Author Archives: Jake Tracer

Actors may really want to direct and directors may really want to act, but few people really want to be a casting director. “I never started out to be a casting director,” Mike Fenton said. “Nobody ever does.” Yet Fenton, a UCLA film school alumnus from 1956, became a true Hollywood success story in the […]

Kyle Daniels had been trying to go out with a girl for about two weeks. Finally, they made a plan to go to the movies on a Sunday afternoon. Superbowl Sunday afternoon. This was a little over two years ago. Now a first-year biochemistry student at UCLA, Daniels remembers it being one of the few […]

Spike Lee is known as one of the most prominent and influential black filmmakers of his generation. Little known, however, are his student films that established his style and concerns. Throughout the month, as part of its annual Black History Month programming, the Museum of Television & Radio will screen two of Spike Lee’s lesser-known […]

In her acceptance speech at the Golden Globe Awards, Nicole Kidman questioned why there aren’t more female roles in movies. “To the writers, please keep writing for us because we’re very interesting,” Kidman said. But perhaps the problem has more to do with the directors behind the films. While people like Nora Ephron and Penny […]

Chris Smith may not look the Hollywood type while walking around campus, but appearances can be deceiving. There’s more that distinguishes this 42-year-old first-year doctoral candidate in UCLA’s Education Leadership Program than his age. His influence can be seen in movie theaters across the country, as long as “Antwone Fisher” is still playing. Following the […]

There’s a story about a man who buys a boat. Every year he replaces one part of the boat until eventually all the parts have been replaced. This parable questions whether in the end the boat is new or old, and it’s an issue with which film preservationists are constantly grappling. “Is it our job […]

The classified ads for egg donors are often looked at with contempt because they allegedly prey on poor college students. But the large rewards offered demonstrate the real desperation behind infertility. In this vein, the UCLA Documentary Salon Series screens the Hungarian documentary “Our Cells” tonight. The screening will be followed by a question and […]