Stark Stories

Alternate Endings
SCA alumnus Greg Townsend’s high-def interactive movie bridges distances
September 24, 2008
On Monday September 15, SCA treated the attendees of a networking conference at the University of California, San Diego to a cutting-edge cinematic experience — a student-made interactive HD movie entitled Alternate Endings that was streamed live from Trojan Vision over a long-distance network.

Virtual Worlds
Second Life Takes SCA to New Frontiers
September 12, 2008
For current SCA students, the four R’s have become reading, writing, arithmetic, and rendering virtual worlds. When it comes to developing this new literacy, Linden Lab’s Second Life — an internet-based platform that enables to users to interact and communicate with each other as avatars in a metaverse — has provided the school with unique opportunities for international exchange, collaboration, and experimentation.

Semper Filmmaking
Wounded Marines Train to Enter Film Industry
September 10, 2008
For service members returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, the transition to civilian life can be both physically and emotionally daunting. To aid in this process, SCA screenwriting instructor James Egan has brought his extensive background in documentary filmmaking to the Wounded Marine Careers Foundation, an organization dedicated to providing injured veterans with the skills and job placement assistance needed to find jobs in the entertainment industry.

CU: Eric Kripke
From Fight On! to Fright On!
August 26, 2008
Stop me if you've heard this one. There's this production undergrad. With a burning passion to direct. When he finishes 'SC, he knocks on every door in town armed with his student films. He gets a deal. But it's not to direct. It's to write. And write. And write again—straight into development hell. And it's the best thing that ever happened to him.

Launching Legends
Opening Day Reception Brings Newest SCA Talent Together
August 26, 2008
Entertainment history is replete with stories of partnerships that trace their roots back to the single moment when two people’s paths crossed. And so it was on August 20, when hundreds of new undergrad and grad students came together for the first time in Queen’s Courtyard to meet the faculty and staff who will shape their educational experience, and perhaps the teammates who will be with them throughout their careers.

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.

Bud Browne
Alumnus Made Surf Film History
July 28, 2008
Bud Browne, USC film school alumnus and surfing movie director, died July 25 at age 96. The creator of seminal surf films such as Gun Ho!, Going Surfin’, and Cat on a Hot Foam Board, Browne was renowned for both his athletic prowess in the water and his filmmaking skills, which brought surfing to the movie-going public.

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.

CU: Kevin Feige
Will Hulk SMASH Box-Office Records?
June 05, 2008
Kevin Feige, Production ’95, president of Marvel Studios, has been in the business of translating comic books to the silver screen for 10 years. With the resounding success of Iron Man, and the upcoming buzz on The Incredible Hulk, Feige and Marvel are making good on their commitment to provide the world with heroes.

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.

Oakie Masters Series
Comic Genius James L. Brooks Inaugurates Annual Lecture Event
May 13, 2008
USC students enjoyed a wide-ranging lecture and discussion with Oscar and Emmy award-winning writer/director/producer James L. Brooks on May 2 as part of the inaugural event of the Jack Oakie and Victoria Horne Oakie Masters Lecture Series.

Press Start
Interactive M.F.A. Projects Challenge Convention
May 13, 2008
This year’s Interactive Media Division (IMD) M.F.A. graduates challenged themselves to discover new technology mediated experiences that could keep pace with their imaginations. The result—an array of 11 projects that range from a videogame incorporating time travel to a new way to battle traffic congestion—are on display at the “Press Start” thesis show running from May 10 to 15 in the division’s atelier at 555 W. 23rd Street.

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.

Doniger Donation
Peyton Place Director Donates Archives to USC
May 07, 2008
Golden Globe nominee Walter Doniger, a creative force behind television classics like Marcus Welby, M.D., Ellery Queen and Night Gallery, has donated his personal archives of film and television memorabilia to the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

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.

First Pitch 2008
Alumnus Matthew Weiner (Mad Men, The Sopranos) Hosts
April 21, 2008
The freshest film and television writing talent from USC will go one-on-one with reps from leading agencies, management firms and production companies during First Pitch, hosted on Monday, May 5 by alumnus Matthew Weiner, Dean Elizabeth M. Daley announced.

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.

Independent Woman
Polly Cohen '95 Makes Hollywood Power List
February 15, 2008
When Polly Cohen ’95 graduated from the Stark Producing Program, she readily admits the breadth of positions available in Hollywood were virtually unknown to her. Today, as her career with Warner Bros. has led her to the presidency of Warner Independent Pictures, The Hollywood Reporter has also recently recognized Cohen and named her among the ranks of the Power 100 of women entertainment executives.

Kudos Kathy
Kathy Fogg Retires From The Stark Program
December 07, 2007
The Peter Stark Producing Program will mark the end of an era this month, when 23-year veteran Kathy Fogg—long revered for her warm, personal attention—retires from her post as associate director.

THE GRADUATE
40 Years Later, Larry Turman Reflects On His Iconic Production
October 04, 2007
Producer Larry Turman reflects on a film that still resonates with audiences today, forty years after its debut.

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.

Studio System
Stark Producers Benefit From State-Of-The-Art Connection
September 07, 2007
Producers and other filmmakers need information, and Baseline StudioSystem trades in information. The company contributed to this natural alliance by donating use of the online database to the Peter Stark Program students.

August Director
Veteran Writer John August Helms His First Feature
August 24, 2007
With some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters to his credit, Peter Stark Program alumnus John August ’94 has long enjoyed prominence in the upper echelons of Hollywood screenwriters. Now he's set for a whole new experience when his directorial debut THE NINES opens in Los Angeles and New York on August 31.

Complex Cam
A Bird's-Eye View Of The School's New Facilities
August 14, 2007
Over the course of the summer, visitors to the University Park campus have watched the construction on the new cinematic arts complex make great strides. Now, as construction heightens, any one can track its development thanks to a 24/7 camera.

I Heart Stark
More Than Love In The Air For Two SCA Alumni
May 02, 2007
Each year the Peter Stark Producing Program exposes 25 students to the full spectrum of the entertainment business, enabling them to refine and define their individual career goals, but for a pair of 2003 graduates, it was the catalyst for more than just industry success.

Trio Trust
Why Three Stark Alumni Love Mandy Lane
April 30, 2007
For Keith Calder, Felipe Marino, and Joe Neurauter—three 2004 graduates of the Peter Stark Producing Program—attending the School of Cinematic Arts not only gave the trio an opportunity to discover all aspects of an industry they love, but it also resulted in the creation of one of the industry’s hottest new production companies.

Scene at Sundance
SCA Films Screen at Prestigious Festival
January 30, 2007
Though Park City temps were sub-zero, School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) alumni, students, and faculty were in the glow as they celebrated the official USC screenings selected for this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Exporting Expertise
International Students Experience Global Success
January 12, 2007
As an entertainment epicenter, Los Angeles and USC have a long history of drawing artists from around the nation to learn about the cinematic arts. Now those lessons are carrying well beyond the U.S., as scores of undergraduates and graduates from abroad bring the lessons learned at the School of Cinematic Arts to an international audience.

Record-Breaking Groundbreaking
School of Cinematic Arts Celebrates New Name and Complex
October 05, 2006
With hundreds of students, alumni, faculty, and supporters on hand, USC’s cinema program made history on October 4, celebrating a record-breaking $175 million gift from George Lucas’ Lucasfilm Foundation that will fund new buildings and launch a major endowment campaign.