By Mel Cowan

In a typical semester, the School of Cinematic Arts welcomes a host of industry leaders and talented artists to campus. The 2009 fall semester has featured visits from influential figures such as Mel Brooks, Ed Catmull, Brad Grey, Hugh Hefner, Sumner Redstone, Steven Spielberg, and Matthew Weiner, along with members of the cast and crew of Mad Men. The month of November featured a weekend-long event commemorating the 100th birthday of Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, producer of the James Bond film franchise. SCA also hosted the sole early screening of alumnus Robert Zemeckis’ new film, A Christmas Carol, attended by the film’s animation supervisor, Jenn Emberly, visual effects supervisor George Murphy and production designer Doug Chiang.

Through dozens of Q&A sessions, special screenings and master classes, students at SCA receive an unparalleled level of access to a broad spectrum of entertainment professionals, who offer invaluable advice and perspective on the challenges and joys of working in Hollywood.

Planned upcoming events include discussions with Roger Corman, Richard Kelly, Jason Reitman and Robert Zemeckis. Opportunities like these and others make a year at SCA anything but typical.

Photo Galleries

• Steven Spielberg
• Mel Brooks
• Sumner Redstone