Winter/Spring 2016 Quarterly Newsletter

Film and television producer Jerry Bruckheimer was honored with a month-long film festival in April that paid tribute to the outstanding contributions he has made throughout his career. The festival took place at UCLA's Billy Wilder Theater in Westwood Village, presented in association with Paramount Pictures and UCLA Film & Television Archive. Top Gun, which has been named to the Library of Congress' National Film Registry, was the first film to be shown at the festival, on Friday, April 1. A Q&A with Jerry Bruckheimer followed the screening; Deadline's Peter Bart moderated the discussion.

As reported in Variety, UCLA TFT has joined GoPro's university program to give students a new experience to tell their stories. As part of the program, GoPro provided UCLA TFT students with cameras and accessories to create their own engaging content. GoPro is also providing guided workshops, education and one-on-one mentorship at the schools. Students are encouraged to participate in GoPro Awards, GoPro's always-on content platform that rewards the creative community for capturing and sharing their best GoPro photos, raw video clips and video edits. Selected photos and videos are eligible for inclusion in GoPro Channel programming, licensing and more, and students will also be eligible to receive monetary rewards through the program.

The 2015-16 Theater Season continues with the following UCLA TFT productions. Tickets are on sale at UCLA's Central Ticket Office:

RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN'S CAROUSEL
A Ray Bolger Musical Theater production
Music by Richard Rodgers, Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II; Original dances by Agnes de Mille; Stage direction by Jeremy Mann; Musical direction by Dan Belzer; Choreography by Christine Kellogg
Professor and actress Linda Kerns performs with undergraduate acting students from the Department of Theater.
May 6-7, 10-14, 8 p.m.; Saturday, May 14, 2 p.m.; Freud Playhouse

THE TRAGEDY OF CARMEN
Adapted from Bizet's opera by Marius Constant, Jean-Claude Carrière and Peter Brook; English translation by Sheldon Harnick; Conducted by Maxim Kuzin; Stage direction by Brendan Hartnett
May 27-28, 31 and June 2-4, 8 p.m.; Wednesday, June 1, 6:30 p.m.; Saturday, June 4, 2 p.m.; Little Theater

AN EVENING OF DEVISED WORK*
Projects devised and performed by the first-year M.F.A. Interdisciplinary Program in Acting and Directing
May 26-27, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, May 28, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; 1340 Macgowan Hall
*RUSH event

Game of Thrones costume designer Michele Clapton has been named the UCLA TFT Swarovski Designer in Residence and Star Trek hairstylist Silvia Baker returns as the MAC Cosmetics Artist in Residence for the second year.

Clapton will discuss the research and inspiration behind her Emmy-winning costumes for Game of Thrones on Tuesday, May 3 from 5-7 p.m. at the James Bridges Theater (1409 Melnitz). Free tickets can be obtained at http://got-ucla.eventbrite.com. Co-sponsored by the David C. Copley Center for Costume Design and the UCLA Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. Professor DEBORAH NADOOLMAN LANDIS will be one of the evening's moderators. On Wednesday, May 4, Clapton will discuss with Landis the series' medieval aesthetic and the visual sources for her designs at the Getty Center's Harold M. Williams Auditorium. Bryan C. Keene, the Getty's assistant curator of manuscripts, will also join the discussion.

The 14th Annual Design Showcase West will be held on Saturday, June 4, 2016 at UCLA TFT's Freud Playhouse. Students from the nation's top graduate design programs including UCLA; California Institute of the Arts; UC San Diego; New York University; University of Missouri, Kansas City; UC Davis; the University of Texas, Austin; UC Irvine; and the North Carolina School of the Arts will exhibit innovative costume, scenic, sound, lighting and production designs.

Entertainment producers, directors and A-list designers looking for new talent regularly attend Design Showcase West. It will be open to the public from 2:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

As part of Design Showcase West, The David C. Copley Center for the Study of Costume Design at UCLA TFT has established a unique partnership with SWAROVSKI, the world's leading producer of precision-cut crystal to present the Swarovski Shooting Star Award to a UCLA M.F.A. costume design student.

This year's Commencement ceremony will take place on Friday, June 10, 2016 from 2:00 p.m.-3:45 p.m. at UCLA's Royce Hall. For more details, visit the Commencement 2016 Information Sheet on the UCLA TFT website.

On Wednesday, March 23, Dean TERI SCHWARTZ, in association with the film's director and UCLA TFT parent Zack Snyder, hosted an advanced screening of Snyder's latest film, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, for faculty, students, staff and alumni at Universal City Walk's IMAX Theater.

A new Department of Theater production of Shakepeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream opened in early March at UCLA TFT's Little Theater, directed by UCLA TFT Visiting Associate Professor ELLEN LAUREN, co-artistic director of New York's SITI Company. The play featured second- and third-year M.F.A. graduate acting students from the UCLA TFT Department of Theater. Stage Raw and Broadway World profiled Lauren and the production.

The sixth annual Sketch to Screen Costume Design Panel and Celebration took place on Saturday, Feb. 27 at UCLA's Schoenberg Hall, presented by SWAROVSKI, Dean TERI SCHWARTZ, Professor DEBORAH NADOOLMAN LANDIS and UCLA TFT's David C. Copley Center for Costume Design. Panelists included 2016 Oscar winner Jenny Beavan (Mad Max: Fury Road), nominees Paco Delgado (The Danish Girl), Sandy Powell (Carol, Cinderella) and Jacqueline West (The Revenant), along with Suttirat Anne Larlarb (Steve Jobs) and 2014 Oscar nominee Michael Wilkinson, who most recently created the costumes for Joy. Professor Landis was the panel moderator.

