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 ...

School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) houses seven academic divisions: Film & Television Production; Cinema & Media Studies; John C. Hench Division of Animation + Digital Arts; John Wells Division of Writing for Screen & Television; Interactive Media & Games; Media Arts + Practice; Peter Stark Producing Program. The USC School of Cinematic Arts is led by dean Elizabeth Monk Daley, who holds the Steven J. Ross/Time Warner Chair and is the longest-serving dean at the University of Southern California, having led the cinema school since 1991.

History

When

Douglas Fairbanks Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thi ...

became the first president of the nascent Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1927, one of the more innovative items on his agenda was that the academy should have a “training school”. As Fairbanks and his enablers reasoned that training in the cinematic arts should be seen as a legitimate academic discipline at major universities, given the same degree considerations as fields like medicine and law. Although cinema studies programs are now widely entrenched in academia, back then it was a novel idea and many universities turned Fairbanks down. But he found tepid acceptance at the University of Southern California that agreed to allow one class, called “Introduction to Photoplay” that debuted in 1929, the same year as the Academy Awards. Determined to make it a success, Fairbanks brought in the biggest industry names of the era to lecture, including

Mary Pickford Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...

, D. W. Griffith,

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

William C. DeMille William Churchill deMille (July 25, 1878 – March 5, 1955), also spelled de Mille or De Mille, was an American screenwriter and film director from the silent film era through the early 1930s. He was also a noted playwright prior to moving into ...

Ernst Lubitsch Ernst Lubitsch (; January 29, 1892November 30, 1947) was a German-born American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; as ...

Irving Thalberg Irving Grant Thalberg (May 30, 1899 – September 14, 1936) was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and ability to select scripts, choose actors, gather productio ...

, and

Darryl Zanuck Darryl Francis Zanuck (September 5, 1902December 22, 1979) was an American film producer and studio executive; he earlier contributed stories for films starting in the silent era. He played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of ...

.Rachel Abramowitz
L.A.'s screening gems
''Los Angeles Times'', Accessed June 16, 2008. From that one class grew a Department of Cinematography (1932) in the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, renamed the Department of Cinema (1940), which led to the establishment of the USC School of Cinema-Television (1983), which was renamed the USC School of Cinematic Arts (2006). . On September 19, 2006, USC announced that alumnus

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 ...

had donated US$175 million to expand the film school with a new facility. This represented the largest single donation to USC and the largest to any film school in the world. His previous donations resulted in the naming of two buildings in the school's previous complex, opened in 1984, after him and his then-wife Marcia, though Lucas was not fond of the

Spanish Colonial Revival architecture The Spanish Colonial Revival Style ( es, Arquitectura neocolonial española) is an architectural stylistic movement arising in the early 20th century based on the Spanish Colonial architecture of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. In th ...

used in those buildings. An architectural hobbyist, Lucas laid out the original designs for the project, inspired by the

Mediterranean Revival Style Mediterranean Revival is an architectural style introduced in the United States, Canada, and certain other countries in the 19th century. It incorporated references from Spanish Renaissance, Spanish Colonial, Italian Renaissance, French Colonial ...

that was used in older campus buildings as well as the Los Angeles area. The project also received another $50 million in contributions from

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

and

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

. In fall 2006, the school, together with the Royal Film Commission of Jordan, created the

Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

(RSICA) in

Aqaba Aqaba (, also ; ar, العقبة, al-ʿAqaba, al-ʿAgaba, ) is the only coastal city in Jordan and the largest and most populous city on the Gulf of Aqaba. Situated in southernmost Jordan, Aqaba is the administrative centre of the Aqaba Govern ...

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

. The first classes were held in 2008, and the first graduating class for the university was in 2010. The USC School of Cinematic Arts announced it would remove an exhibit devoted to actor and former USC student John Wayne, after months of insistence from a small number of students denouncing the Hollywood star’s views and the portrayal of indigenous Americans in his films. The exhibit has been relocated to the Cinematic Arts library which has many collections for the study of figures whose lives and works are part of society's shared history. These materials are preserved for posterity and made accessible for research and scholarship as will the materials in the Wayne Collection.

Divisions

Film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
&
Television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
Production

The current Chair is Gail Katz, holder of the Mary Pickford Endowed Chair; Vice-Chair is Susan Arnold.

