In This Issue:

• Director's Notes
• Message from Allison

NEWS

• Featured Member Posting: Development & Talent Assistant (Comedy Central) - LA
• Apply to join the Harvardwood Board of Directors | Deadline Jan. 22nd
• Recruit Harvard students to intern at your company this summer 
• Program Alert: Spring 2018 Harvardwood Writers Program - TV Modules
• Let us know if your film will be featured at Sundance or Slamdance

FEATURES

• Exclusive Q&A with Michael Colton AB '97 (Co-Writer, A Futile & Stupid Gesture)
• Industry Successes
• New Members' Welcome
• Alumni Profile: Jonathan Aibel AB '91 (Writer & Producer, Kung Fu Panda 1, 2, & 3, Trolls)

CALENDAR & NOTES

• Calendar
• Start the year off right: Renew your Harvardwood membership

Director's Notes

I hope you all had a great winter break and are revved up for the new year. Next week, join  Harvardwood + the Harvard Alumni Association around the world for Global Networking Night. We'll be repped in Los Angeles, Boston, and Savannah. We need volunteers to help with event registration at the LA Global Networking Night, so get in touch if you can assist!

I also hope to see many of you at this month's LA events, our Jan. 11th Salon with author and activist Winnie M. Li AB '00 (Dark Chapter) and then our Jan. 18th Masterclass on Acquiring Story Rights with Jack Monderer AB '82.

Here's to a great 2018!

— Dona

Message from Allison

— Allison

Featured Member Posting: Development & Talent Assistant (Comedy Central) - LA

• Provide administrative support to two VP’s  in talent & development, including phone coverage, organizing meetings, maintaining schedules and records, making travel arrangements, and calendar management.
• Tracking material, reading scripts and providing feedback on all submissions
• Assist in development process for specific projects assigned to the executive
• Maintain and distribute (as needed) all submissions and new drafts/cuts of current development projects and give constructive feedback on submissions, new drafts, and cuts to ensure executive is responding on projects in a timely manner, as well as being knowledgeable of all development and on-air projects
• Strong administrative phone skills – answering phones and taking detailed messages, setting up conference calls, maintaining the phone sheet, rolling calls and keeping a professional and polite demeanor while utilizing discretion at all times 
• Self-starter, team player, and efficient problem solver with the ability to anticipate the needs of the executive and team at large in a fast paced work environment

APPLY HERE

Apply to join the Harvardwood Board of Directors | Deadline Jan. 22nd

The Harvardwood Board of Directors is coming up on elections for its next term, and we are looking for some energetic individuals to fill a few great positions! The Harvardwood BOD is the managing body that oversees the volunteer efforts of Harvardwood members worldwide and has worked to create an impressive array of events, programs, and online resources over the past fifteen years. As a member of this dynamic team, you will play a large role in determining the priorities and setting the course for the entire organization. 

Below is a list of Board positions we are looking to fill. Each Harvardwood Board member holds office for a period of two years, until his or her successor is elected and qualifies. Board members should have a strong interest in fostering career education and networking among Harvard University alumni and students, and candidates have either completed a degree program at Harvard University or have a strong enough affiliation to Harvard as determined by a majority of the existing directors. Board members must be of the age of majority in CA and should be able to attend quarterly board meetings in the Los Angeles area (Board members in other locations can participate via conference call, but please note that for some positions, a presence in LA is preferred).

To be considered, please email your resume and a brief statement of qualification and interest (1-2 paragraphs) to Harvardwood's Executive Director, Dona Le, by January 22, 2018. Please be sure to write your statement in the body of your email, not as a separate attachment. Thank you!

Director, Membership Experience

The Director of Membership Experience will help the Board in determining why people become Full Members and implement strategies for keeping members engaged in the organization. This person will serve as one of the points of contact for current members on how to best utilize Harvardwood. He/she will relay information to the Board about what is important to members and how to improve the overall Harvardwood membership experience. The ideal candidate for this position is personable, approachable, and enthusiastic about Harvardwood’s potential for service. 

Associate Director, Harvardwood Publishing

Harvardwood Publishing is expanding in exciting new ways, and the Director seeks an Associate Director to help develop a range of projects. In 2016, we published our first-ever anthology and aim to pursue future projects in support of the work of Harvard-affiliated writers. A knowledge of and passion for electronic publishing would be welcome, as well as ease in the world of sponsorship and marketing.

