2 1 0 2 R E M M U S IN PRODU CTION FOR STUDENTS, ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF DODGE COLLEGE OF FILM AND MEDIA ARTS AT CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY WOMEN IN FOCUS On the importance of role models • When you see someone who looks like you doing a job, you think you can do it . Nelson • I saw a woman win the Oscar for screenwriter as a little girl. It stuck with me . Dixon On how movies can change the world • When you see a great movie, your guard goes down, you surrender to the images and walk in someone else’s shoes. (The movie) Philadelphia was one of the TOP INDUSTRY WOMEN SHARE INDUSTRY INSIGHTS greatest life experiences I’ve had. You can tell people to be tolerant all day long but if they watch Tom Hanks in a loving From left: Dawn Taubin, Leslie Dixon, Debra Martin Chase, Professor Alex Rose, Dean Bassett, Jennifer Yuh Nelson, relationship, they are changed . Snider Nina Jacobson, Stacey Snider. • I was hitchhiking through Spain and two guys we met thought we were drug he power level in the room at this year’s Women in Focus conference was as jaw-dropping as addicts or prostitutes. I realized those the films the panelists have written, directed, produced or marketed — from The Hunger Games were the only images of black women to The Help, from Kung Fu Panda to Pirates of the Caribbean — as six of the industry’s top they’d ever seen. And I realized I could Twomen shared their insights on the business with the crowd in the Folino Theater in April. change that . Chase As The Hollywood Reporter noted in its coverage of the event, “Last year’s panelists had current films On how audiences respond to a story with over $271 million in worldwide grosses, but the women on the 2012 panel were fresh off projects • There’s only one rule of screenwriting. grossing over $1.6 billion.” Does the reader want to turn to the The panelists were producer and former Walt Disney Motion Picture Group President Nina Jacobson next page? Dixon (Hunger Games, The Sixth Sense, Pirates of the Caribbean); DreamWorks Studios Co-Chairman On making it in the industry and CEO Stacey Snider (The Help, War Horse); screenwriter and producer Leslie Dixon (Outrageous ® • It’s not a level playing field (for women). Fortune, Mrs. Doubtfire); Academy Award -nominated director Jennifer Yuh Nelson (Kung Fu Panda Just get over it and believe in yourself. 2, Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar) and producer Debra Martin Chase (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Chase Pants, The Princess Diaries, Courage Under Fire). • There used to be greater barriers to Dawn Taubin, Professor of Public Relations and Advertising and former head of Marketing production and distribution; you had to at Warner Bros., served as moderator. raise a lot of money. Now there’s nothing to keep you from telling your story. If The 2012 Women in Focus Conference was sponsored by Tricia Berns, Eve Kornyei Ruffatto, it’s good, someone will notice . Jacobson Twyla Martin, Laurie Rodnick, Harriet Sandhu and Bonny Schumacher. WOMEN IN FOCUS FROM THE DEAN MRS. DOUBTFIRE SCREENWRITER Chapman Named a IS FALL FILMMAKER-IN-RESIDENCE creenwriter and producer Leslie Dixon (Limitless, Hairspray, Top Ten U.S. Film School Mrs. Doubtfire,Overboard) has been named Dodge College’s SFilmmaker-in-Residence for Fall 2013. ummer is always a time to regroup: to “We’ve had the pleasure of welcoming Leslie Dixon to numerous events reflect on the progress of the last school at Dodge College over the years,” says Dean Bob Bassett. “Her humor Syear and to prepare for the next. We chart and realism resonate with students.” our progress using various measures —from job placement among our graduates to success Dixon’s screenwriting credits include Overboard, Mrs. Doubtfire, The in student film festivals to on-going faculty Thomas Crown Affair, Pay It Forward, Freaky Friday, Hairspray, The accomplishments — but it is also gratifying Heartbreak Kid, That Old Feeling, and Look Who’s Talking Now. In 2011, to see our efforts recognized by external she wrote and produced the hit film Limitless, starring Bradley Cooper measures as well. and Robert De Niro. Thus the recent listing by The Hollywood Reporter “I’m looking forward to the students’ virgin enthusiasm — they haven’t been jaded, trampled, or rejected,” of our film school as #13 among the top 25 says Dixon. “I hope they will learn what it takes to visualize something that actually makes it to the film schools globally (and #10 in the U.S.) is screen and, once it does, what works and what doesn’t — they can learn from my mistakes!” particularly gratifying. Being recognized at the very highest levels by a major industry publication says a great deal about the fine work of our alumni, students and faculty. Reaching this point truly takes a team effort and