Channing Tatum Announces 'Team Oscar' Winners

by UInterviewFebruary 6, 2014, 12:00 am >

Channing Tatum appeared on The Ellen Show with Ellen DeGeneres on Thursday, Feb. 6 and announced the winners of this year’s “Team Oscar” competition.

“Team Oscar” was an open contest for college students over the age of 18 to win a chance to be a part of the 86th Academy Awards. Each contestant was required to submit a 60-second video detailing why they deserve to go to the Oscars and detail how they will contribute to the future of film. They also had to write a short essay to accompany their short films.

Tatum, who made his first appearance at the Oscars last year when he participated in Seth MacFarlane’s opening number, judged the competition along with Oscar producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron.

“We created this contest last year to give students who are passionate about film, the opportunity to set their sights on the future. We received so many inspiring submissions this year that it made for a difficult choice but the talent and stories of these six winners really represent what Team Oscar is all about and convinced us that they are a perfect fit for the Oscar stage,” said Zadan and Meron in a statement.

The winners will be flown out to Los Angeles for the week leading up to the Oscars and will be taken on studio tours and get to meet various filmmakers at Oscar events. In addition, they will also each appear on the Oscar stage throughout the ceremony, handing out the Oscars to celebrity presenters (similar to Miss Golden Globe).

“I was blown away by the quality of the videos the students created, and more importantly, by the visions they represented. It was a tough choice, but I’m proud of the winners we chose and I can’t wait to share the Oscars stage with them,” Tatum said in the statement.

Six winners were chosen: Zaineb Abdul-Nabi, Tayo Amos, Nathan Flanagan-Frankl, Jeanpaul Isaacs, Bryson Kemp and Mackenna Millet. Most are aspiring directors and producers, but not all. Kemp has dreams of being a composer, and he even ends his video with a special song for DeGeneres’ upcoming film Finding Nemo 2. You can watch all the winning videos below.