On Mon., April 14 and Tues., April 15, Tony Award-nominated theater director KRISTIN HANGGI (BA, '98) will participate in Musical Theatre Heritage's April Musical Monday Series, impromptu evenings of cabaret-style theater starring the top performers in Kansas City, Mo. Music from Hanggi's Rock of Ages will be featured.
Alums JESSICA KEENAN-WYNN (BA, '09), ALBERT MEIJER (BA, '06), CHARISSA HOAGLAND (BA '12) and JON EIDSON (BA, '12) are performing in the Off-Broadway play Heathers: The Musical, which runs through Sat., May 31 at New World Stages in NYC.
By Design
DONNY JACKSON (MFA, '12) designed the world premiere of Wendy Graf's new play, Closely Related Keys, at the Lounge Theatre in Hollywood, which ended its run on Sun., March 30. Working scenic and projection design was fellow alum HANA KIM (MFA, '12) under the direction of Professor SHIRLEY JO FINNEY (MFA, '73).
The Sounds of Science
MARK BALLORA (BA, '84), who teaches music technology at Penn State University, has been active creating sonifications of scientific data. Ethnomusicologist and former Grateful Dead percussionist Mickey Hart has used Ballora's sonifications on the Mickey Hart Band albums 'Mysterium Tremendum' (2012) and 'SuperOrganism' (2013). They have also been in the short film 'Rhythms of the Universe,' which was co-created with cosmologist and Lawrence Berkeley Labs Nobel laureate George Smoot. The film premiered at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
Theater Alum Pens Book
ENG-BENG LIM, (Ph.D, Theater, '04) has written 'Brown Boys and Rice Queens,' part of NYU Press's Sexual Cultures series edited by Jose Munoz and Ann Pellegrini. He recently received the 2013 CLAGS (Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies) Fellowship Award for Outstanding First Book Project. Lim is Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies and Undergraduate Director of Performance Studies at Brown University.
Books From CMS Alums
A list of recent books published by Cinema and Media Studies alums include 'Superhero Synergies: Comic Book Characters Go Digital' by JAMES N. GILMORE (MA, '13) and Ph.D candidate MATTHIAS STORK, which was was released in early March…'The B Word: Bisexuality in Contemporary Film and Television,' written by Indiana University professor MARIA SAN FILIPPO (Ph.D, '07), made Slant Magazine's list of The Top 10 Best Film Studies Books of 2013…REBECCA PRIME (Ph.D, '09), the Libman Professor of the Humanities and an assistant professor of art at Hood College in Frederick, Md., has written 'Hollywood Exiles in Europe: The Blacklist and Cold War Film Culture'…JAIMIE RACHEL BARON (Ph.D, '10) has written 'The Archive Effect: Found Footage and the Audiovisual Experience of History,' which examines the problems of representation inherent in the appropriation of archival film and video footage for historical purposes…BERETTA E. SMITH-SHOMADE (Ph.D '97), associate professor and chair of the communication department at Tulane University, has written her third book, 'Watching While Black: Centering The Television of Black Audiences.'
Awards Season Tally
'Nebraska,' directed by ALEXANDER PAYNE (MFA, '90) received six Academy Award nominations, including best picture, best director, best actor (Bruce Dern) and best supporting actress (June Squibb). This awards season, Payne and the 'Nebraska' team earned nominations and recognition from the Cannes Film Festival, Golden Globes, Independent Spirit Awards, ACE Eddie Awards, AFI Awards, ASC Awards, BAFTA Awards, Costume Designers Guild Awards, SAG Awards, WGA Awards, Palm Springs International Film Festival and numerous film critics associations including the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards, Boston Society of Film Critics, Los Angeles Film Critics, National Board of Review and New York Film Critics Online.
Alums at Festivals
TRIBECA: The work of TFT alums at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival, set for April 16-27, include the world premiere of 'Below Dreams,' in the fest's Viewpoints program, written and directed by GARRETT BRADLEY (MFA, '12) with cinematography by MILENA PASTREICH (MFA, '12). 'The Boy Scout,' the thesis film of PATRICK BROOKS (MFA, '12), will have its New York premiere in the Narrative Shorts program. JUDY PHU (MFA, '12) and MASAMI KAWAI (MFA, '12) are the producers and LEIGH UNDERWOOD (MFA, '12) is the cinematographer.
