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Shows on the Air Beneath a bright blue canopy of cloudless sky, 8 Simple more Rules than About 10,000 members One Thing of the Michael Class of Bostick, Executive Producer 2004 — along with some 40,000 beaming parents, friends, and family members — celebrated the 24 Evan Katz, Co-Executive Producer University of Southern California’s 121st Commencement Alias on Friday, Meighan May 14. Offield, Associate Producer Arrested The USC School Development of Cinema-Television’s Brian Grazer mid-afternoon and Ron Howard, Executive satellite commencement Producers; Lisa Parsons, ceremony Staff was Writer held at the Shrine Auditorium, its longtime home. Said Sonny Calderon, who Boston received his Legal M.F.A. Bob from Breech, the Division Consulting of Writing Producer for Screen and Television that day, “Having it [graduation] at the Shrine — which is gorgeous — somehow feels like you’re CSI: being initiated Miami into Steven the Maeda, Hollywood Writer-Producer community (even 7-time Desperate Academy Housewives Award winner Gary Charles Rydstrom Pratt told Jr., Consulting graduates Producer to embrace the unexpected: “Knowing what’s going to happen next E.R. is boring John Wells, in the Executive movies, and Producer it’s boring in life.” The Ellen DeGeneres Show Derek Westervelt, though we’re not — yet).” Coordinating Producer The festivities began on a high note, with a special screen- Fear Factor Matt Kunitz, Executive Producer ing of the School’s new 75th anniversary documentary, The Honoring George the Past/Creating Lopez Showthe Robert Future. Borden, Written and Executive directed Producer by Tiller Russell (‘01) and produced by Jill Aske (‘01), the Grey’s documentary Anatomy deftly traces Shonda the evolution Rhimes, Executive of the School Producer over House 75 years through Bryan Singer, the use Executive of a witty Producer musical score and the skillful blending of rare archival footage and recent photo- Las graphs Vegas and interviews. Michael Berns, Co-Executive Producer life Dean as Elizabeth we know Daley it reminded Stu Bloomberg graduates and that Gabe they Sachs, are Executive linked to Producers this illustrious lineage, which dates back to the dawn of the “talkie” era when Douglas Fairbanks Sr., the Lost Academy Javier of Motion Grillo-Marxuach, Picture Arts Supervising and Sciences’ Producer first president, urged USC to add film studies to its curriculum. Medium Ronald L. Schwary, Executive Producer From that pivotal moment, there was no looking back for “ Monk Randy Zisk, Executive Producer-Director THE WEST WING The O.C. Doug Liman and Josh Schwartz, Executive Producers Smallville Greg Beeman, Al Gough and Miles Millar, Executive Producers; Brian Peterson and Kelly Souders, Producers; Todd Slavkin, Producer Third Watch John Wells, Executive Producer Veronica Mars Dan Etheridge, Co-Producer The West Wing John Wells, Executive Producer 4 | in motion fall summer 2004 2005 Making the Grade (continued from page 1) recognition and support given to [Casper] by both faculty and students who unanimously highlighted his ‘transformative’ and ‘life-changing’ impact on his students…His many letters of support repeatedly note his passion for knowledge and his love of learning; his deep commitment to teaching and his devotion to the life of the mind; his consistent focus on student learning…” “Drew Casper is one of our best-known and best-loved professors,” said Dean Elizabeth Daley. “He has gained national renown for his ability to animate large undergraduate classes, and he is widely considered to be a pioneer in creating the model for introductory film classes. Students clearly thrive under his tutelage.” Many generations of cinema-television students have packed into the Eileen Norris Theatre Complex’s Frank Sinatra Hall each week to watch Casper perform his teaching magic. “Drew had powers no one else had — powers to enthrall, entertain, open vistas for students,” Drew Casper recalled Carrie Kirshman, a critical studies student in the mid-1980s. “He was just a powerful force. He taught me about film, whereas other people taught me about theories that you apply to film. I took every course he offered while I was at USC.” “Drew is a legendary teacher,” noted Tara McPherson, chair of the Division of Critical Studies. “He has an extraordinary ability to make course materials come alive for students and to engage each of them on a personal and individual level. They consistently hail his courses as life changing. We’re very lucky to have him on our faculty.” Stalking through his large lecture classes, Casper calls to mind someone touched by the gods, climbing over rows of seats to confront a student with a piercing question, sparring with a student unwise enough to arrive late for