Dale M. Pollock (born 1950) is an American film producer, writer and film professor. A journalist whose works have been published in a number of magazines and newspapers, Pollock is also the author of a biography of
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...
. Pollock has produced thirteen feature films, one of which (''
Blaze'') received an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
nomination for Cinematography. He was Professor of Cinema Studies at the
University of North Carolina School of the Arts
The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) is an arts school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It grants high school, undergraduate, and graduate degrees. Founded in 1963 as the North Carolina School of the Arts by then-Governo ...
from January 2007 to December 2019. He served as Interim Dean from January 1 to July 31, 2021, and is currently Emeritus Professor in the School of Filmmaking.
Personal life
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Pollock obtained a B.A. in Anthropology from
Brandeis University
, mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = NECHE
, president = Ronald D. Liebowitz
, pro ...
and an M.S. in Communications from
San Jose State University
San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sys ...
. Pollock is married to fiddle player Susie O'Keeffe Pollock. His children are Owen Pollock, Leo Pollock and Zoe Di Novi.
Writing
An excerpt of Pollock's Master of Science thesis, "The Use of Media in a Political Campaign," was published in 1975 in Daily Variety's 42nd Anniversary Issue. Pollock's entry into journalism was as entertainment editor at the ''
Santa Cruz Sentinel
The ''Santa Cruz Sentinel'' is a daily newspaper published in Santa Cruz, California, covering Santa Cruz County, California, and owned by Media News Group.
Ottaway Community Newspapers, a division of Dow Jones & Company bought the paper in 1982 ...
'' in Santa Cruz, CA. Subsequently, he joined the staff of ''
Daily Variety
''Variety'' is an American media company owned by Penske Media Corporation. The company was founded by Sime Silverman in New York City in 1905 as a weekly newspaper reporting on theater and vaudeville. In 1933 it added ''Daily Variety'', based ...
'' in Los Angeles becoming Film Critic and Box Office Analyst, before moving to the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' where he became Chief Film Reporter in the Calendar, Business, Metro and Editorial sections. In addition, he has published in ''
Life
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...
'', ''Esquire'', ''People Weekly'', and in the Daily Variety AFI Life Achievement Award Tribute to George Lucas. In 1983, his biography of George Lucas, ''Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas'' was published. An updated version was published by Samuel French Trade in 1990 and a further updated edition in 1999 by Da Capo Press. In 2008 Pollock began writing a monthly audio book column for the ''Winston Salem Journal''. Pollock's essay on the Billy Wilder film ''Five Graves to Cairo'' was published in the book ''Billy Wilder, Movie-Maker: Critical Essays on the Films'' edited by Karen McNall.
Film career
In 1985, Pollock joined The David Geffen Company as a development executive. He joined A&M Films a year later as vice president in charge of production, and was named president in 1990, producing such films as ''A Midnight Clear'', ''Blaze'', and ''Mrs. Winterbourne''. Pollock founded and ran his own film company, Peak Productions, for 10 years, producing ''Set It Off'' in 1996, among other films.
Teaching
Pollock's career at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, N.C. began in 1999, when he became Dean of the School of Filmmaking. He held the position until 2006, when he became a professor in Cinema Studies. He had previously taught at the Peter Stark Graduate Program at the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
, the School of Professional Writing at the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
,
Salem College
Salem College is a private women's liberal arts college in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1772 as a primary school, it later became an academy (high school) and ultimately added the college. It is the oldest female educational establ ...
, and the
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Leade ...
where he was co-chair of the Producing Program.
During his tenure as dean at the School of Filmmaking, he launched the CinEthics Conference in 2000 and in 2003 brought the
RiverRun International Film Festival
The RiverRun International Film Festival is an annual Oscar-qualifying film festival held each spring in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The festival is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and presents a variety of feature-length and short films fro ...
from Brevard, NC to Winston-Salem. He served as its Executive Director of the latter until the end of 2006, when he became chairman of the board of directors. Pollock received the title of Professor Emeritus in December 2019. Pollock served as Interim Dean of the School of Filmmaking for the Spring semester, from January through July 2021.
Public appearances
Pollock has appeared on several national news programs, including ''
Dateline NBC
''Dateline NBC'' is a weekly American television news magazine/reality legal show that is broadcast on NBC. It was previously the network's flagship general interest news magazine, but now focuses mainly on true crime stories with only occasion ...
'', ''
Nightline
''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News' late-night television news program broadcast on ABC in the United States with a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. Created by Roone Arledge, the progra ...
'', and
National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...
's ''
Morning Edition
''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 AM ...
''. He has presented workshops on film producing and film ethics and has moderated several panels at major film festivals including
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival ( cs, Mezinárodní filmový festival Karlovy Vary) is a film festival held annually in July in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become ...
,
Nashville Film Festival
The Nashville Film Festival (NashFilm), held annually in Nashville, Tennessee, is the oldest running film festival in the South and one of the oldest in the United States. In 2016, Nashville Film Festival received more than 6,700 submissions from ...
,
Boston Film Festival and
Palm Springs International Film Festival
Palm Springs International Film Festival (sometimes stylized shortly as PSIFF) is a film festival held in Palm Springs, California. Originally promoted by Mayor Sonny Bono and then sponsored by Nortel,here for Table of Contents it started in 1989 ...
. From 2009-2019 Pollock appeared weekly on WXII TV Channel 12 as their film critic, beginning again in 2022.
[http://www.wxii12.com/video/23258646/index.html]
Filmography
He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.
Film
;Thanks
Notes
External links
*
UNCSA Faculty profileDa Capo book profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pollock, Dale
1950 births
American film producers
American non-fiction writers
Living people
University of North Carolina School of the Arts faculty