Professional Program's Kanade wins Indian Festival's first Film Fund grant

Thu Feb 11, 2010 -- UCLA Professional Program graduate Kranti Kanade '07 has been awarded the first Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) Film Fund Development Grant.

Writer/director Kanade, based in both Los Angeles and Pune, India, will receive a grant of $10,000, as well as Final Draft and Sony Creative software. His script will be showcased at a staged reading during the eighth annual IFFLA that will take place April 20-25 at ArcLight Hollywood in Los Angeles.

The IFFLA Film Fund seeks to help emerging filmmakers realize feature-length narrative and non-narrative film projects that reflect universal themes inherent in Indian culture. Kanade's script "Against Itself" centers on a secular expatriate American teacher in India who struggles against a tide of anti-Christian sentiment.

"This script is haunting, gripping, and gritty," said screenwriter and grant jury member Gill Dennis ("Walk the Line"). "Stunningly done, beautifully good, it dissects the great mess of our humanity with equal measures of humor and horror, while capturing the hectic multiplicity of India."

The grant jury also included writer-director Anurag Kashyap ("Dev D," "Black Friday") and screenwriter Sooni Taraporevala ("The Namesake," "Little Zizou").

Kanade's first feature "Mahek" (2007), which premiered at the London Film Festival, was invited to festivals in Chicago, Cleveland, St. Louis and Munich. The film was nominated for the Best Children's Film prize at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, Australia.

Kanade is a graduate of the prestigious Film Direction course at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), the country's premiere film school. His thesis film "Chaitra" (2002) was India's official entry for the Student Academy Awards and won several National Film Awards, including Best Short Film, Best Music for Short Film (Pt Bhaskar Chandavarkar) and Jury Award for Acting (Sonali Kulkarni).

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http://www.tft.ucla.edu/news/accolade/700-iffla-kranti/

Posted on 11 February 2010 | 5:00 pm

"The Butterfly King"

Mon Feb 8, 2010 -- "The Butterfly King," a five-minute film comedy produced by a group of UCLA students, is heading to the Cannes Film Festival in May.

After winning Best Picture and Best Actor (for TFT undergraduate Chris Reinacher) at the national Campus Film Awards, the film played at the Sundance Film Festival in January.

"Butterfly King" is one of many films created by a comedy collective at UCLA called The Wait List, which has been a film, comedy and improv group for just over a year. Wait List has performed with and opened for cast members of Comedy Central's "Reno 911" and MTV's "Human Giant."

"The Butterfly King" was directed and edited by UCLA Design/Media Arts tudent, Steven Wilson, who also wrote the score with music major Jason Lazarus. The film was produced by history major Zac Wolf and co-written by English-major Jordan Dunn and Reinacher.

TFT actors in the cast include Mikey Hawley, Julie Alexander, Lesley Hollingsworth, Kylie Alesso and Anne Lane.

These students along with alums Ali Ghandour '08 and John Davies '08 comprise The Wait List.



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http://www.tft.ucla.edu/news/accolade/699-butterfly-king/

Posted on 8 February 2010 | 5:00 pm

Rancho Cinderella

Thu Jan 14, 2010 -- The MainStreet Theatre Company in Rancho Cucamonga, an Equity Theatre for Young Audiences, funded by the city and based at the Lewis Family Playhouse, is currently in its fourth hugely popular season -- and the theatre has become a magnet for TFT alumni.

The company's resident producer, Mireya "Murry" Hepner '80, has recruited director Mark Rucker '82 to steer her latest production, a musical adapation of "Cinderella" that has been delighting children and parents nationwide. The book for the show happens also to be the work of an alumna, Phylis Ward Fox MFA '80 (now Phylis Ravel).

Ravel's revision adds the White Rabbit from "Alice in Wonderland" as a new arrival on the scene, just as Gladys, the Fairy Godmother, is about to tell the story of Cinderella. Fast-thinking Gladys decides she might be able to use a rabbit to help rescue Cinderella from her wicked stepmother.

The show runs from January 30 - February 13, and a discount offer is being extended to TFT alumni: If they call the box office at 909-477-2752, with the code word "UCLA," they can purchase a free child's ticket for each adult ticket purchased. (The offer applies only to tickets purchased by phone and only to tickets for certain performances: on February 6 & 13 at 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM and February 7 at 1:00 PM.)

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http://www.tft.ucla.edu/news/announcement/697-rancho-cinderella/

Posted on 14 January 2010 | 5:00 pm

Deborah Landis at Work

Thu Jan 14, 2010 -- The "All The Rage" blog of the "Los Angeles Times" reported recently on the professional accomplishments of TFT alumna-turned professor Deborah Nadoolman Landis MFA '75, PhD '03, which range from high profile film assignments to two new scholarly books and a museum exhibition in London.