Prior to the Academy Awards, in mid-February, the Best Foreign Film winner Son of Saul screened at UCLA TFT's James Bridges Theater. A Q&A with moderator Lisa Klug and Hungarian director László Nemes followed.

Actor Rainn Wilson (The Office) recently conducted a master class at UCLA TFT, sharing his experiences as an actor with students in the Freud Playhouse. Actor-director Bill Pullman (Independence Day) spoke with M.F.A. theater directors and actors about how he developed his directing craft while receiving his M.F.A. and how that informed his professional acting career.

Birth of a Nation, which starred UCLA alumna GABRIELLE UNION, with cinematography by alumnus ELLIOT DAVIS, won the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award and the U.S. Dramatic Jury Award at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival (and was later purchased for $17.5 million by Fox Searchlight). In all, 11 UCLA TFT alumni and a current graduate student had involvement with nine of the films and event series that were shown in the January festival in Utah. They included:

U.S. Dramatic Competition
Goat (purchased by Paramount Home Media for just under $3 million)
JAMES FRANCO (B.A. '08; UCLA TFT lecturer), producer
AKIN MCKENZIE (B.A. '02), production designer

The Birth of a Nation
GABRIELLE UNION (B.A. '96), actress
ELLIOT DAVIS, cinematographer

Midnight
Yoga Hosers
NATE BOLOTIN (M.F.A. '07), executive producer
ARAM TERTZAKIAN (M.F.A. '07), executive producer

Carnage Park
MEREDITH KOCH (B.A. '11), second assistant director
MOANA SHERRILL (M.F.A. '13), line producer
SANDRA STENZEL (cinematography graduate student), still photographer

Trash Fire
ANTHONY TRAN (B.A. '10), costume designer

Next
XYZ Films, which is made up of UCLA TFT alumni and producers Nate Bolotin, NICK SPICER (M.F.A. '06) and Aram Tertzakian, had the film Operation Avalanche showing in the Sundance Next section.

Spotlight
Miles Ahead
MICHAEL STUHLBARG, actor

Special Events
The world premiere of a nine-hour Hulu event series 11.22.63, James Franco, actor; The world premiere of a the first two episodes of Amazon Studios' The New Yorker Presents, ALEX GIBNEY, director and executive producer

Disney-Pixar's Inside Out, on which ERICK OH (M.F.A. '10) was an animator, had an impressive awards season showing. It was named the Best Animated Feature by the Academy Awards, Annie Awards, BAFTA, Broadcast Film Critics Association, Golden Globes, National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics Circle.

Producer COURTNEY MARSH (B.A. '09) along with Jerry Franck, was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Documentary (Short Subject) category for Chau, Beyond the Lines. Additionally, the following individuals had affiliations with a number of films that were nominated for Academy Awards this year.

Best Picture nominees
Bridge of Spies: HILARY PARKIN, costumer (B.A. '08)
The Martian: PIETRO SCALIA, editor (B.A. '82)
The Revenant: LARRY KEMP, dialogue editor (B.A. '72)

Best Animated Feature nominee
Anomalisa: JENNIFER NEWFIELD, production manager (B.A. '07) and MIKE JOHNSON, guest animator (UCLA TFT lecturer)

Best Documentary (Short Subject)
Chau, Beyond the Lines: MARCELO MITNIK, story; executive producer (M.F.A. '05; Professional Programs alumnus)

Best Short Film (Animated) nominee
Sanjay's Super Team: ERICK OH (M.F.A. '10), animator

The Simpsons episode "Halloween of Horror" earned the Best Animated Television Broadcast Production for a General Audience prize at the 43rd Annual Annie Awards in early February. The episode had the involvement of MIKE B. ANDERSON (M.F.A. '90), director; SAM GRINBERG, animation production assistant; RICHARD SAKAI (B.A. '77), producer; DAVID SILVERMAN (B.A. '79), consulting producer; and DANIEL VEGA (M.F.A. '09), animation digital production assistant. In all, 13 TFT alumni were involved in seven Annie Award nominated films and TV series.

Department of Theater lecturer MARK WORTHINGTON won an Art Directors Guild Award in the Television Movie or Limited Series category for his production design work on American Horror Story: Hotel. Lecturer ANTHONY FANNING (Better Call Saul) was nominated for his production design work in the category of One-Hour Contemporary Single Camera Series.

Alumnus and cinematographer LOWELL PETERSON (B.A. '72) received ASC's Career Achievement in Television Award in mid-February. The Hollywood Reporter sat down with him to discuss the recognition, as well as the transition to digital from film and his secret to bonding with cast and crew. 

Casting director and UCLA TFT alumna VICTORIA THOMAS received a CSA Artios Award in the category of Big Budget Feature — Drama for her work on Straight Outta Compton.

Alumnus ALEX GIBNEY was nominated for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary for Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief. Filmmaker MARIELLE HELLER (B.A. '01) (The Diary of a Teenage Girl) was nominated for a new DGA Award that recognizes the achievements of first-time feature film directors.

