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The 19th Annual Alumni Symposium - May
2-3, 2008
Reel Time: Sagehens and the
Silver Screen |
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“We may not know
exactly what to expect when the lights go down, but
somewhere in the dark interior of our very personal
intersection with the filmmaker’s vision, a creative fusion
takes place. We are transformed by our experience.”
— Bob Bassett ’63
“You see, this is my life! It always will be! Nothing else!
Just us, the cameras, and those wonderful people out there
in the dark!”
— Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond, Sunset Boulevard
Ever since the Edison studio captured a moving image of
“Fred Ott’s Sneeze” in 1893, we’ve been captivated by motion
pictures. Some images are as vivid as our own memories—a
burning sled, a circling shark fin, a white dress blown up
by a gust from a subway vent. What we don’t always think
about is the collective effort behind each of these iconic
scenes. Writing, directing, acting, cinematography, editing,
visual effects, sound, music and casting are all pieces of
the puzzle that make cinema the most collaborative of the
arts.
The 19th annual Alumni Symposium will showcase some of
Pomona’s outstanding professionals—graduates who have
pursued careers in film, as well as those who are working to
preserve our rich legacy of motion pictures and to educate
the next generation of filmmakers. Nine featured speakers
will offer a behind-the-scenes look at topics including:
• Illusion, magic, and the art of visual effects
• The screenplay — original vs. adapted; individually vs.
team written
• Beyond Oscar night — the Academy’s other 364 days
• Resuscitating an ailing script — the role of a script
doctor
• Casting calls — from leading roles to one-line walk-ons
• The Cinderella Effect: taking the “little story” to the
big screen
• Preserving and archiving movies in the digital era
• Maintaining personal integrity in Hollywood
• Film as the literature of the 21st Century
We hope you’ll join us for “Reel Time: Sagehens and the
Silver Screen,” a lively program of lectures, discussions
and student film screenings.
Lunch Reservations
If you haven’t already made lunch reservations for Friday
or Saturday, you can purchase them in person. On Friday, May
2, lunch will be in Edmunds Ballroom from noon to 1:30 p.m.,
and there will be a check-in table just outside the Ballroom
where you can pay. On Saturday, May 3, lunch will be on
Marston Quad from noon to 1:30 p.m., and you can buy a lunch
ticket at the Registration tent on the east side of the
Quad. The cost for
each meal is $20 per person.
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The Program |
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Friday, May 2 |
9:30 a.m.
9:45 a.m.
11 a.m.
Noon
1:30 p.m.
2:30 p.m.
4 p.m. |
Friday sessions will be held in the Rose
Hills Theatre, Smith Campus Center, 170 E. 6th Street,
Claremont, CA, unless otherwise noted.
Welcome
Nobody Cares About Your Little Story!
Melissa Jo Peltier ’83
So! Who’s the Next Steve Carell?
Allison Jones ’77
Lunch in the Edmunds Ballroom, Smith Campus Center
($15/person if you register online by Friday, April 4.)
The Other Side of Oscar
Ric Robertson ’78
Visual Effects: In Touch with Unreality
Bill Taylor ’66
Penguins on an Ice Floe
Robert Towne ’56
(Seaver Theatre Main Stage, 300 E. Bonita Avenue, Claremont,
CA)
Student films will be screened in Room 208, Smith Campus
Center.
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Saturday, May 3 |
10:30 a.m.
Noon
1:15 p.m. |
Saturday sessions will be held in the Seaver Theatre Main
Stage, 300
E. Bonita Avenue, Claremont, CA.
On Directing: From Pomona to Hollywood
Sylvain White ’98
Lunch on the Quad
($15/person if you register online by Friday, April 4.)
Movies: Where Are We Now?
A conversation with Bob Bassett ’63 and David Ward ’67
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This program is subject to change.
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The Presenters |
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Bob Bassett ’63
Dean, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Chapman
University
Bob Bassett received the 2006 Artistic Visionary Award
from Arts Orange County for lifetime achievement in
recognition of his leadership in developing Chapman’s film
school and building the Marion Knott Studios, a
76,000-square-foot state-of-the-art studio complex. Bassett,
who has taught a wide range of production and film studies
courses, is an award-winning producer and director of
educational films and video projects for corporate and
non-profit clients.
Allison Jones ’77
Casting Director
A casting director for film and television, Allison
Jones’ most recent movies include The 40-Year-Old Virgin,
Talladega Nights, Knocked Up, Borat,
Superbad and Semi-Pro. Jones, who won an Emmy for
Freaks and Geeks, began her career on Family Ties
and The Golden Girls and has cast episodes of
Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm and
The Office. She affectionately credits her comedic
sensibilities to “the geeks I knew at Pomona who revered
Monty Python and Firesign Theatre.”