The recently appointed Chair of the David C. Copley Center for the Study of Costume Design at TFT, Landis is one of Hollywood's leading costume designers, with credits ranging from "Animal House" (1978) to "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981) to the Michael Jackson video "Thriller" (1983),

Landis is currently in London designing the costumes for "Burke & Hare," a horror-comedy set in 1827 Edinburgh. The film, shooting in late January, is directed by John Landis, and stars Simon Pegg and Andy Serkis, as a pair of bumbling body snatchers, and Isla Fisher.

Landis is also preparing "Deconstructing Glamour" for the University of California Press, the first of two scholarly volumes based on her doctoral dissertation for the Royal College of Art (London). The book clarifies the widely misunderstood role of costume design as a tool for cinematic storytelling.

Last week, Michael Jackson's "Thriller," the iconic music video that she designed in 1983, was inducted into the Library of Congress, National Film Registry.

"Icons: A Hundred Years of Hollywood Costume Design," an exhibition that Landis is curating, will open in 2012 at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

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http://www.tft.ucla.edu/news/press/698-deborah-landis_london-2009/

Posted on 14 January 2010 | 5:00 pm

Dayton and Faris have "Will"

Wed Jan 13, 2010 -- "Daily Variety" reports that Jonathan Dayton '80 and Valerie Faris '80, alum directors of 2007 Best Picture Oscar nominee "Little Miss Sunshine," have signed to direct "Will," a comic fantasy for Paramount starring Paul Rudd and Zach Galifianakis.

Story centers on an ordinary guy (Rudd) who lives in a world where people's lives and destinies are being written by scribes in Heaven. The man wakes up one day to find that his heavenly writer (Galifianakis) has decided to no longer draft his life, and he must go about his day unscripted.

"Little Miss Sunshine" logged four 2007 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, and won two: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (Michael Arndt) and Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Alan Arkin).

Dayton and Faris were honored as Filmmakers of the Year during Directors Spotlight at TFT's year-end celebration "UCLA Festival 2007: New Creative Work."

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http://www.tft.ucla.edu/news/press/696-dayton-faris_will/

Posted on 13 January 2010 | 5:00 pm

The Bruins & The "Bee"

Tue Jan 12, 2010 -- There are UCLA alumni behind the scenes and on the stage in the upcoming production of the Broadway hit "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts.

The production is directed by Jeff Maynard '93 and features Lana McKissack '05 and Brett Ryback '06 in key roles.

TFT professor Brian Kite '91, MFA '04 is Producing Artistic Director of the theatre company.

"The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" is the story of how six young people learn that winning isn't everything and that losing doesn't necessarily make you a loser.

The production runs at La Mirada from February 5 - 21, 2010.



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http://www.tft.ucla.edu/news/announcement/695-spelling-bee_la-mirada/

Posted on 12 January 2010 | 5:00 pm

Works by two Bruins make Mother Nature's list of Ten Best eco-docs

Wed Jan 6, 2010 -- Two documentaries directed by TFT alums, "A Snow Mobile for George," by Todd Darling MFA '92, and "No Impact Man," co-written and co-directed by Laura Gabbert MFA '97, are among the ten best environmental documentaries of 2009, according to the Mother Nature Network.

The Mother Nature Network.com website describes Darling's film as

"One man's quest to understand why former President George W. Bush reversed regulations that would have banned super-polluting two-stroke snowmobiles [which] leads him on a trail of Bush-era environmental deregulation that has affected everyone from Western homesteaders to the firemen and paramedics of 9/11. The result is director Todd Darling's eye-opening movie about the enormous consequences that can occur just from one small rule change."

Darling's producing and directing credits include: "Año Nuevo" which won the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Eric Sevareid Award; "Saviors of the Forest," a feature documentary that screened at Sundance; "Farm Club," for the USA Newtork; and the first two seasons of MTV's "Laguna Beach: The Real OC."

Also in Mother Nature's top ten: "No Impact Man," a sly documentary about one man's quest to lead a zero-impact lifestyle for a single year, co-written and co-directed by Laura Gabbert MFA '97.





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http://www.tft.ucla.edu/news/accolade/694-todd-darling_snowmobile/

Posted on 6 January 2010 | 5:00 pm

Theater alumna Beth Behrs makes film debut

Wed Jan 6, 2010 -- The "Daily Bruin" interviews theater alumna Beth Behrs MFA '08, who talks about the challenges of taking on her first film role. Behrs says she turned to a favorite TFT professor before starting work on the DVD sequel "American Pie Presents: The Book of Love," the seventh film in the raunchy comedy franchise.

