UCLA TFT Quarterly Newsletter

Jason Bourne, executive produced by FRANK MARSHALL (B.A. '68), had its European premiere at the Locarno International Film Festival. DAN SALLITT (M.F.A. '79) is a cast member in the upcoming Hermia & Helena, which was in competition and had its world premiere at the festival.

The latest edition of the L.A. Film Festival featured the work of several UCLA TFT alumni and students including:

U.S. Fiction Competition
Woven
KRISTIN HANGGI (B.A. '98), screenwriter

 

Short Film Competition
Like
GARRETT BRADLEY (M.F.A. '12), director, editor

Afuera
STEVEN LIANG (M.F.A. '16), director, producer
STEVEN CANALS (M.F.A. '15), screenwriter
CECILIA ALBERTINI (M.F.A. candidate), editor

L.A. Muse
Sensitivity Training
MELISSA FINELL (M.F.A. '15), director, screenwriter, co-producer
(Reviewed by The Los Angeles Beat here)

Limelight
So B. It
ORIEN RICHMAN (B.A. '92), producer 

 

Three films from UCLA TFT alumni and a current student screened at the Palm Springs International Shortfest. They included:

Afuera
STEVEN LIANG (M.F.A. '16), director
STEVEN CANALS (M.F.A. '15), screenwriter
CECILIA ALBERTINI (M.F.A. candidate), editor

A Walk in Winter
RYAN MOODY (M.F.A. '15), director
JESSICA NIKKEL (M.F.A. '13), screenwriter

Zoya
SAHIRR SETHHI (M.F.A. '15), director, producer, screenwriter

 

ROSHNI SHUKLA (M.F.A. '16), ISRAEL LOPEZ (M.F.A. '16), DARCIE CRAGER (M.F.A. '16) and M.F.A. student LEA MADDA have founded The Southland Company, a new ensemble of actors, writers, directors and producers based in Los Angeles whose mission is to create work based in stage, film, and digital media that brings to life narratives commonly ignored in mainstream entertainment. 

CARLY BRACCO (B.A. '10), JANE PAPAGEORGE (B.A. '14) and KATHERYNE PENNY (B.A. '15) are three of the nine UCLA alumni who are performing in Frozen — Live at the Hyperion at Disney's California Adventure. The Daily Bruin recently wrote about their experiences. In separate articles, the Bruin also wrote about fellow Frozen castmembers  KEVIN DOHERTY (B.A. '14),  TRAVIS LELAND  (B.A. '12),  TIANA OKOYE (B.A. '13) and  MICHAEL STARR  (B.A. '14).

Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art has announced that KATE CHERRY (M.F.A. '93) will step into the role of director and Chief Executive Officer beginning in November 2016. Cherry joins NIDA from Western Australia's Black Swan State Theatre Company where she has been artistic director and joint CEO for nine years.

UCLA TFT alumna and former lecturer CHANTAL RODRIGUEZ (Ph.D. '09) has accepted a position as the assistant dean of the Yale School of Drama.

ERICA ROOD (B.A. '05) was named by President Barack Obama to be the recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, the only teacher in California so named. Rood is a third-grade teacher at CHIME Institute's Schwarzenegger Community School, a charter school in Woodland Hills.

Second year Ph.D. student GUILLERMO AVILES-RODRIGUEZ was a panelist during the "The Rise of the Chicano Voice in Los Angeles" discussion at the Chicano International Film Festival in September…First-year M.F.A. actor OSCAR EMMANUEL FABELA performed in Lope de Vega's A Wild Night in Toledo as part of UCLA's Diversifying the Classics project, which seeks to foster awareness and appreciation of 17th and 18th century Hispanic classical theater in Los Angeles…First-year M.F.A. actor BETH LANE was the narrator of the audiobook The Bride Price, which can be heard on Audible.com…Third-year M.F.A. costume design student RUOXUAN LI won the 2016 Timken Art of Fashion competition in San Diego and received a $1,000 prize…M.F.A. acting student LEA MADDA performed in The Imaginary Invalid at the Theatricum Botanicum this summer…The Sunrise Club, a new play starring, written and produced by M.F.A. candidate TARA TURNBULL, was performed at The Los Angeles Theatre Center. Alumna SUE BIELENBERG created the production's artwork…M.F.A. student PAULA VESALA, a well-known pop rock singer in her native Finland, was on the cover of the Finnish edition of Elle magazine in July…Undergrad senior EMILY ZETTERBERG was a member of the Recorded in Hollywood ensemble at Culver City's Kirk Douglas Theatre.

