Steven Spielberg and Michael Crichton made a great creative team. | Source
Friendship With Benefits
Steven Spielberg and Michael Crichton developed motion pictures and television programs, notably the Jurassic Park franchise and the long-running ER series. The two men, who were dear friends working together, are a fascinating story of success.
Dinosaurs from “Jurassic Park”
An acquaintance, a high school teacher, told me about a time he showed his students the movie Jurassic Park. At the end of the film, some of his students thought dinosaurs were still alive on our planet. Not that the students were stupid. The movie was realistic enough to make the dinosaurs appear real in their minds’ eyes.
The movie’s detailed and realistic images of various dinosaurs, along with its story, acting, and sound, created a realistic world based on Crichton’s bestselling novel.
The original movie focuses on a devastating effort to produce and clone dinosaurs for an innovative theme park.
The franchise began in 1990 when Spielberg grabbed the rights to the unpublished book. Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment purchased the rights to the novel.
After four sequels, the franchise flourished, with the first two based on Crichton’s books, and it spawned tons of video games, comic books, and theme parks.
The franchise resurrected Richard Attenborough’s career and bolstered the careers of Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill, Lauren Dern, Chris Pratt, and Bryce Dallas Howard.
Jurassic Park’s motion picture franchise includes a water excursion at Universal Studios theme parks.
The franchise movies alone have grossed close to $ 5 billion worldwide.
Crichton and Spielberg Winning Team
The success of the Jurassic Park franchise indicates that Crichton and Spielberg made a winning team. They invested their good fortune in an American medical television series that proved just as fruitful as the dinosaur movies.
Under the umbrella of Amblin Television, Crichton and Spielberg’s team created the medical drama ER. The show lasted 15 years and won several prestigious awards, bringing together famed talents that I will mention later in the article.
If anything, ER is a lesson in producing an award-winning television show and practically keeping it on the air for years. I am sure students of film and television classrooms study this series in its entirety. They identify and highlight the factors that contributed to the show’s high ratings and large worldwide audience.
Endless drama in an Emergency Room kept viewers glued to the TV.
Emmy Award Winners
The show won multiple Emmy Awards, with 124 nominations and 22 wins, reflecting the caliber of work that stood behind and in front of the camera, launching the stellar careers of George Clooney, along with Anthony Edwards, Noah Wyle, Julianna Margulies, and Maria Bello.
“ER”
Although I never watched the series as a whole, but as clips from different shows, I tend to shy away from medical shows. ER taps into the intimate workings of an urban training hospital and the critical issues faced by the dedicated physicians and staff of its vigilant emergency room.
Every week, fans glued themselves to the television and watched quirky and unique medical professionals save lives in a place where nothing is taken for granted or guaranteed. The emergency room doors open, and another distraught person or persons gets placed in their hands, life or death, within an hour’s worth of television programming.
The series lasted as long as it did because of the talented writers, as evidenced by the final season, particularly in the show’s ending. The arc ties into the earlier seasons, including Noah Wyle’s professional choices and personal life.
Now, Wyle is starring in HBO’s Emmy-winning The Pitt, very similar to ER, but set over one day in an emergency room in Pittsburgh.
Curtain Call
The final season is a curtain call for all the show’s lead characters. They returned one way or another, including those who died on the show.
One point of view about the medical drama is the large cast of major actors who left due to injury, death, firing, or disappearance. Like most long-running shows, I understand that cast members go in hopes of bigger and better careers.
The final season includes movie stars Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance. The main arc centers on Catherine Banfield, the ER’s medical director, played by Basset, and her husband, Russell Banfield, played by Vance. Both are intense and effectively support their respective sides of the issue.
The series ends well, and that is what matters to the fans. The finale is rewarding to those who faithfully followed the multiple storylines.
George Clooney
I am sure you’ll appreciate watching the episodes, knowing that you can watch them again and again since you own the DVD. The cast changing through the years might throw you off, but it is graced with guest appearances from Clooney and other original cast members.
If you still need an emergency room fix on television, there are similar shows that follow ER’s formula, which validates the series even more, such as Grey’s Anatomy, a long-running show as well.
Director and award-winning screenwriter Kari Skogland talked with me about film careers.
Against Guns
Women Directing Film
“Television is a great place to learn the ropes because it is a very schedule-driven, fast, and furious environment; yet, you are expected to be creative,” defines Kari Skogland on how she learned her trade. Her energy resonates as we talk about her pro-gun control movie Liberty Stands Still, her career, and women in film.
“Now, there is some spectacular television. It is a creative medium. Unfortunately for women, it’s a very misogynistic world here in the States.” As a successful writer and director of both television and film, Skogland doesn’t acknowledge the male-driven obstacles women face in the industry. “If you do, you are defeated.”
Originally from Canada, where the industry expects professionals to work in multimedia, Skogland feels fortunate to have started there. “While I was in Canada, I was able to bounce back and forth between TV and feature. Here in the States, I’m more feature-oriented. I do an occasional pilot. I love to do that.”
Kari Skogland
Gun Control Message
Liberty Stands Still, released in 2002, is Skogland’s first film that she wrote and directed. The movie was a budgetary challenge, and she created a unique way to tell a story about gun control and violence, starring Linda Fiorentino, Wesley Snipes, and Oliver Platt.
The idea for the movie came from the Columbine shooting. “I felt that we, as a society, had not really discussed or debated the ‘how’ or ‘why’ of it. I think we’re at a point in our society where we need to debate the role of guns,” explains Skogland.
Sniper Shootings
Skogland commented on guns in general. “Why do we need them as a cultural statement? Aren’t we simply arming ourselves against each other? The second amendment arguments are spoon-fed by the multi-million dollar industries that skew the spirit and intent of it.”
She spoke of another incident, the sniper shootings in Washington (October 2002). “I thought the Washington sniper and pervasive feeling of movies like Bowling for Columbine and mine were starting to bubble and percolate the issue.”
