By Terry Keefe & Alex Simon, Photography & Videography by Gregory Weinkauf.
Our tour of the new USC School of Cinematic Arts concludes with speeches by Dean Elizabeth M. Daley, USC President Steven B. Sample, and Steven Spielberg & George Lucas.
When it was time for the dedication ceremonies to begin, the Trojan Band once again reunited with their old cinema mates from the stables by playing the USC theme from the second floor balconies of the new Lucas and Spielberg Buildings. Elizabeth M. Daley, Dean of the School of Cinematic Arts, opened the dedication, followed by remarks from USC President Steven B. Sample, who introduced Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.
Below are a few highlights from the individual speeches:
Dean Elizabeth M. Daley: “As the LA Times said, this is a pretty amazing 80th birthday present. With this wonderful facility, dreams will be realized, and while the new students are going to be in quarters that are just a bit more luxurious than those students from days past, (laughter) we know that these new surroundings will help them bring the dreams that are in their very fertile imaginations into reality.”
President Steven B. Sample: “Much has changed over the past eight decades. When the School of Cinematic Arts held its first class in 1929, the technology for talking movies was in its infancy. The content for motion pictures, and later television, was produced by a relatively small group of people. But in today’s age of digital technology, with the Internet and sites like YouTube and MySpace, the tools of mass communication are available to nearly everyone. The tremendous increase in information and media is redefining the very core of communications. For centuries, universities have taken what is best in a culture at a particular point in time, and explained and evaluated it for future generations. But only very recently have film, television and interactive media been viewed as subjects worthy of academic attention. 500 years from now as scholars look back to the present day, they might well look back on the cinematic arts as the primary artistic legacy of the 20th century.”
Steven Spielberg: “I was thinking about something that Elizabeth Daley said to me earlier, which was, 'What if every single USC film graduate didn’t show up for work tomorrow morning?' (laughter from the audience) The business would grind to a halt immediately. USC SCA alumni comprise the backbone of the film industry. Every year since 1973 at least one USC SCA alumni or alumnae has been nominated for the Academy Award. SCA alumni have received 256 Oscar nominations and won 78 times. Also every year since ’73, at least one SCA alumni or alumnae has been nominated for an Emmy Award. They have received 473 Emmy nominations, and taken home 119 awards. The top 17 highest-grossing films of all time have at least one SCA alum in a key creative position. I’m very proud to have some association with the school, dating back to 1980. As you all know, I tried to have an association with the school a bit earlier (laughter) but I eventually had to buy my way in.”
George Lucas: “I've got news for you, Steve, we all had to buy our way in.” (laughter) “Since Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. and USC President Rufus von Kleinschmidt realized in 1929 that there needed to be a university-based film studies program, the USC School of Cinema has never looked back. I know I speak for thousands of alumni when I say how much I value my time at USC. One of the biggest parts of my education was from just being here. Before I came here I knew nothing about making movies, even the fact that you could go to school to learn how to make movies but, by an act of fate I guess, I ended up here. It was a pivotal moment in my life. Just the idea that you could spend time with like-minded people, discussing something that you loved, was a huge part of my education. To this day, I continue to collaborate with the like-minded people I went to school with here. Back when I was here, film students weren’t considered human beings. Now, perhaps we’re still not considered human beings, but everyone wants to be like us. (laughter) This building wasn’t just built for USC SCA students, but for film students all over the world, who struggle to make their love for the cinematic arts legitimate."
(In the photos below, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg have coffee and chat with alumni, friends, and fans at the Coffee Bean inside of the school.)
None of what has happened to create the new SCA could have occurred without the leadership of Dean Elizabeth M. Daley, who we wanted to share a story about from our days as students. Daley took charge at the then-School of Cinema-Television, just as we were finishing our undergraduate degrees in film production in 1990-91. Although we were happy to be completing our studies, we recall feeling a tinge of envy at the students who would be attending film school under the stewardship of Daley. This stemmed from a single meeting in which a few of us represented the undergraduate production departments in a discussion about the future of the school, much of which focused on a production class known as 480. The 480 class at the time was the crown jewel of the USC production program, and a select group of students were chosen each semester to direct a 480 film, the budgets of which came largely from the school itself. The best 480s were later shown in series of prestigious industry screenings, heavily attended by top studio executives and agents, and were thusly considered a potential golden ticket into the film business. Just a few years before, undergraduate student Phil Joanou showed his 480 “Last Chance Dance” to the industry and had received what became a legendary phone call from Steven Spielberg, offering him an episode of Spielberg’s television series “Amazing Stories” to direct. Since then, of course, every film student wanted a 480 of their own to helm, and competition for the directing positions was fierce. Dean Daley had asked a few representatives of both the undergraduate and graduate programs to gather the concerns and ideas of their fellow students and to bring them to the aforementioned meeting with she and a few faculty members. The biggest complaint that most of my fellow undergraduates conveyed was that undergrads were almost never given a chance to direct one of the 480s, with those directing spots largely awarded to graduate students. It was somewhat understandable, as the equipment and resources of the school were not infinite and giving graduate students the opportunity to direct the top productions of the film school was a defensible position. But, as an undergraduate, the unofficial policy was nonetheless disheartening, and many undergrads complained about this, frequently. Sometimes formally, more often amongst ourselves. Nonetheless, little changed in regards to who was able to direct 480s and it seemed like it never would.
