Mag_text_Spring 06 - Curry College

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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
producer at Warner Bros., Maslansky isresponsible for the “Police Academy” films,among other projects.An appreciative Jami Ronzitti (Class of 2009)had this to say, “It gave me a chance tonetwork and get to know alumni that I didn’tknow and see how they started off in thebusiness and how Curry helped them to getwhere they are, but it also gave me the chanceto meet with Alumni that I already knew andcatch up with them and see how they aredoing.”And the surprise of the night went toJohn Wolk, who stopped by to say hello againto the group and brought along his businesspartner, actor Patrick Warburton. Warburtoncurrently stars in the CBS comedy “Rules ofEngagement” but is probably best known asElaine Benes’ on again/off again boyfriend on“Seinfeld.”Not All Fun and GamesBut the trip was far from a vacation, and therewere some conditions to be met to qualify forthis privilege.Students interested in taking “HollywoodProductions: Up Close” were required to takea prerequisite class called “The Business ofHollywood” during the fall semester.Prospective students were also required towrite several essays about why they wanted togo to Hollywood and to describe their careeraspirations after graduating from Curry. Theprofessors then reviewed the applications andwhittled the list down to twelve students, sixmen and six women.While in Los Angeles, participants wererequired to take quizzes on a daily basis.These quizzes covered everything from whatstudents had read in their textbooks tospecifics of their daily meetings with industryprofessionals. Students were also encouragedto prepare for those meetings by researchingthe biographies and career histories of thoseprofessionals.Boston Globe Sports WriterDan Shaughnessy VisitsSports Broadcasting ClassDan Shaughnessy, the legendary sportswriterfor The Boston Globe visited CurryCollege in early February. He was a guestspeaker for the Communication departmentcourse called “Radio/TV SportsBroadcasting.”Shaughnessy explained to students thatthe changing face of media has altered theway the newspaper covers stories. He saidthere is much more interactivity withreaders today than in the past, with readersnow able to comment immediately onhis columns.In a recent column, Shaughnessyexplained, he criticized New EnglandPatriots quarterback Tom Brady forappearing in a photograph being fed byhis super-model girlfriend. His columntalked of the implications of Brady going“soft.”“We had more than 900 replies to thatcolumn,” Shaughnessy told the students.“And many of them were not kind tome.” But, he added, having a thick skin ispart of the business and he has no problemwith anyone criticizing his columns.Students also had an opportunity to askhim his opinions about a wide range ofjournalism topics, including the futureof the paper. Shaughnessy said it wasdoubtful that a print edition would stillbe published in ten years; he felt thenewspaper would become a strict onlineentity.When Shaughnessy is not working for theGlobe, he is a regular contributor on localand national radio and television reports,further showing how reporters todaymust integrate themselves in all media.Radio/TV Sports Broadcasting is taughtby long-time WBZ-TV news and sportsanchor Scott Wahle.Curry’s broadcasting program is one ofthe oldest in the country, dating back to1932.Scott Wahle welcomes Dan Shaughnessy to Radio/TV Sports Broadcasting classAll of this hard work culminated in a 12-pagepaper describing the week’s activities, dueshortly after the trip was over.John Abdulla (Class of 2009) had this reviewfor the course, “The ‘Hollywood Production:Up Close’ course was an extremely worthwhileand insightful experience. I have beenlearning the technical and business aspects ofcreating motion pictures through variouscourses offered at Curry, but this week inHollywood actually allowed me to experienceit. It is one thing to learn about Hollywood,but a totally different thing to actuallyexperience it. And I think this is an essentialcomponent to any film/TV education.”Karl Sabourin, Dan Shaughnessy, and Siobhan ConnollyWinter 2009 / Curry College Magazine 17
Page 1 and 2: Curry College MagazineWinter 2009A
Page 3 and 4: Curry Magazine is publishedtwice a
Page 5 and 6: CONGRATULATIONSCLASS OF 2008!It was
Page 7 and 8: PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENTTakes “Quant
Page 9 and 10: Speaking CenterStudents RepresentCu
Page 11 and 12: Aberdeen, Scotland. The 12th Intern
Page 16 and 17: Leading the WayThousands of area nu
Page 20 and 21: 75 Years of BroadcastingCelebrated1
Page 22 and 23: ATHLETICS UNVEILSREDESIGNEDCOLONELL
Page 24 and 25: The 2008 Colonels wound up establis
Page 26 and 27: Student Center Construction Continu
Page 28 and 29: Welcome Tim McCabe, Individual Givi
Page 30 and 31: HOMECOMING &FAMILY WEEKEND 2008The
Page 32 and 33: WONDERING WHAT'S NEW WITH YOUR'65Fr
Page 34 and 35: She works with fellow Curry alumniN
Page 36 and 37: Mindy Paige '03 and Jason Grinacoff
Page 38 and 39: EngagementsAlumniJason Ouellette '9
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