She feels the need for discussion has died off, but comes back. “People seem to squash this issue or seem to be unable to cope with it.”
Financing the Movie
Financing for the controversial film came from the cast, who wanted to make the movie. Skogland feels fortunate she worked with such a stellar cast. Linda Fiorentino, Wesley Snipes, and Oliver Platt made it clear that they helped financially. “To Lionsgate’s credit, they did not try and temper the issue of gun control at all. I had no idea that John Feltheimer, who runs Lionsgate (at the time of the interview), is a very much a gun control advocate. It was just one of those happy coincidences of fate.”
Working with Wesley Snipes
She cast Snipes in the lead role, knowing it was against type. “Wesley is a very fine actor who comes from Broadway. I knew he would be attracted to the role because of the challenges. I like the idea of him traditionally being in the action role. I wanted to surprise the audience a little with him and where we were going with the character. I hoodwink the audience into thinking it looks a little like an action movie and starts to turn where violence is very real and very graphic.”
Guns in Movies
Skogland’s driving point in the movie is, “if you are going to show what guns can do, then you better back it up and be ready to show it. I wanted the audience to be stunned. Each time someone got shot, I wanted the audience to realize that ‘Shit man.'”
She thought it out carefully with herself on showing that guns kill. “When someone shoots a person in Compton — just takes him or her out, that’s it. It’s cold, and it’s not even calculated. It’s horrific. I felt that for me to soften it would be a disservice.”
She wrote the character in a risky situation, so the audience feels torn about Snipe’s character committing an immoral act. “Yet we somewhat understand his position. On the other hand, we hate him for it, and on the other hand, we understand it. I really wanted the audience to be as conflicted as these characters were,” added Skogland.
Flaw in the Characters
The casting of Linda Fiorentino brought credibility to the story. According to Skogland, “Someone who you didn’t know if she was going to love you or kill you and to have the power that made you believe she was saying who she was.”
Skogland wanted a fatal flaw with all the characters, “Where they had made some choices that may have seemed very legitimate at the time, but were ethically unsound in varying forms.”
She offers an example of when Wesley’s character arrives at the moment with the death of his daughter. “His world is shattered, and he is forced to reckon with what his life looks like. He decides to take action. It’s a misguided action; there’s no question about that.”
The misguided action is a two-edged sword where we feel his pain, though we disagree with him. At the same time, we think the same about Linda’s character. Skogland adds, “She is numb to what she is really doing, as we all can be in life, because it is more convenient that way. We discover how she has become this person, and Wesley’s character has to change her mind.”
Arch Villain
Oliver Platt plays Liberty’s (Fiorentino) husband, a gun manufacturer. Skogland didn’t want him to be an arch-villain, but more like an everyman. “You liked him. You felt for him even though you realized this man is not thinking about what he is doing on a global scale. He is not taking responsibility for his community.”
Oliver’s character sees himself as a widget salesman, and he is successful at it, which hits the heartstrings of the overall story.
“Statue of Liberty”
Even though Liberty is at odds with only men, Skogland didn’t plan it that way. “It just happened. Now that you brought it up. There is a sense of her name, Liberty, the nature of her. She is definitely a metaphor for the Statue of Liberty — what we have come to understand as liberty and freedom. “
Skogland analogizes the woman who founded Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) to Liberty’s situation. “One woman stood up and said people are getting killed. Cut to twenty years later, and we now have a complete social and ethical position on drinking and driving.”
She believes the same thing will happen in the movement about guns. “I think women are going to have a strong voice with that kind of sentiment because, traditionally, little boys play with guns. For whatever reason, there is an aggressive factor in boys and girls are nurturers.”
No Hero or Heroine
Liberty Stands Still has no true hero, which breaks the traditional way of making a movie and telling a story. “I wanted to break some of the traditional screenwriting rules in this case and make the story more of a collective story because this is really a morality play. A collective story about how people spiral downward together. There wasn’t a true hero because all the characters were at odds with themselves,” explains Skogland.
The movie ends on an open note. The viewer is allowed to make a moral choice. “That is the metaphor for each one of us. When we walk away, we have a choice. Every one of us has a choice. It only takes one person to start an avalanche of change. Are we going to do something, or are we going to keep hiding behind the Second Amendment as if it says what the gun manufacturers claim it says?” questions Skogland.
Directing a movie from her material for the first time and seeing her name as writer and director for the first time was heartening. “I was able to play the two roles without getting them tangled up with each other.”
As a director, rewriting or tweaking a script is nothing new to her: “I had obviously directed all my own material, unsung. Where my name is not on the writing credits, but obviously, I had rewritten a script or dealt with a scene.”
“Fifty Dead Men Walking”
True Story
Taking another stab at violence, she wrote and directed Fifty Dead Men Walking in 2008, based on the book of the same title by Martin McGartland, who grew up in Belfast and witnessed I.R.A. brutality.
The story is about a 17-year-old young man (McGartland) hired by the Secret Service to infiltrate the I.R.A.
The movie stars Ben Kingsley and Jim Sturgess. McGartland, played by Sturgess, joins the I.R.A. and gives information to British Special Agent Fergus, played by Kingsley.
The movie won several awards, including the Directors Guild of Canada Direction of Feature Film nod to Skogland.
Fifty Dead Men Walking
Writing Versus Directing
Writing and directing is a powerful experience, says Skogland, “I didn’t find myself so invested in the words that I felt defensive if they needed to be changed. By the same token, playing the writer versus the director, whereas a writer, you know, a scene isn’t going to work unless I do this because the director needs to do that.”
Describing how she writes, “I actually write, when I’m sitting in my room alone, I am definitely in my head, both blocking and casting as I write.”
She admits she directed a lot of mediocre writing. She can see in her head what will work and what will not work. “I know that by virtue of experience, this is something that is going to work, or it just is not going to work. I have to change the writing and change the situation to make it more interesting. As a writer, it has helped very much to spend as much time as I have to be a director.”