class, or suddenly launching into song and dance to clarify an obscure point. “You never want to miss a class,” said Jeremy Berg, M.A. ’05, who has been Casper’s student, teaching assistant, and course reader. “You just have to be there, to see who he’ll pull up on stage this time to dance the Hoochi Koochi with him.” Jonathon Komack-Martin, B.A. ’88, agreed: “He’s so damn amusing! His classes are like theater. I actually take my dates to Norris Theatre to see Drew perform!” But there’s far more than just fun and games in a Casper course. “He went deeper into the subject matter than any other professor I had,” said Peter Ventrella, M.A. ’94. “His knowledge was so vast it was inspiring. He’ll do anything to convey the flame of his passion for films, and he takes it as a personal offense if you’re not as excited about the subject matter as he is.” Everyone who has seen Casper teach cites his exceptional passion. Christopher Cooling, M.A. ’99 and a critical studies Ph.D. candidate, mused on the link between Casper’s love of the subject matter of cinema and his love for the calling of teaching. “What most impresses me about Drew Casper,” he said, “is that these are one and the same passion — watching movies would be unthinkable without knowing that he will be able to discuss them with his students in lecture, and his joy for teaching is itself a direct extension of his joy for this most vibrant of art forms.” Casper, who has held the Alma and Alfred Hitchcock Chair for the Study of American Film since it was established in 1998, was first hailed for his teaching three decades ago. Delta Kappa Alpha bestowed its award for teaching excellence on Casper when he was a new critical studies instructor in the early 1970s, shortly after he earned his Ph.D. in Communication Arts at USC. In 1991, the USC chapter of the Mortar Board National Senior Honor Society “tapped” him for excellence in teaching. Last year, President Sample acknowledged Casper’s teaching prowess
y inviting him to speak at USC’s Board of Trustees conference (Casper’s presentation, “Fate of the Art: Teaching Film,” was reportedly the highlight of the trustees’ weekend). When asked what makes him such an extraordinary educator, Casper replied simply that “the Lord gave me this talent.” He is quick to give credit to his grammar school teachers as well. “The Sisters of St. Casimir were my first teaching models,” he said. “They showed me how to do it. To this day, I am indebted to my first-grade teacher, Sister Gemma, and also to my eighth-grade teacher, Sister Helen Eremick.” He has taken care to remain close to both of these cherished mentors who, now in their 80s, continue to visit Casper during the Christmas holidays. Casper went on to study with the Jesuits and was ordained a Jesuit priest. This education helped to crystallize his view of teaching as a form of ministry. “Talking passionately about films in class becomes a vehicle we use to reach out to each other in terms of emotions and where we are in our lives,” he said. “It’s like going to mass in the nourishment of spirit it provides. I know I’m not traveling alone when I teach film — it’s a time when people come together, when mind meets mind, and heart meets heart as well.” This love for his subject — and for his students — may be why even the most disengaged students find themselves responding to Casper’s enthusiasm. Lisa Majewski, B.A. ’96 and M.A. ’98, was a teaching assistant and course reader for Casper. “At the start of a class, you’d often see students slumped down in their seats,” she said. “But after they experienced the energy and passion of a Drew Casper class, they’d be sitting straight up in their seats and waving their hands to be called on.” Komack-Martin agreed, “To many students, college is about seeing how little work you can do, and how many times you can miss class,” he said. “But it’s just impossible to be in a Drew Casper class and not stay focused on the subject. He always manages to inspire the uninspired.” “To call him a teacher seems too reductive of a title,” said Robert Buerkle, M.A. ’03. “He needs a term much larger than that. He needs a term that encompasses the passion, the theater, the emotion, and the love contained in each of his classes. But for lack of such a term, I’ll stick to my personal favorite: the Drew Casper experience.” Buerkle explained, “As his teaching assistant, I’ve been witness to Drew Casper behind the scenes, watched him prepare for the opening curtain (metaphorically speaking), and seen him getting psyched up just as intently as the most theatrical of performers. And that preparation comes across in the two-hour sermons that follow, as he maintains his animated and energetic demeanor throughout, sharply fluctuating between frenetic highs and solemn lows, and always keeping