SXSW: 'Random Stop,' the thesis film written and directed by BENJAMIN ARFMANN (MFA, '13) and lensed by MFA cinematography candidate JUSTIN PERKINSON, had its world premiere at the March 7-15 SXSW in the fest's Narrative Shorts competition; 'Dog Food,' directed by BRIAN CRANO (BA, '02) screened in the Midnight Shorts lineup; '13 Sins,' written by screenwriter DAVID BURKE (BA, '83) was on the Midnighters roster; and '10,000 Km (Long Distance)' the feature-length thesis film of director CARLOS MARQUES MARCET (MFA, '12), was one of eight films selected in the Narrative Feature Competition. It earned the Special Jury Recognition for Best Acting Duo prize (for lead actors Natalie Tena and David Verdaguer). Former child actor and TFT alum JESSE DRAPER (BA, '06), the creator and host of 'The Valley Girl Show,' was one of the participants on 'The Ongoing Issue of Funding Women Entrepreneurs' panel.
CINEQUEST: 'Acting Like Adults' from co-directors ERIC F. MARTIN (MFA, '12) and KYLE LAURSEN (MFA, '12), had its world premiere at the Cinequest Film Festival, March 4-16, in San Jose. MFA cinematography candidate JUSTIN PERKINSON was the film's DP.
OUTFEST: Three TFT alums had their films shown at this year's Outfest Fusion LGBT People of Color Film Festival, March 14-16 at Hollywood's Egyptian Theater: 'Tribute to Rev. Bobbie Jean Baker Featuring The Believers' from TODD HOLLAND (BA, '83); 'Secrets & Toys' from QUENTIN LEE (MFA, '99); and 'Al-Basir' from OMAR HAKIM (BA, '05).
Sundance Film Festival
On Sun., Jan. 19, Dean TERI SCHWARTZ and The Wrap's SHARON WAXMAN hosted their second annual Sundance Film Festival reception at the Village at the Lift. Mingling at the reception were TFT Executive Board member and Turner Broadcast Systems Chairman Phil Kent, TFT alum and Rock of Ages director KRISTIN HANGGI (BA, '98), agent Rick Nicita and UCLA Film and Television Archive executive director JAN-CHRISTOPHER HORAK.
In addition, producer JUSTIN BEGNAUD (MFA, '10), executive producer NICK MOCERI (BA, '10), and editor ALEX O'FLINN (MFA, '09), the team behind 'A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night,' which premiered during Sundance's NEXT programming section, were on hand. On Mon., Jan. 20, Dean Schwartz and Waxman co-hosted an industry experts panel at Main Street's Root'd boutique entitled 'Clutterbusters: How to Make Your Indie Movie Pop in the Digital Age.'
Dean Schwartz introduced the panelists, which included Derek Callow, director and global head of creator marketing, YouTube; Jay Cohen, partner and head of film finance and distribution, The Gersh Agency; Marc Hofstatter, film lead, Indiegogo; Cary Murnion, director, 'Cooties'; producer Matthew Rhodes ('The Voices') and producer Alicia Van Coovering ('Happy Christmas').
Other TFT alums at Park City included 'A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night' writer-director ANA LILY AMIRPOUR (MFA,'09); 'Dear White People' cinematographer TOPHER OSBORN (MFA '08), in town with director Justin Simien (their film was named to Sundance's U.S. Dramatic Competition lineup and earned the Breakthrough Talent Award; in March, the film was picked up by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions); and XYZ Films principals NATE BOLOTIN (MFA, '07); NICK SPICER (MFA, '06); and ARAM TERTZAKIAN (MFA, '07). Their company had a strong presence with four films. American Zoetrope's 'Life After Beth,' starring Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza, was in competition (XYZ is handling international sales); Sony Pictures Classics' 'The Raid 2: Berendal,' premiered out of competition to rave reviews (XYZ produced); and in the fest's Park City at Midnight section, Norway's 'Dead Snow: Red vs. Dead' and Japan/Indonesia's 'Killers,' both of which XYZ executive produced and were selling.