UCLA alumna AVA DUVERNAY's latest film, a documentary called The 13th, focuses on the United States criminal justice system and its treatment of minorities. It opened the New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall on Friday, Sept. 30 and subsequently debuted on Netflix and in limited release on Friday, Oct. 7. The 13th is also part of the lineup at DOC NYC, taking place Nov. 10-17 in New York City. The film's title refers to the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which outlawed slavery.

FRANK GONZALEZ (M.F.A. '98) is expanding his role in overseeing the Directors Guild of America's diversity initiatives, including the new DGA Director Development Initiative, a networking and educational program that helps members further their television directing careers.

ERIN HILL (Ph.D. '14) has written  Never Done: A History of Women's Work in Media Production  (Rutgers University Press, 2016), which chronicles women's labor in the American film and television industry from inception to present, particularly women in low-wage, low-status jobs during the studio era. The book looks at how  their efforts were essential to the industry and required substantial technical and social skills, and how their work relates to the challenges facing women in Hollywood today.

The Libertine, written by BEN KOPIT (M.F.A. '13) and developed in Professor RICHARD WALTER's 434 screenwriting class at UCLA TFT, will be turned into a Warner Bros. film directed by Brett Ratner and starring Johnny Depp. Lloyd Braun and Andrew Mittman will produce.

DEHANZA ROGERS (M.F.A. '14) is a new tenure-track assistant professor in the Department of Performing & Media Arts at Cornell University where she teaches film production and directing.

The Television Academy Foundation named the short film Zoya, from filmmaker SAHIRR SETHHI (M.F.A. '15), a third-place winner in the 2016 College Television Awards Best Drama category. Zoya, which received funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, had its world premiere at the Palm Springs International Shortfest, where it was a runner up for the Best Live Action film. The film also screened at the Rhode Island International Film Festival.

On Thursday, Oct. 13, RAZA AHMAD (M.F.A. '12), one of the designers of the mobile gaming app "Pokemon Go," was a panelist at FuturizeX, a campuswide initiative that brought together members of the UCLA community and others from throughout Los Angeles to explore technology, innovations and ideas…AMY ADRION's (M.F.A. '09) documentary feature film, Half the Picture, and KATE HACKETT's (M.F.A. '09) feature film directing debut, Purify My Heart, were two of 24 projects selected for the Women In Film 2016 Financing Intensive…Earlier this year, RICHARD ALLEN (Ph.D. '89) became the dean of School of Creative Media, a digital media arts school in Hong Kong…BENJAMIN ARFMANN (M.F.A. '13) who is directing the upcoming Syfy VR short-form series Halycon, has joined Contagious LA to create virtual reality content. He is currently in postproduction on his first feature film, Dismissed…Producer ALBERTO BARBOZA (M.F.A. '04) wrapped production on the fourth season of East Los High. His feature debut, Cry Now, has been acquired by Amazon and is now available on Amazon Video Direct…JUSTIN BEGNAUD (M.F.A. '10) produced the Netflix Original Film True Memoirs of an International Assassin, starring Kevin James and Andy Garcia, which will premiere on the streaming service on Friday, Nov. 11…La femme et le TGV, a film from producer GIACUN CADUFF (M.F.A. '08), screened at the Laemmle Royal Theater in September…MERLIN CAMOZZI's (M.F.A. '16) short film Flesh and Blood was voted IndieWire's Project of the Week in June…BARBARA CURRY (M.F.A. '09) and producer JESSICA YINGLING (M.F.A. '07) showcased their Hallmark movie Anything for Love at Hollins University in Roanoke, Va. A Q&A followed…New Hampshire's Valley News profiled SAMANTHA DAVIDSON-GREEN (M.F.A. '05) and the cross-country production of her new film Thrasher Road. The film is produced by JONATHAN WYSOCKI (M.F.A. '04) and MARIA ROSENBLUM (M.F.A. '06)…ABC Entertainment Group President CHANNING DUNGEY (B.A. '91) will conduct the keynote Q&A at the International Drama Summit during the annual Content London, taking place this year from Nov. 29-Dec. 1...A screening of MELISSA FINELL's (M.F.A. '15) film Sensitivity Training took place Friday, Nov. 4 at UCLA TFT's James Bridges Theater…JULIA FONTANA (M.F.A. '12) became a staff writer on Fox's Lucifer. She also wrote Seven Years, Netflix's first original movie in Spain…Alumnus ALEX GIBNEY is turning his cyber warfare documentary Zero Days into a drama series. He will direct and produce Stuxnet (working title) with Carnival Films (Downton Abbey), Stephen Schiff (The Americans) and Marc Shmuger. The series will focus on the consequences that occur when a lethal computer virus gets out of hand…ED GOODMAN (M.F.A. '10) co-wrote Mr. Mark Twain Answers All Your Questions, which was performed at Las Vegas' Onyx Theatre as the first in their Best of Hollywood series…ARTEL GREAT (B.A. '10, M.A. '12) was one of the invited panelists discussing the themes of this year's UCLA Common Book, Ta-Nehisi Coates' Between the World and Me, during the Common Bool Panel and Discussion on Wednesday, Sept. 21…Lizard Lesson, a short film from REN HANAMI (B.A. '84) screened on Sunday, Sept. 11 at the Under Armour Brand House in Glendale. The film was an official entrant in JUSTIN LIN's (B.A. '95) Yomyomf.com Interpretations 2.0 contest…