Cinema & Media Studies

The Division of Cinema & Media Studies is the central hub for film theory at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. The current Chair is Priya Jaikumar.

John C. Hench Division of Animation + Digital Arts

The John C. Hench Division of Animation + Digital Arts teaches courses in animation and digital arts. These include classic character animation, 2-D and 3-D storytelling, performance capture, visual effects, motion graphics, stop-motion, experimental filmmaking, installations and multimedia, documentary animation, and visualizing scientific research. The current Chair is Teresa Cheng, who holds the John C. Hench Endowed Division Chair.

Interactive Media & Games Division

The Interactive Media & Games Division teaches video games, which make up the fastest growing segment of the entertainment industry. USC has been a pioneer in teaching the foundations of games and interactive media while also moving the field forward with innovative research concepts. The Princeton Review has ranked USC the #1 Game Design school in North America every year since its ranking system began in 2009. The current Chair is Danny Bilson.

Media Arts + Practice

The Media Arts + Practice Division (MA+P) creates and analyzes media for fields as diverse as business, medicine, education, architecture, law, urban planning, filmmaking. The current Chair is

Holly Willis Holly Willis is a Professor and Chair of the Media Arts and Practice division in the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Previously, she served as Associate Dean of Research and Founding Chair of Media Arts and Practice, as well as Director of Academ ...

John Wells Division of Writing for Screen & Television

The USC School of Cinematic Arts offers Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees in Writing for Screen and Television for students who seek professional preparation for a career in screen and television writing. The programs emphasizes small, workshop-style classes. Students attend a variety of guest speaker presentations, take industry internships, are provided with mentors and are taught by professors who are actively working in the entertainment industry. Each fall, 30 undergraduate and 32 graduate writing students are selected to begin the program. The current Chair is

David Isaacs David Isaacs may refer to: * David Isaacs (singer) (1946–2009), Jamaican reggae singer * David Isaacs (writer), American TV screenwriter and producer * David Isaacs (UFC Cofounder) David Isaacs is a media and technology entrepreneur and TV/liv ...

Peter Stark Producing Program

The Peter Stark Producing Program is a two-year (four semester) full-time graduate program. Approximately 24 Peter Stark Program students are enrolled each fall. The curriculum is designed to prepare a select group of students for careers as producers and executives of film, television, and new media. The current Chair is

Edward Saxon Edward Bradley Saxon (born November 17, 1956) is an American film producer. Early life Saxon was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and educated at Kirkwood High School from 1972 to 1976. He studied at McGill University from 1976 to 198 ...

Faculty

The School of Cinematic Arts also has an active Board of Councilors who help guide the future direction of the School and work with the Dean to ensure the School is properly resourced.

Facilities

Donations from film and game industry companies, friends, and alumni have enabled the school to build the following facilities:Facilities
/ref> * School of Cinematic Arts Complex, completed in 2010, which includes: **

soundstage **

and

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

Buildings, featuring the

Ray Stark Raymond Otto Stark (October 3, 1915 – January 17, 2004) was one of the most successful and prolific independent film producers in postwar Hollywood. Stark's background as a literary and theatrical agent prepared him to produce some of the most ...

Family Theatre, which is equipped for 3D presentation, as well as two digital theatres, the Albert and Dana Broccoli Theatre and

Fanny Brice Fania Borach (October 29, 1891 – May 29, 1951), known professionally as Fanny Brice or Fannie Brice, was an American comedienne, illustrated song model, singer, and theater and film actress who made many stage, radio, and film appearances. S ...

Theatre **

Marcia Lucas Marcia Lou Lucas (née Griffin; born October 4, 1945) * * is an American film editor and film producer. She is best known for her work editing Martin Scorsese's '' Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore'' (1973), ''Taxi Driver'' (1976), and '' New York, ...

Post-Production Center ** Marilyn &

Jeffrey Katzenberg Jeffrey Katzenberg (; born December 21, 1950) is an American filmmaker, animator, and media proprietor. He became well known for his tenure as chairman of Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1994. After departing Disney, he was a co-founder and C ...