Work Loads
JUSTIN LIN (BA, '95) will direct 'Times Square' for Focus Features from the Black List script written by Taylor Materne and Jacob Rubin; he will also direct and produce the next installment of the 'Bourne' franchise, due in theaters in 2015; he has acquired narrative remake rights of the Sundance documentary 'The Battered Bastards of Baseball' and will self-finance through his Perfect Storm Entertainment; and he will produce (and possibly direct) 'Toymageddon,' a live-action family adventure movie in the vein of 'Jurassic Park' and 'Ghostbusters.' In early February, CBS gave a pilot order to 'Scorpion,' a drama from Lin and his fellow executive producers Nick Santora, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci about an eccentric genius that fights against the complex threats of the modern age with the help of other fellow geniuses...NICOLE RIEGEL (MFA, '13) has been tapped to write a war feature for Fox. Earlier this year, she was chosen (along with her feature script 'Dogfight,' which was written in DUSTIN LANCE BLACK's (BA, '96) screenwriting class and became a Black List choice) to participate in the Sundance Institute's Screenwriter's Lab. She is also writing a script for Justin Lin's Perfect Storm Entertainment…LOUIS J. HORVITZ (BA, '68) is directing a number of Fox's 'American Idol' episodes this season. He also directed the 56th Annual Grammy Awards on Sun., Jan. 26, which drew the second largest TV audience since 1993. Earlier this year, he received a DGA Award nomination for outstanding directorial achievement for his work on the 55th Annual Grammy Awards...SHANE BLACK (BA, '83) was in the director's chair for 2013's second highest grossing film, "Iron Man 3," which made more than $1.2 billion in worldwide ticket sales last year.
Alumni Notes
CARLY BRACCO (BA, '10) performed in A Little Night Music with Ensemble Theatre Company of Santa Barbara alongside Piper Laurie, Stephanie Zimbalist and Patrick Cassidy…Cinematographer DEAN CUNDEY (BA, '68) was given the Lifetime Achievement Award at the American Society of Cinematographer Awards on Sat., Feb. 1. Cundey served as TFT's second Kodak Cinematographer-in-Residence in 2001…'Dreamworld,' from first-time filmmaker RYAN DARST (BA, '04), has had a successful festival run and has been distributed via iTunes, Hulu, Amazon, Google Play, Vudu and other online platforms…JEFF DAVIS (BA, '06) was named the Top Southwest Editor by Broadway World in its annual 10 Top Regional Editor Awards for Excellence…Variance Films' 'The Retrieval,' by filmmaker CHRIS ESKA (MFA, '03) and starring TISHUAN SCOTT (MFA, '06), opened in Atlanta on Fri., March 14 and opened in NYC on Weds., April 2…ROB HOEGEE (MFA, '96) developed an updated version of the iconic British television series 'Thunderbirds' and now serves as head writer for the series produced by ITV in association with WETA Workshop…'Blue Boy,' the student film of alum ALEX JABLONSKI (MFA, '13), will be featured in the second season of Northern California public television station KQED's 'Film School Shorts' series, which runs April-June…CRAIG JESSEN's (MFA, '10) play, The End of Sex, received its world premiere at Theatre Vertigo in Portland, Ore., in January...'Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit,' written by screenwriter DAVID KOEPP (BA, '90), and starring Chris Pine and Kevin Costner, opened domestically on Fri., Jan. 17...Professional Program in Screenwriting alum MICHELLE KRUSIEC is one of five 2014 CAAM Fellows…ARNOLD LEIBOVIT's (BA, '73) 1987 animated feature 'The Puppetoon Movie' was released on high-def Blu-Ray…FRANK LISCIANDRO (BA, '66, MFA, '75), has written 'Jim Morrison: Friends Gathered Together,' about his friend, fellow TFT student and rock star Jim Morrison...JEFF MAYNARD (BA, '93) directed Musical Theatre West's production of The Music Man at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach...Fullscreen network production company Forge Apollo, headed by producer and director GABE MICHAEL (MFA, '11), has a new digital series, 'Technium,' which premiered online in March…The HBO dark comedy pilot 'The Brink,' starring TIM ROBBINS (BA, '82) and Jack Black, has been picked up to series. No premiere date has been announced yet. L.A. ROSS(MFA, '13) has been hired as a reporter at online entertainment new outlet The Wrap...MICHAEL SLOANE (BA, '80), was a writer on TNT's event miniseries 'Mob City'…'Detained in the Desert,' directed by ILIANA SOSA (MFA, '12), had its Philadelphia premiere on Fri., April 4, at The Academy of Natural Sciences...MARY ALEXANDRA STIEFVATER (BA, '99) appeared in the indie films 'Playdate' and "The Perfect Boyfriend" screenwriter SHAWN WAUGH (MFA, '10) wrote the story for the Mon., March 17 episode of ABC's 'Castle,' entitled 'Way of the Ninja.'