 ...DAVID HARRIS (M.F.A. '07) has been named the new VP of development at Gunpowder & Sky…Kingdom of Clay Subjects, a feature film from writer-director BIJON IMTIAZ (M.F.A. '15), had its world premiere at the Seattle International Film Festival…SILAS HOWARD (M.F.A. '10), who has directed three episodes of Amazon's Transparent, among other credits, was featured in the Daily Bruin…DAVID KOEPP (B.A. ’90) wrote the screenplay for Inferno, starring Tom Hanks and Felicity Jones, which opened domestically on Friday, Oct. 28 and has earned $152 million worldwide...JOSH LEHRMAN (B.A. '08) and Kyle Stegina are the creators of Disney Channel's latest show, Bizaardvark. The show was developed in the Disney Channel Storytellers Program…The comedy series Swedish Dicks, produced by GLENN LUND (M.F.A. '12), has been picked up by Lionsgate TV for worldwide distribution …GEETA MALIK (M.F.A. '07) is one of five 2016 Academy Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting winners for her script Dinner With Friends. She receives a $35,000 prize…Netflix has given a 10-episode order to a half-hour comedy series based on the film Dear White People, for which TOPHER OSBORN (M.F.A. '08) served as cinematographer. Professional Programs alumna STEPHANIE ALLAIN BRAY will be an executive producer on the show, which will be produced by Lionsgate and premiere in 2017…MILENA PASTREICH (M.F.A. '12) spent five years filming her first documentary, Pigeon Kings, about pigeon fanatics in South Central Los Angeles …GINA PRINCE-BYTHEWOOD's (B.A. '91) new event series Shots Fired has been added to the Fox 2016-17 Primetime Schedule. It will air midseason …Veteran TV director BOBBY ROTH (M.F.A. '76) has launched a master class documentary series on his website bobbyroth.net called A Director Prepares: Bobby Roth's Masterclass …LAURIE RUSSMAN (M.F.A. '16) and her documentary short about Latina high school water polo players, Out of the Shallow End, were featured in the Daily Bruin…CHRISI TALYN SAJE (M.F.A. '11) has written the stage adaptation of the film parody Airplane. Airplane Live!  starred Saje and played at Burbank's Archway Studio/Theatre in September…TERRY SANDERS (B.A. '54) wrote, directed and produced  Liza, Liza, Skies Are Grey, a '60s coming-of-age narrative feature that screened at the Downtown Film Festival LA in late September …SIMON SAVELYEV's (M.F.A. '14) film Googly Eyes will be featured in the new season of Film School Shorts, airing locally on KCET and PBS SoCalPlus, on Wednesday. Dec. 6… American Cinematheque presented a double feature of director/screenwriter PAUL SCHRADER 's (M.A. '70) films on Friday, Sept. 30: The Los Angeles premiere of  Dog Eat Dog  (2016), starring Nicolas Cage and Willem Dafoe, and a screening of the Palme d'Or winning Taxi Driver (1976), starring Robert De Niro and Jodie Foster. Schrader was in attendance during the screenings and later discussed his films...Former UCLA TFT Adjunct Professor MYRL SCHREIBMAN (B.A. '67, M.F.A. '69) is producing the indie rock opera Daniel in Babylon, which is scheduled to begin production in Summer 2017…KARINA SILVA (B.A. '12) received an Emerging Cinematographer Award from the International Cinematographers Guild on Sunday, Sept. 25…JOHN W. SIMMONS (B.A. '82) received a Creative Arts Emmy Award (Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series) as the director of photography for the "Go Hollywood" episode of Nickelodeon's Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn. Awards Daily TV interviewed him just prior to his win...JULIE ANN SIPOS (M.F.A. '04) was the executive producer of Lea to the Rescue, the first-ever live-action adventure movie from American Girl. Sipos also hired KELLEN HERTZ (M.F.A. '02) to write the third Lea Clark novel, Lea and Camila. Hertz was subsequently offered a three-book deal to create a new American Girl character, which will launch at the end of January 2017...REINA SOLUNAYA (M.F.A. '06) directed a video that focused on a musical collaboration between at-risk middle school kids and Beyoncé's former lead guitarist, documenting their experience of making a song together…MIKE STEIN (M.F.A. '12) originated the idea for Start-Up, a single-camera comedy that has been picked up by ABC and has a put pilot commitment.