Recruit Harvard students to intern at your company this summer

If your arts, media, or entertainment company offers summer internships and would like to recruit applications from current Harvard College students, we invite you to participate in the 2018 Harvardwood Summer Internship Program (HSIP)! Companies can recruit current Harvard students directly by posting their internship opportunities to Harvardwood FOR FREE.

HSIP provides a list of internship opportunities in the arts, media and entertainment to Harvard undergraduates and also coordinates career-related events over the summer for program participants in LA, NYC and other cities. If your company would like to list an internship via HSIP, please fill out our brief participant form by February 15th to reach the largest number of potential candidates.

SUBMIT YOUR INTERNSHIP

Program Alert: Spring 2018 Harvardwood Writers Program - TV Modules

TV Writers, mark your calendars! We'll begin accepting applications to the Spring 2018 HWP-TV Modules in Los Angeles on January 22nd. Applications will be accepted through February 5th, and the application will be slightly different this year. So get those new writing samples into shape over the next few weeks. Make sure you're subscribed to receive Harvardwood emails about important program deadlines and other reminders. Happy Writing!

Let us know if your film will be featured at Sundance or Slamdance

Calling all Harvard-affiliated films and filmmakers traveling to Sundance or Slamdance this month! 

Producer Mynette Louie AB '97, President of Gamechanger Films, has three Gamechanger films at the festival this year: The Tale, Nancy, and The Long Dumb Road. A Futile & Stupid Gesture from writing duo John Aboud AB '95 and Michael Colton AB '97 will premiere Jan. 24th at Sundance.

Are you heading to Park City and will one of your films be presented? Share the good news with us so that the Harvardwood community can support you and your work. Just email Harvardwood with information about your film, screening times, etc.

Exclusive Q&A with Michael Colton AB '97 (Co-Writer, A Futile & Stupid Gesture)

Industry Successes

Rebecca Maddalo AB '13 is now studying for her MFA in Directing at the American Film Institute. She is currently working on a short film called WATERMARK that explores the long-lasting repercussions of sexual assault on a person’s life. She is committed to bringing attention and awareness to survivors stories, and hopes that her film will help others see just how prevalent #MeToo is and how desperately change is needed. To learn more about the film or to make a donation, please visit www.WatermarkThesisFilm.com.

Congrats to all the Harvard alumni TV writers nominated for WGA Awards, including Sam Baum (Wizard of Lies), Monica Beletsky (Fargo), Alec Berg (Silicon Valley), Colin Jost (SNL), Dave Mandel (Veep), Lew Morton (Veep), Conan O'Brien (Conan), Dan O'Keefe (Silicon Valley), Simon Rich (“A Father’s Watch” - The Simpsons), Jeff Schaffer (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Mike Schur (Master of None), Andrew Sodroski (Unabomber), Clay Tarver (Silicon Valley), Alexis Wilkinson (Veep), Alan Yang (Master of None), and Aaron Zelman (Silicon Valley)!

Roshan Sethi MD '13 and his writer partner Hayley Schore made the 2017 Black List TWICE with scripts Call Jane and Little Boy. Their upcoming show The Resident premieres this month on Fox!

Composer Justin Hurwitz AB '07-'08 has been nominated for FOUR Grammy Awards in the following categories: Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media (La La Land); Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media (La La Land), Best Song Written for Visual Media ("City of Stars"); and Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals ("Another Day of Sun"). Watch the 60th Annual Grammy Awards Ceremony on Jan. 28th.

New Members' Welcome

Harvardwood warmly welcomes all members who joined the organization over the past month, including:

• Niya Avery, College, DC
• Lisa Bacon, College, LA
• Sophie Barry, College, Boston/Campus
• Diane Beasley, FOH, NY
• Corey Bernhard, College, LA
• Jacob Dixon, College, NY
• Richard Gadsden, HLS, LA
• Eric Gaut, College, LA
• Marcelo Hanta-Davis, College, Boston/Campus
• Bianca Harlow, HLS, LA
• Rosemary Hofstedt, Ext., Boston/Campus
• Jonathan Hu, College, Boston/Campus
• John Jensen, HBS, LA
• Kaj Larsen, KSG, LA
• Christian Liu, College, Boston/Campus
• Jillian London, HLS, LA
• Max Mezger, College, Boston/Campus
• Jade Miller, College, LA
• Gary Sabot, College, Boston/Campus
• Michael Uy, KSG, LA
• Eleanor Morris Wu, College, DC