On the Stage
Adjunct Associate Professor LINDA KERNS directed Lee Blessing's Going to St. Ives at the Actors Co-op in Hollywood, Feb. 14-March 16.
Professor NEIL PETER JAMPOLIS was the lighting designer for the Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera's production of Giuseppe Verdi's Il Trovatore, which ended Sun., March 2. He is also creating the scenery and lighting design for the Pilobolus Dance Theatre's national tour of Lady and Gentleman, which opened Fri., March 28, in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Director of Production DAN IONAZZI is creating the lighting design for the Geffen Playhouse's presentation of Slowgirl, which ends Sun., April 20 at the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater. Directed by Geffen Playhouse Artistic Director Randy Arney and featuring William Petersen and Rae Gray, this production was first mounted this past summer at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Ionazzi is also creating the lighting design for the Geffen Playhouse's presentation of Ruth Draper's Monologues, which features Annette Bening and runs April 8-May 18 at the Gil Cates Theater.
Hollywood Costume
In early March, Professor DEBORAH LANDIS was at The Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach, Florida, talking about the central role that costume design plays in cinema storytelling, with a look at the most iconic costumes from a century of filmmaking. She also discussed the narrative development and innovative design of the 'Hollywood Costume' exhibition, which premiered in London in 2012 and opened at the Phoenix Art Museum in Phoenix, Ariz., on Weds., March 26. The exhibition runs through July 6.
Keynote Speakers and Presenters
CHON NORIEGA, TFT professor and director of the Chicano Studies Research Center, was the keynote speaker at Indiana University's annual Latino Film Festival and Conference, on Thurs., April 3, and led a conversation with actor Edward James Olmos as part of the Jorgensen Guest Filmmaker Lecture Series at the fest on Fri., April 4.
CMS Professor JANET BERGSTROM was a participant in the international conference The Magic of Special Effects: Cinema-Technology-Reception, which took place at the Cinémathèque québécoise in Montreal, Quebec. Her keynote lecture, 'Murnau's Sunrise: In-Camera Effects and Effects Specialists,' discussed the achievement and function of specific shots in the 1927 film Sunrise as well as the use of outside 'effects specialists' in its making. Sunrise won Academy Awards for Unique and Artistic Picture, Cinematography and Best Actress for 1927/28. Watch the presentation here.
CMS Professor JOHN CALDWELL was featured as the Keynote Lecture at the European Media and Communication Research Association (ECREA), Annual Conference, Aarhus University, in Copenhagen, Denmark. Caldwell was named Honorary Professor at the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom, for his leadership in media industries research. Additionally, he recently had a chapter published in the book 'Behind the Screen: Inside European Production Cultures.'
BEN HARRIS, Assistant Director, MFA Producers Program, and BEATRICE SPRINGBORN (MFA, '05), Storyline Entertainment's TV president, participated in a three-day January conference in Paris organized by Institut national de l'audiovisuel and La Sorbonne SUP on the international television industries. They each gave a four-hour lecture on the American television industry and participated in a roundtable discussion with representatives from the Danish television industry.
Associate Dean and Professor BARBARA BOYLE was the keynote speaker at the International Film Festival Summit (IFFS) in Austin, Texas. She also participated in 'A Conversation with John Sayles' at the festival. Barbara worked with John on 1988's 'Eight Men Out.'
Diversity and the Bottom Line
CMS Assistant Professor ALLYSON NADIA FIELD and African-American Studies Professor DARNELL HUNT have received a UCLA Transdisciplinary Seed Grant for their proposal on the study of diversity in Hollywood entitled 'Hollywood Advancement Project: Diversity and the Bottom Line.'
On a Screen Near You
Vice Chair Cinema & Media Studies STEPHEN MAMBER's 'Who Shot Liberty Valance?' is now available as a free iPad app in the iTunes App Store. The app is an experimental study of the classic 1962 John Ford film, 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance' and advances an argument about new ways to consider it. Professor Mamber is also the author of the iPad app ClipNotes, which helps retrieve pre-selected segments of any film or video and shows them together with a user's descriptions while the segments are playing. ClipNotes for Windows became available in November 2013 and recently received an Editor's Pick Award from BestWindows8apps.net.
