Author Archives: Amy Crocker

Only at Carnival can you pick up an anthill out of the dirt, fling it onto a stranger, and not get beaten up, or wear a bright, beaded hat bigger than a small child. Schools and businesses even close down so that everyone can go out and party at this Pre-Lenten festival, originating from the […]

Whether eating bugs or fighting in swimsuits, reality-show contestants rarely seem like real people. But Maria Sajjad is not your typical reality-show contestant. For one thing, the third-year sociology student at UCLA is both Muslim and Pakistani, usually a rarity on prime-time programming. “Our girls are never represented in the media,” she said. Sajjad found […]

Adam Agardy and Timothy Cubbison of Horseless Cowboy Productions advertised their “The Hired Gun Play Competition” playwriting contest solely on the Internet and were expecting a moderate amount of applicants. The contest was set up in May 2005 as a way to break the ice and gain exposure for their production company after relocating from […]

New York City, Chicago and New Orleans are all cities strongly associated with jazz. But a jazz photography exhibit on display in the Charles E. Young Research Library lobby, running through Sept. 30, is a reminder that Los Angeles should be on that list. “L.A. was a major jazz center and it continues to be,” […]

Over half a dozen alumni of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television have been nominated for this year’s Emmy Awards in everything from acting to cinematography, but the key to their success is their background in screenwriting. The Emmys recognize excellence in television arts and sciences, and this year’s ceremony will air Sept. […]

What if Harry Potter had a band? And what if Ron and Hermione played backup? Paul DeGeorge had been stewing over this idea when someone yelled out “We love you, Harry Potter!” at a concert for his younger brother Joe, who looks like the boy wizard. Then lightning struck, figuratively. “Forget Ron and Hermione as […]

Getting a job isn’t easy. Students learn this all too well around this time of year, courtesy of countless rejections by unpaid internships, cheap local restaurants, department stores and more. To film students, however, it’s a whole different game. To combat the difficulty of getting a job in the film industry, the UCLA School of […]