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The USC School of Cinematic Arts, until 2006 named the School of Cinema-Television (CNTV), is a film school within the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. It is the oldest such school in the United States, established in 1929 as a joint venture with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[1] The school offers multiple undergraduate and graduate programs. For 2006-2007, the school had 728 undergraduates and 621 graduate students.[2]
The School’s founding faculties include Douglas Fairbanks, D.W. Griffith, William C. DeMille, Ernst Lubitsch, Irving Thalberg, and Darryl Zanuck. Notable professors include Drew Casper, the Alma and Alfred Hitchcock Professor of American Film; Tomlinson Holman, inventor of THX; David Bondelevitch, President of the Motion Picture Sound Editors; and Mark Jonathan Harris, documentary filmmaker.
The program is one of USC's most competitive specialty schools, for both undergraduate and graduate programs. The BA program in film production accepts 50 students per year,[3] while the Critical Studies department accepts 75 for its BA program, 20-25 for its MA program, and 10-12 for the Ph.D.; the BFA program in Writing for Film and Television accepts only 24 students per year.[4] The MFA program in film directing accepts 48 new students each semester (fall and spring) and the MFA for screenwriting accepts 32 students per year (fall admittance only). Acceptance to any program is contingent upon review of a portfolio, which requires writing samples, creative resumes, autobiographies, and other written responses. The production portfolio does not require the submission of a director's reel or any film samples, allowing talented students who may have not had the opportunity or the means to create films to have the opportunity for admission.[5] The school also has a summer film program that does not require acceptance to any of the above programs.
In April 2006, the USC Board of Trustees voted to change the school's name to the USC School of Cinematic Arts.[6]
On September 19, 2006, USC announced that alumnus George Lucas had donated US$175 million to expand the film school with a new 137,000-square-foot (12,700 m²) facility. This represented the largest single donation to USC and the largest to any film school in the world.[7]
And recently, USC School of Cinematic Arts joined forces with the Royal Film Commission of Jordan, to create the Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts (RSICA) in Aqaba, Jordan.[8]
Facilities
![Eileen Norris Cinema Theater; this 340-seat, state-of-the-art motion picture theater regularly hosts film screenings, lectures, and special events and is part of the USC School of Cinematic Arts.[9]](/images/thumb/0/04/052707-022-NorrisCinema-USC.jpg/275px-052707-022-NorrisCinema-USC.jpg)
Eileen Norris Cinema Theater; this 340-seat, state-of-the-art motion picture theater regularly hosts film screenings, lectures, and special events and is part of the USC School of Cinematic Arts. [9]
Film industry companies, friends, and many of the school's famous alumni have joined forces to fund a world-class film and television complex at USC. Their gifts and ongoing support have enabled the School to build some of the top facilities and equipment of any film school anywhere, including:
Areas of study
Accomplished SCA alumni
See also: List of University of Southern California people
- Erik Aadahl
- Amir Cyrus Ahanchian
- Sasha Alexander
- Scott Alexander
- Elizabeth Allen
- Thom Andersen
- Judd Apatow
- Gregg Araki
- Aditya Assarat
- Doug Atchison
- John August
- Richard L. Bare
- Hal Barwood
- Walt Becker
- David Bezmozgis
- Mehcad Brooks
- Norman Buckley
- Ben Burtt
- Trey Callaway
- John Carpenter
- Nick Castle
- Jack Couffer
- Mark Z. Danielewski
- Caleb Deschanel
- Trygve Allister Diesen
- Scott Derrickson
- Clint Eastwood (Honorary Diploma)
- Richard Edlund
- Bobby Florsheim
- Frank E. Flowers
- Brian Grazer
- Macy Gray
- Bob Gale
- Scott Gimple
- Alfred Gough
- Ashley Greyson
- Javier Grillo-Marxuach
- Conrad Hall
- Jane Hamsher
- James Haven
- Grant Heslov
- Matthew Ryan Hoge
- Ron Howard
- James Ivory
- Joe Johnston
- Rian Johnson
- Larry Karaszewski
- Jonathan Ke Quan
- Richard Kelly
- Karey Kirkpatrick
- Tim Kring
- Eric Kripke
- Ken Kwapis
- Jon Landau
- Chris Chan Lee
- R. Eric Lieb
- Doug Liman
- John Longenecker
- George Lucas
- Gregory Markopoulos
- Richard Martini
- John Milius
- Miles Millar
- F. Hudson Miller
- Stephen Mirrione
- Walter Murch
- Laura Neri
- Dan O'Bannon
- Randy Olson
- Tom Oesch
- Richard Outten
- Chris Parson
- Paula Patton
- Sam Peckinpah (drama major)
- Brian Wayne Peterson
- Shawn Piller
- Stu Pollard
- Kevin Reynolds
- Jay Roach
- Shonda Rhimes
- Gary Rydstrom
- Edward Saxon
- Josh Schwartz
- Leigh Scott
- Stacey Sher
- Christine Shin
- Sofia Shinas
- Bryan Singer[10]
Notable faculty members and instructors
Distinctions
- Since 1973, not a year has passed without an alumnus having been nominated for an Academy Award.
- Alumni have held key creative or production positions in 8 of the 10 highest grossing movies in history.
Student winners
- Producer John Longenecker received an Academy Award for a film produced while attending USC Cinema classes -- The Resurrection of Broncho Billy (1970) - best live action short film.
- In 2001, MFA student David Greenspan won the Palme d’Or for short film at the Cannes Film Festival for his student film Bean Cake.[11]
Trivia
- Steven Spielberg was denied admission to the program twice. In spite of this, the iconic filmmaker now sits on the school's board of directors and is a trustee of the university.
References
- ^
Waxman, Sharon (January 31, 2006), "At U.S.C., a Practical Emphasis in Film", New York Times, <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/31/movies/31film.html>. Retrieved on {{#iferror:2008
|2008-02-04
|3 February 2008}}
- ^ Stastics at a Glance, USC School of Cinematic Arts, Accessed March 18, 2007.
- ^ USC School of Cinematic Arts Production Application Requirements
- ^ USC School of Cinematic Arts, Writing for Film and Television Application Requirements
- ^ USC School of Cinematic Arts, Applications by Program and Deadlines
- ^ Stuart Silverstein, George Lucas Donates USC's Largest Single Gift, The Los Angeles Times, September 19, 2006
- ^ John Zollinger, George Lucas Donates $175 Million to USC, USC Public Relations, September 20, 2006
- ^ Jordan Signs Cinema Pact With USC, USC Public Relations, September 20, 2006
- ^ venues/norris.html Eileen Norris Cinema Theatre, USC Event Venues, Accessed May 29, 2007.
- ^ Weinraub, Bernard. "FILM; An Unusual Choice for the Role of Studio Superhero", The New York Times, July 9, 2000. Accessed November 27, 2007. "Mr. Singer attended the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan for two years, and then transferred to the University of Southern California."
- ^ Alumni Profile: Cannes Do Spirit, Trojan Family Magazine, Spring 2002, Accessed Sept. 19, 2006.
External links
fi:USC School of Cinema-Television
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![Eileen Norris Cinema Theater; this 340-seat, state-of-the-art motion picture theater regularly hosts film screenings, lectures, and special events and is part of the USC School of Cinematic Arts.[9]](/wiki/Image:052707-022-NorrisCinema-USC.jpg)