Melissa Jo Peltier ’83
Producer, Director, Writer, Editor
A two-time Emmy Award-winning writer and producer,
Melissa Jo Peltier is executive producer of The Dog
Whisperer. She has won numerous awards for her work in
both documentary and dramatic film and television. Peltier
was co-executive producer of My Big Fat Greek Wedding
and director-writer of the primetime documentary, Scared
Silent: Exposing and Ending Child Abuse, which won the
Humanitas Prize. Peltier has co-authored three books with
Cesar Millan based on The Dog Whisperer series.
Ric Robertson ’78
Executive Administrator, Academy of Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences
Ric Robertson has been with the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences for 26 years. Since 1989, he has
served as the organization’s executive administrator,
working to expand the size and reach of the Academy’s
programs, including cutting-edge research by the Academy’s
Science and Technology Council and the preservation and
archival work of the Herrick Library and the Academy Film
Archive. He also has helped create scores of public film
programs, seminars, screenings and exhibitions.
Bill Taylor ’66
Visual Effects Supervisor and Cinematographer
Always fascinated by stage magic and sleight of hand,
Bill Taylor began his career in Hollywood as an optical
effects cameraman. An Emmy Award-winner for his work on the
miniseries A.D., his recent movie credits include
Drillbit Taylor, Casanova, Bruce Almighty
and Georgia Rule. In 1985, Taylor co-founded Illusion
Arts, Inc., which has produced visual effects for more than
160 movies. A member of the American Society of
Cinematographers, he was elected in 2006 to a fourth term as
Governor of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Robert Towne ’56
Writer, Director
Best known for his Oscar-winning classic Chinatown,
Robert Towne is a four-time Academy Award nominee. His many
screenwriting credits include Shampoo, The Last
Detail and Mission Impossible I & II. One
of the most sought-after script doctors in Hollywood, Towne
has made uncredited contributions to The Godfather,
The Parallax View and Bonnie and Clyde, among
other films. He has directed four of his own scripts:
Personal Best, Tequila Sunrise, Without Limits
and, most recently, Ask the Dust, an adaptation of a
novel by John Fante and a project Towne says is “dear to his
heart.”
David Ward ’67
Writer, Director
An Academy Award-winning writer for The Sting,
David Ward was also nominated for an Oscar for best original
screenplay for Sleepless in Seattle. His many other
film credits include the recently released Flyboys as
well as Major League and Cannery Row, which he
also directed. Ward, who received an M.F.A. from the UCLA
Film School and continues to write and direct, is professor
of cinema at Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and
Media Arts and a member of the Pomona College Board of
Trustees.
Sylvain White ’98
Director
Born in the French coastal city of Nantes, Sylvain White
grew up in Paris and moved to the United States in 1991. A
dual citizen of both countries, he won awards for two short
films—one produced at Pomona College—before going on to
direct music videos and commercials in the U.S., Europe and
Japan. He directed Stomp the Yard, which grossed $80
million worldwide in its theatrical release, and is working
on Ronin, a sci-fi film for Warner Brothers Studio
based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller.
The list of presenters is subject to change.
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Past Alumni Symposium Topics |
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1990 - The Curtain
Rises: The New Drama in Eastern Europe
1991 - The Turmoil of
the Middle East
1992 - Arts in the 90s:
Assailed from Left and Right
1993 - Science Where You
Least Expect It
1994 - Music of the Late
20th Century: A Tribute to Karl Kohn
1995 - And All the Men
and Women Are Merely Players: Theatre at Pomona College
and Beyond the Gates
1996 - Politics in Asia:
Fire-Breathing Dragon or Lotus Blossom?
1997 - Studying Politics
– Doing Politics
1998 - Is There
Intelligent Life on Earth (or Anywhere Else)?
1999 - Asia’s New
Century and Ours: The Pacific Basin Institute at Pomona College
2000 - Fin de Millenaire: Millennium Truths and Myths
2001 - Focus on a
Generation: Pomona College and the WWII Years
2002 - “Clash of
Civilizations?”: Perspectives from a New Century
2003 - Trust Betrayed:
Exploring Contemporary Ethical Issues
2004 - The 'Aha!'
Moment: Discovery, Breakthrough, Epiphany
2005 - Headlines and
Deadlines: A Conversation with Pomona's Alumni Journalists
2006 - Bio-Feedback:
Science and Society in Dialogue
2007 -
Memory, Memoir, and Madeleines:
Remembering Things Past
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