Wired TV
Associate Professor DENISE MANN has edited (and contributed to) a new book, 'Wired TV.' The book has contributions from a number of other scholars including TFT CMS Professor JOHN CALDWELL. This collection looks at the post-network television industry's experiments with interactive storytelling that took place from 2005 to 2010 as the networks responded to the introduction of broadband into the majority of homes and the proliferation of social media.
National Film Registry Induction
Independent filmmaker, TFT alum and staffer BILLY WOODBERRY (MFA, '82) has the honor of seeing his 1984 film 'Bless Their Little Hearts' being inducted into the Library of Congress' National Film Registry. Woodberry is one of the leading directors of the L.A. Rebellion. His film is among those being recognized as works of great cultural, historic or aesthetic significance to the nation's cinematic heritage and will be preserved as a treasure for generations to come.
FX Focus
Producer and Visiting Assistant Professor TOM NUNAN (BA, '84) conducted an intensive case-study analysis of FX, one of the most award-winning and growing TV networks, in his Winter Quarter Network TV Management class. Head of programming Nick Grad and FX CEO John Landgraf were among the guest lecturers. In mid-February, an expanded version of Professor Nunan's class took place at Haines Hall, where a crowd of more than 400 showed up to see the co-creators and stars of FX's 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia,' Charlie Day and Rob McElhenney. 'An Evening With Charlie Day & Rob McElhenney' was presented by the UCLA Producers Program.
Otherworldly
Summit Entertainment's highly anticipated sci-fi drama 'Divergent,' edited by TFT alum and Professor NANCY RICHARDSON (MFA '96), was the No. 1 film in its opening weekend, March 21-23.
D'OH!
Animation Professor CHUCK SHEETZ recently directed his 17th episode of 'The Simpsons.' The episode entitled 'The Winter of His Content' aired on Fox, Sun., March 16.
ADG Awards
Production designers and instructors MICHAEL CORENBLITH ('Saving Mr. Banks') and MARK WORTHINGTON ('American Horror Story: Coven') were each nominated for Excellence in Production Design at the Art Directors Guild Awards on Sat., Feb. 8. Michael taught Production Design for Film during the Fall 2013 Quarter and Mark taught Production Design for Television in Winter 2014.
Theater Season
Double Falsehood, an early 18th-century play written by the English playwright Lewis Theobald, played in Melnitz Hall's Theater Lab on Weds., Jan. 29 and Sat., Feb. 1. Adjunct Assistant Professor PAUL WAGAR directed the play. The production featured student actors WILL BLOCK, FATIMA ELBASHIR, CASEY JAMES HOLMBERG, MELISSA LAWMASTER, LIAM JESSE MCCOY, MIKEL PARRAGA-WILLS, ANTHONY SORRELLS-YAGER, JON RIVENBURG, RACHEL RIVERA and ALEXANDER VERGEL. EMILY MILLMAN was the stage manager and TFT's JEFF WACHTEL was the production manager.
A contemporary interpretation of the 18th-century opera Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Lorenzo da Ponte took to the stage of the Freud Playhouse Feb. 14, 16, 21 and 23, with a special reception taking place for Chancellor and Mrs. GENE BLOCK and donors on Sun., Feb. 23. The TFT students involved in the UCLA Department of Music and Opera UCLA collaboration (helmed by guest director Jeffrey Buchman and conducted by UCLA music Professor Neal Stulberg) included scenic design by YEE EUN NAM, costume design by ALEXA NEWMAN, lighting design by MATTHEW JOHNS and projection design by YUKI IZUMIHARA. Theater alumna LIANA DILLAWAY (BA, '10) was the stage manager. TFT's JEFF WACHTEL was the production manager. Design faculty advisors for the production included MYUNG HEE CHO, CHRISI KARVONIDES, NEIL PETER JAMPOLIS and JONATHAN BURKE.
Playwright Craig Wright's Grace, the story of a Christian man and his wife who want to open a chain of gospel-themed motels, was performed March 11-15, and helmed by MFA directing candidate JEFF FAN. The production featured student actors COSIMO BORGOGNI, CATRIONA FRAY, IAN RUNGE and TRAVIS ROSTAM SHAW; with scenic design by JAIRO WEYMAN, costume design by MOLLY IRELAN, lighting design by NING JI and sound design by NOELLE SAMMOUR. FAYE WAN was the stage manager. TFT's SONYA CURRY was the production manager.