Being a woman in the movie business is something that Skogland doesn’t acknowledge. “If it is hard, you can’t acknowledge it. As a female, you hit a glass ceiling. You haven’t a clue you’ve hit it because it’s all behind closed doors. I have certainly felt it. But I have never acknowledged it. I am not about to. I feel like the second. I admit that it is happening. I am facing defeat.”
Women Versus Men
She feels she might sound a little bit Pollyannaish. She offers some sound advice for anyone who wants to make it in the business. “I come from a place where it’s really like saying: I could be too short. I could not know the right people. I could be too fat. I could not have blue eyes. It is always something, and you might as well ignore it all and keep motoring forward. Not letting it get in your way.”
She feels women are starting to make their mark. “The trick is that you really have to know your stuff. For all the women out there, you can’t let an inch slide. You have to be really on top of the business side. We all have to multitask in this particular arena. Fortunately, women are good at it. There should be no reason why we can’t be right up there.”
At the time of this interview, Skogland had a five-year-old. “So, believe me, I know the whole multitasking thing. I write for an hour, and then I have to cope with my daughter for another.”
Write thrillers, mysteries, and other related crime dramas and avoid writing cliches by following these rules.
Joe Friday: “Just the facts, Ma’am”
Dragnet
Don’t use “Let’s take him downtown for questioning.” Roth writes that real cops never say that.
What is Attempted Murder?
The Crime Writer’s Reference Guide, 1001 Tips for Writing the Perfect Murder by the late Martin Roth, is not a book that you read for pleasure on a rainy Sunday afternoon.
When writing a story that requires an accurate portrayal of a crime, you reach for it and use it to describe blood. You’ll need to read it, though, so you know why you write with accuracy and detail a fictional crime story.
Of course, you don’t want to be as dry as a crime report, but you want to write real-life drama.
When you are writing a story that needs an accurate portrait of anything that deals with a crime, you reach for this book and use it for blood.
How to Become a Serial Killer
Take a story about a serial killer. You need to create a profile and look up serial murder in the book’s glossary. Turn to the designated pages and discover that there is not just one type of serial killer, but four. You read the passage in the book, “studies reveal that most serial killers are white males between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-five and are usually products of working- or lower-middle-class families.”
Your profile takes shape, and you read on, “Many serial killers are charming, selfish, impulsive, and ambitious. Many come from broken homes or homes where they were abused. Few serial killers express any feelings of guilt or remorse for their crimes.” A brilliant start for a classic character study. Now that I think about it, most of the crime stories I have read or seen in movies fit this profile.
Turn to the designated pages and discover that there is not just one type of serial killer but four.
Writing Crime Dialogue
I enjoyed the chapter on language. It is an essential tool for any crime writer, with terms such as “throwaway,” which refers to guns or clothes the mugger wears and discards to avoid pursuit.
How about “pigeon,” which means victim. This chapter supplies enough dialogue ideas to keep you writing dialogue for twelve CSI spin-offs. Wait, CSI spin-offs are close to twelve and counting.
All kidding aside, you need this book dog-eared and well-used if you write about crime.
How to Write a List of Character Traits
Reading the book filled my head with straightforward ideas for stories and ample characters. What also fascinated me was the character description of cops, including what their lives are like and what they are not like, which sparked a range of ideas. My fingers were itching to click the keys on my keyboard and start writing.
Roth’s book gives you all the information you need to create a crime. You can start with the criminal act, the crime scene investigation, the prosecution of the criminal, and conclude with a life sentence in prison. He offers numerous examples of television shows that accurately portray crime stories.
As an exercise, you can watch a few crime shows and see if the production company followed Roth’s standards.
Listen to the Police Dialogue
Mark Wahlberg stars in Mile 22, a drama about a secret special forces unit within the government. I recommend you listen to the dialogue in this movie. You will hear crime jargon, such as “motive” and “driven.”
Director Peter Berg shoots scenes with a handheld camera that follows agents, police, and special forces as they meet and collaborate to solve the crime.
Although it is a dramatization, you get the idea of what it’s like within a collaborative meeting between police forces.
Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade
Humphrey Bogart
“He said: “I’m going to send you over. The chances are you’ll get off with life. That means you’ll be out again in twenty years. You’re an angel. I’ll wait for you.” He cleared his throat. “If they hang you, I’ll always remember you.”— Dashiell Hammett, “The Maltese Falcon”
Finally, if the chapter you are reading isn’t enough to fill your creative imagination, which is hard to believe, there is a section called “Where do you go from here.” This chapter includes a list of other books on the same subject. You can head to the library and create a new pastime of reading how-to-write crime stories instruction books. “The Crime Writer’s Reference Guide, 1001 Tips for Writing the Perfect Murder” is the reference book for any writer about to write a story centered on crime. Even if you have it written, you can use this book to cross-check your accuracy. “Just the facts, Ma’am.”
After reading this article, you’ll become more aware of product placement in films and TV shows. You’ll also learn how to use product placement to help fund your next film.
“Stranger Things” scene with KFC. It’s finger-lickin’ good. Source: JokerMan
Examples of Product Placement in Movies
Product placement is an excellent resource to fund your movie and offset the negative costs of the production. Some say product placement can cover or replace 50-60% of a film’s budget. It’s a big business and a smart way to cover certain production costs. Yet, there are logistics to deal with and corporations and representatives that need to convince you that your film is worthy of its product placement.
Product placement involves props, vehicles, set dressing, and wardrobe donated or loaned to production for on-air use. For example, it could be as simple as a shot of a familiar airline logo. Even when an airline jet takes off, or a billboard or banner promotes a brand-name product, the effect can be pretty noticeable. You might have spotted a box of Cheerios at a breakfast scene—When Harry Met Sally, where Sally microwaves Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Stranger Things nabbed $27 million in product placements, from KFC to Cola to Eggo Waffles to Gap.