JOHN J. STRAUSS (B.A. '80) and MARK STEILEN (M.F.A. '96) were writers on Mozart in the Jungle, which earned a Golden Globe Award in the Television Series, Comedy/Musical category at the January ceremony. Other individuals who had involvement with nominated films and TV series include:

Motion Picture, Comedy/Musical nominees
Spy: MELLISA BRETHERTON (B.A. '77), film editor
Trainwreck: AMANDA GLAZE (B.A. '08), associate producer

Animated Feature nominee
The Peanuts Movie: DAVID VASQUEZ (B.A. '90), animator

Television Series, Comedy/Musical nominees
Casual: SHEILA CALLAGHAN (M.F.A. '97), writer
Transparent: SILAS HOWARD (M.F.A. '10), director

Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television nominees
American Horror Story: CRYSTAL LIU (B.A. '02), writer
Hotel: MARK WORTHINGTON (UCLA TFT lecturer), series production designer

BRAD SILBERLING (M.F.A. '87) and UCLA Bruin GABRIELLE UNION (B.A. '96) were nominated for 2016 NAACP Image Awards in the Directing in a Comedy Series and Actress in a Drama Series categories, respectively.

ALEX GIBNEY's Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief was named one of nine Peabody Award winners in the documentary and education categories. The 75th Peabody Awards will be handed out on Saturday, May 21 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City and will air June 6 at 8 p.m. on Pivot.

Alumnus ERIC ROTH (House of Cards) and JANET LEAHY (B.A. '83) (Mad Men) were among the producers nominated for their respective shows in the PGA Awards category of Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama.

Two UCLA alumni were nominated for SAG Awards, which took place in late January: MAYIM BIALIK ('00, Ph.D. '07), Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series for The Big Bang Theory, and MICHAEL STUHLBARG, Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for Trumbo. Alumna CAROL BURNETT received the SAG Awards Lifetime Achievement Award.

Eleven UCLA TFT alumni had involvement in seven projects that were shown in five festival sections at SXSW. They include:

Narrative Feature Competition
Collective: Unconscious: DAGMAR WEAVER-MADSEN (M.F.A. '12) cinematographer

Headliners
Don't Think Twice: SETH BARRISH (B.A. '85), actor
Pee-Wee's Big Holiday: LARRY KEMP (B.A. '72), dialogue editor; JOHN H. MAYER (B.A. '64), actor; VICTORIA THOMAS, casting director

Narrative Spotlight
My Blind Brother: JOBY HAROLD (B.A. '98), executive producer
The Trust: KEVIN WEISMAN (B.A. '93), actor

Episodic
Outcast: JERRI TUBBS (M.F.A. '02), actress

24 Beats Per Second
Miles Ahead: ALEXANDRA CRESWICK (M.F.A. '09), associate producer; TRAVIS GEIGER (M.F.A. '13), assistant to Don Cheadle; MICHAEL STUHLBARG, actor

Additionally, JON REISS (M.F.A. '95) gave two talks during the festival. The 23rd SXSW screened 137 features during its nine-day run in Austin, March 11-19.

At the 68th Writers Guild of America Awards in mid-February, ALEX GIBNEY won the Documentary Screenplay Award for Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief and executive producer JANET LEAHY (B.A. '83) was nominated for a Drama Series award for Mad Men.

UCLA TFT's Department of Theater, USC School of Dramatic Arts and L.A. Stage Alliance co-presented Centre Theatre Group's daylong "CTG Going Pro Career Fair" on Saturday, April 2. It offered five free workshops, one-on-one mentorship sessions and a networking mixer for current undergraduate and graduate-level students seeking a professional theater career.

Six graduate costume designers are participating in the Art of Fashion: Costume and Culture competition, hosted by San Diego's Timken Museum of Art. The students have created costumes inspired by the Timken painting Madonna and Child, by di Buonaccorso and the winner will be revealed at a gala dinner at the Timken on Saturday, May 7.

The Robby Awards returned to the theater awards scene in 2015 after a decade-long absence. This year, UCLA TFT boasted five alumni and/or faculty nominees. They include:

JONATHAN BURKE (lecturer), Best Sound Design, Company
BRIAN KITE (Department of Theater chair and professor), Best Director of a Musical, Billy Elliot: The Musical
JANE PAPAGEORGE (B.A. '14), Best Supporting Actress in a Musical, Company
NICK TUBBS (B.A. '10), Best Actor in a Musical, The Balladeer
PAIGE LINDSEY WHITE (M.F.A. '06), Lu Leonard Award for Best Actress in a comedy, The Heir Apparent

TRACIE LOCKWOOD (B.A. '00) and NICHOLAS SANTIAGO (M.F.A. '10) were recipients of 2016 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards in the categories of featured performance and CGI/Video, respectively, for their work in A Permanent Image. Visiting Assistant Professor JESSICA KUBZANSKY was also a winner for directing Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles. The awards ceremony took place on Monday, March 14 at the Ann and Jerry Moss Theater at New Roads School in Santa Monica.

MARIELLE HELLER (B.A. '01) will write and direct a feature film adaptation of The Case Against 8, based on the HBO documentary that focused on the fight to overturn California's same-sex marriage ban. Heller will also direct the fantasy thriller Kolma, starring Daisy Ridley and produced by J.J. Abrams.

