Ashlin Halfnight '97 (Playwright, Director of Electric Pear Productions)

By Dominique Kalil '00

I’ve been mulling over this for quite a while now, and I still don’t know what angle to take with this former English concentrator from the Class of 1997. What can one do with a former professional hockey player-turned-kindergarten teacher-turned-successful playwright, who happens to be well versed in the obscure (well, obscure to me anyway) Russian literary genius Mikhail Bulkagov? Ashlin Halfnight and I chatted about a lot of random things—the metaphorical quality of the Hungarian language (in which Ashlin is conversationally fluent) and its unusual Finno-Ugric origins, for example. I felt very “Harvard”, but not for the reasons one would immediately think. I always tell people that the best thing at Harvard wasn’t the classes I never went to, nor the professors I never saw, not even the striking campus I took for granted—instead it was the cornucopia of fascinating and budding individuals that seem to blossom all around me. I think I’m now at the age when those very blossoms are starting to flourish in a very public and productive way, and the view is really quite stunning.

Nick Weiss '00 (Writer & Director)

By Dominique Kalil '00

I have wanted to interview Nick Weiss '00 forever. Not because I knew anything about him, but because his name kept popping up in different conversations all the time. And so, when I got to choose my next subject, I picked him. Fortunately, getting to know him further definitely measured up to my expectations.

Amy Retzinger '95 (Literary Agent, VERVE)

By Dominique Kalil '00

Something that always strikes me when I write these profiles is the absolute randomness (and I mean lottery winning type odds) with which the people I interview have ended up in the careers and places they have. Very few have deliberately contrived or perfectly cultured careers from the get go. In the end, however, these seemingly accidental careers always manage to match perfectly with the person's personality and professionalism for the task. Maybe this phenomenon is really just the universe keeping the world in order. If a person finally gravitates to that at which they are naturally gifted, then it's only natural they will excel with the same effortless perfection.

Mark Goffman KSG '94 (Writer, Director, & Producer, LAW AND ORDER: SVU, SLEEP HOLLOW)

By Dominique Kalil '00

I have an addiction to interesting people. In trying to understand this addiction, I have thought long and hard about what makes someone or something interesting. I have come to realize that what merits the term “interesting” is not so much the initial impact of someone’s story, but the sustainability of that impact. Part of my own intrigue is the all important captivation necessary to keep my ADD-inclined mind from straying. Television audiences are like that too. Like me, they are temperamental, easily distracted and wish to be pleasantly entertained with an exquisite but almost impossible balance of rational predictability and surprising spontaneity. Sometimes the strategy employed by successful writers to maintain this balance must be acutely calculated; at other times the process is probably rampantly impetuous. Either way, television writing involves remarkable skill and perspective—both of which Mark Goffman has in abundance.

Jed Weintrob '91 (Writer, Director, & Producer, ON LINE & THE F WORD)

By Dominique Kalil '00

What I find most surprising about Jed Weintrob’s story is his unwavering focus. It seems to me that most people who choose careers in the entertainment industry try something else first, or wander into the field inadvertently; not so for Jed. He was born and raised in Manhattan, but for most of his adult life he has shuttled between Los Angeles and New York pursuing his projects and cultivating what has turned out to be a prosperous and successful career in film. Jed graduated from Harvard in 1991 with a degree in Visual and Environmental Studies but by that time he already had filmmaking work experience under his belt. After his sophomore year, Jed took a year off from Harvard to work as the assistant to the director of a TV show in Los Angeles and upon returning to Harvard, teamed up with a Harvard Business School student to produce a $350,000 independent film, “The Color of Love,” during his junior year of school. It surprised me that he decided to stay in college after that experience, as I definitely wouldn’t have.

Sean O'Keefe '95 (Screenwriter & Producer)

By Dominique Kalil '00

As an African, Alaska and video gaming are two of the most foreign concepts to me; ice and technology are generally as far from my reality as the pebbles on Mars. When I interviewed Sean O’Keefe (Class of 1995), I was forced to face a sad reality; as Sean put it, that I am joining the ranks of the “obsolete.”

Sean has recently become a successful screenwriter and producer.

Dan Abrams '90 (Producer, KNOTS)

By Dominique Kalil '00

Dan Abrams didn’t want to conduct this interview telephonically. That was fine by me as I have come to accept that the bargaining power I yield exists in my mind only. That being said, I have generally found email to be a fluffy form of communication. In email-land, there are no intonations, no screaming pauses, no pensive sighs, no speech expressions (besides the odd YELL!), little spontaneity, and I find it bland and non-descript in a black and white Times New Roman way. Plus generic hotmail/yahoo/aol addresses such as mine, automatically propel one into the anonymous world of a spam, hate inducing, trash (otherwise known as the s.h.i.t.) mail bin. So, I admit I hounded Dan Abrams. I emailed him no less than five times trying to extricate the details of his life for this piece. He always, very politely, replied that it was coming and to get back to him the following week. Sometimes I forgot, and sometimes I did get back to him.

Georgia Lee '98 (Screenwriter, Director, & Producer, RED DOORS)

By Dominique Kalil '00

I spoke to Georgia Lee while sitting in rush hour traffic, not my original plan. As I watched the minutes tick by, and realized I wasn’t go to be where I needed to be, I thought my head was going to explode. It had been one of those days where everything has the potential to go your way, but nothing does. Furthermore, it appeared that I was the only person in the entire city that was driving with some purposeful intent. Before I dialed her number, I pointed to the sky with my middle finger one last time and took a deep breath. On the other end of the line I heard an articulate, enthusiastic, spontaneous young lady.

Caroline Libresco HDS '91 (Producer, SUNSET STORY)

By Dominique Kalil '00

The state of old age is generally regarded as one of dementia, inactivity and incontinence. And for the most part, people turn away from stories chronicling senescence. In our society, growing old is certainly equated with an acquisition of knowledge and experience, but the state of actually ‘being old’ tends to be perceived as neither pleasant nor familiar. This is where the makers of Sunset Story vehemently differ. In a recent conversation, Caroline Libresco (one of the producers and a Harvard grad) stated that as a filmmaker she was drawn into the story of this elderly pair, their transformation, and their exemplary evolution.