UCLA students got a peek inside Hollywood Wednesday evening.
They weren’t watching a film screening or premiere ““
they were in Melnitz Hall getting behind-the-scenes insight into
how movies and television shows are made from seven women who are
involved with making them.
“Hollywood Images: A New Look at Jewish Women in the
Media,” sponsored by UCLA Hillel, USC Hillel and the UCLA
film department, showcased a panel that included an actress,
screenwriters, playwrights and public relations executives.
The informal discussion began with each speaker detailing how
she got started in show business, and ways they incorporate Jewish
values into their work. They are all members of the MorningStar
Commission, a group aimed at ensuring that Jews ““
particularly Jewish women ““ are portrayed in a positive and
accurate light in the media.
Joan Hyler, president of Hyler Management and agent for actor
Eric McCormack (Will on “Will and Grace”), explained
why the commission considers actress Debra Messing (Grace on
“Will and Grace”) a positive Jewish role model in the
media, where many Jewish characters are portrayed through
stereotypes.
“Usually the Jewish characters are the overbearing mother,
the “˜Jewish-American Princess’ or the schleppy best
friend you’re not so thrilled with,” Hyler said.
“That’s why Grace Adler is so great ““ she just
happens to be Jewish.”
The commission recently counseled UC Davis students from the
Jewish sorority Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi who appeared on the MTV
series, “Sorority Life,” after the show garnered them a
slew of bad press. Commission members helped the students cope with
Anti-semitism and negative notoriety they faced as a result of the
show. They assisted the sorority members in taking advantage of
their position in the spotlight. MorningStar counseled them to make
people aware of community service and philanthropic projects in
which they’re involved.
The panelists are no strangers to Hollywood’s rough waters
and the difficulty of learning to swim. Playwright Susan Nanus
discussed the opposition she faced to get her Holocaust-themed
plays produced when it was a topic the entertainment industry
hadn’t yet explored in 1970s.
Hyler mentioned how she had “hit the glass ceiling”
in the male-dominated talent management business.
These persistent Hollywood professionals never gave up and
eventually made it. Nanus was the only woman to write one of 10 in
a series of Showtime TV-movies about the Holocaust,
“Rescuers, Stories of Courage in the Holocaust,” and
Hyler now owns her own successful independent talent management
company.
The panelists also took the time to offer advice to all students
aspiring to work in show business.
Paula Silver (president of Beyond the Box Productions and the
marketing guru behind the hit “My Big Fat Greek
Wedding”) highlighted the importance of gaining experience in
the industry.
“All of us have done every junk job,” Silver said.
“Take every opportunity, even those you think are beneath
you. Don’t be afraid of hard work.”