the students unsure of what to expect next.” Without a doubt, intensity permeates Casper, whether he’s in or out of the classroom. “There’s simply no separation of work and leisure for the man,” said Cooling. “His commitment to his work fuels his play, and his love of that play energizes his work. This, more than anything, is what I think his students most fundamentally respond to in the experience of his classes, whether they realize it consciously or not. They’re being instructed not only in terms of a curriculum, but also in how to live their lives as fully and as richly as possible.” It’s a lesson that many generations have taken to heart. “Over the years, I’ve interacted with thousands and thousands of students,” Casper said, “seeing them energized, inspired, and involved because they have learned to look at what they see in a new way. This is the heart of what I do, what keeps me delighted with my work, what keeps me preparing for the next class, and the next. It is my belief that teaching validates my being.” It does indeed, Drew, it truly does. Congratulations to our friends and alumni on their successes this past awards season. Academy Awards Caleb Deschanel, Cinematographer The Passion of the Christ Achievement in Cinematography Taylor Hackford, Director and Producer Ray Achievement in Directing Best Motion Picture Tom Johnson, Re-recording Mixer The Polar Express Achievement in Sound Mixing Jeffrey Katzenberg, Producer Shark Tale Best Animated Feature Film Jeffrey Katzenberg, Producer Shrek 2 Best Animated Feature Film ACE Eddies Terilyn Shropshire Redemption Mini-Series or Motion Picture for TV William Stich The Sopranos One-Hour TV Series ADG Henry Bumstead Million Dollar Baby Production Design/Contemporary Film ASC Caleb Deschanel The Passion of the Christ Feature Film Robbie Greenberg* Iron Jawed Angels TV Movie/Miniseries/Pilot for Basic or Pay TV Nathan Hope* CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Episodic TV Series Leonard Maltin* ASC Lifetime Achievement Award Richard Moore* ASC President’s Award DGA Taylor Hackford Ray Feature Film Jeremy Kagan Crown Heights Children’s Program Golden Globes Brian Grazer, Producer 24 Best TV Series–Drama Brian Grazer, Producer Arrested Development Best TV Series–Musical or Comedy Robert Greenblatt, Producer American Family Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV Brad Grey, Producer The Sopranos Best TV Series–Drama Javier Grillo-Marxuach, Producer Lost Best TV Series–Drama Taylor Hackford, Director Ray Best Motion Picture–Musical or Comedy Ron Howard, Producer 24 Best TV Series–Drama Ron Howard, Producer Arrested Development Best TV Series–Musical or Comedy Evan Katz, Producer 24 Best TV Series–Drama Charles Pratt, Jr., Producer* Desperate Housewives Best TV Series–Musical or Comedy Walter Salles, Director The Motorcycle Diaries Best Foreign Language Film Matthew Weiner, Producer The Sopranos Best TV Series–Drama MPSE Golden Reels Richard Anderson Shark Tale Sound Editing in an Animated Film David Bondelevitch A Separate Peace Music Editing in Long-Form Television Tom Johnson The Polar Express Sound Editing in an Animated Film Jeffrey Katzenberg Shark Tale Sound Editing in an Animated Film Jeffrey Katzenberg Shrek 2 Sound Editing in an Animated Film George Lucas* Inaugural MPSE Filmmaker’s Award Chuck Michael Team America World Police Sound Editing in an Animated Film Gary Rydstrom* MPSE Career Achievement Award Robert Zemeckis The Polar Express Sound Editing in an Animated Film NAACP Image Awards David Geffen, Producer American Idol III Outstanding Variety Series or Special Taylor Hackford, Director* Genius: A Night for Ray Charles Outstanding Variety Series or Special Taylor Hackford, Director* Ray Outstanding Motion Picture Jeremy Kagan, Director Crown Heights Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series, or Dramatic Special Terilyn Shropshire, Editor Redemption Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series, or Dramatic Special John Wells, Producer ER Outstanding Drama Series PGA Laura Ziskin* David O. Selznick Achievement Award John Wells* David Susskind Achievement Award Jeffrey Katzenberg* Milestone Award Matthew Weiner* The Sopranos Norman Felton Producer of the Year Award VES Robert Zemeckis* Lifetime Achievement Award WGA Bryan Fuller “Pilot” Wonderfalls Episodic Comedy John Furia Jr. * Honorary Service Award John McLaughlin Penn & Teller Bullshit! Comedy/Variety Series Casandra Morgan* Guiding Light Daytime Serial Star Price Penn & Teller Bullshit! Comedy/Variety Series For more information, visit www.CNTValumni.net Congratulations to anyone we may have missed. If we overlooked you, please contact us at alumni@cinema.usc.edu. *Award Recipient summer 2005 in motion | 5
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