*FOH = Friend of Harvardwood

Alumni Profile: Jonathan Aibel AB '91 (Writer & Producer, Kung Fu Panda 1, 2, & 3, Trolls)

By Adrian Horton AB '17

To hear him tell it, Jonathan Aibel AB '91 always had a creative bent, though it took him nearly a quarter century to learn what a spec script was. Growing up in Demarest, New Jersey, right outside Manhattan, Aibel participated in theatre in high school, then continued indulging his creative side while at Harvard. The psychology major unofficially minored in music theory and a cappella (he was a four year member of the Din & Tonics), before penning the Hasting Pudding Theatricals show with a friend in his senior year.

Then, with four years of performing arts experience under his belt, Aibel decided to take the natural next step for an aspiring creative: management consulting. Despite his passion for the arts, he didn’t know what to after graduation from Harvard. “I didn’t really think there would a career in the performing arts on the creative side,” he recalls, “but I thought that maybe there would be a way to get involved in the business side.” Aibel took a job at a small firm in Boston, but between the calculators and the desk work, he says, “I pretty quickly realized that I didn’t enjoy the business world as much as I hoped that I would.”

Fortunately, Aibel also quickly realized that he got on with coworker Glenn Berger, a Brown grad with a background in stand-up comedy. The two began writing together on small projects. First, it was a company-assigned Christmastime video to encourage employees to donate to charity, which soon consumed more time than their consulting work. Then, they collaborated on Berger’s stand-up routines. When the duo found a spec script sitting on another coworker’s desk, they quickly lapped it up. “We started understanding, ‘oh, you write a script of a show that’s already on the air, just as a sample?’” Aibel remembers with a laugh. “We didn’t know that you could do that. So we just said ‘well, let’s start writing a script.’” 

Aibel found more and more of his attention drawn to the page, but still wasn’t ready to jump to writing full-time. “We didn’t even know how you would make a living writing anything,” he recalls. Luckily, the Harvard network offered answers in the name of Susanne Daniels AB '87, a former roommate of one of Aibel’s coworkers and the future head of the WB, MTV, and of Youtube’s Original Programming. Daniels connected Aibel and Berger with her husband, Greg Daniels AB '85, who would go on to create The Office and Aibel’s “big break,” King of the Hill.

Aibel laughs when he remembers the cluelessness of these early conversations about jumping ship to Hollywood. The nascent writing duo asked Greg Daniels “the total newbie questions of ‘what do you do all day?’ And ‘where do you live to be a screenwriter?’ And ‘can two people be screenwriters together on a TV show?’” But the two were hooked. Armed with some in-the-know encouragement and “a notebook that says things like ‘move to Los Angeles,' and the most awful basic things because we just had no idea,” the two handed in their notices to the consulting firm, loaded up a U-Haul, and drove, together, to LA.

At the time, Aibel says, the industry was such that it was easy to land a TV writing gig without being “particularly skilled.” Aibel and Berger honed their writing skills and partnership on various sitcoms, learning how to consistently produce jokes, how to break down a story, and how to structure scenes. “It was very formulaic,” Aibel says of those early days, “but there was tremendous value in learning the formulas, so that later in our careers we could play with them and twist them.”

After about five years of bouncing between freelance but not staff, right show but wrong network, Aibel and Berger landed their big break with the inaugural season of King of the Hill, an animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and their old contact, Greg Daniels. Though the partners were skeptical of writing for animation, they were won over by the show’s character-driven writers. “We had to be far more grounded and realistic than we were on any of the sitcoms,” Aibel says, calling his six years on the show “our film school” that taught them “to write from a place of character rather than situation.”

Always up for a challenge, Aibel and Berger began dabbling in live action features by rewriting scripts while on hiatuses from King of Hill. Aibel relished the chance to dig deeper into characters and expand storylines beyond the parameters of sitcoms. Eventually, Aibel says, “We realized that our training [at King of the Hill] better prepared us to write features than to keep writing sitcoms or to go back to multi-camera sitcoms. It felt like the kinds of stories we were telling or wanted to tell and the characters we wanted to create weren’t what we were finding in the shows being picked up by the networks.” The interest in characters won out, and upon leaving the show, Aibel and Bergen jumped head first into writing movies.