Salome, written by CHRISTOPHER ADAMS-COHEN (B.A. '14) had its world premiere on Friday, Feb. 5 at The Basement at Mack Sennett Studios in Los Angeles / 2 Broke Girls star BETH BEHRS (B.A. '08) discussed the show's success with The Hollywood Reporter as it recently reached a milestone 100 episodes / Too Blondes, a cabaret starring and directed by SAVANNAH BROWN (B.A. '14), played at the Metropolitan Room theater in New York in late January / SHEILA CALLAGHAN's (M.F.A. '97) play, Women Laughing Alone With Salad, which also starred NORA KIRKPATRICK (B.A. '06), took place at Culver City's Kirk Douglas Theatre in March / DAVID CRAWFORD (B.A. '11) was named one of Live Design's 2015 Young Designers to Watch in December / RANI DEMUTH (M.F.A. '05) and JULES NURRISH (M.F.A. '12) were among the eight selected for Film Independent's Directing Lab. CATHERINE HARDWICKE and JAMES PONSOLDT were the 2016 Directing Lab Creative Advisors / Playwright LELAND FRANKEL's (B.A. '15) dark comedy Tight Knit was performed at Celebration Theatre in December / The SuperHero and His Charming Wife, written and directed by AARON HENDRY ('97 B.A.), featuring actress SYDNEY MASON (B.A. '11), premiered at Highways Performance Space in Santa Monica on Friday, April 15 / RICKERBY HINDS (M.F.A. '96) is turning his critically acclaimed stage play Dreamscape into a film / LAURIE HOLDEN (B.A. '93) recently spoke at a comic book convention in Paris about her role on AMC's The Walking Dead / JOANNA JONES (B.A. '12) will be starring in Broadway's Gotta Dance!, which opens on Broadway this fall / REBECCA KENIGSBERG (B.A. '12) and UCLA alumnus Graham Wetterhahn directed the After Hours Theatre production of Jonathan Larson's autobiographical musical Tick, Tick, Boom! at the Hudson Backstage Theatre in Hollywood, March 25-April 3. UCLA TFT alumna BRITTANY COBB was the technical director / A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, directed by ROBERT L. FREEDMAN (B.A. '79) is being performed at the Ahmanson Theater through May 1, 2016. Tickets can be purchased on the Center Theatre Group website / COBY GETZUG (B.A. '15) is currently in the national tour of The Book of Mormon / ERICA LINDBECK (B.A. '14) is the voice of the new high-tech Hello Barbie doll and will also play the iconic figurine in commercials and movies / CHRIS MEISSNER (B.A. '15) and TIANA OKOYE (B.A. '13) were ensemble performers in Fox's Grease: Live! in late January / MARIO MOSELY was one of the featured guest choreographers for "Dance Spectrum," the annual spring show produced at Santa Maria's Hancock College, which took place this year March 17-21 / YEE EUN NAM (M.F.A. '14) designed the set of Altman's Last Stand, directed by UCLA TFT lecturer CHARLES HAID at Los Angeles' Zephyr Theatre on Melrose Avenue / MICHAEL STUHLBARG has joined the cast of the upcoming Marvel superhero movie Doctor Strange, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Rachel McAdams / MEGAN TIMPANE (B.A. '13) presented a one-woman show, Having Cancer Is Hilarious, on April 22 and 23 at the NAMBA Performing Arts Space in Ventura.

First-year M.F.A. playwriting student ANNA FOX has been chosen as one of Theater Masters' eight 2016 National M.F.A. Playwright Festival winners for her play Sitting Causes Cancer and Other Modern Tragedies. Undergrad general studies senior KATIE JOST, who was the assistant sound designer for the Department of Theater's recent production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, was profiled in the Daily Bruin.

UCLA TFT ranks No. 1 among public schools and colleges and No. 3 on the West Coast in Animation Career Review's annual rankings of the top animation schools in the country.

Documentary filmmaker ALEX GIBNEY will be making his narrative feature-directing debut with a political thriller for Lionsgate. The Action, written by Scott Z. Burns (Contagion), focuses on eight anti-war activists in the 1970s who stole and made public classified FBI documents that uncovered J. Edgar Hoover's penchant for spying on and blackmailing perceived menaces.

GRACE LEE (M.F.A. '02) is one of six fellows selected for this year's Sundance Women's Initiative. Separately, her latest film, Off the Menu: Asian America, aired nationally on PBS in December and early January. She has also made the short film Suiting Dennis about a terminally ill man who is planning his own green burial with the Infinity burial suit. The film can be seen on Vimeo.

As part of its Underground USA series, Cinefamily, West Hollywood's cinematheque, has been screening more than 40 American independent films from the '80s in March and April including those of UCLA TFT alumni ALLISON ANDERS (B.A. '86), (Border Radio, 1987); CHARLES BURNETT (B.A. '69, M.F.A. '77), (My Brother's Wedding, 1983); ALEX COX (Repo Man, 1984; Walker, 1987); JULIE DASH (Illusions, 1982); PENELOPE SPHEERIS (B.A. '69, M.A. '73), (Suburbia, 1983); and BILLY WOODBERRY (M.F.A. '82), (Bless Their Little Hearts, 1983). Actor and alumnus PAUL BARTEL appears in Eating Raoul (1982). For more information, visit the Cinefamily website.

