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THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2011
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
COMMENTARY
Film school dean doubles as 'Smurfs' director
PATRICK GOLDSTEIN
MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE
LOS ANGELES — Veteran movie producer Jordan Kerner spent nearly 10 years finding a way to make "The Smurfs," which earned $35.6 million in its opening weekend in the U.S. But it's not his long track record in Hollywood, which includes producing
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UNCSA are getting an education not just in theory and production but in the often less-than-glamorous aspects of life in the trenches of Hollywood.
Kerner has recruited a host of faculty members who still have their day jobs, which helps give students a grounding in the kind of problem-solving necessary to survive on a film set. Through a
"Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip Wrecked," which will hit theaters this Christmas. He also has his students listen in on his conversations with his agent so they can develop an understanding of the demands of the marketplace.
up to talk to an actor, our kids would be right there with him. They also got to spend time with our editors, visual effects supervisor, sound designers and other crew members. Sometimes the discussions were difficult, but that was the whole point — it's a way to learn the whys and why notes of filmmaking." (With it being 2011, students had to sign release forms
Kerner never imagined himself being a film school dean — in fact, he never went to film school himself. But after surviving a freak strain infection and enduring the
their experiences. But Kerner felt the school needed more outside professionals on the faculty, so he recruited a host of industry pros, including producer Bob Gosse and Peter Bogdanovich, who teaches a freshman film class.
My biggest concern with today's film schools is that they tend to offer students far more instruction in technique than in actual ideas.
But the student flops I watched.
Immersion project, where students gain a deeper understanding of character and story by spending several weeks at places like the Veterans Artificial Limb Hospital in Philadelphia and Habitat for Humanity in New Orleans.
"They can't take cameras or recording devices — just a pad and pen," he says. "The whole idea is to go out and get to know people, hear their stories."
THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2011
PAGE 46
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
CAMPUS
Untrue ideas about buildings abound
MONISHA BRUNER editor@kansan.com
Are you scared to walk through the Campanile? Are you convinced that Wescoe Hall was meant to be a parking garage? Do you tell people that Strong Hall was built backwards? If so, you are an enabler of campus myths.
Several false and misunderstood myths are spread throughout campus, but here's a guide to several to help separate fact from fiction.
MYTH 1:
If you walk under the Campanile before you graduate, you won't get that diploma.
Who can honestly say if this myth is true or false? According to carilon.ku.edu the Campanile was built in 1950 as a memorial to KU students' families who died in World War II. Some students believe if you enter into the Campanile before you graduate, you will not graduate. One brave soul, Ariana Olivas, a senior from Andrews, Texas, dared to test
this myth. Olivas said she just wanted to go look inside of the Campanile. Later, a friend said, "You can't do that, you won't graduate." Her friend said she was told about the myth by a guide while on a campus visit. Olivas said she is nervous about the experience, "I kind of don't believe it, but I already walked through it, so I hope it's not true."
MYTH 2:
Wesco Hall was designed to be a parking garage.
This myth is misunderstood. Accoring to the 1966 University of Kansas application for a construction grant, Wescoe Hall was designed to be a building for the Humanities Department. In 1966, the University applied for a construction grant to build the department. This building was needed to give academic space to free the graduate programs from the buildings they were in. The application for the grant said there would be "two five-story classroom buildings, a high-rise office administration building, and a concourse
connecting the first five levels of the building."
According to documents in the Spencer Research Library, later in 1967, then-Chancellor W. Clarke Wescoe said the building would now be 25-stories and the lower five-story wings would have many windows and be a comparable size to Strong Hall. In late November, architects added an underground parking garage to accommodate 150 cars, a student mail center, and a 300-student electronic classroom lab.
In March 1968, the building was cut from 25 stories to 15. Keith Lawton, vice-chancellor at the time, said with limited funding available they questioned if the original plans were realistic. After several redesigns of the building, the state paid the architects for their time and hired new architects in the summer of 1969 to redesign the building. The new architect plan was four-stories high and priced higher than the previous plans. The new architect's plan included the parking garage but was cut for cost and made into offices.
MYTH 3:
There was a tunnel from Bailey Hall to the Kansas Union.
According to the National Register of Historic Places, was constructed in 1899 on what was then the far west end of campus. The national register has every detail of the building, what it is made of (limestone) to remodeling history. In 1956 the building was remodeled to add a new front entry and stairway, roof, and floors.
The Kansas Memorial Union frame was built in 1926. Additions to the building were made in 1950, 1958, and 1970. In the 1956 December issue of KU Alumni Magazine the column titled "A day in the life of a student union man" said there are six floors in the Kansas Union. The article mentions the bowling alley, bookstore, cafeteria, living room, and ballroom.
There is no mention of a tunnel in the historic data for either building. This myth is false.
MYTH 4:
Strong Hall was built backwards.
This myth is false, but Strong Hall was not built the way its original architect designed. According to documents in the Spencer Research Library, by 1904 Fraser Hall was too small to house everything and the University needed a new building for administrative offices and science classes. Architect M.P. McArdle designed a building with an emphasis on natural lighting provided by skylights and large windows. In 1909 the state gave the University money to build Strong Hall, but only enough for the east wing. The east wing was not complete until 1911. The west wing was built in 1908 and the center was built five years later. The photo (right or left) is how Strong Hall looked in 1922. In 1940 the fourway entrance on the north side of Strong Hall was replaced with a new front entrance because the balcony and stairway were badly cracked. The building was always designed to face Mount Oread.
Students walk through the Campanile during graduation, but students that walk early might not graduate.
MIKE GUNNOE/KANSAN
The front of Strong Hall standing in the middle of Jayhawk Boulevard. The building houses the university's administrative offices.
MIKE GUNNOE/KANSAN
Students walk through the Campanile during graduation, but students that walk early might not graduate. The side of Strong Hall facing the stadium before the replacement of the entrance in 1940.
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