Center for Animation **

Sumner Redstone Sumner Murray Redstone ( Rothstein; May 27, 1923 – August 11, 2020) was an American billionaire businessman and media magnate. He was the founder and chairman of the second incarnation of Viacom which was dissolved in 2019 (a year before Redst ...

Production Building which contains two stages Redstone 1 and Redstone 2 ** Interactive building (SCI), home of the

USC Interactive Media & Games Division The University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts's Interactive Media & Games Division first accepted M.F.A. students in 2002. The division currently offers both undergraduate (B.A.) and graduate (M.F.A.) programs in interactive medi ...

, the USC Division of Media Arts and Practice, and several research labs (th
Game Innovation Lab
th
Mobile and Environmental Media Lab
th
Mixed Reality Lab
and th
Creative Media & Behavioral Health Center
among others) * Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts, home of

Trojan Vision Trojan Vision is a student television station at the University of Southern California through the School of Cinematic Arts. Established in 1997, Trojan Vision broadcasts 24/7 from the Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts to the University P ...

, USC's student television station * Eileen Norris Cinema Theatre Complex, featuring a 365-seat theatre that also serves as a classroom with USC faculty member and

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 ...

winner

Tomlinson Holman Tomlinson M. Holman (born 1946) is an American film theorist, audio engineer, and inventor of film technologies, notably the Lucasfilm's THX sound system. He developed the world's first 10.2 sound system.Truta, Filip Truta (May 5, 2011)"Apple Hir ...

THX THX Ltd. is an American company that develops the eponymous high fidelity audio/visual reproduction standards for movie theaters, screening rooms, home theaters, computer speakers, gaming consoles, car audio systems, and video games. Founded ...

audiovisual reproduction standard used in film venues worldwide. The

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

Hall, dedicated in 2002, houses a public exhibit and collection of extensive memorabilia commemorating Sinatra's life and contributions to American popular culture. *

David L. Wolper David Lloyd Wolper (January 11, 1928 – August 10, 2010) was an American television and film producer, responsible for shows such as ''Roots'', '' The Thorn Birds'', and ''North and South'', and the theatrically-released films ''L.A. Confiden ...

Center at

Doheny Memorial Library The Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library is a library located in the center of campus at the University of Southern California (USC). History After the shooting of his son, the Irish American oil tycoon Edward L. Doheny donated $1.1 millio ...

Louis B. Mayer Louis Burt Mayer (; born Lazar Meir; July 12, 1882 or 1884 or 1885 – October 29, 1957) was a Canadian-American film producer and co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios (MGM) in 1924. Under Mayer's management, MGM became the film industr ...

Film and Television Study Center at Doheny Memorial Library * Hugh M. Hefner Moving Image Archive At the center of the new television complex is a statue of founder

. He is seen holding a fencing foil in one hand and a script in the other to reflect his strong ties with the

USC Fencing Club , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

Distinctions

* Since 1973, at least one alumnus of SCA has been nominated for an

annually, totaling 256 nominations and 78 wins.Mel Cowan
Cinematic Arts Celebrates 80th Anniversary With All New Campus
University of Southern California, March 31, 2009, Accessed May 1, 2009. * Since 1973, at least one SCA alumnus or alumna has been nominated for the

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

annually, totaling 473 nominations and 119 wins. * The top 17 grossing films of all time have had an SCA graduate in a key creative position. * ''

The Princeton Review The Princeton Review is an education services company providing tutoring, test preparation and admission resources for students. It was founded in 1981. and since that time has worked with over 400 million students. Services are delivered by 4,0 ...

'' has ranked the Interactive Media and Games Division's video game design program best in North America multiple years in a row. * Both ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' and ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' have ranked SCA the number one film program in the world, with its unmatched facilities, proximity to Hollywood, and numerous industry connections being the primary rationale. * The current acceptance rate for the USC School of Cinematic Arts is 3%.

Awards for USC Cinema short films

* In 1956, producer Wilber T. Blume, a USC Cinema instructor at the time, received an Academy Award for best live action short film for a film he created entitled '' The Face of Lincoln''. Blume also received an Academy Award nomination that year for documentary short. * In 1968,

won first prize in the category of Dramatic films at the third National Student Film Festival held at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...