It was not all smooth sailing. The writing partners encountered the usual feature-making walls—slow timelines, fickle studios, things not getting made. But the consistent work eventually led to a phone call with the creators of Kung Fu Panda, who were looking for writers to turn their idea into a family-friendly hit. Aibel was, again, initially skeptical of the pitch and the prospect of staying in animation, but was persuaded by the movie’s passionate team. “We realized that it was, in a way, the challenge we were looking for,” he says, describing the Kung Fu Panda team and the work of animated movies as “incredibly collaborative.” Diving into an animated feature also brought all the lessons from those early sitcom gigs full circle. “All this stuff we had learned in TV—about how to produce a TV show but also how to read storyboards, how to work with editing and editors, how to direct actors in a recording booth—it all applied to what they were doing in animated movies,” Aibel says.

“I think the challenge of Panda,” he continues, “was that we took a pretty standard story but we found ways to make it unusual and different.” Unusual, unexpected, or perhaps just plain charming—whatever the reason, Kung Fu Panda won over audiences to the tune of a cool $631 million worldwide, making it a bona fide hit that launched Aibel into the upper echelons of family-friendly screenwriters. He and Berger have gone on to write several more films, including both Kung Fu sequels, Monsters vs. Aliens, The Spongebob Movie: Sponge out of Water, and 2016’s hit Trolls.  

Asked the secret to the writing team’s success, especially after over two decades of going line by line together, Aibel credits compromise and regular hours. The two usually write on workdays from 10am until 6pm, a lesson in consistency honed from their years on TV, where they learned that “you need to show up at the office and you need to be funny now and write jokes now because this has to be read tomorrow. You can’t sit there waiting for the inspiration to strike.” Though they may fly solo for very early drafts, Aibel and Berger still write most of their scripts together, preferring to find an Option C when Options A and B produce disagreement. “If we work hard enough on something, we’ll come up with a third thing that we both like that’s usually better,” Aibel says, noting that the pair has succeeded through working “bit by bit.” Even on “those days when you feel like ‘oh, this isn’t very good, this isn’t funny, I’m not getting what the point of the scene is,’” Aibel says, “you just have to be dogged.”

Along the same lines, his advice for aspiring writers is quite simple: just keep writing.

“You just have to do that work. If you want to write a feature, you have to sit down, and you have to write. And every day you have to be there, writing stuff. Writing as a career means you actually have to like writing. And some of that is lonely and difficult and not social, but that’s the part that Glenn and I actually like—the sitting and writing—and I think that if you don’t like that part, you’re going to have a very frustrating career.” Aibel pauses to acknowledge the difficulty of sharing one’s work. “The hardest thing about writing,” he says, “is that to turn something in, you usually have to believe that it is the best it can be. But you also know that, of course, it can be better.” Still, Aibel believes in committing to the actual work: “I don’t think it’s a good idea when people like being a writer more than they like to write.”

Fans of Aibel’s writing will have to wait a bit for the next feature film, though. The partners have written Trolls 2, and are awaiting its release in 2020. Meanwhile, they’ve been working on the debut feature for Skydance’s animation division, under the working title of “Luck.” And ever on the lookout for a genre challenge, Aibel and Berger have also been expanding horizons by collaborating on a Kung Fu Panda-inspired live show, involving music, dancing, and the duo’s signature heart. Stay tuned, as details are yet to be announced.

Adrian Horton is a freelance writer who graduated from Harvard College in May 2017 with a degree in History and Literature. Following graduation, she worked as a researcher-writer for Let’s Go 2018 in Greece and Italy. An avid traveler, she’s currently based in Cincinnati, Ohio, though that could change tomorrow. 

Calendar

FEATURED EVENT | Harvardwood Salon with Winnie M. Li AB '00 (Novelist & Producer) - Thurs., Jan. 11

Author, activist, and former film producer Winnie M Li AB ’00 joins us from London for this exclusive Harvardwood Salon where we’ll discuss the ongoing #MeToo phenomenon in Hollywood. How far-reaching is this watershed moment and what are the implications for gender equality, employment practices, and storytelling within the creative industries? How did predatory behavior become so common in professional power structures, and what can be done in the future to ensure safer, less exploitative workplaces where all voices and talents can thrive? Winnie’s piece for The Guardian is a good starting point—read it here.