Product Placement in Film: A Huge Business
The process seems easy for a brand to pay for, loan to, or even donate to a film production. That is not the case. It is a huge business. What the manufacturers decide to pay, loan, or donate for valuable exposure is determined when they or their representatives evaluate the script, cast, and director of the project. It takes just as much, if not more, work as procuring funding for a film. Still, it gets done and is worth the effort and time. A filmmaker can cover transportation or meal costs by agreeing to product placement.
The late Paul Newman is ready to race in one of the many Budweiser cars he raced. Source: Lola
Paul Newman and Tom Cruise
Anyone can think of the last film they saw and notice the product placement in that movie. The late Paul Newman was known for drinking Budweiser beer in his films. Budweiser also supported his car racing. The Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One film was all too obvious, with the chase involving a tiny yellow Fiat car in Rome. But who didn’t want a cute Fiat after that scene? The James Bond franchise has fancy cars, designer clothes, and Heineken sipping. The list of product placements is long, dating back to 1910.
Product Integration in Film
Product integration is another term used around the industry for product placement. The term denotes products and services incorporated into the film and used, consumed, worn or mentioned by the main characters. The Barbie movie is an obvious example of product integration. The film’s focus is the Barbie doll, which is mentioned in press junket interviews and on social media.
Major studios and production companies have product placement departments. Producers can hire companies or promotional agencies to help manufacturers place their products in films. Filmmakers seeking funding or donations should find companies and agencies, do research and be prepared to negotiate.
Once a product placement is assigned to a film project, a wise filmmaker assigns an individual to coordinate and supervise the entire process, ensuring the brand is correctly represented in the film.
Brands or Companies Get Exposure
It is impressive what these product placement agencies can do. They include online services that partner with products and productions. They even specialize in helping new brands or companies get their first exposure secured in films. As a filmmaker, it is your job to use your imagination and ingenuity to choose the types of brands or products you can place in your movie. That requires a scene breakdown of where each scene takes place and which brands or products appear in it. For example, the kitchen scene means food, cooking ware, food products, etc.
For the most part, independent films with producers, property masters, transportation coordinators, department heads, and costume supervisors usually handle their own product placement. That way, they avoid having the overhead of paying a salary or fee to someone else. Still, the filmmaker and producer ensure they maintain their product placement agreements or contracts. The best way to hold and control product placement is to keep the number of people responsible on your crew to a minimum. The filmmaker must consult any agreement or contract for product and service placement with the production executive, producer, and production attorney.
Ethan Coen’s “Drive Away Dolls” is subtly featured in this barroom scene. Source: Kenna McHugh
Product Placement Regulations
Because product placement is so popular and widely used in the film industry, a filmmaker will discover more regulations regarding it than they ever imagined. It’s not just about placing a banner. Because of laws governing the financing of such commodities and the possibility of payola—bribing someone to use their influence or position to promote a specific product or interest—the film industry is more open to product placement than the television industry. The television industry must disclose its product placement at the end of the episode as a “promotional consideration.”
With that, a filmmaker needs to set their standards or policies on how they want to approach product placement for their movie. The filmmaker avoids outlandish bribes or unreasonable requests by having guidelines. The idea is to maintain a realistic storyline without jeopardizing the integrity of the film. Thus, avoid placing or accentuating products that appear to be advertising or sponsorship. Some standard rules of thumb are that production personnel, cast and so forth may not accept gifts from companies that want their products used in the film. Thus, no one associated with the production can endorse or refer that a specific talent will promote a brand or product in a movie.
Sample Letter Requesting Product Placement in a Short Film
When you have a product that stands out in the storyline, it’s best to write a letter for permission to use the product in the film. Source: Kenna McHugh
The Bottom Line
Again, the filmmaker needs to put on his thinking cap and consider his storyline and overall movie genre. Take a marketing perspective and imagine what products would do well in his film. There are companies out there that want to integrate their products into a variety of entertainment media. They will probably get involved if the movie is a high-profile project with some very talented and up-and-coming movie stars.
This article examines the top drama schools where movie stars like Meryl Streep, Paul Rudd, Angela Bassett and Paul Newman attended.
1. David Geffen School of Drama at Yale
Meryl Streep graduated from Yale Drama School.
Yale School of Drama’s reputation claims that each graduate acquires an agent within one month. Another added benefit is that the school is now tuition-free, thanks to a grant from David Geffen.
Cole Porter, Angela Bassett, Julie Harris, Thornton Wilder, Paul Newman, Meryl Streep and Paul Giamatti are just a few well-known alumni.
Since its establishment in 1924, the school has offered programs in every theatre discipline.
Yale Drama School Free
Tuition and Expenses
The tuition is free, based on a remarkable gift from David Geffen. His generous donation ensures that full-time students in degree and certificate programs receive 100% tuition remission from each day forward. Rightly so, the school’s name changed to the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University. Books and estimated living expenses come to $21,000, including Yale Health Hospitalization/Specialty Coverage.
2. The Juilliard School
The list of talent that graduated from The Juilliard School is endless.
In her memoir, Patti LuPone felt truly educated when she arrived at Juilliard. The drama school’s founder, John Houseman, instilled in her an unthinkable discipline, pushing her diction problem to the brink of strangulation if she did not overcome her plight.
The Juilliard School approaches the study of drama in the most creative way.
There are high success guarantees in a handful of disciplines: Oscar Isaac, Patti Lupone, Viola Davis and Jessica Chastain are a few reputable alumni.
An agent says students learn and understand the classics, turning young talent into classical masters of the technique.
Tuition and Expenses
Tuition is estimated at $39,720, with living expenses varying depending on whether students live on or off campus. The cost includes room and meals, which range from $14,790 to $18,460, depending on whether students live in a double or single room. Books and supplies are $3,440, so the total per year is $57,950 to $61,620.