By her fourth birthday, Beth Behrs had already begun acting in theater productions.

"I watched 'The Sound of Music' over and over, and I kept pointing at the screen, saying to my mom, 'I want to do that. I want to do that,'" the UCLA alumna said.

At such a young age, she couldn't read yet, which complicated auditions.

"My mom whispered the lines to me, and I repeated them," Behrs said.

Her senior year at UCLA, she came full circle, catching up to her childhood in the "most amazing experience of her life" - singing for Julie Andrews herself when she auditioned for the dame's Rodgers and Hammerstein U.S. tour that she was directing and starring in.

After graduating from the School of Theater, Film and Television in 2008, Behrs has continued on the career path she chose so early on, making her film debut in "American Pie Presents: The Book of Love," released on DVD on Dec. 22.

What drew her to the movie, Behrs said, were the film's strong female characters.

"They're more than just, well, naked," Behrs said. "They're real girls who are confused and conflicted and are experiencing real issues."

...


On the set of "Book of Love," Behrs' theater experience served her well, according to John Putch, the director. "I liked that she was steeped in theater and had a great resume in the theatrical world, it lent itself to this style of material," Putch said.

To prepare for her first film role, Behrs consulted with her acting teacher at UCLA, Scott Conte, who she met her sophomore year and who she has continued to study with periodically.

"Thank God I went to UCLA and met Scott Conte," Behrs said. "Without him, I wouldn't be the actor I am today."

The two studied the script, with Conte guiding Behrs through what choices to make with each of her scenes and readying her for the new experience of shooting out of order.

"We talked about the arc of the character and her options in each scene," Conte said. "You want to do the extra, preparatory work first and know the entire story, like you would with a play."

He said he finds Behrs stands out from other actors.

"Beth cares about the pure skill level of acting and bringing as much emotional depth as possible."

...

Conte said he also holds high hopes for Behrs.

"Any actress who wants to have a great career has to be open to deepening her craft, or they don't evolve," Conte said. "Beth has the potential to do that."

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http://www.tft.ucla.edu/news/press/693-beth-behrs_american-pie/

Posted on 6 January 2010 | 5:00 pm

Andrea McCloud pitch snagged by DreamWorks

Tue Jan 5, 2010 -- The "Hollywood Reporter's" news blog "Risky Business" has reported that TFT screenwriting alumna Andrea McCloud MFA '08 has successfully pitched a romantic comedy script to DreamWorks.

In a competitive-bidding environment, DreamWorks Studios has picked up a pitch from screenwriter Andrea McCloud titled "I Saw You."

Based on a comics anthology edited by Julia Wertz, the pitch revolves around four intersecting love stories derived from missed-connection ads. George Tillman Jr. is attached to direct and produce through his State Street Pictures with Robert Teitel. Wertz also will produce. The pitch sale was in the mid-six figures.

Wertz's "I Saw You ..." collected comics based on real-life missed-connection ads on Craigslist and in local papers. Random House's Three Rivers Press imprint published the trade paperback in February [2009].

...

McCloud, a relative newcomer who is repped by WME and Energy Entertainment, is writing "Cover Your Assets" for Lionsgate. As a UCLA student, McCloud took honorable mention in the Samuel Goldwyn Writing Awards for her script "Room for Error."

The CAA-repped Tillman directed "Notorious," "Men of Honor" and "Soul Food."

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http://www.tft.ucla.edu/news/press/692-andrea-mccloud-i-saw-you/

Posted on 5 January 2010 | 5:00 pm

Archive wins third consecutive Film Heritage Award for "The Red Shoes"

Mon Jan 4, 2010 -- "Variety" reports that for the third year in a row the UCLA Film & Television Archive has won a Film Heritage Award from the National Society of Film Critics.

The award salutes the restoration of Michael Powell's classic ballet drama "The Red Shoes" (1948), by the Archive's Preservation Officer Robert Gitt.

Funding was provided by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, The Film Foundation and the Louis B. Mayer Foundation.

The Archive was cited by the National Society in 2008 for its restoration of alumnus Charles Burnett's "Killer of Sheep" (1977) and in 2009 for its work on Kent Mackenzie's "The Exiles" (1961).

Robert Gitt's rehabilitation of rehearsal and test footage from director Charles Laughton's "The Night of the Hunter" (1955) also received an award from the National Society of Film Critics in 2003.


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http://www.tft.ucla.edu/news/accolade/691-archive_red-shoes/

Posted on 4 January 2010 | 5:00 pm

Professor Michael Hackett appointed Chair of UCLA Department of Theater

Wed Dec 9, 2009 -- Professor Michael Hackett has been appointed Chair of the Department of Theater at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, effective December 14, 2009.

