Friday, January 17, 1997
With their new Master Director Series, Network Event Theater
features Academy Award-winning director Milos Forman and gives
college
students a chance to interact with
legendary filmmakers.By Aimee Phan
Daily Bruin Contributor
It’s not every day that a student has an opportunity to speak to
a critically acclaimed director through a giant movie screen. But
it is getting a lot more common.
With the ingenuity of the Network Event Theater and orbiting
satellites, college campuses are finding more and more chances to
go face to face, via satellite, with film legends.
For example, Academy Award-winning director Milos Forman will be
on UCLA’s campus but will be available for questions from college
students across the country. Forman, whose latest venture, "The
People vs. Larry Flynt," is playing nationwide, will talk to
college students all over the country about his films in an
interactive question-and-answer broadcast.
An Oscar winner for such masterpieces as "One Flew Over the
Cuckoo’s Nest" and "Amadeus," Forman is the first guest on the
Network Event Theater Master Director Series, a program which
allows students to listen and ask questions from influential film
directors.
Through an interactive network of satellite-linked theaters, the
program is being broadcast by Network Event Theater (NET), a
company that has already brought other educational and
entertainment programming events to campuses nationwide. Past
programs have included film sneak previews of "Scream" and
"Swingers," sporting events and rock concerts like Indigo Girls and
Gin Blossoms.
"It’s done in front of a live audience and simultaneously beamed
to theaters all across America," says Jerome Hellman, NET’s
President of Programming. "While Forman is being interviewed, we
will be projecting clips from his movies."
NET has already experienced great success with the interactive
question-and-answer sessions, involving students in spirited
conversations with influential figures who, in the past, would have
been unable to reach such a far-ranging group of students in just
one evening.
Hellman is involved with NET because he loves the idea that NET
is so interactive across campuses. "A person from Arizona State can
ask someone a question who is in California and be heard by people
living in other states," he says.
Other successful question-and-answer sessions have brought
guests like O.J. Simpson attorney Robert Shapiro and former Soviet
President Mikhail Gorbachev to discussions with students on
campuses across the country. With the Master Director Series,
Hellman hopes students interested in films will be able to watch
and learn about the filmmaking process from an expert’s point of
view.
Hellman also believes Forman will benefit students interested in
finding a career in the film industry.
"It is an excellent opportunity for college students to
understand the work and business of such successful directors,"
Hellman says, "I hope the students understand the level of
commitment these directors have to their craft."
Former Los Angeles Times film critic Charles Champlin will host
the interview, showing clips of Forman’s films, including his
latest "Larry Flynt," the film adaptation of "Hair" and Oscar
winners "One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest" and "Amadeus."
After interviewing Forman, Champlin will hand over the
microphone to students, giving them the opportunity to ask the
director questions on his current films and upcoming projects.
Students on college campuses in states across the nation will
watch the event live on giant screens in theaters equipped with
satellites.
Forman is only the first of several directors that NET plans to
showcase in this series.
FILM: NET’s Master Director Series will be hosted at the Freud
Playhouse in Macgowan Hall at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 21. Students should
arrive early to ensure a seat.
Director Milos Forman has become a legendary director after
winning Oscars for groundbreaking cinema like "Amadeus" and "One
Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest."Althea Flynt (Courtney Love) helps her
husband Larry Flynt (Woody Harrelson) run a multimillion dollar
corporation in "The People vs. Larry Flynt."Columbia Pictures
Director Milos Forman confers with cast members Woody Harrelson
and Courtney Love on the set of "The People vs. Larry Flynt."