communication and media studies

Documentary filmmaker David Osit discusses his film "Thank You For Playing," that follows Ryan Green, a video game programmer, who creates an unusually beautiful and poetic video game (That Dragon, Cancer) based on his family's journey when the discover that their young son has cancer. David is joined by Alenda Chang, UCSB Professor of Film & Media Studies. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 32226]

Who can forget the increasingly violent attacks by wild birds in Hitchcock's 1963 horror-thriller? Actress Tippi Hedren discusses the process of filming The Birds with moderator Ross Melnick of the UCSB Film and Media Studies Department. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 32217]

The HBO one-hour drama series "Westworld" is a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the evolution of sin. Set at the intersection of the near future and the reimagined past, it explores a world in which every human appetite, no matter how noble or depraved, can be indulged. UCSB Script to Screen welcomed UCSB Department of Film & Media Studies Alumnus Fred Toye, director of two pivotal episodes: Season 1, Episode 6 "The Adversary" and Season 1, Episode 7 "Trompe L'Oeil." Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 32214]

UCSB Script to Screen was invited to the 2017 Writers Guild Awards and 2017 WGA Beyond Words. The interviews include many Oscar nominees. The "Script to Screen" series is hosted by Matt Ryan. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 32215]

Rebecca was Alfred Hitchcock’s first American film. It has long been considered to be the director’s most “feminine” project, given its subject matter and appeal to female audiences. Tania Modleski, author of the groundbreaking book The Women Who Knew Too Much: Hitchcock and Feminist Film Theory discusses both the history and continuing legacy of Rebecca, now regarded as a film that not only explores women’s fears but also women’s desire for other women. The discussion was moderated by Professor Patrice Petro, director of the Carsey-Wolf Center. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 32132]

Film preservationist James Katz and Tom Pollock, former Executive Vice President of MCA and Chairman of Universal Pictures, discuss the restoration of "Vertigo" with Charles Wolfe, UCSB Professor of Film & Media Studies. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 32131]

The Last Aristocrats is a film based on a short story by Kenneth Pai, UCSB Professor Emeritus. It follows four young Chinese women from elite Shanghai families who become stranded in the US when the communists take over Shanghai in 1948. Professor Pai, is joined by Professor Michael Berry of UCLA's Contemporary Chinese Cultural Studies. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 31925]

Writer/producer/director Theodore Melfi, actor Kevin Costner and president of Fox 2000 Pictures, Elizabeth Gabler discuss the Oscar-nominated film based on the true story about three brilliant African-American women working on John Glenn's launch into orbit at NASA. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 31924]

Arrival screenwriter and executive producer Eric Heisserer talks about adapting the the award-winning short story by Ted Chiang to the big screen. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 31914]

Director Madhusree Dutta and UCSB Department of Film and Media Studies Professor Bhaskar Sarkar discuss the film "7 Islands and a Metro," a fascinating documentary on Bom Bahia / Bombay / Mumbai. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 31806]

Short films often rely on film festivals for a larger audience. Learn about film festival shorts programming and curation with Tribeca Film Festival's vice president of filmmaker relations and long-time head of shorts programming Sharon Badal. Sharon is joined on the panel by Greg Goggin (Director) and Joe Toronto (Producer). Cynthia Felando, UCSB Professor of Film and Media Studies, moderates. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 31805]

Garance Burke discusses AP’s new partnership with Facebook aimed at debunking fake news. Burke shares her experiences and insights with civil rights attorney Jonathan Stein, a fellow alum of the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 31994]

Garance Burke discusses AP’s new partnership with Facebook aimed at debunking fake news. Burke shares her experiences and insights with civil rights attorney Jonathan Stein, a fellow alum of the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. Series: "UC Public Policy Channel" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 31994]

The animated film Inside Out is a vivid portrait of resilience in eleven-year-old Riley and her animated emotions, who together face a difficult several days following a cross-country move. The film's exploration of Riley's emotional life reflects current neuroscience research, thanks in part to the work of UC Berkeley Professor Dacher Keltner, who served as a scientific consultant to the filmmakers. He is joined by UCSB Professor of Psychology David Sherman and UCSB Professor of Film & Media Studies Anna Brusutti. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 31804]

Lora Chen (CEO of China Media Consulting) and Mayfair Yang (Director of UCSB Confucius Institute & Professor of Religious Studies and East Asian Studies Departments) discuss the film Mr. Six, a 2015 Chinese crime drama. The film treats the clash of generations as well as that between the ultra-rich and the left-behind. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Arts and Music] [Show ID: 31665]

Director Jay Roach (Austin Powers trilogy, Meet The Parents, and Trumbo) discusses his film "All the Way" which offers a behind-the-scenes look at President Lyndon B. Johnson’s tumultuous first year in office after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 31664]

UCSB Alumnus Nate Bolotin (Partner at XYZ Films) and Lucan Toh (Producer) discuss the horror thriller Under the Shadow which is set in Tehran. Their discussion focuses on contemporary global issues of financing and distribution of films. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 31625]

Director Ezra Edelman joins Jennifer Holt (Professor of Film and Media Studies at UCSB) and Steven Secular (PhD Student at the Department of Film and Media Studies at UCSB) for a discussion addressing the recent series placing the so-called “trial of the century” within the complex history of race, gender, class, news and entertainment media, policing, criminal justice, and the sports industry in the United States. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 31626]

Make-up artist Michael Westmore talks about his film work (Raging Bull, Rocky, and his Academy Award for Mask), his 18 years working on Star Trek, and his role as a mentor on the Syfy Channel's show Face-Off. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 31624]

Tony Barnosky, a Professor of Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley, and Teenie Matlock, the McClatchy Chair of Communications and Associate Professor of Cognitive Science at UC Merced, discuss tactics for communicating the urgency to act and depoliticizing the discussion on climate change. Series: "UC Carbon and Climate Neutrality Summit: UC Climate Solutions" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 30294]