Winnie’s debut novel Dark Chapter was recently published to great acclaim, and is inspired by her own 2008 rape (but told equally from perspectives of victim and perpetrator). In the UK, it won The Guardian’s Not The Booker Prize by public vote, and will be translated into eight languages  Prior to her assault, Winnie worked in the film industry as a producer in London and worked on six feature films and an Oscar-nominated short. She later moved into film festival programming and theme park design, before deciding to write her novel. She is also pursuing a PhD at the London School of Economics, on the impact of social media on public discourses about rape.

Read Winnie's Harvardwood alum profile!

Boston, MA

Harvard Global Networking Night - Tues., Jan. 9

The Harvard Alumni Association invites you to join fellow local alumni for Global Networking Night on Tuesday, January 9, 2018 at the Harvard Club of Boston. Global Networking Night is a great opportunity to explore and expand your Harvard Network; the last event drew more than 8,000 alumni in over 100 cities!

Savannah, GA

Harvard Global Networking Night - Tues., Jan. 9

The Harvard Alumni Association invites you to join fellow local alumni for Global Networking Night on Tuesday, January 9, 2018 at the Harvard Club of Boston. Global Networking Night is a great opportunity to explore and expand your Harvard Network; the last event drew more than 8,000 alumni in over 100 cities!

New York, NY

Harvardwood Presents: JOHN DOYLE interviewed by JOHN WEIDMAN - Wed., Jan. 10

The title really says it all—a conversation between two of the most interesting people in the American theater.

John Doyle is perhaps most widely known for his series of innovative revivals of Sondheim musicals, notably Sweeney Todd (Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards, Best Director of a Musical), Company (Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Awards, Best Revival of a Musical), Passion, and, most recently, Pacific Overtures. Other acclaimed productions have included The Color Purple (Tony Award, Best Revival of a Musical; Drama Desk Award, Best Director of a Musical), The Visit, and Rodgers and Hammerstein's Allegro.  He has directed as well at the Metropolitan Opera and has been the Artistic Director of four theater companies in the U.K., where his credits ranged from Shakespeare to Brecht to Fiddler on the Roof.  Since 2016 he has been the Artistic Director of the Classic Stage Company in New York, where most recently he directed As You Like It.

John Weidman has collaborated with Stephen Sondheim three times, writing the books for Pacific Overtures, Assassins (Tony Award, Best Musical Revival), and Road Show.  He also wrote the books for, among others, Contact (Tony Award, Best Musical), co-created with Susan Stroman, and Big, as well as the new book, co-authored with Timothy Crouse, for Anything Goes (Tony Award, Best Musical Revival; Olivier Award, Best Musical Production).  He has been a writer for Sesame Street since 1986, where he has collected more than a dozen Emmy Awards. From 1999 to 2009 he was President of the Dramatists Guild, and is now President of the Dramatists Legal Defense Fund.  (And he's a Harvard alum!)

Los Angeles, CA 

Harvardwood Heads To... Winnie Li's DARK CHAPTER Reading - Sat., Jan. 6

Inspired by true events, Dark Chapter is both a literary masterpiece and a riveting novel of suspense about of the dark chapters and chance encounters that can irrevocably determine the shape of our lives. (Polis Books)

Follow author Winnie M. Li on Twitter: @winniemli

Harvard Global Networking Night - Tues., Jan. 9

The Harvard Alumni Association invites you to join fellow local alumni for Global Networking Night on Tuesday, January 9, 2018 at the Harvard Club of Boston. Global Networking Night is a great opportunity to explore and expand your Harvard Network; the last event drew more than 8,000 alumni in over 100 cities!

Harvardwood Masterclass: Acquiring Story Rights for Producers & Writers - Thurs., Jan. 18

So you’ve read an article, graphic novel, book or screenplay, or found someone with a life story to tell? Acquiring story rights or understanding keys issues involved in tying them up is an essential skill for producers and writers - and existing stories are often more attractive to studios or financiers, as well as to an agent.

