AMY LARSON
Staff Writer
A retreat was held this weekend for students and faculty interested in screenwriting and the entertainment industry. Sponsored by Pepperdine Voyage, “The Screenwriter: Creator and Cultural Leader” retreat was held Friday and Saturday at the Villa Graziadio on the Drescher Graduate Campus.
A portion of the retreat involved keynote speakers such as Joan Johnson (writer for television shows “Rugrats” and “Sue Thomas, F.B.Eye”), Thom Parham (writer for “Jag” and “Touched by an Angel”) and Christopher Riley (writer for the Hollywood Standard) as well as Provost Darryl Tippens. The organizers of the retreat, Seaver professor Todd Bouldin and Graziadio faculty Nancy Dodd had high hopes for the weekend.
“It was a tremendous weekend of conversation, and we believe it will serve as the foundation of a community of people who will help us in furthering our mission here,” Bouldin said. “[We want] to inspire and educate our students about the relationship between storytelling and vocation, and particularly how the screenwriter serves as a creator of meaning and as a cultural leader in our society. We believe this vocation brings purpose to the screenwriting task, and brings great responsibilities as well.”
The retreat was only a glimpse of what has been going on around campus. On March 9, a Lilly Endowment-sponsored forum was held to foster discussion regarding the tie between the entertainment industry and theology. Based on the overwhelming response to this event, Bouldin and Dodd knew their events would be well received on campus.
“At the March 9 event, we had well over 150 Pepperdine and non-Pepperdine attendees who are interested in screenwriting, including one attendee who flew in from Nashville just to attend,” Dodd explained.
In accordance with the forum and retreat is the Pepperdine Screenwriting Project, an endeavor of Bouldin, Dodd and other faculty members who seek to more strongly link Pepperdine with the entertainment industry.
“The Pepperdine screenwriting project is part of a larger ongoing effort by several of us in the administration and faculty who wish to see Pepperdine extend its reach more significantly into the Hollywood film and television community,” Bouldin said. “[Pepperdine has] offered no majors in film, nor have we cultivated our relationship with those in Hollywood who share our purpose and values with any significant effort.”
He said the project is very closely tied to the university’s mission statement, and he believes that it provides a new opportunity for Pepperdine to lead and serve.
The program’s plans also include several new additions to the Pepperdine academic catalogue. For instance, a master’s degree in screenwriting is being developed for the Humanities Division. This summer, the degree program will be assessed by the appropriate academic committees; if approved, fundraising for the program will begin in the fall. The plans for broadening the university’s relationship with the entertainment industry, however, don’t stop at new major programs.
Bouldin said discussions are in the works about a larger center for media as well.
“It’s an exciting time at Pepperdine for those interested in film and television, as well as new media platforms,” she said.
Bouldin said that he hoped the Lilly foundation had furthered the push to include film on campus.
“We believe that we can develop a program that competes with USC, NYU, Columbia and the best schools in this field while also drawing on our own wells here at Pepperdine to create film that is purposeful and meaningful. We speak of the vocation of screenwriters and filmmakers as creators and cultural leaders, and that’s what we hope this Lilly program has furthered and what we can communicate in our degree programs as well.”
Although the new degrees and screenwriting projects are a work in progress, that does not stop the leaders of this movement from casting hopes for the future. Perhaps the catalog for the freshman class of 2007 will include several new film-oriented majors and student organizations to be involved with. Should the academic additions be approved, Pepperdine may have a new sort of reputation: for writing and creating excellent entertainment.
“In five or 10 years we dream that Pepperdine can be not only the place where those who wish to make movies of purpose and hope come to learn their craft, but that Pepperdine can be considered among the best, if not the best, schools in this field,” Bouldin said.
To Bouldin, this weekend’s retreat, as well as the other changes occurring on campus, are simply a springboard for the things to come. About 40 students, faculty and industry leaders met to discuss and analyze the changes they seek to create in the entertainment industry, the role they will play and what steps to take next.
“We believe that the momentum is behind us, and huge strides are being made at Pepperdine regardless of the actual outcomes on the academic front,” Bouldin said.
04-13-2006