of the dark comedy “Silver Linings Playbook.”

“It had a really good cast,” said Michele Kittell, of Lewisburg. “Robert De Niro was fantastic.”

While Amanda Mills, of Reedsville, said she would give the edge to “Argo,’ she also enjoyed “Silver Linings Playbook.” However, comedies tend to be snubbed by Hollywood’s biggest award show, she said.

“(‘Silver Linings Playbook’) is a comedy, but it’s also about a serious topic,” she said. “With comedies, it seems like it has to also be about something serious.”

Mills has seen all but two of the nine nominated films. She missed “Beasts of the Southern Wild” and “Zero Dark Thirty.”

“I love movies,” she said. “I always try to see as many as I can.”

The event was a fundraiser for the Campus Theatre, Paquin said.

“All of the free programming we do costs (us) money,” she said. “We want to make sure we can continue to offer them.”

Tonight, the venue will offer a free screening of the Oscars at 8, Paquin said.

Text Only
Home