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SEMESTER IN LA PROGRAM
Earlier this spring I went through Columbia College of Chicago’s Semester in LA program. The program, held on the CBS Radford lot in Studio City, CA consisted of hearing speakers and taking “field trips” to a number of interesting locations.

Over the five weeks that the course ran, we heard from over 60 speakers. Among the speakers we had screenwriters, agents, lawyers, managers, directors, editors, authors, and even the editor-in-chiefs of both “Variety” and “The Hollywood Reporter,” among many others.

Gary Martin, President of Columbia Tri-Star and Vice President of Sony International, was among the long list of impressive speakers who took time out to speak to our exclusive group of Chicago filmmakers. Another of our many impressive speakers was Dan Caan, who edited virtually every episode of “I Love Lucy,” and actually dated Marilyn Monroe for a time.

A majority of the time was spent learning how to develop ideas into screenplay and then film and finally getting it shown – the whole process. The most concentrated aspect was, with reason, the first step. Getting the meeting and what to do once we’re in. A number of agents, managers, and pitching coaches came and gave their valued insight.

We visited a number of places including the Warner Brothers lot where we got full behind-the-scenes access. We also went to the WGA and post houses (where a lot of post work is done for finished films and commercials like transfer to film, adjusting color, etc.)
Other than business stuff, I’ve been getting to know the California way of life (i.e. smog, Sunset Blvd, smoke-free pool halls, beaches, brush fires, electric cars, industry parties, etc.)

Taking part in this program has forced me to take time off from my many other projects, but since the program has finished up, I have a lot more to report. My many other adventures will be mentioned in the next newsletter due out in just a few weeks.

WEB SITE OF THE MONTH
Usually this space is used for industry sites or for “Friends of Slim Pictures” to promote their own sites. However, the Chicago Tribune recently ran an article on the funniest sites on the web. TheOnion.com was at the top of the list (it previously appeared here). The award for “Best Unintentionally Funny Web Site” went to www.MelanieGriffith.com. It is very much worth a look and a laugh. It’s a wonder she still gets work.