Diversity News

EA CEO Joins Board of Councilors
John Riccitiello To Help Guide School
August 11, 2008
John Riccitiello, chief executive officer of Electronic Arts, Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), has joined the USC School of Cinematic Arts Board of Councilors. Riccitiello will play a key role in keeping the school’s artistic and academic initiatives at the cutting edge.

Hitchcock Contribution
Director's Family Supports SCA Complex Construction
July 16, 2008
One of the greatest names in cinematic history is playing a major role in shaping the art form’s future with the Alma and Alfred Hitchcock Foundation donating $500,000 to help fund construction of the school’s massive new educational and production complex.

Student Oscars
USC Films Take Home Top Accolades
July 01, 2008
Students from the USC School of the Cinematic Arts were rewarded for months of late nights and hard work at the 2008 Student Academy Awards, where four Trojan films took home prizes, including two Gold Medals.

Highly Animated
Experimental Animation Screening Crosses Divisions
June 05, 2008
If you think animators only spend their days (and nights) sequestered in dark cubicles toiling by themselves, think again. As students from the John C. Hench Division of Animation & Digital Arts proved during the recent “2008 Experimental Animation Screening,” collaborating with counterparts in the School of Cinematic Arts and Thornton School of Music truly brought their animations to life.

Commencement Day
School of Cinematic Arts Honors Over 500 Graduates
May 22, 2008
Despite searing temperatures outside, spirits were high at the Shrine Auditorium on May 16, as the School of Cinematic Arts, with the help of industry giants Robert A. Iger and Brian T. Grazer, lauded its most recent graduating class and celebrated the next generation of entertainment artists and professionals.

Hot Type
First Pitch 2008 Gives Industry Reps Inside Track On SCA Scripts
May 13, 2008
Representatives from 39 the industry’s leading agencies, management firms and production companies got first crack at the latest scripts from SCA writing students on May 5, as 48 writers showcased tales from every genre during the seventh annual First Pitch event.

CU: Jon M. Chu
Stepping Up from SCA to The Industry
May 05, 2008
In Motion sat down with Jon M. Chu, director of "Step Up 2: The Streets" to ask him about USC, making a dance extravaganza in five weeks and the power of Miley Cyrus.

The World In 2050
IBM Research and Cinematic Arts Envision the Future
May 05, 2008
On the evening of April 30, five of IBM’s top research scientists joined with School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) students, alumni, faculty and members of the entertainment industry to brainstorm about the art of the possible—circa 2050. The reception and discussion kicked off a collaboration between SCA and IBM to inspire a new generation of film, television and interactive artists, as well as suggest creative directions for researchers.

TV Turns 10
Trojan Vision Celebrates A Decade Of Service
May 05, 2008
When it started 10 years ago, Trojan Vision was short on facilities, personnel and equipment, but long on the dream of what could be. A decade later, the dream has become reality, with the station serving the university, winning national awards and providing hands-on experience that has enabled students to launch their careers.

Art Against AIDS
Hench-DADA Students Help To Prevent HIV/AIDS Among Youth
March 19, 2008
Working in partnership with doctors from the Keck School of Medicine, students from the John C. Hench Division of Animation & Digital Arts (Hench-DADA) have put their creative powers to use by generating a series of public service announcements to fight against the incidence of HIV/AIDS in youth.

Hecho En LA
Alumni Produced MADE IN LA Doc Takes On Sweatshops
March 13, 2008
An award-winning documentary, produced by Stark alumnus Robert Bahar, about garment workers who take a stand against the retailer responsible for their low wages and sub-standard working conditions, made its SCA debut at the Taper Hall of Humanities on March 11, 2008.

Two Brushes
China Documentary Opens Eyes And Ideas
December 18, 2007
What began as a summer documentary seminar in 2006 has produced not only two successful student exchanges between Beijing and Los Angeles, but also a prize-winning film that gives viewers a unique cinematic glimpse of what happens both in front of and behind the lens when East meets West.

Eisenstein Award
Celebrating and Honoring the Work of Costa-Gavras
October 09, 2007
Director, screenwriter, and producer Costa-Gavras presented with Eisenstein Award.

Global Picture
Thinking Outside The [U.S.] Box
October 03, 2007
For years Hollywood success meant topping the U.S. box office, but mastering today’s entertainment world means thinking about the entire world, said Ignacio Darnaude, executive vice president of International Creative Marketing at Sony Pictures Releasing International, during a recent on-the-lot session for Peter Stark Producing students.

Global Reach
SCA Teams Teach Abroad, International Students Trek To LA
May 29, 2007
Just because the regular school year has ended doesn’t mean the lazy days of summer have come to the School of Cinematic Arts. With teaching teams deployed around the globe and scores of international students arriving over the next two months—including a contingent funded by an exclusive State Department grant—the SCA has become one of the summer’s hot spots.

Reel Talk
First-Ever Women of Cinematic Arts Conference
May 08, 2007
In their first major conference, the Women of Cinematic Arts brought current students, recent alumni, faculty, and other interested members face-to-face with successful professionals working in the industry who shared their experience, insight, and inspirational stories during the May 5 “Reel Talk” at the Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts.

In Stride
Alumnus Russell Brown Hits His Pace With Race You To The Bottom
March 26, 2007
Writing about films and making movies, writer/director Russell Brown ’97 is living his dream. Now, 10 years after graduating from USC with a B.A. in critical studies, the creator and co-editor of the entertainment and political online critical magazine The Simon.com is getting ready for a whole new experience with the Los Angeles release of his first feature film Race You To The Bottom on March 30.

USC MVP
NAACP Honors “Friday Night Lights” Writer Aaron Rahsaan Thomas
March 01, 2007
When Aaron Thomas’ name was among those nominated for Outstanding Writing in a Dramatic Series with the NBC drama, Friday Night Lights at the 38th annual NAACP Image Awards, Thomas had his own unique response.

Golden State
USC Project Examines The History Of Jews In California
January 17, 2007
Though the roles of Jewish people throughout California are undeniably important to the state’s cultural development, until now, Jewish California has been a little studied aspect of American history. That’s all about to change as a new interactive media project gets underway.

Cinematic Arts Women
SCA Alumnae Network Boosts Awareness and Access
January 17, 2007
From reporting the latest industry news to the hottest entertainment gossip, reporters have continually stirred a plethora of reactions and measures over what they’ve written amongst industry professionals. And in 2005, following the publication of a New York Times article entitled “Hollywood’s New Old Girl’s Network,” a group of USC women turned something potentially damaging and depressing into something exponentially rewarding by forming the Women of Cinematic Arts group.