But when we brought this concern to Elizabeth Daley at the meeting, she was extremely responsive, smiling and saying that she understood our concerns. It seemed too good to be true. But as soon as a semester later, select undergrads were given an opportunity to direct 480s. It was a new day at USC Film, to be sure. Alas, then it was time for us to graduate.
In the nearly two decades since she took command, Dean Daley has led the school into the realm of digital moviemaking, created new departments, and oversaw the completion of numerous new state-of-the-art facilities, including the Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts, which houses a television studio where we, along with Gregory Weinkauf, were interviewed two years ago on CU@USC. This is a nightly talk show produced entirely by the students, on their own network entitled Trojan Vision. The show broadcasts not only to the dorms, but also on a number of cable systems around both Los Angeles and select parts of the United States, reaching millions of viewers. With a professional control room and a crew as polished as any we’ve encountered on a “professional” level, the affair reminded of a hipper version of “The Tonight Show.” They even had commercials, seemingly making it a profitable enterprise to boot.
Some of the notable SCA alumnae of the past few decades include Bryan Singer, Judd Apatow, Doug Liman, John Singleton, Jay Roach, producer Bryan Burk (Star Trek, “Lost”), and producer Don Murphy (Transformers 2), to name just a few.
It truly is a brave new world of film and television-related education going on at USC. If you are lucky enough to be a student there, take advantage of every opportunity. In terms of facilities, your new school is more of a major studio now than many of the major studios. Well played, all.
VIDEO of the dedication speeches is below:
None of what has happened to create the new SCA could have occurred without the leadership of Dean Elizabeth M. Daley, who we wanted to share a story about from our days as students. Daley took charge at the then-School of Cinema-Television, just as we were finishing our undergraduate degrees in film production in 1990-91. Although we were happy to be completing our studies, we recall feeling a tinge of envy at the students who would be attending film school under the stewardship of Daley. This stemmed from a single meeting in which a few of us represented the undergraduate production departments in a discussion about the future of the school, much of which focused on a production class known as 480. The 480 class at the time was the crown jewel of the USC production program, and a select group of students were chosen each semester to direct a 480 film, the budgets of which came largely from the school itself. The best 480s were later shown in series of prestigious industry screenings, heavily attended by top studio executives and agents, and were thusly considered a potential golden ticket into the film business. Just a few years before, undergraduate student Phil Joanou showed his 480 “Last Chance Dance” to the industry and had received what became a legendary phone call from Steven Spielberg, offering him an episode of Spielberg’s television series “Amazing Stories” to direct. Since then, of course, every film student wanted a 480 of their own to helm, and competition for the directing positions was fierce. Dean Daley had asked a few representatives of both the undergraduate and graduate programs to gather the concerns and ideas of their fellow students and to bring them to the aforementioned meeting with she and a few faculty members. The biggest complaint that most of my fellow undergraduates conveyed was that undergrads were almost never given a chance to direct one of the 480s, with those directing spots largely awarded to graduate students. It was somewhat understandable, as the equipment and resources of the school were not infinite and giving graduate students the opportunity to direct the top productions of the film school was a defensible position. But, as an undergraduate, the unofficial policy was nonetheless disheartening, and many undergrads complained about this, frequently. Sometimes formally, more often amongst ourselves. Nonetheless, little changed in regards to who was able to direct 480s and it seemed like it never would.
But when we brought this concern to Elizabeth Daley at the meeting, she was extremely responsive, smiling and saying that she understood our concerns. It seemed too good to be true. But as soon as a semester later, select undergrads were given an opportunity to direct 480s. It was a new day at USC Film, to be sure. Alas, then it was time for us to graduate.
In the nearly two decades since she took command, Dean Daley has led the school into the realm of digital moviemaking, created new departments, and oversaw the completion of numerous new state-of-the-art facilities, including the Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts, which houses a television studio where we, along with Gregory Weinkauf, were interviewed two years ago on CU@USC. This is a nightly talk show produced entirely by the students, on their own network entitled Trojan Vision. The show broadcasts not only to the dorms, but also on a number of cable systems around both Los Angeles and select parts of the United States, reaching millions of viewers. With a professional control room and a crew as polished as any we’ve encountered on a “professional” level, the affair reminded of a hipper version of “The Tonight Show.” They even had commercials, seemingly making it a profitable enterprise to boot.
Some of the notable SCA alumnae of the past few decades include Bryan Singer, Judd Apatow, Doug Liman, John Singleton, Jay Roach, producer Bryan Burk (Star Trek, “Lost”), and producer Don Murphy (Transformers 2), to name just a few.
It truly is a brave new world of film and television-related education going on at USC. If you are lucky enough to be a student there, take advantage of every opportunity. In terms of facilities, your new school is more of a major studio now than many of the major studios. Well played, all.
VIDEO of the dedication speeches is below:
(And just for some nostalgia, here are some shots of the old USC School of Cinema-Television, with the new SCA behind it. Alex and Terry pose in the last photo next to the famed "Reality Ends Here!" sidewalk inscription which has been the USC Film School motto for decades.)
Check out Part One and Two of our Tour also.More information about the USC School of Cinematic Arts can be found at http://cinema.usc.edu/
Special Thanks to John Zollinger, Assistant Dean of Communications, School of Cinematic Arts.
Special thanks to the Angellotti Company.
FIN.
Awsome videos! Almost like being there. Thank you very much for sharing! Those two guys rule.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. Great vids. The last pic of the two of you, says it all! Wasn't that inscription originally up on a wall?
ReplyDeleteBart