Three New Chairs
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FALL 2014 IN MOTION TheTHREE Pioneering Faculty WhoNEW Are Heading Up theC Production,HA IRS Animation and Media Arts + Practice Divisions MAD MEN ALUMNI A LEGENDARY SHOW WITH A UNIQUE TROJAN CONNECTION RESEARCH@SCA CHANGING THE WORLD IN UNEXPECTED WaYS PLUS: SCA GETS AN IMAX COMEDY@SCA GOES LIVE! UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ON THE COVER: Chair of the John C. Hench Division of DEPARTMENTS Animation & Digital Arts Tom Sito, Chair of the Media Arts + Practice Division Holly Wills, and Chair of the Film & MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN 3 Television Production Division Mike Fink in the Performance Capture Stage at YEAR IN REVIEW 4 the Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts. FACULTY PROFILE: ROBERT JONES 28 IN MOTION FALL 2014 IN MEMORIAM 39 ALUMNI QUICKtaKES 40 Dean Elizabeth M. Daley Senior Associate Dean, ALUMNI TV AND FILMS External Relations Marlene Loadvine IN RELEASE 42 STORIES Associate Dean of Communications & PR, In Motion Managing Editor Kristin Borella Communications & Development Writer/Editor, In Motion Story Editor Desa Philadelphia MESSAGe FROm THe dean Design Roberto A. Gómez In once again ranking the School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) about teaching the necessary skills while encouraging rampant Contributors Allison Engel as the best film school in the United States, The Hollywood creativity. SCA students aren’t intimidated by rapid changes in Ryan Gilmour Hugh Hart Reporter described us as “the uncatchable Moby Dick of the media landscape—they’re excited by them! Eric Lichtenfeld CINEMA AND Desa Philadelphia COMEDY@SCA 8 SCALAR 14 film schools.” Our future-facing curriculum goes beyond film Justin Wilson Also in these pages, we visit our alumnus Matthew Weiner, Katherine Vu ARCHITECTURE 10 and television production, of course. In fact our game design Phillomina Wong program is enjoying a fifth straight year of being ranked the who is in the final season of Mad Men, the show he created Photographers Carell Augustus that has been universally hailed as one of television’s best. You’ll Laura Cechanowicz best in North America by the Princeton Review. And just two Steve Cohn years in, the Division of Media Arts + Practice (MA+P) is also find photos of our brand new Michelle & Kevin Douglas Scott Fisher Roberto A. Gómez already internationally recognized for remarkable, leading-edge IMAX Theatre and Immersive Lab, a gift to our students from Ryan D. Gilmour the Douglas family and the IMAX Corporation. And you’ll go Ramtin Khah research. on a journey through our research labs, which are facilitating These accolades are important because they recognize that partnerships with some of the world’s best companies to BOARD OF COUNCILORS our efforts combine to create something special. The School make innovative discoveries about the potential of bringing the Frank Price (Chair) MAD ALUMNI 16 of Cinematic Arts is successful because all of you pitch in cinematic arts to new fields. Frank Biondi, Jr. Bill M. Mechanic to make it so. This year marked the 85th anniversary of the Barry Diller Barry Meyer You’ll also read about our efforts to increase student support Lee Gabler Sidney Poitier School’s founding and each of those years has been dedicated David Geffen John Riccitiello at the School. This is undoubtedly one of our most important Jim Gianopulos Barney Rosenzweig to making strides in enriching the way we teach practice, in Brian T. Grazer Scott Sassa goals. From our interactions with students around the country, Brad Grey Steven Spielberg improving the facilities and resources our students use, and in Jeffrey Katzenberg John Wells innovating research that can transform the way moving images we know there are many of them who are talented media Alan Levine Jim Wiatt makers who just cannot afford an SCA education without our George Lucas Paul Junger Witt impact our culture. Hard work, in each of these areas, is what’s Michael Lynton Robert Zemeckis help. Student support doesn’t have to be in the millions of Don Mattrick required to stay ahead. dollars; every bit counts and every dollar we raise benefits our IMAX 20 This issue of In Motion is filled with stories about how and why students. ALUMNI DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL LEADING we work to stay ahead. The three newest Division Chairs who John August ’94 Neal Moritz ’85 An Anniversary year doesn’t just inspire reflections about the Tim Dowling ’96 Robert Osher ’81 THE WAY grace the cover—Holly Willis of Media Arts + Practice, Mike Susan Downey ’95 Shonda Rhimes ’94 Fink in Production, and Tom Sito in Animation—are focused on School, but also reflections about everyone who has come Bob Ducsay ’86 Jay Roach ’86 through our programs—as students, faculty, parents, staff. I Robert Greenblatt ’87 Bruce Rosenblum ’79 22 making sure our students remain curious and passionate. They Ramses Ishak ’92 Gary Rydstrom ’81 hope you are doing well and that you will seek