In the 2015-16 academic year, UCLA TFT Lecturer JAMES FRANCO and his Elysium Bandini Studios teamed with UCLA TFT to develop the film Mississippi Requiem, based on William Faulkner's stories. Franco stars along with Topher Grace, Amy Smart and Alicia Witt in the film, which consists of four black and white shorts and focuses on issues of race, gender and class in the early 20th century American South. The graduate student filmmaking teams who worked on the project were helmed by ARKESH AJAY, JERELL ROSALES, KELLY PIKE and MARTA SAVINA, as well as producing students ARIANE ACKERBERG, CECILIA ALBERTINI, JUANITA CEPERO, AARON EDMONDS, SAFIYA FARQUHARSON, ZACHARY HAMBY and MATT RUSSAK. The film will be released in 2017.

Grad student KELLY PIKE is a DGA Student Film Awards winner in the Women’s Category for directing the film Owen. The DGA Student Film Awards are presented annually to encourage and bring attention to outstanding minority and women film students at select universities nationwide. The awards ceremony will take place on Thursday, Nov. 10 at DGA headquarters.

Burn Run, written by second-year grad student MITCHELL LAFORTUNE in Lecturer DAN PYNE's Screenwriting 434 class, has been sold to Thunder Road Pictures. La Fortune is a former Army sergeant and intelligence analyst whose Afghanistan-set script is based on true events....M.F.A. screenwriting student JEFF SCOTT GORDON's sports drama script, The Tiger & the Protected, was named a quarterfinalist for the 2016 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition.

Theater Professor J.ED ARAIZA led a three-day workshop at the Denver Center Theatre, which was comprised of intensive training and composition work for professional actors and a limited number of students from the University of Denver.

JEFF BURKE, Assistant Dean, Technology and Innovation, visited the Asian Academy of Film and Television in Noida, India, where he received a lifetime membership to the Academy's International Film and Television Club, presented by Sandeep Marwah, founder and managing director of Marwah Studios. 

Department of Theater Lecturer MARY JO DUPREY (M.F.A. '08) directed a new production of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike at the International City Theatre. The production was loosely based on Checkvo's Uncle Vanya, The Seagull and the Cherry Orchard.

Department of Theater Chair BRIAN KITE's production of American Idiot at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts received seven Ovation Awards nominations, including Direction of a Musical and Best Production of a Musical (Large Theatre) for Kite, and one for alumnus JACKSON HINDEN as a member of the nominated ensemble. Professor RICH ROSE was the show's scenic designer. The production has received numerous rave reviews, including this one from BroadwayWorld.com. Kite is currently directing the national tour of Judgment of Nuremburg for LA Theater Works, for which Rose is the scenic designer, DAN IONAZZI is the lighting designer and RUOXAN LI (M.F.A. '16) is the production's costume designer.

