Scriptland, a column about the work and lives of professional writers, relaunches this week with an expanded focus on TV as well as film.
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As most Angelenos know, the crosstown rivalry between Bruins and Trojans isn't limited to football. Each camp of alumni wants to help its own get ahead -- in sports, in law, even in writing. In the case of screenwriting programs where bundles of money are at stake, it has taken something of a desperate turn.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Tuesday, July 08, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 2 inches; 60 words Type of Material: Correction
UCLA film school: The Scriptland column in the July 1 Calendar section about Richard Walter, chair of UCLA's screenwriting program, identified UCLA donors David Geffen, Barbra Streisand, Jerry Lewis and Jane and Terry Semel as alumni of the university. In fact, Walter referred to them as prominent entertainment industry figures, not as UCLA alumni. None of them graduated from UCLA.
At a recent event held to honor UCLA student writers, Richard Walter, chair of the screenwriting program, observed to the audience of parents, students and friends that UCLA-trained screenwriters had worked on the films of some of the most successful graduates of that "school across town." Among others, he cited nine films of honorary USC alum Steven Spielberg.
"I think it's time for Steven to endow a chair here, don't you?" he asked.
The remark laid bare the competition between two of the top three film schools in the country. (Because New York University is on the other side of the continent, that rivalry doesn't seem as personal as it is in Los Angeles where alums stick around to climb the entertainment ladder.)
Walter, himself a USC graduate, said later that he remains loyal to USC and socializes with other alums in the industry, also known as "The Trojan Mafia."
But he's been frustrated that while millions of dollars have been funneling into USC's cinematic arts program from entertainment greats Spielberg, George Lucas, Robert Zemeckis, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, donations by UCLA alums tend to finance worthy projects in other fields: the David Geffen Medical School, the Streisand Chair in Cardiology, Jerry Lewis Neuromuscular Disease Research Center, the Jane and Terry Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Human Behavior, for instance.
UCLA is the single largest contributor to mainstream and independent films and TV, Walter contends. "It's as if we are their human resources development arm," he said, noting films such as 1991's "Backdraft" and 1994's "Forrest Gump," among numerous others, were written by UCLA-trained students. "It's in their own selfish interest to support us."
What's needed most are scholarships, he said. "We are really the poor kids' school. USC is the rich kids' school."
And if Spielberg needs an honorary degree from the Bruins, Walter said, he can have one. (A spokesman for Spielberg said he was unavailable for comment.)