occasion to James Ishii ’76 Josh Schwartz do so by educating students to be so fluent in the fundamentals Leslie Iwerks ’93 Peter Segal ’84 strengthen your connection to SCA. Polly Cohen Johnsen ’95 Stacey Sher ’85 that they can then freely and confidently deconstruct and Aaron Kaplan ’90 Jason Shuman ’96 reconstruct media. As you’ll see in their discussion, it’s all And I hope you have a wonderful holiday season! Tim Kring John Singleton ’90 Michael Lehmann ’85 Scott Stone ’79 Laird Malamed ’94 Tim Story STUDENT SUPPORT RESEARCH INITIATIVES Elizabeth M. Daley Michelle Manning ’81 Toper Taylor ’85 Steven J. Ross/Time Warner Andrew Marlowe ’92 Jennifer Todd 29 32 Professor and Dean Derek McLay Randy Zisk ’81 Andrew Millstein (Clockwise from top) Alum George Lucas; Dean Elizabeth M. Daley; Alex B. McDowell, the William Cameron Menzies Endowed Chair in Production Design; Mike Fink, the George Méliès 2 • in mOTiOn • usc scHOOL OF cinemaTic aRTs Endowed Chair in Visual Effects; and Bruce Block, the Sergei Eisenstein Endowed Chair in cinema.usc.edu • in mOTiOn • 3 Cinematic Design at the dedication of the three chairs in the Ray Stark Family Theatre. YEAR IN REVIEW (Top right) The dedication of Bruce Block as the Throughout the year, the USC School Sergei Eisenstein Endowed Chair in Cinematic Design, Michael Fink as the George Méliès of Cinematic Arts welcomed guests, Endowed Chair in Visual Effects, and Alex McDowell as the William Cameron Menzies alumni, lecturers, and friends from the Endowed Chair in Production Design. (Middle left) George Lucas addresses the entertainment, technology, and video crowd at the dedication of the game industries to speak to students three chairs in the Ray Stark SCA Emmy-winners for their public service announcements— Family Theatre. (Middle Power of PSA and Help a Soldier Heal—(Top row) Eric and faculty. In addition to these guests, right) Special exhibit at Talesnick, Maury Shessel, Anne Popolizio, Garry Ashton, Mansan the Hugh M. Hefner Luc, Michael Maas (Bottom row) Marlo Bluford, Otto Petersen and the calendar included the installation Moving Image Archive John Berardo. in celebration of the of five new endowed chairs, the second Chairs’ dedication. Comedy@SCA Festival, and the opening of the Michelle & Kevin Douglas IMAX Theatre and Immersive Lab. (Top right) Legendary editor Michael Kahn gets his picture taken by Steven Spielberg at the dedication of the Michael Kahn Endowed Chair in Editing. (Above right) Composer John Williams with Kahn, (Above, from left) Michael Kahn Chairholder Norman Hollyn, Kahn, Producer Mark Johnson speaks Spielberg, and Dean Elizabeth Daley. to the Critical Studies course: Television Symposium. Commencement 2014, Mary Pickford Alumni Award (Top) Jack Epps, Jr., David Isaacs, Barnet Recipient Kevin Feige, Kellman, alumni Peter Segal and Larry Morgan President of Marvel at the Comedy@SCA screening of Grudge Studios (left) with Frank Match. (Above) Segal. Price, Chairman of the USC School of Cinematic Arts Board of Councilors. (Below) Commencement speaker Jim Gianopulos, (Right) At the premiere of Chairman and Chief the documentary Milius Executive Officer of Fox (From left) Ethan Milius, Filmed Entertainment. alum John Milius, alum (Far left) Guests at Amanda Milius, and the Meldman Family Stephanie Milius. (Below) Cinematic Arts Park. Alum Andrew Dodge (Left) Milius with alum and actor Jason Bateman at Dino and Martha De Laurentiis John Singleton and Milius a screening of Bad Words waving to the packed presented by Comedy@SCA. Endowed Professor Mary Sweeney with Academy-Award house at the premiere. nominated writer Bob Nelson talk Susan Downey, alum and producer of The Judge and the Sherlock about his film Nebraska. Holmes films, visits Leonard Maltin’s Film Symposium. (Left) Alumni Matthew Weiner and Erin Levy from Mad Men. (Right) Weiner, Levy, Actress Elisabeth Moss, writer Jonathan Igla, director of photography Chris Manley, producer Scott Hornbacher, co-producer Alum Kevin Feige with writers Stephen McFeely and Christopher Marcy Patterson, costume designer Janie Bryant, and Markus at the screening of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Professor Howard Rosenberg. 4 • in mOTiOn • usc scHOOL OF cinemaTic aRTs cinema.usc.edu • in mOTiOn • 5 Dino and Martha De Laurentiis Endowed Professor Mary Sweeney interviews award-winning director David O. Russell. (Above) Tom Abrahms, Don Bohlinger, Ted Braun, David Howard, Mardik Martin, Jack Epps, Jr., Mark Shepherd, The second Comedy@SCA Festival attracted luminaries in the comedy world Georgia Jeffries and Howard A. Rodman at An Evening including (Clockwise from left) Lisa Kudrow; Lawrence O’Donnell, Conan O’Brien, with Mardik Martin. (Right) Martin with his family. Greg Daniels, and Al Jean; Barry Pascal, David Sonne and James Burrows; Joanna Cherensky, Dana Fox, Tracy Oliver, Jen Statsky and Katy Dipplod; Tom Sito, James L. Brooks, Vicky Jenson, David Silverman, Matt O’Callahagn, and Richard Appel; Mitchell Hurwitz, Jay Sandrich, Tony Thomas, and Paul Junger Witt; and Betty White.