The Black List revealed this year's top-picked scripts in December, which included the work of five UCLA TFT alumni: BENJAMIN KOPIT, (M.F.A. '13) The Libertine; JEFFREY GELBER (B.A. '04) and RYAN BELENZON (B.A. '04) Rocket; DAVID BIRKE (B.A. '83), Morningstar; and ANDREW CYPIOT (M.F.A. '06), 105 and Rising.

The Television Academy Foundation has named the short film Zoya, from filmmaker SAHIRR SETHHI (M.F.A. '15), as one of the 2016 College Television Award nominees. The awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday, May 25 at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.

JEREMY DAVID WHITE (M.F.A. '13) is the writer and producer of Vice World of Sports, a new 10-episode documentary series from showrunner Evan Rosenfeld that uses sports as a lens into politics, society and other universal themes. Vice World of Sports debuted on Viceland — a new TV channel from Spike Jonze and Vice Media — on Wednesday, April 27. (Two episodes of the show screened at the Tribeca Film Festival on Friday, April 22 in advance of the premiere.) Other UCLA TFT alums involved in the project include FARZAD SANGARI (M.A. '04, M.F.A. '14), who wrote an episode, and JUSTIN PERKINSON (M.F.A. '15), who provided additional production and photography.

TAMIR ARDON (M.F.A. '06) has been hired as director of international distribution at XYZ Films / JUDY BERNARDINO (M.F.A. '01) won the UCLA Extension Writer's Program Feature Film and Television Writing Competition in the Television Spec teleplay category for her episode of HBO's VEEP entitled "Mabel" / JACK BLACK will produce and star in The Man Who Would Be Polka King, based on Joshua Brown and John Mikulak's documentary of the same name. The story follows the rise and fall of Pennsylvania polka sensation Jan Lewan, who brought a town to its knees in a Ponzi scheme / DUSTIN LANCE BLACK (B.A. '96) will pen When We Rise, a miniseries for ABC about the LGBT community's civil rights movement / ERNIE BUSTAMANTE (M.F.A. '15) wrote Banned in Tucson, a half-hour sketch comedy show that integrates news, sketch and video from a Latino American point of view. The show recently played at the Comedy Central Stage in Los Angeles / With the issue of diversity in Hollywood in the news, L.A. Rebellion filmmaker BEN CALDWELL (B.A. '77) was interviewed by Southern California Public Radio / STEVE CUDEN (M.F.A. '10) has written his second book, Beating Hollywood: Tips for Creating Unforgettable Screenplays. Script recently published its Q&A with Cuden / BRYNACH DAY (M.F.A. '14) (Low Tide) and JASON ROMAINE (M.F.A. '14) (My Father's Secret Funeral [In the Castro]) were Top Ten finalists in the 2015 American Zoetrope Screenplay Contest / JOSH FELDMAN (M.F.A. '08), head of development at Hasbro, is working with Paramount to create a movie universe around G.I. Joe and four other Hasbro brands / The documentary City of Gold, from filmmakers LAURA GABBERT (M.F.A. '04) and JERRY HENRY (M.F.A. '02) opened in limited release on Friday, March 11 / Zero Day, a documentary about Internet security, cyber crime and cyber-espionage for which ALEX GIBNEY served as a consulting producer, had its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in February / SAM GRINBERG (M.F.A. '15) spoke with Film School Shorts about the filmmaking process behind his animation short film Heart-Ache / DAVID HARRIS (M.F.A. '07) has become the first director in GoPro's Director's Program, which invites directors to help expand the notion of what is possible with GoPro technology. He directed the music video LA Threshold, by the band De Lux, in collaboration with producer Giulia Caruso / BRANDON HARRISON (M.A. '13) is the Short Documentary programmer at the 19th annual Brooklyn Film Festival, running June / LBJ, written by JOEY HARTSTONE (M.F.A. '10) and directed by Rob Reiner, is currently in postproduction. The film stars Woody Harrelson as President Lyndon Johnson and will be released later this year / FELICIA D. HENDERSON (M.F.A. '04) was named one of the top five African American female television writers by Hollywood's Black Renaissance / The article "How Film School Can Address Violent Extremism," written by BOB HOOPER (M.F.A. '82), was published by the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs / In December, LOUIS J. HORVITZ (B.A. '68) directed Sinatra, CBS' three-hour tribute special, commemorating the 100th anniversary of Frank Sinatra's birth; in January he directed the 73rd Golden Globe Awards; and in February, he directed the 58th Annual Grammy Awards / STARLET JACOBS (M.F.A. '08) is currently working as an art director on NBC's Saturday Night Live and is the associate set designer for the Broadway production of Disaster!, which opened in March / SIMON KELTON (M.F.A. '94) and Sean Macaulay were the screenwriters of 20th Century Fox's critical hit film Eddie the Eagle / TOM LEACH's (M.F.A. '12) company Media RED recently signed a first-look deal with Sony Pictures TV / DeSales University Professor SUSAN LEHMAN (B.A. '74, M.F.A. '77) is behind the upcoming ShortsU.com, a web portal that will spotlight student films / The Unbidden, the latest feature from QUENTIN LEE (M.F.A. '99), will have its world premiere at the 32nd Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, which runs April 21-28 / JUSTIN LERNER's (M.F.A. '07) film The Automatic Hate, was released in theaters in March / MEREDITH LEVINE (M.F.A. '11) has joined Troika as a senior analyst and fanthropologist in the company's research and insights department / Paramount's Star Trek Beyond, directed by JUSTIN LIN (B.A. '95), opens July 22, 2016 / HAN-YEE LING (B.A. '07, M.F.A. '15) has been selected to participate in Disney Channel's 20-week Storytellers program / Swedish online streaming service Viaplay'soriginal series Swedish Dicks is produced by GLENN LUND (M.F.A. '12). The series stars Keanu Reeves and Peter Stormare / Executive producer NANOU MATTESON's (M.F.A. '01) film Remember Me, starring Rita Moreno, had its world premiere at the Cinequest Film Festival in March / GABE MICHAEL (M.F.A. '11) and BRIAN RUNT (M.F.A. '15) have launched the new animated series Cubicle Zombies at cubiclezombies.tv / Fox Animation president VANESSA MORRISON (M.F.A. '94) and CBS Films president TERRY PRESS (B.A. '81) were featured in The Hollywood Reporter's Women in Entertainment Power 100 list in December / JAN OSTROM (M.F.A. '78) was an associate producer on NorCal PBS station KEET-TV's Conversations: Life in the Second Half, which explores aging in the 21st century / GINA PRINCE-BYTHEWOOD (B.A. '91) will direct the Fox Searchlight film An Untamed State, based on Roxane Gay's debut novel. The film will star Gugu Mbatha-Raw / ANDREW RUESCH (B.A. '11) has partnered with UCLA alumnus Plinio Garcia to create Indy Plush, a toy company that brings children's drawings to life while helping endangered species at the same time / PAUL SCHRADER (M.A. '70) was inducted into the Final Draft Screenwriters Choice Awards Hall of Fame in early February / CHRISI SAJE (M.F.A. '11) is currently performing in School for Wives, a new take on Moliere's classic play, at Los Angeles' Archway Theatre Company / ALLISON SILBERBERG (M.F.A. '87) was sworn in as mayor of Alexandria, Va., on Tuesday, Jan. 5 / XYZ Films' NICK SPICER (M.F.A '06) and KYLE FRANKE (M.F.A. '05) are producers on the upcoming film Our House, which XYZ is producing with Davis Entertainment / PANTIDA VANASIRIKUL (M.F.A. '14) has been hired to head acquisitions at international sales and finance company The Exchange (The Spectacular Now) in Los Angeles / HILARY ZAITZ (M.F.A. '13), has been hired as director of development at Michael London's Groundswell Productions, also in Los Angeles.

