College students get chance to be on Oscars stage

A large Oscar statue stands in the hallway at The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study in Hollywood September 10, 2012.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ever dreamed of holding an Oscar? Comedian and 2013 Oscars host Seth MacFarlane announced a national search on Friday for a lucky few college students who will hand out Oscar statuettes on Hollywood's biggest night.

"The Oscar Experience College Search," presented by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and MTV's college network, MTVu, is directed at college students interested in pursuing careers in film.

To enter, applicants must submit a video answering the question, "How will you contribute to the future of movies?"

Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the producers of the Oscars live telecast on February 24, 2013, will pick a minimum of six winners, who will be flown out to Los Angeles. Each lucky student will be on stage to hand an Oscar statuette to a celebrity presenter, who will then award it to the winner.

"We wanted everyone appearing on that stage to feel a deep commitment to film and its legacy, and most importantly, its future," Zadan and Meron said in a statement.

The competition, announced by MacFarlane in a visit to a UCLA film class, is part of the Academy's attempt to reach a younger audience, who they hope will tune in to see the "Family Guy" creator bring his risque humor to Oscar night for the first time.

MTVu and the Academy have hosted a competition in previous years in which two college students won the chance to broadcast live from the Oscars red carpet. (Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Jan Paschal)