The announcement was made by Teri Schwartz, Dean of the School. "I am fully confident that Michael will do an outstanding job in this important role," Schwartz said, "and will provide excellent leadership in working closely with faculty and staff as the Theater Department moves into a bright future."

Hackett succeeds Bill Ward as Theater Chair. Ward served from 1987 to 1993 and from 1998 to 2009.

"I want to thank Professor Ward for the wonderful service that he has given to TFT as Chair of the Theater Department over these past many years," said Dean Schwartz. "The role of the Chair is a demanding and complex one, and we should all express our sincerest gratitude to Bill for giving of his time with full dedication as Chair."

Hackett has directed for the Royal Opera, Covent Garden; the Royal Theatre at The Hague; the Centrum Sztuki Studio and Dramatyczny Theatre in Warsaw; the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl; the Los Angeles Opera (children's series); Musica Angelica; the Geffen Playhouse and nine radio productions for LA Theater Works.

For three years, he taught at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art where he co-designed and instituted a music-drama program and gave a series of lecture/demonstrations for the Royal College of Music; he has also given workshops for the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and conducted Greek chorus workshops and performances from 1995 through 2006 for the National Theater Institute at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center.

Familiar to opera audiences in Southern California, he has lectured extensively for the Los Angeles Opera and, for these activities, he was given the 5th Annual Peter Hemmings Award by the Opera League of Los Angeles in April 2008.

Recent directing projects include Sophocles' "Philoktetes" with Henry Goodman for the Getty Villa Theater Lab, a radio production of Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest" with Charles Busch, and he has been invited by his Theater Department colleague Professor Hanay Geiogamah to co-direct "Ceremony for Mother Earth: A Healing" for the American Indian Dance Theater.

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http://www.tft.ucla.edu/news/announcement/688-michael-hackett_theater-chair/

Posted on 9 December 2009 | 5:00 pm

Justin Lerner MFA '07 employs disabled actor in feature directorial debut

Wed Dec 9, 2009 -- Alumnus Justin Lerner MFA '07 has wrapped "Girlfriend," in small-town Wayland, Massachusetts. The film charts the search for love of a young man with Down syndrome, a character porrtrayed by real-life Down patient Evan Sneider, who also appeared in Lerner's award- and Spotlight-winning student film "The Replacement Child."

Also in the cast: Shannon Woodward ("The Riches"), Jackson Rathbone ("Twilight") and Amanda Plummer.

Lerner hired UCLA colleague Quyen Tran '08 as cinematographer and June Suepunpuck MFA '09 as costume designer.

MTV.com visited the set:

The idea for "Girlfriend" was concocted after Justin went home to visit his family and bumped into Evan. "We're in an economic crisis, and [the film is set] in a small town where there's lots of lying, deceit, jealousy, rage, violence," the director noted. "Evan is pure good. He's pure innocent love. How fascinating would it be to put pure, innocent, unconditional love […] into this world, and see what happens."

Both Evan and his mother were in full support of the film. Evan's mother had said she felt the film was, at heart, what her son truly wanted. Together she and Justin went through the script to try to make it as accurate an interpretation of life with Down syndrome as possible.

"I really like this movie a lot. I'm glad to be working with Justin," said Evan, who had worked with the filmmaker previously in his indie short, "The Replacement Child." "In real life, Evan Sneider himself, would want a girlfriend some day. Because he feels like he would like to be happy with someone in his life who will always be good to him."

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http://www.tft.ucla.edu/news/announcement/684-justin-lerner_girlfriend/

Posted on 9 December 2009 | 5:00 pm

Alums Caduff, Cabrera in box[ur]shorts™

Wed Dec 9, 2009 -- box[ur]shorts™ Film Festival announced this month that it will celebrate its 4th annual Awards Night at the New Beverly Cinema in Hollywood on January 9, 2010.

box[ur]shorts Film Festival is a yearlong short film exhibition taking place internationally inside movie jukeboxes at restaurants, bars, coffee houses and laundromats in cities from Los Angeles to Park City and New York to Basel, Switzerland.

Box[ur]shorts is directed by Giacun Caduff, a 2008 graduate of the UCLA Producers Program. Writer-producer Kathy Cabrera MFA '08, works as Box(ur)'s publicist.

The box[ur]shorts awards ceremony will give fans a first-look at what is to come from the company in 2010. The winning films will be announced at the awards show and screened throughout the coming year in all movie jukebox locations and online.