With 25 years of film studio experience at Columbia and Fox, Jack Monderer AB '82 managed hundreds of rights situations of every conceivable type. As a producer or writer, when and how do you initiate a rights agreement? How much of an agreement do you need? Is there any way to price a particular type of material? Come join us as Jack shares his experience and gives guidance on these and other story rights issues.

Jack Monderer has several decades of experience as the key manager and analyst in Business and Legal affairs for film development projects at Fox and Columbia. He recently completed 20 years at the Fox film group, administering all talent deals and property rights for the film projects at Fox, Fox 2000, Fox Searchlight, Fox Animation and Fox International Productions. Projects he has managed from development through production include everything from franchises like Ghostbusters, X-Men, Avatar and Ice Age, to specialty films like Slumdog Millionaire and Grand Budapest Hotel.

Harvardwood Heads To... The Ivy Plus Society's Year of the 狗 - 2018 Kickoff Party - Thurs., Jan. 18

The Ivy Plus Society is kicking off 2018 at the exclusive Asian inspired lounge, The Blind Dragon. A hidden gem located on the famous Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, The Blind Dragon has 4 luxury sing or die karaoke suites with over 25,000 licensed songs. Start The Year of the Dog off right by mixing and mingling with LA’s finest and brightest.

Harvardwood Heads To... HELLBENT Launch Party with Gregg Hurwitz - Tues., Jan. 30

Attend the launch party of HELLBENT, available Jan. 30th, from best-selling author Gregg Hurwitz AB '95.

Taken from a group home at age twelve, Evan Smoak was raised and trained as an off-the-books government assassin: Orphan X. After he broke with the Orphan Program, Evan disappeared and reinvented himself as the Nowhere Man, a man spoken about only in whispers and dedicated to helping the truly desperate.

Gregg Hurwitz is the New York Times bestselling author of 19 novels, including HELLBENT (2018). His novels have been shortlisted for numerous literary awards, graced top ten lists, and have been published in 30 languages. He is also a New York Times Bestselling comic book writer, having penned stories for Marvel (Wolverine, Punisher) and DC (Batman, Penguin). Additionally, he’s written screenplays for or sold spec scripts to many of the major studios (including THE BOOK OF HENRY), and written, developed, and produced television  for various networks.  Gregg resides in Los Angeles.

Chicago, IL

Harvardwood Chicago Writers' Meet-up - Wed., Jan. 31

Launch the new year​ with friendly Harvardwood ​writers​! Join us​ on January 31st at the Deca Lounge & Rooftop Bar of the Ritz Carlton at Water Tower Place. ​All writers, genres and specialties are welcome! Free to attend. Cash bar, optional menu, sparkling conversation. ​Bring your friends—forward this event link!

SF/Bay Area, CA

Harvardwood Heads To... Winnie Li's DARK CHAPTER Reading - Tues., Jan. 16

Booksmith is excited to host Winnie M. Li for her debut novel Dark Chapter, and her first San Francisco reading—please join us! Winner of The Guardian's Not The Booker Prize in the UK, this UK bestseller, inspired by true events, is a unique crime novel for the #MeToo era.

“Crime writers have long insisted that their genre tackles societal issues better than any other, and Winnie M Li proves that claim beyond a doubt. While the story centres around a horrific crime, it’s the exploration of the aftermath and the cruelty of the justice system that sets this book apart. A fine debut from an exceptional talent, and an important study of the human cost of violence.” — Stuart Neville, award-winning author of The Ghosts of Belfast and So Say the Fallen

Start the year off right: Renew your Harvardwood membership

New year, old resolutions... we know how it goes. But one really easy resolution to keep is making sure your Harvardwood membership is active! If you subscribe to receive Harvardwood emails but don't have an active membership, you can officially join here. Membership benefits include access to all of our online resources, including the job listings, eligibility for all Harvardwood programs, and discounted event tickets. Harvardwood is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, and your membership dues are vital to keeping us running.

DISCLAIMER

Harvardwood does not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any of the information, content or advertisements (collectively "Materials") contained on, distributed through, or linked, downloaded or accessed from any of the services contained in this e-mail. You hereby acknowledge that any reliance upon any Materials shall be at your sole risk. The materials are provided by Harvardwood on an "AS IS" basis, and Harvardwood expressly disclaims any and all warranties, express or implied.