Arts
20th Century Fox Dedicates Campus Soundstage
- President C. L. Max Nikias, George Lucas, co-chairman of 20th Century Fox Jim Gianopulos and cinematic arts dean Elizabeth M. Daley
- Photo/Steve Cohn
By Ryan Gilmour on March 31, 2011 8:47 AM
The USC School of Cinematic Arts complex is full of iconic names from the history of film. Students hold production meetings in the Mary Pickford Lobby, study the history of film technology in the Hugh M. Hefner Moving Image Archive and analyze films in the Walt Disney Studio Screening Room.
On March 30, 20th Century Fox added its name to the list of iconic institutions and artists affiliated with the USC School of Cinematic Arts at the dedication of the 20th Century Fox Soundstage.
George Lucas '66, Fox co-chairmen Tom Rothman and Jim Gianopulos, USC president C. L. Max Nikias, film director Shawn Levy MA 94 and cinematic arts dean Elizabeth M. Daley were in attendance.
Lucas spoke to the crowd about the value of people with vision. He addressed current students directly, telling them that being surrounded by talented people is the single most important thing they can do in their career.
The soundstage was made possible by a major gift from Fox, which Lucas helped facilitate. It continues a long relationship between the school and the entertainment industry, as well as the collaboration between Lucas and Fox, which produced the Star Wars trilogies.
Rothman introduced Levy and joked that his seven hits for Fox give him a “better batting average than God.” Rothman also joked that President Nikias’ pronunciation of Gianopulos’ name was the first time he had heard it said correctly.
Levy told the crowd that his education at USC prepared him for the leap from smaller films such as Cheaper by the Dozen to the visual effects-heavy Night at the Museum series.
“I remember sitting in Norris Theatre my first day and being told that we had our first film due in three weeks, and we knew nothing,” said Levy. “At USC film school, they emphasized that the best way to learn was by doing. By figuring it out. When I was faced with a Night at the Museum, I had the same reaction as I did that first day.”
Daley hosted the event and gave the Fox chairmen a plaque to match the one hanging in the sound stage.
“Beyond the stage itself and all the incredible tools that it houses, there is the less tangible but certainly no less important sense of inspiration that our students will take from working late nights and early mornings in a building with the 20th Century Fox logo on it,” Daley said. “This is a legendary Hollywood institution that has given us unforgettable entertainment for decades. I know I still get a thrill when I see that logo and that drum roll come up on the big screen, and I know that our students do too.”
The 20th Century Fox Soundstage is located in the cinematic arts complex and will begin housing student productions and classes immediately.
TAGS: cinema
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