It is not every day that empty pizza boxes, a half-eaten
chocolate cake and an Oscar statuette rest on the same table, much
less the same classroom.
But that was the scene before Professor Cathy Schulman’s
Wednesday-night class last week, when graduate students, faculty
and staff of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television threw
an informal celebration for her Best Picture win as a producer of
“Crash.”
“I find her refreshingly humble and filled with
integrity,” said Denise Mann, head of the UCLA
Producer’s Program and, along with Schulman, co-professor of
Research and Development II, a class of 12 master’s-degree
candidates in film producing.
“The students were eager to host a party,” Mann
said. “We were all very excited (that) one of our own has
gotten the top prize. (And) in the midst of all that she’s
going through with the Oscar win, she’s been able to show up
every Wednesday night to teach her class.”
The celebration was as much about Schulman the professor as it
was about Schulman the Academy Award winner.
Though a member of the UCLA faculty for less than a year, she
has already made her presence known in the UCLA community. A
visiting professor and longtime associate and protege of Barbara
Boyle, chairwoman of the UCLA Department of Film, Television and
Digital Media, Schulman is thrilled that she has attracted
attention to the Producer’s Program.
“UCLA’s graduate program could use a higher profile
and I’d like to contribute to that process,” Schulman
said. “And I think that the program benefits from real-life,
working producers.”
Schulman partners with Tom Nunan, also an instructor of the
Producer’s Program, in the high-powered Bull’s Eye
Entertainment. Aside from conducting interviews, attending parties
and winning awards, Schulman and Bull’s Eye have kept busy
with their film “The Illusionist,” which premiered at
Sundance, as well as a television series adaptation of
“Crash” and several more feature films in various
levels of production.
Though she has a successful career outside of teaching, Schulman
has discovered at UCLA a newfound dedication to educating the next
generation of filmmakers.
“(The class) is a very fresh and lively part of my
week,” Schulman said. “The minds of the students are
much less jaded and corrupted than the people I deal with on
day-to-day business. They give me a kind of purity and
hope.”
“I’m not interested in propelling war stories about
how horrible Hollywood is ““ everyone will figure that out on
their own,” she added. “I’m much more interested
in training the mind to think with strength and passion and to be
equipped in the real world.”
A graduate of Yale University, Schulman understands the
importance of higher education in succeeding in the entertainment
industry. Notably, her teaching strategy involves bringing in
mentors and guests from the industry to guide each of the students
in the development of their projects.
“I’ve been working hard to get (the students) to
find in themselves the things they care most about,” she
said. “I’ve tried to tailor each individual process to
each of their individual strengths.”
According to Mann, a significant majority of the year’s
MFA candidates are conceptualizing films of a more independent
nature, directly reflecting the success of independent films in
recent years. These films are harder to produce because of their
unique styles and topics. She noted that Schulman encourages her
students by example.
“She has a unique experience in the world of independent
filmmaking,” Mann said. “Most of our faculty are
producers and executives who come out of the studio world. She has
relationships with … the talented filmmakers that come out of
that arena.”
Students finish the research and development studies series with
two optioned and ready-to-produce projects in the works. Pitching
independent-style projects often requires more preparation and
emphasis on less straightforward aspects; Schulman advises students
to describe why the project is personally special.
“(Schulman’s) key message is that we have to always
love the art, otherwise we can’t give it to the
business,” said Balazs Juszt, one of her current students.
“We look up to her because she is a survivor in this
industry; it is difficult enough to make a bad movie, and even
harder to make a good movie.”
Juszt also said Schulman’s charisma, energy and humor have
only been elevated by her Oscar win.
“Winning the Oscar only raises my own personal bar,”
Schulman said. “It’s a huge and exciting career
achievement, but really the Oscar for “˜Crash’ is
exciting (because) an underdog, independent, politically liberal
film won a Best Picture award.”
Schulman hopes to inspire her students with her willingness to
share her experience.
“The job of the producer is convincing minds that
you’re on to something; making people see the shiny gem
inside this dull and bumpy rock,” Schulman said. “I
tell my students, “˜If you don’t believe in yourself,
nobody will believe in you.'”