Mag_text_Spring 06 - Curry College

Hooray for Hollywood!Curry Students Go West for Crash Course in ShowbizImagine squeezing a whole semester of classwork into just seven days. And then try toimagine that your commute to campus is over3,000 miles away and one of your classes consistsof spinning the big wheel at ‘The Price isRight’! Surreal right? Well that is exactly whattwelve students from the Curry College Communicationdepartment were lucky enough toexperience over the winter session of 2009.The class is called, “Hollywood Productions:Up Close,” a three-credit course taught byCommunication ProfessorsJerry Gibbs and Bob MacNeil.The course introduced a selectgroup of advanced Communicationstudents to the behindthe-scenesworld of TinselTown, where they spent a weekin Los Angeles ensconced in theentertainment industry.The students, with the help ofseveral Curry Alumni workingin the ‘business,’ got a peek atthe creation process of some ofthe popular media we consumeevery day, including sitcoms,talk shows and movies. Theyalso had the privilege of pickingthe brains of the peopleinvolved in the productionprocess like writers, directors,producers, editors and ofcourse, actors.The trip was the third of its kind in the lastfive years, and has quickly become a staple ofan ever expanding program.“This class has grown every year since we firstwent,” according to Professor Gibbs. “Withthe help of many of our alumni on the WestCoast, it makes it possible for students to seemore and more of the inner workings of thetelevision and movie industry.”A Whirlwind TourOne such alum is Joe Morabito '06 whoworks two jobs in L.A. - one at NBC and theother at Fox Sports. Morabito was able to getCurry students onto the sets of both ‘TheTonight Show with Jay Leno’ and ‘Fox NFLSunday.’ The students were also treated toexclusive access to ‘The Tonight Show’ VIPgreen room before watching a taping of theshow from some of the best seats in the house.“It was really encouraging because these peoplewent to Curry and they are making it outthere,” explained William Garten (Class of2010). “So, it tells me if I work hard, I can beanother Curry alum in Hollywood. I was alsoable to meet someone that works at CBS thatwas in the same trip I went on just two yearsbefore me. Going out to LA has put that extradrive in me. I have a lot of thinking to doabout what I actually want to do out there butI know that the next time I go out there, I willbe buying a one way ticket.”L to R: Marc Pitler, Will Garten, John Abdulla, Patrick Warburton,Jami Ronzitti, Mostafa AghaThe Curry alum to whom William wasreferring is Andrew Graziano '07, a multimediaproducer at CBS. Graziano sat downwith the group to discuss his work with 'TheCraig Ferguson Show' and many other CBSentities.While visiting the CBS lot, the group had achance to meet with executives from 'ThePrice is Right'. They gave the students anunderstanding of how the show is producedand also provided an inside look at how thepopular game show coped with the transitionfrom long-time host Bob Barker to formersitcom star, Drew Carey. And whilethey were there, every student got theopportunity to spin the iconic giant wheel,just for kicks.It should be noted that both Morabito (in2005) and Graziano (in 2007) were studentson previous "Hollywood Productions: UpClose" class trips to L.A. They gave the currentstudents a sense that, maybe down theline, they too could be hosting the next cropof Curry hopefuls.The class also visited Warner Bros. Studioswhere they toured the lot, which included astop at the Downtown Chicago set of NBC staple,‘ER’, fake subway tracks and all. And whiletouring WB, the group also sat in on a tapingof the hit CBS sitcom ‘Big Bang Theory.’ Otherstops included Spyglass Entertainment,Omega Cinema Props, and The ProductionGroup, where alum Mark Biase '83 explainedthe process of how soundstages are rented out andused.Some of the most insightfulexperiences the students hadwere at Universal Studios,where Stewart Huey '85 letstudents see the inner workingsof how movie postersand previews are created andedited; a meeting with SnowfallFilms producer SuzanneLions to get a taste of howindependent films are madefrom the ground up; and theUCLA Film and TVArchives, where virtuallyeverything we have everwatched on screen is stored inits original format.The trip was highlighted by anight out at a taping of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’where Curry alum John Wolk '92 allowed thestudents access to the control room to see howthe show is produced from a technical standpoint.Event at the Historic Roosevelt HotelThe week came to a close with a special Curryalumni event at the historic RooseveltHotel on Hollywood Boulevard, hosted bythe Office of Institutional Advancement andthe Office of Admission. At the reception, studentshad a chance to interact in a social settingwith many more of the alums and parentsinvolved in the entertainment industry. Thisincluded Patrick Beck '06, who produced thesitcom pilot “Graduates” here on the Currycampus over the summer of 2008. The pilot isnow receiving favorable reviews and is beingshopped around to various networks.Paul Maslansky, whose son is a sophomore atCurry, also attended the reception and reallyconnected with the students. A long-time16 Curry College Magazine / Winter 2009