RSVP : The Force and the Stars Were With Him : Award: USC honors filmmaker extraordinaire George Lucas for his leadership in the entertainment industry--as 800 of his closest, personal friends watch.

The Scene: The title of the event is a real mouthful: The USC School of Cinema-Television’s 65th anniversary gala honoring George Lucas with the first USC Award for Leadership in the Entertainment Industry. The black-tie dinner was held Wednesday at the Beverly Hilton.

Does the World Really Need Another Award? The film school dean, Elizabeth Daley, said: “It’s terribly important that USC establish an award that reflects what this school stands for. This is about real leadership in the industry, not just celebrity.”

Might There Be Another Reason? What better incentive could there be for chewing chicken at the Hilton than squeezing half a million out of the alumni?

Who Was There: The dinner was co-chaired by Barbara Davis, Steven Spielberg and David Wolper. Art Buchwald was the main speaker. Jack Haley Jr. did the film clips. Among the 800 guests were Frank Price, Jackie Collins, Shakira Caine, Gregory Peck, Marvin Davis, Jane and Michael Eisner, Allan Carr, Sid and Lorraine Sheinberg, Robert Graham, Sidney and Joanna Poitier, Leonard and Wendy Goldberg, Bud and Cynthia Yorkin, Tom Pollock, Verna Harrah and Leonard Rabinowitz, Tony Thomopoulos, John Singleton (asked if film school was worth it, the “Boyz N the Hood” director said: “I’m workin’, ain’t I?”), Sid Ganis, and Joan Collins, who didn’t go to film school--”I went to the Royal Academy of Drama, dear.” So there.

Why Go to Film School? Director Ron Howard, who went to USC for two years but left to do “Happy Days”: “No one on the ‘Andy Griffith Show’ ever discussed the use of metaphor in film. You’d probably get thrown off the set if you did. But it’s a good thing to know if you’re going to make movies.”

Why Not Go to Film School? Spielberg, who calls himself a “USC wanna-be,” was turned down for admission because of low grades. He got the biggest laugh of the evening when he began his speech by saying, “Standards were so high that many of today’s finest filmmakers were unable to attend.”

Best Special Effect: While USC’s marching band played, the school mascot--Traveler--was ridden across the back of the ballroom. It was quite an effect. Maybe more horses should come to black-tie dinners. In comparison, the video tribute from President Clinton (“Congratulations and may the force be with you”) seemed tame.

Best Prop: The stage door through which speakers passed was inscribed with the film school’s unofficial motto: “Reality Ends Here.” (Dean Daley says her financial officer has inscribed on her desk the phrase: “Reality Begins Here.”)

Observed: As Harrison Ford was rushing through the lobby, he was grabbed by two elderly British women. They wanted to tell him what great fans they were. He stopped, held their hands, looked deeply and meaningfully into their eyes and said: “I have to go to the bathroom.” They let go.

Quoted: During the reception, when Disney’s Jeffrey Katzenberg said, “Film school!? I didn’t go to school!” Lucas leaned over and said, with a completely deadpan expression, “Anyone can make it in America.”