Letters From Cuba (formerly Dreams), written by Maria Irene Fornes, took place at 1340 Macgowan Hall, March 12-15. Directed by MFA Theater student SMILE ZHOU, the production featured student performers RACHEL RIVERA, NICOLA VAROLI, MARGARETSTARBUCK, GASTON PEREZ, EUGENE KO, ADAM TURNEY and RENEE T. MACDONALD. JI YOUNG LEE was the scenic designer; CAITLIN DOOLITTLE was the costume designer; GINEVRA LOMBARDO was the lighting designer; BILL HUDSON was the sound designer; and ALEX WOLF was the stage manager. TFT's ROBERT RUDOLPH was the production manager.
Sloan Student Grand Jury Prize
Second-year MFA screenwriting student LAURA ALSUM has been awarded the TFI Sloan Student Grand Jury Prize for her screenplay 'Survival of the Fittest' by the Tribeca Film Institute and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Alsum receives a $30,000 cash prize, plus an additional $20,000 administered by TFI toward year-round opportunities in support of her film including one-on-one meetings with industry executives, workshops and panels.
Writing 'Disaster'
MFA directing candidate RYAN MOODY is writing the adapted screenplay of 'The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room,' a new book written by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell, which was recently optioned by James Franco's production company Rabbit Bandini Prods. Franco will direct and co-produce the project.
Rocco's on a Roll
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. is in talks to buy a pitch from second-year MFA screenwriting candidate ROCCO PUCILLO, with David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith's KatzSmith Prods. producing. Pucillo most recently was the top-prize winner at the 2013 Samuel Goldwyn Writing Awards for his animated script 'Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow.'
CMS Student Book
First-year Ph.D student DAHLIA SCHWEITZER's book 'Another Kind of Monster' was published in February, about artist Cindy Sherman. Schweitzer explores Sherman's only film, 'Office Killer,' a piece that plays a significant role both in Sherman's body of work and in American art in the late 20th century.
Bruin Video Contest Winners
TFT Juniors DANIELA MAYOCK, RYAN JOW, CHASE NORMAN, ANDREW ROSENSTEIN and LUKE GRIGG are the winners of the 4th Annual Bruin Video Contest, with their film 'This is UCLA.'
Art of Fashion Winners
Graduate costume design students ADAM ALONSO and CAITLIN DOOLITTLE were both named winners of Art of Fashion: A Design Competition, which took place on Sat., Feb. 8 at the Timken Museum of Art in San Diego. Each student was awarded with a $5,000 prize. Dean TERI SCHWARTZ, Dept. of Theater Chair MICHAEL HACKETT and Professor DEBORAH NADOOLMAN LANDIS were among the event's honorary chairs. Chancellor GENE BLOCK was also in attendance. The competition included eight TFT costume design graduate students (ALLISON AGLER, JENNIFER DAVIS, ALICE GARLAND, MOLLY IRELAN, RUOXUAN LI and ALEXA NEWMAN) who created half-scale costumes based on Thomas Gainsborough's late 18th-century painting 'A Peasant Smoking at a Cottage Door' (currently on loan from the Hammer Museum to the Timken).
Groening Award 2014
On Fri., Jan. 24, the nine TFT animation students who were granted a 2013 Groening Award had the opportunity to see their projects shown together for Matt Groening, the Emmy Award-winning creator of 'The Simpsons' who has provided the annual funding for the award since 2011. The award recipents are: HEATHER COLLINS, STACEY EDUARTE, VALERIE GIUILI, DANIELLE HEITMULLER, AREM KIM, JACKIE MARION, KARTIKA MEDIANI, LATOYA RAVENEAU and ALEX WONG.
Get Out The Vote
'What We Need,' a short film by TFT graduate student MERLIN CAMOZZI, is one of the finalists in this year's Sprite Films competition. Watch and vote for his film here. Deadline to vote: May 15
UCLA Library Exhibit
UCLA Arts Library and the Archive have created a free exhibit showcasing an eclectic variety of vintage film paraphernalia, including an 8 mm film gauge from a Buster Keaton comedy and a box of 16 mm film featuring Walt Disney characters. The exhibit runs through Fri., April 25.
