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“The Stark Program not only has played an important role
in the development of the USC School of Cinema-
Television, but its unique — and sometimes daring —
approach to teaching the art of producing has grown into a
new educational paradigm,” said Dean Elizabeth Daley.
“The worlds of academia and entertainment are indebted to
Ray Stark for making this program a reality.”
Early Stark Program graduates recall Murphy as a no-nonsense
former Navy lieutenant who ran the program with an
iron fist. “He started screaming at us like we were midshipmen,
and I thought this was the biggest mistake I’d ever
made in my life,” recalled John Wells ’82. “But it ended up
being a terrific experience for me because we really learned
from people, and met people, and did things that I never
thought I’d have an opportunity to do.”
What makes the Peter Stark Producing Program so exceptional
is that it is the first — and most admired — standalone
producing program in the world. Other university producing
programs have tried to model themselves on the Stark
Program, but none have been as successful as the original. In
addition, as is the case with most of the School’s faculty, virtually
all Stark Program professors are working professionals.
“We had amazing professors and guest speakers,” recalled
Stacey Sher ’85, “because Art felt it was important for us to
interact with people who were doing the jobs, who understood
the reality of the film business, who understood how
hard it was to get something made well — get it written,
budgeted, and marketed well. We were constantly exposed
to people at the top of their game.”
Murphy’s famous tough-love approach has continued
through the years as well. Today, Stark students march
lock-step to a program designed by Turman. Peter Kang ’96
describes his experiences in the program under Turman’s
direction as “like having gone through boot camp.”
“We do work them to death,” admitted Kathy Fogg, associate
director of the Stark Program. “I always tell students,
‘If you can imagine yourself doing anything else with your
life, do it!’”
It’s an intense experience, to be sure. “The Stark Program
was like they were casting The Real World and put 25 extroverts
together in a room to see who would survive,” said
August. “I was completely terrified of most of them at first.”
It’s ideal training for the real world. In the words of Damon
Lee ’94, “Every day is like a 100-yard dash. And I start ten
yards ahead, because of the Stark Program.” That’s a common
sentiment, judging by the praise heaped upon the
program by generations of Stark graduates.
Their enthusiasm is returned by Turman, who noted, “My
friends and show biz pals continually congratulate me on
‘giving back.’ They don’t understand or appreciate how
much I’m (actually) ‘getting.’”
BOARD OF COUNCILORS TELEVISION ADVISORY COUNCIL
Frank Biondi, Jr.
John Calley
Barry Diller
Lee Gabler
David Geffen
Brian Grazer
Brad Grey
Jeffrey Katzenberg
Alan Levine
George Lucas
Don Mattrick
William M. Mechanic
Barry Meyer
Sidney Poitier
Frank Price
Barney Rosenzweig
Scott Sassa
Steven Spielberg
John Wells
Jim Wiatt
Paul Junger Witt
David L. Wolper
Robert Zemeckis
Laura Ziskin
Operation Win Scores Big
By Elizabeth Randall. M.F.A. ’05
The debut of the new Operation Win program was a screenwriting-contest coup for writing division
alumni, whose work made a huge impression on organizers of the Austin Film Festival and the Walt
Disney Studios/ABC Entertainment Writing Fellowship Program.
The prestigious Disney/ABC program named four USC alumni to its illustrious ranks. Jonathan Howard, M.F.A. ’04
represents Operation Win as one of 11 Disney/ABC television fellows, while Whitney Anderson, M.F.A. ’04; John
Carr, M.F.A. ’04; and Damian Saul-Romay, M.F.A. ’04 fill three of the program’s four available film spots.
New Disney/ABC fellows Damian Saul-Romay, Whitney Anderson, John Carr,
and Jonathan Howard
Peter Benedek
Alan Berger
Stuart Bloomberg
Jon Feltheimer
Lee Gabler
Ted Harbert
Sam Haskell
Tony Jonas
Kerry McCluggage
Leslie Moonves
“The showing of our writers in the
Disney/ABC Fellowship Program
has been nothing short of phenomenal,”
said Howard A. Rodman,
chair of the Division of Writing for
Screen and Television.
Operation Win claimed another
notable triumph when Tim
Croteau, M.F.A. ’04; and David
Stassen, M.F.A. ’04 placed as finalists
in the celebrated Austin Film
Festival with their script
Lumberjack Jones.
Operation Win offers administrative
and financial support to thesis
students who submit their work to
contests and fellowship programs.
Created to promote the exceptional
work of writing division students,
Operation Win has already fulfilled
the promise of its name.
“The lectures, screenings, and round table events are wonderfully informative, but the real reason to fly all the way to
Austin is the networking,” said Croteau about his film-festival experience. “In the four days I was there, I spoke with
several Academy Award–winning writers about their craft.”
Likewise, the School’s Disney/ABC fellows enjoy great networking benefits. “We are meeting with professionals from
Disney and all over the industry almost every day,” said Saul-Romay.
“Everyone at Disney, from assistants to high-level executives, has made it clear that their door is open to us, and that’s
really exciting,” noted Anderson, whose script, Psychic 101, tells the story of four Ivy League students who are desperate
to raise $100,000 after a class psychology experiment goes awry.
Carr emphasized that fellows are paired with executives best suited to developing their scripts. “It’s a wonderful
opportunity to grow and sustain strong relationships with the people best positioned to help us in our careers.” His
fellowship-winning script, The Great Blondin, tells the (mostly) true story of a world-famous 19th century tightrope
walker whose bravery inspires a timid manager to overcome his fear of life and win the heart of the woman he loves.
“My professors encouraged me to run wild with my particular style and voice,” said Carr. “And this is exactly what
the powers at Disney enjoyed about my submission.”
Saul-Romay was taken by surprise when his submission, 24 Hours Ago, a dark tale about a doctor who has the worst
day of his life, earned him a Disney/ABC fellowship. “I didn’t think I had a chance. Fortunately, Operation Win and
the folks at Disney proved me wrong.”
Looking ahead, Rodman sees a bright future for Operation Win. “We look forward to building upon these successes
and developing the strongest and most robust structures possible, so that our students’ work can find its best footing
in the outside world.”
Rod Perth
Frank Price
Peter Roth
Scott Sassa
Herb Scannell
Scott Stone
Toper Taylor
John Wells
Paul Junger Witt
summer 2005 in motion | 3