, New York for his futuristic '' Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB''.Rinzler, J.W., ''The Complete Making of Indiana Jones; The Definitive Story Behind All Four Films'', Del Rey, 2008, .Bapis, Elaine M., ''Camera And Action: American Film As Agent of Social Change, 1965–1975'', McFarland, 2008, . * In 1970, producer

John Longenecker John Longenecker (born 1947) is an American film producer, Directors Guild of America member, screenwriter and cinematographer who produced the Academy Award-winning live-action short film, ''The Resurrection of Broncho Billy'' (1970). Biograph ...

received an Academy Award for best live action short film for a film he produced while attending USC Cinema 480 classes as an undergraduate—''

The Resurrection of Broncho Billy ''The Resurrection of Broncho Billy'' is a 1970 live action short Western film directed by James R. Rokos and starring Johnny Crawford. It won an Oscar for Best Short Subject. It was one of John Carpenter's first works; he acted as editor, ...

''. The film's crew and cast included

Nick Castle Nicholas Castle is an American screenwriter, film director, and actor. He is known for playing Michael Myers in John Carpenter's horror film ''Halloween'' (1978). He reprised the role in ''Halloween'' (2018), and its sequels ''Halloween Kills'' ...

, cinematographer;

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...

, film editor and original music; James Rokos, director;

Johnny Crawford John Ernest Crawford (March 26, 1946 – April 29, 2021) was an American actor, singer, and musician. He first performed before a national audience as a Mouseketeer. At age 12, Crawford rose to prominence playing Mark McCain in the series ' ...

, lead actor; and

Kristin Nelson Sharon Kristin Nelson (née Harmon; June 25, 1945 – April 27, 2018) was an American primitive painter, actress, and author. She was married to the actor and musician Ricky Nelson for nineteen years, and is the sister of actor Mark Harmon. Earl ...

, lead actress. * In 1973, Robert Zemeckis won a Special Jury Award at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences' second annual Student Film Awards presentation for ''A Field of Honor''. * In 2001, MFA student David Greenspan won the

Palme d’Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

for

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

for his student film ''Bean Cake''. * In 2006, director, co-writer, and producer

Ari Sandel Ari Devon Sandel (born September 5, 1974) is an American filmmaker. He is known for directing the short film ''West Bank Story'' (2005), which won the 2006 Academy Award in the category Best Live Action Short Film. Life and career Sandel was bor ...

received an Academy Award for best live action short film ("

West Bank Story ''West Bank Story'' is a 2005 American musical comedy short film directed by Ari Sandel, co-written by Sandel and Kim Ray, produced by Pascal Vaguelsy, Amy Kim, Ashley Jordan, Ravi Malhotra, Bill Boland, and featuring choreography by Ramon Del Ba ...

") made as a USC Cinema graduate school project. * In 2009, MFA student Gregg Helvey was nominated for an Academy Award for his MFA thesis film, Kavi. * In 2020, School of Cinematic Arts graduate Travis Misenti directed a science fiction film, ''

The Echo Worlds ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'', that was awarded the January Nominee (for the movie trailer category) of the year of 2020 for The Monthly Film Festival.

Awards for USC Cinema feature films

* In 2019, the crime / thriller film ''

Samir Samir (variantly spelled Sameer) is a male name found commonly in the Middle East, Central Asia and Europe. In Arabic, Samir () means holy, jovial, loyal or charming. In Albanian, it translates literally as “so good” but the connotation is clo ...

'' became an official selection for the 2019 Heartland International Film Festival with the help of

Warner Bros. Entertainment Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...

Notable SCA alumni

''See also

List of University of Southern California people This is a list of notable alumni, faculty, and students, from the University of Southern California. Those individuals who qualify for multiple categories have been placed under the section for which they are best known. Academia Architectu ...

'' SCA has more than 12,000 alumni. Among the most notable are: *

Sasha Alexander Sasha Alexander (born Suzana Drobnjakovic on May 17, 1973), is an American actress and TV director. She played Gretchen Witter in ''Dawson's Creek'' and has acted in films including '' Yes Man'' (2008) and ''He's Just Not That Into You'' (20 ...

* Ante Cheng * Scott Alexander * Elizabeth Allen *

Thom Andersen Thom Andersen (born 1943 in Chicago) is an American filmmaker, film critic, and teacher best known for his works of experimental film, including his 1975 film '' Eadweard Muybridge, Zoopraxographer'' and the 2003 essay film '' Los Angeles Plays It ...