Professor DEBORAH NADOOLMAN LANDIS designed the iconic clothing worn by Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) in 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark. Now The Daily Beast has credited her with creating the singular outfit from cinematic history that has had the biggest impact on male fashion.

FTVDM Professor STEVE MAMBER's third free iPad app, "7 Thursdays: Looking at Brief Encounter," is now available in the iTunes App Store. The app, the latest in a series that look at films with unusual time structures, is an experimental study of the 1946 David Lean film, and invites new ways to consider it. The app includes opportunities to simultaneously explore selected key segments, as well as a week-by-week accounting of how space is used in the repeated scenes in the tea-room set, using 3-D models and clips from the film. References to time and some scholarship about the film are also presented.

It was announced in July that FTVDM Lecturer KATHLEEN MCINNIS will serve as the Director of Programming for the 26th Annual Aspen ShortFest in April 2017.

FTVDM Adjunct Associate Professor JUDITH MORELAND provided tips on how to be a better scene partner in an article written for Backstage.

Department of Theater Adjunct Associate Professor and actor-director MAREK PROBOSZ directed a Polish radio play, Highlanders Wedding in Istebna, written in 1927 by his grandfather Jerzy Probosz. He also recently had guest roles in the Polish TV series The Commission of Murders and For Good and For Bad. He will soon begin work on the feature films Valley of the Gods, directed by Lech Majewski, starring John Malkovich and Charlotte Rampling; and the Polish production Once Upon a Time in November, directed by Andrzej Jakimowski. Additionally, in October, he taught teaching film acting master classes at The Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw.

Theater Professor RICH ROSE recently created the scenic design for a new Actors' Co-Op production of Our Town, which was performed at the David Schall Theatre in Hollywood from Sept. 16-Oct. 23. 

FTVDM Lecturer FRED RUBIN performed in StoryPhile, an evening of storytelling, poems and music, at the Studio Stage in East Hollywood.

FTVDM Assistant Professor ELLEN SCOTT has been named one of two 2016 Academy Film Scholars by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Her book project, Cinema's Peculiar Institution, is "the first comprehensive film-centered study exploring the evolution of censorship systems and patterns of representability that shaped the image of slavery on screen. The work focuses on the Classical Hollywood period, a time of intensifying civil rights struggles, and emphasizes repression as much as it does representation," according to AMPAS. The Daily Bruin conducted a Q&A with Scott in late September.

FTVDM Professor BECKY SMITH is preparing her latest film, August in Berlin, currently in postproduction, for the festival circuit. Shot in eight days in Berlin, the film depicts the coffeehouse meeting of two strangers. The Daily Bruin interviewed Smith about the project.

Theater Professor Marike Splint's immersive project, Among Us, was performed as part of the 4th Annual LAX Festival, Sept. 22-Oct. 2. Prior to the start of the project, Splint was interviewed by Los Angeles Performance Practice.

Theater Professor and Latino Theater Company artistic director JOSÉ LUIS VALENZUELA chatted with the Los Angeles Times after the company was given $500,000 from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to bolster the organization's infrastructure…In celebration of Latino Theater Company's 30th year, Valenzuela directed the epic five-hour A Mexican Trilogy: An American Story,  in September and October at Los Angeles Theater Center in downtown Los Angeles. He is also directing the West Coast premiere of Destiny of Desire at South Coast Repertory, Oct. 14-Nov. 13.

FTVDM Professor RICHARD WALTER presented "A Screenwriter's Tips for Writing Openings and Closings" at The American Society of Trial Consultants' annual conference in Redondo Beach. He also recently penned an essay for The Script Lab.com about screenwriting. 

Former Lecturer and former Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum Artistic Director GORDON DAVIDSON, who, in the early 1960s was the managing director of the UCLA Theatre Group, a precursor to the Center Theatre Group, passed away on Sunday, Oct. 2 at the age of 83. His wife Judi, donated his personal papers spanning his entire career, to the UCLA Library. Read more about Davidson's impact on Los Angeles theater in this UCLA Newsroom story.

