Previously scheduled as the UCLA College of Letters and Science graduation commencement keynote speaker, former President Bill Clinton cited sympathy with the requests of striking workers of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), who have asked commencement speakers at other UC campuses to do the same. UCLA Chancellor Gene Block stepped into the hole created by Clinton’s withdrawal.
USC Cleans Up at 2008 Student Academy Awards
Trojans earned a pair of gold medals and two bronzes in the four categories for which they were eligible. Shih-Ting Hung won the gold medal in the “Alternative” category for Viola: The Traveling Rooms of a Little Giant.
Brian Davis scored a bronze in the Documentary category for If a Body Meet a Body, a film about working at the L.A. County Coroner’s office. Rajeev Dassani won the gold medal in the narrative category for A Day’s Work, about a family hiring a group of immigrant laborers to help them move, and Melanie McGraw won the bronze medal in the same category for her film, Pitstop, which dealt with going on a road trip with a big family.
UCLA Directors Spotlight Winners
The eight Directors Spotlight competition winners from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television were honored with a screening of their projects at the Directors Guild of America (DGA) on June 12. A committee of industry professionals that included noted producer-director Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure) chose the winning entries.
The event has helped highlight gifted UCLA filmmakers that have gone on to produce successful projects. Past honorees include Alexander Payne (About Schmidt, Sideways) and Todd Holland (“The Larry Sanders Show,” “Malcolm in the Middle”).
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