Judd Apatow Judd Apatow (; born December 6, 1967) is an American comedian, director, producer, and screenwriter, best known for his work in comedy and drama films. He is the founder of Apatow Productions, through which he produced and directed the films ' ...

Gregg Araki Gregg Araki (born December 17, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He is noted for his heavy involvement with the New Queer Cinema movement. His film ''Kaboom (film), Kaboom'' (2010) was the first winner of the Cannes Film Festival Queer Palm. Ear ...

Aditya Assarat Aditya Assarat ( th, อาทิตย์ อัสสรัตน์, born 1972) is a Thai independent film director, screenwriter, producer and cinematographer. Biography Early career Aditya Assarat was born in Bangkok. He left Thailand at ...

* Doug Atchison *

John August John August (born August 4, 1970) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and novelist. He is known for writing the films '' Go'' (1999), ''Charlie's Angels'' (2000), '' Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle'' (2003), '' Big Fish'' (2003), ' ...

* John Bailey * Kelley Baker * Richard L. Bare *

Hal Barwood Hal Barwood is an American screenwriter, film producer, film director, game designer, game producer, and novelist. Early life Born in Hanover, New Hampshire, his father ran a local movie theater in the town, this being one of his inspirations ...

Walt Becker Walter William Becker is an American filmmaker and novelist, whose directorial credits include the films ''Van Wilder'', ''Wild Hogs'' and ''Old Dogs (film), Old Dogs''. Biography Becker graduated from Pasadena High School (California) in 198 ...

Jim Bernstein Jim Bernstein is an American television writer. He is co-creator and executive producer of the Disney XD series '' Mighty Med''. He is a graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts and has been nominated for three Emmy awards. In 2021, he won a ...

David Bezmozgis David Bezmozgis ( lv, Dāvids Bezmozgis; born 1973) is a Canadian writer and filmmaker, currently the head of Humber College's School for Writers. Life and career Educational background Born in Riga, Latvia, he came to Canada with his family ...

Laura Bialis Laura Bialis is an American-Israeli filmmaker best known for directing and producing the documentary films Rock in the Red Zone (2015) and Refusenik (2008). Biography Laura R. Bialis was born in Los Angeles, California and grew up in Los Angeles ...

Gregg Bishop Gregg Bishop is an American film director, producer and writer. Early life Gregg Bishop grew up in Powder Springs, Georgia and started making movies with his father's Super 8 film cameras when he was 7 years old. He completed over 50 short ...

Paul Harris Boardman Paul Harris Boardman is an American screenwriter and film producer, best known for his work in the horror genre. Boardman has also written other screenplays for various studios and production companies, including TriStar, Disney, Bruckheimer Films, ...

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli is a professional photographer, television host and world traveler. Dominic spent several months on assignment co-hosting the travel TV series Lonely Planet: Roads Less Travelled, Lonely Planet: Stressbuster, and photogr ...

A. C. Bradley Andrew Cecil Bradley, (26 March 1851 – 2 September 1935) was an English literary scholar, best remembered for his work on Shakespeare. Life Bradley was born at Park Hill, Clapham, Surrey. His father was the preacher Charles Bradley (178 ...

Charles Braverman Charles "Chuck" Dell Braverman (born March 3, 1944, in Los Angeles, California) is an American film director, collage animator, documentary filmmaker and producer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject for his 2 ...

Mehcad Brooks Mehcad Jason McKinley Brooks (born October 25, 1980) is an American actor and former fashion model. He is known for his roles as Matthew Applewhite in the second season of ABC's series ''Desperate Housewives'' (2005–2006), Jerome in '' The Gam ...

Norman Buckley Norman L. Buckley (born November 25, 1955) is an American television director best known for his work on ''The O.C.'', ''Chuck'', ''Gossip Girl'', ''Pretty Little Liars'' and '' The Fosters''. Early life Buckley was born on Loring Air Force Ba ...

Bryan Burk Bryan Burk (born December 30, 1968) is an American film and television producer. He is mostly known for producing movies in collaboration with J. J. Abrams, including the ''Star Trek'' reboot series, the ''Mission: Impossible'' films '' Gh ...

