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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 not his long track record in Hollywood, which includes producing everything from "Less Than Zero" to "The Mighty Ducks," that interests me
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My biggest concern with today's film schools is that they tend to offer students far more instruction in technique than in actual ideas.
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.
Kerner never imagined himself being a film school dean — in fact, he never went to film school himself. But after surviving a freak staph infection and enduring the disappointing showing of a pet
"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.
But the student films I watched from UNCSA were loaded with
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 shadowing program, students get to spend weeks at a time on movie
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.
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 nots of filmmaking." (With it being 2011, students had to sign release forms promising not to blog about what they saw.)
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.
"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 and get under their skin."
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TRANSPORTATION
High traffic bus routes intended to improve rides
THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 201
MATT GALLOWAY editor@kansan.com
Some of the most popular bus routes offered by KU on Wheels are taking new turns this fall.
Six bus routes were tweaked on Aug. 1 with the hope of reaching more Lawrence residents. The changes are intended to improve access to the city and campus, according to a news release.
One of the changes involve Route 10, down to 6th and Wakarusa, which previously only served campus with an eastbound stop at the Kansas Union. Now the route will have campus stops in both directions. Route 1, which runs from downtown to Haskell University, now runs every 30 minutes as opposed to the 40 minute intervals last semester.
Not all routes had time shaved off between stops. Route 4, running from downtown to north Lawrence, runs once an hour. Last semester it ran once every 40 minutes.
Lawrence Transit also announced a new mobile-friendly website redesign coming later this year.
TWEAKS TO KU ON WHEELS ROUTES
ROUTE 1: Frequency goes from 40 to 30 minutes. Service added to Prairie Park.
ROUTE 3: Minor changes to Flex service zone.
ROUTE 4: Frequency changed from 40 to 60 minutes Route extended to 9th and Iowa.
ROUTE 5: Minor changes in timing and routing near East Hills Business Park.
ROUTE 10: Route now serves campus in both directions.
ROUTE 11: Simplified and improved alignment.
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