 

At the end of the 2015-16 academic year, six UCLA TFT faculty and staff members retired after many years of service to the university. They included Department of Theater Professor SUE-ELLEN CASE (15 years), Chief Financial Officer and Director of Business Services NINA LADBON-KATIBI (20 years), Web Administrator ANGELA MCGREGOR (16 years), Chief Engineer JOHN REEDER (38 years), Business Office Assistant Director LAUREN SAVADOVE (27 years) and Theater Production Manager JEFF WACHTEL (39 years).

 

The Office of Development and Alumni Affairs extends an enthusiastic thank you to all alumni who participated in the newly launched Alumni Inspiration Campaign. The number of alumni supporting their alma mater increased by 7%, with the average gift also increasing. The academic year 2015-16 marked the third consecutive year that UCLA TFT surpassed its annual goals — a first in the school's history. UCLA TFT is incredibly grateful to our loyal supporters, and especially the Alumni Inspiration Committee: DUSTIN LANCE BLACK, CHARLES BURNETT, CHANNING DUNGEY, WENDY C. GOLDBERG, NASIM PEDRAD and MIKE WERB.

The Bridges/Larson Foundation, a longtime UCLA TFT donor, has increased its support of the School by establishing a $25,000 award for acting. This new award follows the foundation's already established $25,000 thesis film award.

The Rosemary Kramer Raitt Foundation increased their support by more than 600%, adding to their endowed fund for musical theater students. The Foundation was created by Rosemary and John Raitt, star of stage and film, perhaps best known for his stage role as Billy Bigelow in the Broadway production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel in 1945.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association gave UCLA TFT $125,000 during its annual Grants Banquet in August. The HFPA renewed its support to UCLA TFT with the contribution, which covers acting fellowships, directing fellowships and sponsorship of the annual UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television Film Festival.

Over the summer, Warner Bros. donated more than 300 pieces of lighting equipment, which was put to use right away for summer projects on the UCLA TFT backlot. The equipment will advance the School's capabilities in the classroom and serve the immediate needs of students for thesis film projects and theater productions. The gift was spearheaded by CHRIS DEFARIA (B.A. '81), Warner Bros. Pictures president of animation and technical innovation.

 

Applications are now being accepted for the next Professional Program in Acting for the Camera session, which begins Monday, Jan. 9, 2017. For more information regarding the upcoming session, visit the Professional Programs Acting for the Camera page.

CHRISTOPHER FOWLER won the Feature Screenplay Award at the 2016 Feature Screenplay Competition, which includes a monetary prize of $1,500, for the horror-comedy script Miss Miskatonic. In 2014, he earned the same award for his script Dead Run. HENRY ORTLIP received the Screenplay Honorable Mention and a prize of $1,000 for his drama-comedy The Big Bear. The 13th annual Nate Wilson Joie de Vivre Award, which includes a monetary prize of $2,500, was given to writer-director NAOMI FRYER for her drama-comedy screenplay Love is at the Centre of Things.