Ben Burtt Benjamin Burtt Jr. (born July 12, 1948) is an American sound designer, film director and editor, screenwriter, and voice actor. As a sound designer, his credits include the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' film series, ''Invasion of the Body ...

Trey Callaway Trey Callaway is an American film and television writer and producer. In addition to working with Hollywood luminaries like Harrison Ford, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ron Howard, and Tim Burton, Callaway has written and produced for shows like '' 9-1-1 ...

* Steven Cantor *

* Aneesh Chaganty *

Sharon Choi Sharon Choi (born Choi Sung-jae; 1994 or 1995) is a South Korean interpreter and film director. She received widespread recognition and praise as Bong Joon-ho's Korean–English interpreter during the 2019–2020 film awards season. Early life ...

Adam Christian Clark Adam Christian Clark is an American film director, screenwriter, and editor, who is best known for combining naturalistic techniques in performance and dialog with stylized cinematic devices in editing and camerawork. Early life Adam Christia ...

Jon Chu Jonathan Murray Chu (born November 2, 1979) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known as the director of 2018's ''Crazy Rich Asians'', the first film by a major Hollywood studio to feature a majority cast of Asi ...

Art Clokey Arthur "Art" Clokey (born Arthur Charles Farrington; October 12, 1921 – January 8, 2010) was an American pioneer in the popularization of stop-motion clay animation, best known as the creator of the character Gumby and the original voice o ...

Ryan Coogler Ryan Kyle Coogler (born May 23, 1986) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is a recipient of four NAACP Image Awards, four Black Reel Awards, a Golden Globe Award nomination and an Academy Award nomination for Best Pictu ...

Ericson Core Ericson Core is an American film director and cinematographer, best known for directing the 2006 sports film ''Invincible'' and the 2015 film ''Point Break''. He has been director of photography on several films including ''Payback'', ''The Fast ...

Jack Couffer Jack Craig Couffer A.S.C. (December 7, 1924 – July 30, 2021) was an American cinematographer, film and television director, and author. Couffer has specialized on documentary films, often involving nature and animal cinematography. Couffer was ...

* R. J. Cutler * Mark Z. Danielewski *

Thomas Del Ruth Thomas Del Ruth (born May 1, 1942) is a retired American cinematographer. Biography Del Ruth was born in 1942 in Beverly Hills, California, as the son of film director Roy Del Ruth, and actress Winnie Lightner. He was educated at Van Nuys ...

Scott Derrickson Scott Derrickson (born July 16, 1966) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the films '' The Exorcism of Emily Rose'' (2005), ''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' (2008), '' Sinister'' (2012), '' Deliver Us from Evil'' (2014), ' ...

Caleb Deschanel Joseph Caleb Deschanel, (born September 21, 1944) is an American cinematographer and director of film and television. He has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography six times. He is a member of the National Film Preservat ...

Trygve Allister Diesen Trygve Allister Diesen (Trig Diesen) (born 11 July 1967 in Norway) is a TV and film director, producer, and screenwriter. He has mostly worked in Scandinavia and the US. He is partner in the Scandinavian production compantenk.tv Trygve Allister ...

Craig Detweiler Craig Detweiler (born 1964) is a writer, filmmaker, and cultural commentator. He is dean of the College of Fine Arts and Production at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. Early life and career Detweiler grew up in Charlotte, North Caro ...

* Susan Downey *

Daniel Dubiecki Daniel Dubiecki is an American film producer. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture for the 2009 film '' Up in the Air'' at the 82nd Academy Awards in 2010. On February 7, 2012, Dubiecki launched his own film production company '' ...

* Richard Edlund *

Lindsay Ellis Lindsay Ellis (born 1984/1985) is an American author, film critic, video essayist, and former YouTuber. Her debut novel, '' Axiom's End'', published in July 2020, became a ''New York Times'' Best Seller. Education and career Ellis received he ...

Kevin Feige Kevin Feige ( ; born June 2, 1973) is an American film and television producer who has been the president of Marvel Studios and the primary producer of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise since 2007. The films he has produced have a combin ...

Bobby Florsheim Robert Florsheim (born December 19, 1969) is an American screenwriter, best known for co-writing ''The Passion Of The Ark'' with Josh Stolberg, (the basis for the film "Evan Almighty"). Their original script was reported by Daily Variety as the ...