Those who decide to live off-campus face much higher housing and food costs, including transportation costs of around $1,008. Potential students should note that there are also application fees.
3. Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama
Award winners attend CMU.
Holly Hunter and Ted Danson are among the famous alumni of CMU, including Stephen Schwartz, the creator of Wicked and Pippin, who is also a graduate. CMU graduates earned six Oscars, 31 Tonys and 99 Emmys. Carnegie holds the most graduates with awards of any other drama school.
Tuition and Expenses
Tuition for both resident and off-campus students is the same at $49,610. Other fees apply at $1,055, and room and board cost $14,972. Books and supplies cost an estimated $2,400. The university includes part-time tuition at $465 per unit.
4. Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Here is one of the best actor training schools on the planet.
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art speaks to the history of theater. Playwright George Bernard Shaw asked RADA for a third of his royalties.
Maggie Gyllenhaal and Anthony Hopkins are notable graduates. Sir Laurence Olivier taught at RADA and bestowed one-third of his royalties on it.
Tuition and Expenses
Tuition fees are in UK currency for local, island, and overseas students. They range from 9,000 pounds to 17,200 pounds. Students living in the UK and with low incomes can apply for scholarships.
5. San Francisco American Conservatory Theater
Actors train and perform.
San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater (ACT) is a hard act to follow. The school collaborates with one of the top regional theaters, and the drama program attracts undergrads.
They attend the school’s 15-week semester. Ed Davis, Annette Bening, and Denzel Washington are just a few well-known graduates.
Tuition and Expenses
Tuition and fees are estimated at $26,750 and total $48,131, including supplies and the cost of living. The school offers child care and other services for an additional fee.
6. Northwestern University School of Drama
Tour the school before deciding to enroll.
Northwestern University graduates include the talented Charlton Heston, Warren Beatty, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Stephen Colbert, and David Schwimmer, the founder of Lookingglass Theatre.
Tuition and Expenses
Financial aid is available for low-income families, and resident and out-of-state tuition does not appear to vary. The total for one year of schooling runs about $63,554. The cost includes miscellaneous fees, room and board, and books and supplies.
7. CalArts
Disney’s daughter founded CalArts.
CalArts’ Center for New Performance is part of a school established by Walt Disney. Don Cheadle, Alison Brie, and Ed Harris are a handful of graduates who graced the school. It is not considered a drama school, but a theatre school that allows students to work with the likes of Ron Cephas Jones in the production of Prometheus Bound at the Getty Villa.
Tuition and Expenses
Tuition for an academic year runs about $45,030 for full-time enrollment. Payment plans are available, and other fees may apply. Tuition includes instruction, facilities, and some materials used in regular programs. Students must be financially able to pay for other supplies required for most projects.
Christopher Pheiffer, CalArts School of Theater MFA
8. The Academy of Dramatic Arts
The school is costly, so ensure you get your money’s worth.
The American Academy of Dramatic Arts of Los Angeles and New York (Manhattan) are private institutions that serve as a performing arts conservatory.
The students earn an associate degree and audition for an invitation to be in the third-year theater company. Most students transfer to another higher institution to earn a bachelor’s degree.
The academy is the oldest acting school globally and is an English-speaking school. Both schools have impressive alumni, including Lauren Bacall, Anne Bancroft, Danny DeVito, Paul Rudd, and Robert Redford.
Tuition and Expenses
The undergraduate tuition and fees at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles total $36,190. About thirty-seven percent of enrolled undergraduate students receive grants or scholarships, with the average amount being $8,835. The total tuition and fees at AADA Los Angeles are $42,940, including education, books, fees, living costs and supplies.
The American Academy of Dramatic Arts New York undergraduate tuition and fees for a full-time student are $59,219, regardless of their residency. This includes $34,410 for tuition, $19,555 for housing, $570 for supplies and books and $750 for miscellaneous fees.
9. USC School of Dramatic Arts
USC offers production opportunities for students to gain hands-on experience. Source: USC School of Dramatic Arts
Tuition and Expenses
The University of Southern California, School of Dramatic Arts, is inclusive and recruits for diversity. Faculty member Ahmed Best works to mentor black directors with the help of Lucasfilm.
All faculty members are working professionals who have collaborated with industry actors such as George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Connie Britton and Forest Whitaker. The estimated cost of attendance for two semesters or 12 to 18 units is $66,640, though many scholarships are worth considering.
Other expenses, including fees, books, supplies, housing, meals, and incidentals like transportation, add up to $90,921 for two semesters. The tuition rate is the same for out-of-state and in-state residents. The first semester requires a $450.00 New Student Fee.
Based on a true story, Dolphin Tale is a movie you and your kids will love.
Movie That’s a Family Story
If you’re looking for a movie to share with someone special, Dolphin Tale is an excellent choice for the whole family. Yes, it’s a “family-friendly” movie, but the story is about overcoming mental and physical challenges. It is a film that quickly wins your heart, as the inspirational story immediately draws you in.
The film centers on a true story about a boy named Sawyer (Nathan Gamble) and his friend, Winter, a dolphin whose tail was lost after becoming entangled in a crab trap. With the boy’s help, the Clearwater Marine Aquarium nursed Winter back to health. Winter plays herself in the movie, which is pretty impressive.
The Blu-ray/DVD combo release includes several aspects of Winter’s story. The Blu-ray and DVD include behind-the-scenes footage and educational material. Imagine working with a dolphin, teaching her how to use a prosthetic fin – the first time it has ever been done. A Dolphin Tale is the best family film of the year – a movie worth watching over and over during the summer or Winter. I highly recommend Dolphin Tale.
The behind-the-scenes featurettes are educational because you get to see how they developed the prosthetic fin. Imagine working with a dolphin for the first time, teaching her how to use a prosthetic flipper.