M.F.A. screenwriter JENNIFER EDWARDS received an honorable mention in the 2016 Sloan Student Grand Jury Prize competition, which inspires the next generation of filmmakers to create realistic scripted films about science and technology. A scene from Edwards' winning screenplay, Family Brew, will be performed at the Tribeca Film Festival in mid-April and directed by Paul Schneider (Lars and the Real Girl). M.F.A. student JENNIFER MILLER was the film's producer.

Grad student MERLIN CAMOZZI and his short film Coeur D'Alene were profiled in the Vanguard Seattle in advance of the film's appearance in the Seattle Shorts Film Festival in mid-November / Graduate student screenwriter JEFF SCOTT's (B.A. '13) coming-of-age sports drama One Shot was selected as a second rounder in the 2015 Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition. His sports drama Best Ball was selected as a top finalist in the 2015 Emerging Screenwriters Screenplay Competition /

During the Winter Quarter, Professor SUE-ELLEN CASE's Theater 221: Introduction to Performance Studies featured visits by four distinguished speakers: Susan McClary, professor and head of musicology at Case Western Reserve University (Jan. 19); Harvey Young, professor and chair of theater at Northwestern University (Feb. 2); Diana Taylor, university professor and professor of performance studies and Spanish at New York University (Feb. 16); and Jisha Menon, associate professor, post colonial theory and performance studies at Stanford University (March 1).

Visiting Assistant Professor CHANNING DUNGEY (B.A. '91), a key figure in the development of UCLA TFT's Producers Program TV specialization, was named ABC Entertainment Group president in February, becoming the first African American to lead a major TV network.

Once in a Lew Moon, about the craft and business of screenwriting, premiered at the James Bridges Theater in mid-February and featured screenwriting professors LEW HUNTER and RICHARD WALTER. UCLA TFT alumni FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA (M.F.A. '67), ALEXANDER PAYNE (M.F.A. '90) and Jim Taylor, MIKE WERB (M.F.A. '02), and FELICIA D. HENDERSON (M.F.A. '04) were also highlighted in the documentary, which was directed by Lonnie Senstock.

Director of Production DANIEL IONAZZI created the lighting design for the Geffen Playhouse's production of Thom Pain, starring Rainn Wilson. KCRW recently reviewed his work.

Visiting Associate Professor LAINIE KAZAN spoke with the Los Angeles Times about her career and reprising her role as matriarch Maria Portokalos in My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, which opened on Friday, March 25.

Department of Theater Chair BRIAN KITE and the UCLA TFT Theater program was recently featured in American Theatre and Backstage. Kite's upcoming production of American Idiot at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts (April 29-May 15) features scenic design by Professor RICH ROSE.