JASON ANCONA (Screenwriting) wrote, directed and produced the feature film Dr. Cheapskate, which was a 2016 Toronto Film and Video Awards winner in the 'No Budget' category. Dr. Cheapskate was also accepted into the Laugh or Die Comedy Festival, Independent Filmmakers Showcase in Los Angeles, Illinois Film Festival, SuperGeek Film Festival in Miami and the Phoenix Comicon Film Festival… RAFAELLA BISCAYN (Acting for the Camera) booked a national commercial for Ford and a TV co-starring role on The Bold & the Beautiful…RACHAEL BLACKWOOD'S (Writing for Television) TV pilot Firebrand advanced to the semifinals of the 2016 PAGE International Screenwriting Awards…SAMANTHA BOWLING (Acting for the Camera) booked a starring role on the Australian You Tube webseries Cut…SANDRA KATE BURCK (Acting for the Camera) had a role on CBS' Rush Hour…DARREN FITCH (Producing) is now a producer at Woven Digital… BENJ GOEHNER and EVANGELINE MONROY (B.A. '98, P.P. '15) performed at the Comedy Store's Early Halloween Comedy Show & Mixer on Friday, Oct. 28…KOVID GUPTA (Producing) is the script head on the primetime soap opera Bahu Hamari Rajni Kant and authored Kingdom of The Soap Queen: The Story of Balaji Telefilms (Harper Collins), a non-fiction book about one of India's leading movie and TV studios…JEREMY HSU (Writing for Television) was selected as a 2016-17 NBC Writers On the Verge fellow. His spec script for an episode of Fresh Off the Boat, which he wrote in his Professional Programs workshop, was a finalist at the Austin Film Festival...Gents, a pilot script from CHAS JACKSON (Writing for Television), has been made an official selection by the New York Television Festival for its inaugural Scripts Competition. The 12th annual festival took place Oct. 24-29… COURTNEY KOCAK (Screenwriting) and her writing partner wrote two episodes for the first season of Amazon's new animated comedy series Danger & Eggs, voiced by SNL's Aidy Bryant. They also wrote a Get Out the Latino Vote commercial for the DNC, which is currently airing. Kocak is also launching a sex and dating talk show called Reality Bytes in partnership with You Tube comedy network JASH…MIKE MACMILLAN (Producing) produced the indie comedy feature Don't Talk to Irene, starring Geena Davis…DESTRI MARTINO (Screenwriting) celebrated the first anniversary of The Director List database — created to make it easier for execs and producers to find experienced female directors for their film and TV projects… IOANNA MELI (Acting for the Camera) starred in the video announcement of Dwayne Johnson's new You Tube channel...The comedic web series Geeta's Guide to Moving On, from PUJA MOHINDRA (Screenwriting), was named an official selection at the 2016 New York Television Festival, and has advanced in the 2016 Sundance Institute Episodic Story Lab and the 2016 Sundance Institute You Tube New Voices Lab…JACOB NASSER (Producing) is an executive producer on Stagecoach: The Texas Jack Story, which opened in select theaters on Friday, Nov. 4…JAMES PONSOLDT will write, direct and produce the feature film I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution, which follows the founding and first 10 years of the music TV network…PAUL R. PURI (Writing for Television) is a medical consultant on NBC's Chicago Med…JOE SAROUFIM (Screenwriting) is now a creative executive at CAA Marketing…Better Call Saul "Law & Order," a one-hour TV spec script written by MATTHEW SCHUTT (Writing for Television) was the second-place winner in the One-Hour Category of the 2016 Scriptapalooza TV Writing Competition. Last year, his script Wednesday Night Suicide Club, written in the UCLA Professional Program, was named a Top 10 in Pilots at the Final Draft Big Break 2015…Scripts written by SCOT SEMER (Screenwriting) and RENEE BUCK (Screenwriting) were quarterfinalists in the most recent Academy Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting competition…TYRRELL SHAFFNER (Writing for Television) wrote, directed and produced the short Bully for Eli Roth's Crypt TV…MARISSA TAM (Writing for Television) is a staff writer on NBC's The Blacklist…ASIT VIYAS (Producing) is producing the independent feature film Thanks You, Cancer.

 

UCLA Film & Television Archive received a grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation to restore Howard Alk and Mike Gray's The Murder of Fred Hampton, a 1971 documentary about Black Panther member Fred Hampton that evolved into an investigative inquiry into the circumstances surrounding his death, which took place during the film's production.

HBO's production of All the Way, starring Bryan Cranston as President Lyndon B. Johnson, and the ABC/ESPN documentary, O.J.: Made in America, are two recent high-profile TV projects that licensed material from UCLA Film & Television Archive. All proceeds from material licensed from the vaults of UCLA Film & Television Archive support the Archive's moving image preservation efforts.

 

JIM BERK was named board chair and CEO of PodcastOne/Courtside Entertainment, a leading producer and distributor of podcasts with more than 200 shows and 1.5 billion annual downloads…FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA relaunched the Family Coppola's Zoetrope.com, which has become a go-to online creative community for writers. The improved site will include a showcase for short films… STEVE MOSKO was the commencement speaker at Loyola Marymount University's graduate commencement on Sunday, May 8…DONALD DE LINE and alumna AMY PASCAL have been named PGA Awards chairs for the 2017 ceremony, which will take place at the Beverly Hilton on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017…Amblin Partners CEO MICHAEL WRIGHT (B.A. '87) signed a multi-year renewal contract with the company earlier this year.