Dolphin Washes Up on the Beach
Sawyer discovers Winter washes up on the beach. He helps her, and the Clearwater Marine Aquarium’s emergency response team arrives to help the injured dolphin by bringing her to the aquarium.
Sawyer is the movie’s focus as we meet the Clearwater Marine Team led by Dr. Clay Haskett (Harry Connick Jr.) and his daughter, Hazel (Cozi Zuehlsdorff).
Hazel and Sawyer become fast friends. We see Sawyer’s transformation into a more responsible person with a purpose in life. He changes from an apathetic boy with no real goal to a high-spirited, action-packed person ready to help Winter. He has a strong desire to help her get healthy so that she can live a long and happy life.
Winter is a camera charmer because she draws the viewers into her life. You cannot help but feel empathy for her plight. The animal is doing all the movements with and without the prosthetic fin – brilliant. For comical relief, the film has a puckish pelican named Rufus – he is hilarious.
Writing Genuine Dialogue
The dialogue is genuine and propels the story forward at a meaningful and brisk pace. Never second-guessing if the story is real or spun from a simple story about saving a dolphin.
Sawyer and Hazel’s dialogue effectively conveys the challenges of growing up with one parent, yet makes them light and easy to confront.
The writing is so good that the scientific discoveries developed and engineered through Dr. McCarthy take historical precedence in helping our animals on the planet.
Winter is a camera charmer; she draws the viewers into her life. You cannot help but feel empathy for her plight.
“Just because you’re hurt doesn’t mean you’re broken.” Dr. Cameron McCarthy, played by Morgan Freeman
Dolphin Without a Tail
AFI Lifetime Achievement recipient, Morgan Freeman, brings a whole new level to the movie. Cast as Dr. Cameron McCarthy, a military prosthetics doctor who is sufficiently “out of the box” to make a prosthetic for a dolphin. We see an authentic Freeman character, adding the anchor to the whole process of developing a prosthetic fin for a dolphin. The McCarthy character was formulated from two prosthetic makers who had the mind’s eye to help Winter overcome her physical barrier. Both the Blu-ray and DVD offer “At Home with Winter” and “Winter’s Inspiration” featurettes, showcasing all the work that went into creating Winter’s finale. It is worth mentioning that the prosthetics makers volunteered their time to design new prosthetics as Winter grows.
The Blu-ray also features two additional extras: two animated shorts, “The Hutash Rainbow Bridge,” which tells the story Dr. Clay related to Sawyer in the movie. “Ormie and the Cookie Jar” — viewers watch an original short in the style of Pixar.
You can even visit Winter in Clearwater by visiting Seewinter.org and viewing Winter live on the webcam.
The film also stars Ashely Judd, Kris Kristofferson, and Nathan Gamble.
Check out these movies, as they surprised audiences and remain worth watching even today.
Sleeper hit movies demonstrate that any filmmaker can create a low-budget movie that becomes a box office success. Tentpole or high-budget movies are not always a shoo-in because, for the most part, they are rehashed stories that producers don’t have to gamble on or question the outcome. Circling back to sleeper hits is a treasure when the public flocks to the movie houses and celebrates a surprising success.
Sleeper Hit
A “sleeper hit” is a surprise smash hit movie that the film industry didn’t expect to succeed at the box office. Let’s take a look at some films worth mentioning, renting, or streaming because they’re sleeper hits.
Best Movie You’ve Ever Seen
Why would you want to see a sleeper hit movie? The same reason you’d like to see a film is that it is the best movie you have ever seen. We’re not talking tentpole movies with large marketing schemes. These are movies made on a low budget without special effects. The story is believable, and the acting is top-notch. Usually, the director is relatively new to the industry. Go down my list of sleeper hits, and discern whether or not they deserve the “sleeper hit” nod.
1. “Happy Death Day”
When I heard about Happy Death Day and saw the trailer, I predicted that horror fans would flock to the movie theaters to see this movie. Watching the trailer, it appears to be a super-entertaining yet horrific movie, with a plot similar to Groundhog Day.
Apparently, the producers didn’t expect the movie to be a real success, but it was, and now they are releasing a sequel,Happy Death Day 2U, with the same director and cast.
2. “Don’t Breathe”
Don’t Breathe was never considered the best new horror movie and was projected to gross under $14 million. The minuscule amount was fine with the producers because it cost $9 million to produce. It became a sleeper hit, as the movie, a low-budget horror film, grossed over $89 million in North America alone. In other markets around the world, it brought in $67.9 million – the end of the summer box office hit.
Produced by Sam Raimi, known for directing the earlier Spider-Man movies starring Toby Maguire, the movie’s director, Fede Alvarez, is now working on a sequel.
The horror movie follows a blind man who is mugged by three teenagers but turns the tables on them in a hurry. The rest of the story is about how the blind man terrorizes the teenagers. Stephen Lang plays the blind man, and he will look familiar because he’s had a long and fruitful career as a strong character actor.
3. “Lady Bird”
Lady Birdis about my hometown. Greta Gerwig’s film takes place in Sacramento, where she grew up and attended high school. Yes, it is very cool to see the landmarks of my city in such a poignant film. The story itself is endearing, regardless of where you live, whether in Los Angeles or Scottsdale, because it resonates deeply, making it a sleeper hit.
The teenage girl is trying to become who she truly is while contending with the craziness of life in High School and a mother-daughter relationship that is both push and pull.
Although the movie initially received accolades at festivals, the industry and public were captivated by the realistic, heart-pounding drama of a typical high school girl, played brilliantly by Saoirse Ronan.
4. “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, directed by Ang Lee and earning $1 million with 44 screens in eight days, focuses on two women, both competent fighters, who follow different paths toward a violent and blistering showdown with a dynamic ending.
Nobody expected a martial arts movie with strong heroines to succeed at the box office using hardly any marketing efforts and, let alone, win four Oscars.