Media Licensing Projects
Two recent documentaries make use of historical footage from the Archive: "Teenage" (2014) opened in theaters Fri., March 14, and "Ellis Island, Une Histoire du Reve Americain" aired Tues., March 11 on Arte in France.
Armistead Maupin in Person
The author Armistead Maupin joined the Archive on Sat., March 22 at the Billy Wilder Theater for a raucous and enlightening 20th anniversary celebration of PBS' adaptation of his 'Tales of the City.'
Society for Cinema and Media Studies 2014
Both Archive Director JAN-CHRISTOPHER HORAK and Archive Research & Study Center Manager MARK QUIGLEY participated in the recent Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS) annual conference in Seattle, Wash. Horak chaired the 'Issues in Film Studies" panel and presented 'Saul Bass: Creating a Brand.' Quigley participated in the workshop, 'The Televisual Archive: New Directions of Research and Access.'
Transforming Hollywood
On Fri., April 4, the fifth edition of Transforming Hollywood: The Future of Television conference took place at the James Bridges Theater. Presented by the Andrew J. Kuehn Jr. Foundation, the event, previously known as Transmedia, Hollywood, gathered creative and corporate decision-makers from the entertainment industry along with academics. Panelists included Joe Lewis, head of comedy programming at Amazon Studios; Vicky Free, CMO at BET Networks; Larry Shapiro, head of talent at Fullscreen; Ivan Askwith, lead strategist for the 'Veronica Mars' Kickstarter campaign; Allen DeBevoise, Machinima co-founder, chairman and CEO; and Belisa Balaban, senior vp of alternative and live programming at Pivot. The conference also featured the Internet content creators of 'The Lizzie Bennet Diaries' and the comedy web series 'The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl' and 'Little Horribles.' Orlando Jones, star of Fox's 'Sleepy Hollow,' was the guest speaker. A joint effort between UCLA TFT and USC, the event was created by UCLA TFT professor DENISE MANN and USC provost's professor of Communication, Journalism, Cinematic Arts and Education Henry Jenkins. Variety was a media sponsor. For the first time, Transforming Hollywood completely sold out, but live tweeting took place at the event and full HD video of all the panels was uploaded to transforminghollywood.tft.ucla.edu.
UCLA Cinema & Media Studies Reception
On Thurs., March 20, the TFT Cinema and Media Studies department held a reception at the Society for Cinema & Media Studies Conference 2014 in Seattle, Wash. CMS alum REBECCA PRIME (Ph.D, '09), author of the recent book, 'Hollywood Exiles in Europe,' was honored with the Alumni of the Year Award. CMS alum DR. ERIC SMOODIN (Ph.D, '84) was also honored at the reception. TFT CMS professors who presented papers at the conference included JOHN CALDWELL, KATHLEEN MCHUGH, DENISE MANN, ALLYSON FIELD and JASMINE NADUA TRICE, who, as the newest member of the CMS faculty, was formally welcomed into the department. CMS MA and Ph.D students who were present at the conference included ANDREW DEWAARD, DIANA DILL, JESSICA FOWLER, LINDSEY GIGGEY, KARRMEN GREY, BEN HARRIS, MICHAEL POTTERTON, BENJAMIN SAMPSON, MATTHIAS STORK and ANDREW YOUNG.
REMAP and the Los Angeles State Historic Park
Dean TERI SCHWARTZ was one of the honored speakers alongside retired Major Gen. Anthony L. Jackson, director of California State Parks; State Senator Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles; Assemblymember Jimmy Gomez, D-Northeast Los Angeles; and Los Angeles City Councilmember Gil Cedillo, at the Sat., March 15 groundbreaking celebrating the first phase of construction of permanent park facilities at the Los Angeles State Historic Park. The event spotlighted a fruitful collaboration between TFT and California State Parks to research, develop and maintain innovative interpretive approaches for the new park that will allow members of the public to interactively explore the park area's nature, history and culture using wireless devices. Prior to the groundbreaking, the founders of TFT's Center for Research in Engineering, Media and Performance (REMAP) — Assistant Dean of Technology and Innovation and REMAP Executive Director JEFF BURKE and Vice Chair, Production/Directing and REMAP director FABIAN WAGMISTER — presented a digital mockup of IMLab to the community members in attendance.
