As the year comes to a close and students take a break from UCLA, Hollywood continues to evolve. For the first time in film history, Asian Americans are directing, producing, and staring in their own nationally distributed motion pictures telling the stories of young Asian Americans. Many students and faculty members on campus have long […]
Author Archives: Sean Halloran
nline: Pilipino rapper to perform in plaza
The role of the music rebel is always relevant, and the rebellion against conformity flows from hip-hop, to jazz, to funk, to rock. One of the emerging hip-hop voices coming out of Los Angeles is Bambu, a Pilipino American rapper who pens lyrics about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. He will perform at […]
Film screenings honor Minnelli’s artistic talent
From 1942 to 1976 Vincente Minnelli directed 38 films, ranging from musicals such as “An American in Paris” to comedies such as “Father of the Bride” to dramas such as “The Clock.” Over the years, Minnelli’s films have won more than a dozen Oscars, including two for best picture, and in 1958 he won best […]
Film producer to speak at Melnitz
Moctesuma Esparza is widely regarded as the most successful Latino independent film producer in Hollywood. Esparza has won Emmy, Clio and Golden Globe awards, been Oscar-nominated, and has produced such films as “Selena” and “Gods and Generals.” A UCLA alumnus, Esparza has also been a historic figure in the struggle for minority representation in the […]
Goodbye Stifler, hello action hero
Seann William Scott has gone from “Dude, Where’s My Car” to “American Pie” playing teen slackers. But in “Bulletproof Monk,” he’s finally moved into his first teen action film. “I don’t think there was a moment that I wasn’t blown away,” said Scott about his role as the young American street-fighter whose destiny is to […]
Screenwriting guru guides students
With a reputation as the Godfather of screenwriting, Professor Richard Walter has molded many of Hollywood’s most prolific screenwriters. “Fight Club,” “Spiderman” and “Men in Black” were all written or co-written by his former students. “The Wall Street Journal says that I am the prime broker for Hollywood’s hottest commodity: new writing talent,” Walter said. […]
Student, actress gets big break on TV
Over the past few years some Latina actresses, such as Jennifer Lopez and Salma Hayek, have risen to prominence in Hollywood. Soon the UCLA film program may lay claim to having developed a Latina leading lady, Tonantzin Esparza. Fifth-year theater and Chicana/o studies student Esparza has now done five episodes of ABC’s “The George Lopez […]