Finalist films were selected by a panel of judges that include Japanese writer/director Shunji Iwai ("All About Lily Chou-Chou"); SONY executive Stacey Kalish; critic Erik Childress (eFilmCritic.com) and last year's Audience Choice Award-winner Michael Del Vecchio.

A sneak preview of the upcoming competition is available on the official box[ur]shorts youtube site (see link at right). MovieMaker Magazine recently named box[ur]shorts in its top 20 listing of festivals for first-time filmmakers.

"The festival has organically grown year to year among cinema enthusiasts, film students and the industry at large," Caduff says. "In 2010, box[ur]shorts fans can anticipate some exciting changes that will really take the festival to the next level - including a soon-to-be announced technology component that will change the way viewers worldwide view short films via our movie jukeboxes."



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http://www.tft.ucla.edu/news/announcement/687-boxurshorts-fourth/

Posted on 9 December 2009 | 5:00 pm

Alum Louis J. Horvitz '68 directs 52nd Annual Grammy Awards

Wed Dec 9, 2009 -- "Business Wire" reports that TFT alum Louis J. Horvitz ' 68 has signed to direct the 52nd Annual GRAMMY® Awards. The show will be broadcast on January 31, 2010.

"Lou Horvitz is one of the most accomplished and prolific directors in live television event broadcasting, who continually facilitates seamless and elegant work," said Recording Academy President/CEO Neil Portnow. "We are proud to have Lou on board, and look forward to working with him as he joins Ken and John to continue to make the GRAMMY Awards the most relevant and successful music event of the year."

Horvitz has directed the annual Academy Awards telecast a record 12 times, which has resulted in 10 Emmy® nominations and five wins; the Primetime Emmy Awards 14 times; "The Kennedy Center Honors" for 16 years which has resulted in an Emmy win; and the "American Film Institute Life Achievement Award" tributes a total of 18 times.

In 2009 Horvitz had the historic opportunity to direct the "Kids Inaugural: We Are The Future" concert special for President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama. He recently completed his 13th year as executive producer-director of "An Evening Of Stars," the annual television special benefiting the United Negro College Fund, receiving two prestigious NAACP Image Awards for his work. Horvitz has also won a Directors Guild of America Award and has received multiple nominations as well.

In a career that has spanned more than four decades, Horvitz has also directed numerous other high-profile programs including the American Music Awards, Fashion Rocks, the MTV Video Music Awards, VH1's "The Concert For New York City" benefiting survivors of Sept. 11, the Super Bowl XXXVI Halftime Show featuring U2, Paul Simon's Concert In The Park, the Rolling Stones' Steel Wheels Tour, Live Aid, and the landmark musical variety series "Solid Gold." A native of Los Angeles, Horvitz earned a Bachelor of Arts at the University of California, Los Angeles.

PHOTO: Louis J, Horvitz, right, with producer (and former TFT dean) Gil Cates, working on one of their many Oscar broadcasts








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http://www.tft.ucla.edu/news/press/686-2009_louis-horvitz_grammys/

Posted on 9 December 2009 | 5:00 pm

Alum Aleem Hossain creates gritty web cop series

Wed Dec 9, 2009 --

"'Central Division' Brings Back the Punchy Dark Cop Show' "

"This show is definitely worth watching... Hossain delivers ten-fold. Inspired by shows like Homicide, The Shield and The Wire, he's holding his own and bringing to the web a genre I have yet to see done so well in this format." TubeFilter

"Brian Silverman and Clay Wilcox deliver tight performances, enhanced by the dark and brooding cinematography of Julie Kirkwood... it is a powerful show." -- "VisioWeb"

"'Central Division' is a series worth following, with a truly shocking twist, that's not afraid to take chances"-- "Daunltless Media"

An innovative new web series called "Central Division" was launched in November by Production/Directing alum Aleem Hossain MFA '04

"It's a police thriller series," Hossain reports. "I made it in response to the lack of gritty cop shows on TV currently. 'Homicide,' 'The Shield' and 'NYPD Blue' are all long gone."

"'Central Division' is a truly independent production," Hossain adds. "I wrote, directed and edited all the episodes of the first season. My crew was made up of UCLA alums and folks I met on UCLA shoots. One of the actors was in my thesis film, the other main actor was in a classmate's thesis film."

The web-content aggregation site "Dauntless Media" has added "Central Division" to its Web Series Favorites section alongside big budget webisodes like "Battlestar Galactica."



PHOTO: Writer-director Aleem Hossain on the gritty set of "Central Division."

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http://www.tft.ucla.edu/news/announcement/689-aleem-hossain_web-cop-series/

Posted on 9 December 2009 | 5:00 pm