Sketch to Screen 2014: TFT/Copley Costume Design Oscar Celebration
The fourth annual Sketch to Screen TFT/Copley Costume Design Panel and Celebration sponsored by Swarovski was held on Fri., Feb. 28 at the James Bridges Theater. Professor DEBORAH NADOOLMAN LANDIS moderated the panel, which included Wendy Chuck ('Nebraska'), Daniel Orlandi ('Saving Mr. Banks'), Trish Summerville ('The Hunger Games: Catching Fire'), Academy Award nominee Michael Wilkinson ('American Hustle') and 2014 Oscar winner Catherine Martin ('The Great Gatsby').
Master Class with Richard Digby Day
British stage director and international professor/lecturer Richard Digby Day held a master class, 'Richard Digby Day in a Discussion on The Two Elizabeths,' which took place on Tues., Feb. 25 at the UCLA Faculty Center. The TFT Department of Theater and the Los Angeles Philanthropic Committee for the Arts Master Class Series were the evening's presenters. Digby Day, who is particularly well known for his work in classical theater and is considered to have a special penchant for the plays of William Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw, has been the Artistic Director of six major regional theaters in the UK, including Shakespeare in the Park.
American Revolutionary Screening
Dean TERI SCHWARTZ moderated a Q&A filmmaker discussion that followed the Weds., Feb. 12 screening of 'American Revolutionary,' hosted by the TFT Department of Film, Television and Digital Media. Director-producer GRACE LEE (MFA, '12), producer CAROLINE LIBRESCO (MFA, '01), DP Quyen Tran and producer Austin Wilkin discussed their documentary, which spotlights the life and work of 98-year-old Chinese American writer-activist-philosopher Grace Lee Boggs.
64th Annual ACE Eddie Awards
On Fri., Feb. 7, Dean TERI SCHWARTZ presented the Career Achievement Award to veteran Oscar-winning editor Richard Halsey, at the 64th Annual ACE Eddie Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Dean Schwartz and Halsey, who won the Academy Award for Best Editing for 'Rocky' (1976), worked together on three films that Dean Schwartz produced: 'Beaches' (1988), 'Joe Versus the Volcano' (1990) and 'Sister Act' (1992).
Visits From the Pros
Professor BARBARA BOYLE had a number of high-profile guests visit her classes in February and March: Screenwriter Jonathan Hensleigh ('Armageddon') and film financier Kurt Woolner ("The Reluctant Fundamentalist") spoke in her Introduction to Producing 2 class; documentary film director Kirby Dick ('The Invisible War') and TV director Anson Williams ('The Secret Life of the American Teenager') addressed her Professional Program in Producing class…Recent visitors to FTVDM Chair BILL MCDONALD'S 100B Senior Symposium class included stuntwoman Gaëlle Cohen ('Zero Dark Thirty'), who shared her professional experiences; and veteran photographer and pioneering experimental media artist Willie Varela.
UC Regents Lecturer
Veteran cinematographer John Bailey, ASC, was named a 2013-2014 UC Regents Lecturer and led four discussions at TFT in January and February. Bailey took his audience on a personal journey through the historical, aesthetic and technological developments of narrative and non-narrative cinematic images.
Entertainment Networking Night
On Weds., Jan. 29, Entertainment Networking Night, spearheaded by Producers Program Assistant Director BEN HARRIS, took place in Ackerman Grand Ballroom, connecting 500 students to 120 alumni who currently work in entertainment. The event was a joint effort between TFT, the Alumni Association and UCLA Career Center. This year's event was a great success and plans are already underway for the 2015 edition!
Dean's Special Screening Series
As part of the Dean's Special Screening Series, Dean TERI SCHWARTZ hosted a screening of Martin Scorsese's 'The Wolf of Wall Street' on Mon., Jan. 27. A Q&A followed with two-time Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor Rob Legato.
Stanley Rubin 1918-2014
Prolific film and television writer, producer and TFT alum STANLEY RUBIN (BA, '06) passed away on Sun., March 2. He was 96. Rubin was only a few units away from graduating when he dropped out in 1937 to work for a weekly newspaper in Beverly Hills. After that, he went to work in the Paramount Pictures mailroom, which started what would become a storied Hollywood career in radio, film and television working for almost every major studio in town. Decades later, he returned to UCLA TFT to obtain his degree and did so in 2006.
Tom Sherak 1945-2014
TOM SHERAK, TFT Adjunct Professor, former president of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, and a beloved member of the entertainment industry community, passed away from prostate cancer on Tues., Jan. 28. He was 68.