5. “District 9”
Peter Jackson produced District 9, and its budget was 30 million. The science-fiction movie recouped its investment and earned $ 7 million in its first weekend of release.
The story takes place in South Africa, where extraterrestrial refugees have been stranded for 28 years. One man figures out how to tap into their technology, and the government is not too happy about it.
6. “Bring It On”
Kirsten Dunst starred in Bring It On when she was a teenager. The cheerleading movie earned $70 million. It’s about a very upbeat cheerleader navigating the politics of being the best cheerleader. The sleeper hit movie has several sequels that never match the original. Now a Broadway musical.
If you’ve never seen the movie, I recommend it because cheerleading as the backdrop shows how competitive it can be.
7. “Superbad”
Emma Stone starred in this movie with Michael Cera, Ed Helms, and Jonah Hill. Superbad is a teenage movie about getting alcohol as an underage boy and scoring with chicks.
Produced by Judd Apatow, he was virtually unknown, but it didn’t last for long. Over a summer weekend in 2007, Superbad became a household word and a must-see movie.
8. “Little Miss Sunshine”
Released in seven theaters, Little Miss Sunshine became a sleeper hit movie. It took off and generated half a million dollars in its first week, bringing its total to 200 million, with numerous Academy Award nominations and wins. It’s a feel-good movie with lots of laughs.
9. “Memento”
Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece, which follows Leonard, played by Guy Pearce, features generous notes throughout the movie to aid his short-term memory loss at every moment.
The low-budget movie catapulted into a sleeper hit, earning more than $25 million at the box office and garnering two Academy Award nominations. Memento even scored big time in the DVD release, selling over a million copies.
10. “Napoleon Dynamite”
Napoleon Dynamite is a cult movie with a huge fan base of followers who quote the movie’s snarky dialogue.
The story is quirky, with small-town characters adding to the funny banter. The movie grossed $44.5 million during its summer release, despite being limited to a select number of theaters.
11. “Paranormal Activity”
Paranormal Activity is a filmmaker’s fairytale. The movie only cost $15,000 to make and grossed $100 million. It quickly became a super hit, with sequels to follow. People do walk out of the movie theater before it’s over, not because the movie was bad, but because it was too scary.
12. “The Blair Witch Project”
In 1999, another low-budget sleeper hit was The Blair Witch Project. The movie’s beginning is promising, but it gradually deteriorates. Still, the public came out in droves, and the cheesy but scary movie made millions.
I mentally berated myself for paying to see this movie, as it was so bad. It just got worse and worse until the end was flat. I am still amazed it made so much money at the box office.
13. “47 Meters Down”
Stranger Things season 1 and 2 star Matthew Modine is one of the locals in 47 Meters Down. He represents the force behind the two women’s horror.
Director Johannes Roberts mentioned in the production notes for his sequel, 47 Meters Down: Uncaged, that he was surprised by the film’s box office success.
The low-budget underwater thriller follows Lisa and Kate in a protective cage, who come face-to-face with the Great Whites. The cage snaps apart from the boat, and they find themselves diving to the bottom depths of the ocean floor.
Out of radio range and getting themselves exposed to the ferocious sharks, their oxygen stores were quickly diminishing.
Low-budget Movies
Sleeper hit movies show filmmakers can create a low-budget movie that becomes a box office success. A tent-pole or high-budget movie is not always a hit movie because, mostly, they rehash stories. Producers feel they don’t have to gamble on them or question the outcome. Circling back to sleeper hits is a treasure when the public flocks to the movie houses and celebrates a surprising success.
“Ilya Muromets (The Sword & The Dragon)” (1956) on 4K restoration Blu-ray uncut for the first time in the United States.
Aleksandr Ptushko’s visually stunning FX-filled epic has hit the streets and is now available for your theater library.
Deaf Crocodile Films, in association with distribution partner Seagull Films, released the 4K restoration on Blu-ray of famed fantasy filmmaker Aleksandr Ptushko.
Produced in 1956, this Russian film with English subtitles is visually stunning. The medieval epic was initially released and heavily edited with the title The Sword & the Dragon.
Now, Ilya Muromets (The Sword & The Dragon) through partner label OCN-Vinegar Syndrome. The Blu-ray edition of Ilya Muromets is fully restored to its original Russian release. The package also contains a new commentary track by comics artist (Swamp Thing), film historian and author Stephen R. Bissette and a reprint of film scholar Alan Upchurch’s pioneering essay on Aleksandr Ptushko from Video Watchdog magazine, plus Ptushko’s own essay on the making of Ilya Muromets.
Mosfilm studio recently restored Ilya Muromets in 4K using the original 35mm camera negative. Ptushko’s movie became available for digital streaming after its Blu-ray release through Deaf Crocodile’s partner label, Grasshopper Films.
Ilya Muromets runs 87 minutes, which keeps the drama moving without unnecessarily long pans and dramatic moments. The legendary fantasy filmmaker Aleksandr Ptushko’s sweeping, visual FX-filled epic is impressive as a 1956 production.
“On one level, Ilya Muromets is a pure fantasy, one of Ptushko’s greatest — but even a fantasy can have political implications,” says Dennis Bartok, Deaf Crocodile’s Co-Founder and Head of Distribution & Acquisitions. “Although Ilya Muromets was made in 1956 at the height of the Cold War and was set in a mythical landscape nearly a thousand years earlier, it has unmistakable parallels to today’s world and the war in Ukraine. Ilya was a legendary Kyivan Rus hero, encompassing modern Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus in the 9th to 13th centuries. That idea of somehow returning to a mythical “united Rus'” has been used as a tragic justification for the war today — and of course, when Ilya Muromets was made in 1956, it would have been seen as a call for a united Soviet Union at the time.”
“Imagine being given an unlimited budget and no time constraints to make the ultimate fantasy epic in 1956… that’s Ilya Muromets”, added Deaf Crocodile Co-Founder and Head of Post-Production & Restoration Craig Rogers. “With over 100,000 extras, over 10,000 horses, and a three-headed dragon that breathes real fire!”