we are blessed with NEW FACULTY HAVE VAST EXPERIENCE a tremendous team and truly talented students. rriving this fall with the class of 2017 are three industry professionals who join Dodge A College’s award-winning faculty. Barry Blaustein has spent the last 30 years writing screenplays. He directed and produced the award- winning documentary Beyond the Mat. Most recently he directed Peep World; with his writing partner David Sheffield, Blaustein’s feature credits include Coming to America, Nutty Professor 1 and 11, and Boomerang. The pair also worked as head writers and supervising producers on Saturday Night Live for three years, Barry Blaustein (right) working with Director of developing Eddie Murphy’s more famous characters. Photography Tobias Datum on the set of Peep World. Harry Ufland brings his many years in the industry Dean Bassett addresses the General Assembly of CILECT as an agent with William Morris representing names at its most recent conference in Cape Town, South Africa. like Martin Scorsese, Robert DeNiro, Ridley Scott and Harvey Keitel. He has packaged films such as Last semester saw many high points, including Raging Bull and Blade Runner and produced films the amazing Women in Focus panel we assembled including Crazy/Beautiful, One True Thing and The in April, bringing together some of the top Last Temptation of Christ. His most recent project is women in Hollywood, including Dreamworks The Big Wedding, starring DeNiro, Susan Sarandon, CEO Stacey Snider and Hunger Games producer and Diane Keaton, due this October. Nina Jacobson, for an unforgettable afternoon. Steve Hirsen is best known for directing 11 seasons of Harry Ufland (left) regularly brings key industry The end of the year brought Avatar producer America’s Funniest Home Videos. He was also the Emmy guests such as Amy Pascal, president of Sony Pictures, Jon Landau back for an inspirational yet practical Award-winning director of Entertainment Tonight, spent to Chapman. Steve Hirsen (right), director of the commencement speech. You can read more more than a decade in live news and events coverage world feed for the Tennis Channel in the remote about both of these in this issue. truck at the Farmer’s Classic ATP Tournament including directing the CBS Evening News Western at UCLA in July. Summer, as always, is full of international Edition, live coverage of the Winter Olympics for ABC, adventures for our students, as we continue and directing local programs in Washington, D.C., such as The NBC Nightly News, Meet The Press, and to push our efforts to give them a truly global The Today Show. Hirsen has been the producer of the annual Local Cableace Awards for 11 years running. perspective and experience for creating their stories. Their travels ranged from seeing classic films and learning about the influences of Renaissance artists in Italy to documenting the work of an NGO battling HIV in Mozambique. Looking ahead, Chapman will have the oppor - tunity to further showcase our students and our programs in the next two years as we have been selected to host conferences for both the American and international conferences of film schools. In August 2013, we will host the annual conference of the University Film and Video Association (UFVA), the primary association of film schools in the U.S. This will mark the third time we have had the privilege of bringing faculty from film programs around the country to Chapman and they, too, have seen our evolution, as our guests first in 1996 and again in 2006. Then, in October 2014, Chapman will be the first U.S. host for CILECT (Centre International de Liaison des Ecoles de Cinema et de Television) Women of Chapman Award Filmmaker Funds in nearly two decades. Being invited and then Four Dodge students were presented with $5,750 each for their thesis films as recipients of the first voted on by the membership to host this presti - awards from the Women of Chapman (WOC) Endowed Filmmaker Fund. From left, Kelle Leonard, gious international conference is a great honor. Genna Ford, Dean Bassett, Naomi Shepherd and Elizabeth Iverson at the summer luncheon where In the meantime, I expect we will have a great the students received their awards. The $1M fund was established by the WOC to support students in many exciting projects, films, and accomplish - making their senior thesis films. The selection committee consisted of WOC President Kathy Hamilton, ments to share. Stay tuned. Adrienne Brandes (past president), Donna Bianchi (president-elect), and Jacqueline Penner. CHAPMAN CINEMATOGRAPHER SHOOTS NASA MISSION The stars in Hollywood aren’t the only ones that our faculty work with. On August 5, Professor and alumnus, Jillian Arnold (Freakonomics), was part of NASA’s mission control that sent the Science Laboratory, known as Curiosity, on a 34,000,000-mile journey to the planet Mars.