• Message from the Membership Director
• Message from the President – “Mia’s Monthly Message”
• Industry Successes…
• So You Got the Job, Hey…
• And the Award Goes to….
• Members in the News
• Six Degrees of Harvardwood
• Featured Member Posting – Seeking Comedy Scripts

A Message from the Membership Director

Happy New Year, and belated Happy MLK Day. I hope 2006 has started off with a bang! I enjoyed seeing many of you at the House of Blues event, co-sponsored by the HBS Entertainment and Media Club. A big thanks to all the supporters! This is my favorite time of year, as we face a new and fresh year full of opportunity, plus it’s award season, so there are at ton of great movies playing and I get to see all the fly fashions on the red carpet (I’m secretly a fashion whore, smile). I hope everyone is enjoying this crop of great cinema we have now as much as I am. Harvardwood 101 will be happening towards the end of the month too, so we will soon welcome a fresh crop of Harvard undergrads to the world of film and television. If possible, please come and meet this group at one of the social mixers we will be announcing soon, and enjoy the rest of the month.

--Cheers,
Kibi

Mia’s Monthly Message…

It’s a good thing I didn’t make any resolutions for 2006, because I’m fairly certain they’d have been broken by now. With the Lunar New Year fast approaching, I’ll have another opportunity to delude myself with promises of meditation, exercise and restraint for the upcoming Year of the Dog… In the meantime, however, we have a busy two weeks in Harvardwood-land – a Sundance event in Park City with our Yalie friends, a welcome mixer for the Harvardwood 101 students next Wednesday, and a weeklong series of activities for the visiting undergrads. Many thanks to the alums and friends who are speaking to and/or hosting the students during Harvardwood 101. And, as always, much appreciation to Harvard’s Office of Career Services and Office for the Arts for their generous sponsorship of the program – don’t forget to give them props for supporting the Harvard arts and entertainment community!

Happy New Year – or, as half of my people would say…“Gongxi facai”! Woof.

--Mia

INDUSTRY SUCCESSES….

Jeremy Rabb’s A.R.T. '98 4th episode of "Grey's Anatomy" premieres January 29th, and the musical he’s in opens the day before on the 28th -- a rock musical that depicts Hollywood in 1986 dominated by big chords, big dreams and big hair. Check it out at: www.rockofagesmusical.com

Fleur de Vie Weinstock '99 celebrates the release of her new CD at RELEASE PARTY details below. All music and lyrics on the CD composed and performed by Fleur de Vie. For more information please visit www.deVieMusic.com.

Producer Stacy Cohen’s ’89 film DUMA has found its ninth life as an art house theatre darling. Following small but successful mainstream runs in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago last fall, the critically acclaimed film from director Carroll Ballard opened in San Francisco and Minneapolis this past weekend to more rave reviews (see www.rottentomatoes.com/m/duma), and is scheduled to open in Albany, Boston, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, New Haven and Pittsburgh over the next two months. Warner Bros. Classics is now handling distribution and is booking it into as many art house theatres as possible through early spring. Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times named DUMA (along with “The Best of Youth”) the Best Film of 2005 (http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/turan/cl-ca-yearturan18dec18,0,1415481.story?coll=cl-turan). So if it graces an independent theatre in your area, go see it!

Undergrad and HRTV producer Nicole Buckley is proud to announce that Harvard has just renovated its soap opera IVORY TOWER to release the exciting first episode of the year. Available for quick download at www.ivorytowersoap.com, the show centers on the lives of 5 Harvard students as they live the scandalous and quirky lives of Harvard Students. In addition to the soap opera online, Ivory Tower is now beginning a free ALUMNI NEWSLETTER for those in the entertainment industry with any interest in film that would like to know about recent events both within the Ivory Tower/Harvard Radcliffe Television Club at Harvard and at Harvard in general. It will also be including bio highlights of what Harvard alumni have been up to since graduation, so if anybody would like to share their stories, or would be willing to come to Harvard to speak to Ivory Tower students regarding working in television or film, we would ask you to send an email to Nicole Buckley (Ivory Tower's alumni liaison) at [email protected].

Kristin Proctor A.R.T. '00 will be guest starring on an episode of CSI:NY. She also recently (December) appeared on CBS' NUMB3RS.

RED DOORS, the critically acclaimed feature film produced by Blanc de Chine Entertainment (alums Jane Chen, Georgia Lee, and Mia Riverton), has secured domestic theatrical and home video distribution via Polychrome Pictures and Warner Home Video. Lee wrote and directed the film, in which Riverton stars. RED DOORS garnered a number of festival awards in 2005, including Best Feature Film at the Tribeca Film Festival (NY, NY Competition), Best Ensemble Acting at the CineVegas Film Festival, and both the Special Jury Prize for Screenwriting and the HBO Audience Award at OutFest. The trio has also signed on for a one-hour pilot script based on the movie for CBS and Paramount Network TV, which they will write together and produce via Blanc de Chine.

Peter Fox's play ACTS OF GOD has been published by the Samuel French Company.

Jason Holzman’s '93 award-winning short film THE METHOD has just been accepted to the San Francisco Independent Film Festival (sfindie.com) and Cinequest (cinequest.org). The film won the award for Best US Short Film at this year's New York / Avignon Film Festival. The San Francisco festival is in February; Cinequest is in March in San Jose. So if anyone's in the Bay Area, please join him at the screening! You can find out more about my film at www.methodmovie.com.

So You Got the Job, Hey…

Rupak Ginn '05 was recently cast as the lead in the East Coast Artists production of "Harvest," which will be playing down at La MaMa theatre in the East Village from Jan 19-Feb 5. Ticketing info will be up shortly on his website (http://www.rupak.com).

And the Award Goes to…

Carlton Cuse ’81 took home a Golden Globe award for Best Drama Series for his work as Executive Producer on ABC’s LOST.

Six Degrees of Harvardwood – Sirpa Nelson

From Sirpa:

Honestly, I don't know where I'd be in Hollywood right now without Harvardwood. Thank you Harvard and Mia Riverton! My graduate advisor in film school (MFA program at San Francisco State University) happened to have attended Harvard, and when I told him that I wanted to become a literary agent in LA, he contacted another Harvard graduate at the Endeavor Agency, who happened to be a partner there. Thus I got my resume sent to HR and landed my first job here in the mailroom. After four months of hell, I was promoted to coordinator of a boutique literary agency. Through Harvardwood, I met other alums working at ICM, Paradigm, Disney, New Regency, CAA, etc. as well as many amazingly talented writers. Of the writers that I'm most interested in representing when I become an agent (cross your fingers -- hopefully next year), about half of them are from Harvardwood networking. And, I'm only mentioning the professional side! Most of my friends down here were also found through Harvardwood. I post something on the Harvardwood site regularly, and always receive helpful responses. THANK YOU HARVARDWOOD!

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DO YOU HAVE A TESTIMONAL TO SHARE! Please send me a short note or email with your testimonial about how Harvardwood has helped you? Email [email protected] and for each testimonial receive a free month of membership (limit 3 per person).

Featured Member Posting – Seeking Comedy Scripts

From Sirpa Nelson:

Hey Harvard writers...I need comedies! Not necessarily buddy comedies (like last time), just comedies! If anyone has a super funny comedy screenplay, please email the logline to…

Paid members can view full posting info at: www.harvardwood.org

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