* Frank E. Flowers * Tyler Fredrickson *

David Gallagher David Lee Gallagher (born February 9, 1985) is an American actor and voice actor. Beginning a prolific career as a child actor and model at the age of two, Gallagher is a five-time Young Artist Award nominee and Teen Choice Award winner. He is ...

Bob Gale Michael Robert Gale (born May 25, 1951) is an American screenwriter, comic book writer, film producer and director. He is best known for co-writing the science fiction comedy film ''Back to the Future'' with his writing partner Robert Zemec ...

* Gavin Garrison *

Douglas Gayeton Douglas Gayeton is an American multimedia artist, filmmaker, writer, and photographer who divides his time between a farm near Petaluma, California and Pistoia, a medieval Tuscan town. Along with his wife, Laura Howard-Gayeton, he directThe Le ...

Scott Gimple Scott Milhouse Gimple (born March 29, 1971)Internet Movie Database;– Scott M. Gimple ...

Alfred Gough Alfred Gough (born August 22, 1967) is an American screenwriter, producer and showrunner. He is best known as co-creator of The WB/The CW's Superman prequel series ''Smallville'' and Netflix's ''Addams Family'' spin-off series ''Wednesday''. Al ...

David S. Goyer David Samuel Goyer (born December 22, 1965) is an American filmmaker, novelist and comic book writer. He is best known for writing the screenplays for several superhero films, including '' Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' (1998), the ''Blade'' ...

James Gray James, Jim, or Jimmy Gray may refer to: Politicians * James Gray (Australian politician) (1820–1889), member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly * James Gray (British politician) (born 1954), British politician * James Gray (mayor) (1862–1916 ...

Macy Gray Natalie Renée McIntyre (born September 6, 1967), known by her stage name Macy Gray, is an American R&B and soul singer and actress. She is known for her distinctive raspy voice and a singing style heavily influenced by Billie Holiday. Gray ha ...

Brian Grazer Brian Thomas Grazer (born July 12, 1951) is an American film and television producer and writer. He founded Imagine Entertainment in 1986 with Ron Howard. The films they produced have grossed over $15 billion. Grazer was personally nominated f ...

Luke Greenfield Luke Greenfield (born February 5, 1972) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for directing the 2004 film '' The Girl Next Door''. Greenfield directed the pilot episode of the television series ''Aliens in ...

Kevin Greutert Kevin Greutert (born March 31, 1965) is an American film director, film editor and writer, best known for his work on the '' Saw'' film series, as well as character-based supernatural horrors. He is married to actress Elizabeth Rowin. Career ...

Ashley Greyson Ashley Greyson (sometimes credited as Ash Greyson) is a film and music video director, cinematographer, editor, and producer, who usually works with the band Hanson. He attended the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Greyson worked with Hanson H ...

Javier Grillo-Marxuach Javier "Javi" Grillo-Marxuach (), born October 28, 1969 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is a television screenwriter and Television producer, producer, and podcaster, known for his work as writer and producer on the first two seasons of the American Bro ...

Lawrence Guterman Lawrence Guterman (born July 18, 1966) is a Canadian film director known for his work in companies like DreamWorks, Warner Bros., New Line Cinema and Universal. He directed the feature films ''Cats & Dogs'' (2001) and ''Son of the Mask'' (2005) ...

Conrad Hall Conrad Lafcadio Hall, (June 21, 1926 – January 4, 2003) was a French Polynesian-born American cinematographer. Named after writers Joseph Conrad and Lafcadio Hearn, he was best known for photographing such films as ''In Cold Blood'', ''Co ...

Jane Hamsher Jane Hamsher (born Jane Murphy; July 25, 1959) is a US film producer, author, and blogger best known as the author of ''Killer Instinct'', a memoir about co-producing the 1994 movie ''Natural Born Killers'' with Don Murphy and others, and as the ...

Ray Harryhausen Raymond Frederick Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British animator and special effects creator who created a form of stop motion model animation known as "Dynamation". His works include the animation for '' Might ...

Grant Heslov Grant Heslov (born May 15, 1963) is an American actor and filmmaker known for his producing and writing collaborations with George Clooney, which have earned him four Oscar nominations. As a co-producer of ''Argo'' (2012), he received the Academ ...

