Posted 7:34 PM by Scoobie Davis

The Importance of Crashing the Oscars
On Academy Awards night, a 1957 Chevy Belair stretch limousine (click here; it’s the second car down) carrying two public-access television producers (Frank Cromer and Scoobie Davis) was able to breach the much-touted “enhanced security” at the 2002 Oscars with a bogus limo pass and was able to arrive at what was thought to be the most secure spot in the United States that afternoon: the red carpet in front of the Kodak Theatre. It had all of the makings of a comic opera: the pseudo-celebrity in the back of the limo was one of the producers, a blond tuxedoed surfer (Scoobie) who posed as “Owen Wilson’s illegitimate brother.” As the limo made the slow trip to the red carpet, I stuck my torso out of the window and screamed “ I’m the Surferdude. I’m the Surferdude.” Like the parade-attendees in The Emperor’s New Clothes, the celebrity-starved thongs of fans lining Highland Avenue pretended they knew the mysterious man and responded by giving him uproarious cheers. Scores of flashbulbs went off and people held their children up to see the Surferdude. People in the crowd shouted back “We love you, Surferdude” and similar praises. The limo parked in front of the red carpet and the Surferdude did the hang loose sign and blew kisses to his adoring “fans.” Finally, after the limo was idle for over a minute, a security person approached the Surferdude and asked him if he planned to get out of the car. The Surferdude, who did not have enough time to forge a ticket to get inside the ceremony, went into the-dog-ate-my-homework-mode and lamely said, “Dude, I think, uh, I left my ticket at home.” The other producer in the limo interjected that they had already let the person with the ticket out of the limo down the street. The limo driver then was given the go-ahead to exit the red carpet. As the stretch muscle car left Hollywood’s Ground Zero, Surferdude again rose out of the limo's window and whipped up the cheering crowd. It was by far the best fun I've ever had crashing an event--which is a lot to say because I'm a veteran Hollywood party crasher.


If the stunt I described were in a screenplay, it would be rejected for lacking verisimilitude. This comedy of errors has garnered a lot of media attention. While this episode is comic and surreal, the events have serious societal implications. The primary concern is homeland security.
[click here for the entire article]