Though I have seen none of Ptushko’s production before, some film fans believe this is one of his most enchanting achievements. The movie has stunning Cinemascope as a ballad of heroic medieval knights with ruthless Tugar invaders.
The special effects include wind demons and three-headed fire-breathing dragons, which are remarkable for 1956. The film stars Boris Andreyev as the bogatyr, Russian for a warrior, Ilya, a mythic figure in the Kyivan Rus’ culture that pre-dated modern Ukraine and Russia. Kyivan Rus’ was a shapeless federation in Eastern Europe and Northern Europe from 880 to the beginning of the 13th century. Much of the film’s action is set in Kyiv, and Ilya’s relics are held today in the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery.
Based on a series of famous byliny, Russian for oral epics, the film follows Ilya as he wages a decades-long battle against the Tugars. The Tugars threaten his homeland, kidnap his wife and raise his son to fight against him. The movie is worth watching because of its dynamic acting, brilliant costumes, cinematography and vast panorama shots.
Ptushko began his career in the 1930s and became a combination of Walt Disney, Ray Harryhausen, who pioneered stop-motion animated effects, and Mario Bava, an Italian filmmaker known for his horror movies. Ptushko stands among the best for his dazzling, bejeweled fantasies, including The Stone Flower, Sadko, Sampo and Ruslan & Ludmila.
They released the first Cinemascope film produced in the Soviet Union, Ilya Muromets, in a truncated, dubbed version in the U.S. at the height of the Cold War as The Sword & The Dragon, downplaying the epic poetry and lyricism of the original.
Thanks to the progression of technology, Deaf Crocodile and Seagull Films, this epic movie arrives fully restored in 4K for its first-ever official U.S. release on Blu-ray in its original Russian with English subtitles.
The fifth season of the machinations of Billionsis full of double-crosses, complex and shifting alliances and too many gut punches. Ultimately, the viewers know they’ll get a significant reset in the sixth season at the end of the season.
The most noteworthy plot thread in season 5 was the gradual move of Axelrod or Axe, played by Damian Lewis, and Wendy Roades, played by Maggie Siff, acting on their long, and otherwise unstated desire to be together. When we thought it would happen, the season ended, and it was not the happy ending we hoped to experience. We also know Axe is no longer on the show when season six arrives.
According to the showrunners and Variety, Axe leaving started about three years ago. They knew Wendy and Axe would struggle with love, but it would never flourish. If you remember the season finale, Axe is leaving for Europe, running away. He asks Wendy to join him, and she turns him down.
With an unfulfilled relationship ending, other complex plotlines develop with double-crosses, wordplays, and shifting alliances. Van Halen fans appreciated the character reciting his lyrics from “Antic Punk.”
Since rival billionaire Mike Prince, played by Corey Stoll, outmaneuvers Axe in his constant jousts in the marketplace. Prince comes across as kinder, gentle, and socially more appealing compared to Axe. At the end of the season, Axe is tricked by the marijuana kingpin, played by Janeane Garofalo, who moves both contraband and legal weed, which places Axe in a vulnerable posting of money laundering charges.
Taylor Mason, played by Aisa Kate Dillon, holds the cards as the analytical genius but grapples with her conscience and wealth accumulation. A newcomer, Rian, played by Eva Victor, challenges her idealism. Taylor wants to take down Axe and helps Chuck Rhoades, played by Paul Giamatti, bring criminal charges against him. But, in the end, Taylor feels sorry rather than victorious.
As Billions showrunner and co-creator Brian Koppelman explained to Variety, “The central theme of the show has always been can anybody resist the temptation of that level of money and power? Can anybody remain even close to their true selves when that much money is at hand?”
Directed by Kim Dae-Seung, The Concubine takes place in Korea during the early Joseon Dynasty. Like most movies about the lineage of royalty, machinations control the outcome. We meet Hwa-Yeon, played beautifully by Yeo-jeon Cho, a minister’s daughter and Kwon-Yoo, played brilliantly by Min-Joon Kim, a commoner. Both are deeply in love with each other. It’s a forbidden attraction because of the caste system.
For this reason, Hwa-Yeon is ordered to the royal palace to become the royal concubine. She and Kwon-Yoo attempt to flee and spend the night together. Hwa-Yeon’s father and men, who threaten to kill Kwon-yoo, intercepted them.
To save her one true love, Hwa-Yeon agrees to go to the palace as King’s concubine as instructed. Unbeknownst, her father castrates Kwon-yoo as a punishment, which sets up some compelling drama later in the movie.
Five years later, Hwa-Yeon is the mother of the heir to the throne, but the King slowly dies. After his death, the King’s stepmother, played by Ji-Young Park, uses her power to appoint her biological son Sung-won, played emotionally charged by Dong-Wook Kim, as the successor.
Sung-won has been madly in love with the unobtainable Hwa-Yeon for years. Now that he must procreate to produce an heir to the throne, he can have any woman he wants except Hwa-Yeon based on his mother’s manipulation. She has vengeance on Hwa-Yeon, whose life is in danger.
Kwon-Yoo reemerges into the story, pushing them into a dangerous chess game of lust, sex and power. When Hwa-Yeon discovers what her father has done to her true love, she’s devastated but regains strength.
The Concubine theatrical release in 2012 received accolades and was the 11th most-watched Korean movie. Some reviews at the time focused on the erotic aspect of some scenes, which caused audiences to misunderstand the director’s intent. Mainly, the film shows two powerful women fighting for power. However, the ending is tragic. The director gets us there with beautiful imagery thanks to Ki S. Hwang’s cinematography and Geun-Hyun Cho’s production design.
English subtitles suffice, but I prefer to watch the movie, but the storyline gets lost. The running time is 102 minutes.