Lecturer HANS-MARTIN LIEBING's new documentary, Cactus Jack: Lonestar on Capitol Hill, about John Nance "Cactus Jack" Garner, who served twice as vice president to Franklin D. Roosevelt, aired on Valentine's Day and Presidents' Day on more than 200 PBS stations nationwide.

In late February, Associate Professor SEAN METZGER gave a graduate colloquium talk entitled "Human Traffic, Seascapes, and Theatricality" during the TAPS Graduate Colloquium at Brown University's Becker Library.

The UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center recently teamed up with noted Los Angeles artist Linda Vallejo to release the artist commentary For Your Consideration: Make 'em all Mexican, a series of six individual works created by Vallejo that portray famous white actors as Mexicans. Professor CHON NORIEGA was quoted in the Los Angeles Times about the project, which critically engages the racial expectations associated with the idea of Hollywood as a universal storyteller based on a white norm.

Numerous special guests visited Lecturer TOM NUNAN's Overview of Network Television Management class during Winter Quarter to share their stories. They included Academy Award-winning producer Brian Grazer, Comedy Central president Kent Alterman, Netflix Chief Content Ted Sarandos, Hulu's head of programming Craig Erwich, and Lionsgate Entertainment chairman Kevin Beggs as well as comedians Whitney Cummings (CBS' 2 Broke Girls) and Derek Waters (Comedy Central's Drunk History). Separately, Nunan and Lecturer NEIL LANDAU chatted with the Daily Bruin about online streaming services such as Hulu and Netflix and how they are giving directors more freedom when creating shows for binge TV viewers. On Saturday, March 19, Landau moderated the panel "Writing Outside the Box: Navigating New Spaces in Distribution" at WGFestival 2016: The Business in Los Angeles. His new book TV Outside the Box: Trailblazing in the Digital Television Revolution (Focal Press) was published in December.

The Palm Springs International Film Festival's annual "The Power of Words: Book to Screen" symposium took place in early January. Dean TERI SCHWARTZ moderated the Younger panel, which included Pamela Redmond Satran, author of the novel Younger, and UCLA alumnus Darren Star, creator and executive producer of the TV Land series.

Just prior to this year's Academy Awards, Assistant Professor ELLEN C. SCOTT penned an article for The Common Reader examining a 1962 protest in Hollywood that ran parallel to the concerns faced by people of color in entertainment today.

Prior to the Academy Awards in late February, Professor RICHARD WALTER and other leading business and entertainment experts spoke to WalletHub, weighing in on the #Oscarssowhite controversy and other matters related to the Oscar ceremony.

DANIELLE BEARDEN-MEAD joined the Office of Development & Alumni Affairs as Assistant Director of Development after working as a script coordinator on CBS' Two and a Half Men. Prior to that, she served for four years as the Director of Individual Giving at the Geffen Playhouse.

On Sunday, Feb. 28, Eighty UCLA TFT alumni and their guests attended the first annual BEN (Bruin Entertainment Network) Oscars Viewing Party at CAP Studio in Sherman Oaks in celebration of their fellow alumni's Oscar-nominated films. JASON ROMAINE (M.F.A. '14) was the evening's emcee.

BRIAN FAGAN, formerly Assistant Director of Professional Programs, has been promoted to the Director of Professional Programs.

American Exodus, written by Professional Program in Screenwriting alumna KATHERINE CRADDOCK won Movieguide's Chronos Prize for Inspiring Screenplay by an Established Filmmaker. The script was also a Nicholl Quarterfinalist, a BlueCat Quarterfinalist and a second rounder at the Austin Film Festival.

Actress-singer SARAH LEJEUNE, a Professional Programs Acting for the Camera student, can be heard on the just-released official motion picture soundtrack of Sway, which contains nine Michael Bublé covers including "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "Save the last Dance for Me." Sway, which was written and directed by LeJeune, will be released in theaters later this year.

Professional Program in Writing for Television alumni MIRA Z. BARNUM, SAMANTHA LEVENSHUS, ELFI MARTINEZ, HILLARY SCHOELZEL and JULIE ANNE WIGHT had their work showcased during The Act Outs Writers Collective's "Past, Present, Future" at the Santa Monica Library in mid-February.

Actress Jennifer Aniston taught the Professional Programs' first Acting for the Camera Workshop master class in March. Actors Jason Bateman and Thomas Lennon (The Odd Couple, Reno 911!) also visited the workshop to share their insights about the acting process with students.

DAVID WEYANT (PP, Screenwriting '04) has been named the chair of The Banff Centre's Board of Governors in Banff, Alberta, Canada. The Banff Centre is an arts and cultural organization providing multidisciplinary programming and advancing the practice of artists and leaders.

From Jan. 22-March 21, at the Billy Wilder Theater, UCLA Film & Television Archive presented a selection of mysteries and thrillers that began as radio programs in the 1920s and were later turned into films. Screenings included Sorry Wrong Number, The Phantom of Crestwood, Calling Dr. Death, The Frozen Ghost, Bewitched and Crime Doctor's Man. The Los Angeles Times covered the series.

The Sundance Collection at UCLA was highlighted during this year's Sundance Film Festival with a trio of special screenings, including the Archive's digital preservation of Kelly Reichart's debut feature River of Grass (1994); a new print of Walking and Talking (1996), directed by Nicole Holofcener; and a digital restoration of John Sayles' gritty City of Hope (1991).