Matthew Ryan Hoge Matthew Ryan Hoge (born 1974) is an American writer and film director, known for writing and directing ''The United States of Leland'' (2003). Biography Hoge was raised in the northern Denver suburb of Thornton, Colorado. He attended Horizon ...

* Sean Hood * Ron Howard * Martin Hynes * James Ivory (director), James Ivory * O'Shea Jackson Jr. * Joe Johnston * Rian Johnson * Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, Larry Karaszewski * Jonathan Ke Quan * Richard Kelly (director), Richard Kelly * Nahnatchka Khan * Karey Kirkpatrick * Randal Kleiser * Tim Kring * Eric Kripke * Kurt Kuenne * Ken Kwapis * Brandon Laatsch * Jon Landau (film producer), Jon Landau * Alexander Sebastien Lee * Chris Chan Lee * Shawn Levy * R. Eric Lieb * Doug Liman *

* Albert Magnoli * Gregory Markopoulos * Richard Martini (director), Richard Martini * Joseph Mazzello * John Milius * Miles Millar * F. Hudson Miller * John Lloyd Miller * Derek Mio * Stephen Mirrione * Raamla Mohamed * Walter Murch * Don Murphy * Tab Murphy * Tom Neff * Laura Neri * Eric Newman (producer), Eric Newman *Doug Nichol * Dan O'Bannon * Tracy Oliver * Randy Olson * Tom Oesch * Richard Outten * Chris Parson * Paula Patton * Sam Peckinpah (drama major) * Charlie Pecoraro * Michael R. Perry * Brian Wayne Peterson * Shawn Piller * Stu Pollard * Dan Povenmire * Santiago Pozo * Ben Proudfoot * Ben Queen * Kevin Reynolds (director), Kevin Reynolds * Ben Ripley * Shonda Rhimes * Jay Roach * Steven Robiner * Barry Rubinow * Jason Russell * Gary Rydstrom * Walter Salles *

* Josh Schwartz * Ben Shedd * Stacey Sher * Robert J. Sherman, Robert Sherman * Christine Shin * Sofia Shinas * Sigurjón Sighvatsson * John Singleton * Bryan Singer * Stephen Sommers * Dror Soref * Guido Mina di Sospiro * Kevin Stea * Adam Stein * David H. Steinberg * Tim Story * Chris Terrio * Jon Turteltaub * Ron Underwood * Lee Unkrich * Christopher Vogler * Matthew Weiner * John Wells (TV producer), John Wells * Alexander Winn * Freddie Wong * Marianna Yarovskaya * Robert Yeoman * Rayka Zehtabchi * Robert Zemeckis * Laura Ziskin * Bradley Steven Perry

Other notable faculty members and instructors (past and present)

* Danny Bilson * Mitchell Block * Mark Bolas * Peter Bonerz * Todd Boyd *

* Drew Casper * Peter Chung * Frank Daniel * Edward Dmytryk * Duwayne Dunham * John A. Ferraro * Verna Fields * Scott Fisher (technologist), Scott Fisher * Rachel Feldman *James Franco * Robert L. Freedman * Anne Friedberg * Nina Foch * Tracy Fullerton * Maureen Furniss * Eric Goldberg (animator), Eric Goldberg * Dan Gordon (screenwriter), Dan Gordon * Mark Jonathan Harris *

* Gordy Hoffman * Sean Hood * Jerry LewisDavid Kehr
Jerry Lewis, Mercurial Comedian and Filmmaker, Dies at 91
''The New York Times'', August 20, 2017. * Leonard Maltin * Robert McKee * Michael Naimark * Christine Panushka * Mark Pesce * Gene Polito * Abraham Polonsky * Bill Prady * Howard Rodman * Howard Rosenberg * Tom Sito * Kathy Smith (filmmaker), Kathy Smith * Chris Swain (game designer), Chris Swain * Lawrence Turman, Larry Turman * Jordan Weisman * Paul Wolff (screenwriter), Paul Wolff * Slavko Vorkapić

References

{{authority control University of Southern California, School of Cinematic Arts Film schools in California Animation schools in the United States Educational institutions established in 1929 1929 establishments in California