The Archive helped the Berlin International Film Festival celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Teddy Award, its groundbreaking LGBT film prize, at the 2016 festival. On Sunday, Feb. 14, Archive Director JAN-CHRISTOPHER HORAK presented the world premiere of the Archive's restoration of the censored German silent film directed by Richard Oswald, Different from the Others (1919), and was the featured guest at a post-screening Q&A. The Berlinale also premiered the Archive's new restoration of another landmark LGBT film, director Cheryl Dunye's The Watermelon Woman (1996), and screened an earlier Archive restoration of director Bill Sherwood's Parting Glances (1986).

Representing works produced in Canada and the U.S., and a cross-section of tribal communities, the Archive's traveling film series, "Through Indian Eyes: Native American Cinema," celebrates the renaissance in Native American filmmaking that has occurred in the last several decades. The North American tour screened Jan. 14-21 at New York's Anthology Film Archives and will stop by the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, Mass. in late April as well as Portland, Oregon, and Philadelphia in May.

The Archive saluted writer-director Penelope Spheeris (B.A. '69, M.F.A. '73) with a special screening of her genre mash-up feature, Dudes (1987), on Friday, Jan. 29, followed by an evening of her newly restored short films on Saturday, Jan. 30. Guests and collaborators who joined Spheeris at the screenings included actors Jon Cryer, Daniel Roebuck and Catherine Mary Stewart; screenwriter Randall Jahnson; and film preservationist Mark Toscano.

Reviewed by the Los Angeles Times, this selection of classic and rare films offers the opportunity to rethink the legacies of many of the leading female stars of the studio era as purely the creations of male studio executives who controlled their images and careers.  Based on TFT alumna Emily Carman's (M.A. 2003, Ph.D 2008) new book, Independent Stardom: Freelance Women in the Hollywood Studio System, the series screens through May 26 and features performances by Carole Lombard, Miriam Hopkins, Clara Bow, Anna May Wong and others.

After the January 2016 death of Oscar-winning cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, Archive director Jan Christopher Horak discussed on KCRW's Press Play how the conditions in Eastern Europe have helped produce numerous noteworthy cinematographers from the region.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' FilmWatch, which gives grants to film-related organizations, has awarded the Archive funds for its Academy series "What a Difference: Women and Film in the 1970s and 1980s."

Dean TERI SCHWARTZ recently announced two new members to the UCLA TFT Executive Board, EMILIO DIEZ BARROSO, NALA Investments chairman and CEO, and KEVIN BEGGS, Lionsgate Television Group chairman.

REGINALD HUDLIN has been named one of the new board of governors at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences along with director GREGORY NAVA (B.A. '71, M.F.A. '76). Fox Animation President VANESSA MORRISON (M.F.A. '94) has joined the Academy's finance committee, while Professional Programs alumna and producer STEPHANIE ALLAIN has joined the membership and administration committee.

JOE CALABRESE and KEN HERTZ have been named to The Hollywood Reporter's 2016 Power Lawyers list / FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA (M.F.A. '67) is working on Distant Vision, an experimental production about four generations of a fictional Italian family. The project is expected to take at least five years to complete / DONALD DE LINE is an executive producer on the Fox hit series Wayward Pines, which has been renewed for a second season, starting in summer 2016. He is also producing Fox Searchlight's The Man in the Rockefeller Suit from Argentine filmmaker Pablo Trapero / PETER GUBER has been named the Los Angeles Business Journal's Person of the Year / REGINALD HUDLIN is directing Thurgood, a courtroom thriller biopic about Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. PAULA WAGNER is producing. Hudlin was also the executive producer of the 47th NAACP Image Awards and the 88th Academy Awards in Februrary / FRANK MARSHALL received the International Filmmaker of the Decade Award at this year's CinemaCon on Monday, April 11 / MARTIN SCORSESE will produce Silver Ghost, about the iconic Rolls Royce car that marked the genesis of aviation. Asif Kapadia (Amy) will direct / On LinkedIn, JEFFREY WALKER discusses Transitional Philanthropy as a useful way to address leveraging innovations into large-scale system change.

Dan McLaughlin, the former area head of the UCLA TFT Animation Workshop from 1970 until his retirement in 2007, passed away on Tuesday, March 15, 2016. A 1958 graduate of the UCLA Theater Arts Department (now the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television), McLaughlin began working that same year at the Animation Workshop, founded in 1948 by former Disney animator Bill Shull. When Shull retired in 1970, McLaughlin assumed his post, and in 1971, founded the School's M.F.A. Animation Program. As an independent filmmaker, McLaughlin made more than 20 animated films, ranging from the traditional to the experimental, which have earned both national and international recognition. He was also a pioneer in the fields of computer animation and interactive media. He introduced computer animation to the Workshop in 1968 and interactive animation in 1988; in 1991 he developed AIA, a laser disk multimedia critical analysis system for animation. In 1995, McLaughlin was the recipient of ASIFA Hollywood's Winsor McCay Award, presented at the Annie Awards, for lifetime achievement in animation.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that charitable gifts be made in McLaughlin's memory to the UCLA Foundation, and note "Dan McLaughlin Animation Fund" with your gift. Send to: Fred Bush, Executive Director of Development, UCLA TFT, 102 East Melnitz Hall, Box 951622, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1622.