The USC School Of Cinematic Arts keeps making a big push to gain more support among current Hollywood moguls and filmmakers who aren’t has-beens. Smart business: the names will translate into more money and clout for the school and its BA, MA, MFA and PhD programs. USC has to compete just even locally with American Film Institute’s AFI Conservatory and UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television not to mention other rival schools nationally like New York University Tisch School of the Arts and internationally like Beijing Film Academy.
So no surprise that Twentieth Century Fox Film Chairman Jim Gianopulos this week joined the USC film school’s Board Of Councilors. Last week, Bryan Singer donated $5 million and became the first alumnus to have one of the film school’s 6 programs of study named in his honor. Also last week, Paramount’s Brad Grey and CBS Inc’s Les Moonves joined George Lucas (alumnus) and Steven Spielberg (who applied twice and was turned down each time) at the gala reception opening of the Sumner M. Redstone Production Building for the school.
Gianopulos also joins Lucas and Spielberg – who’ve each donated buildings – on the USC film school board which takes a leadership roll in the school’s overall planning and development as well as supports its fundraising efforts. Board of Councilors Chair Frank Price, who used to preside over Universal Pictures and Columbia Pictures (twice), said in a statement: “Throughout his career Jim has always been dedicated to finding and supporting the next visionary filmmaker or technology and that fits right in with our goal as a Board. By working in support of the students at SCA we are ensuring that our industry has a bright future.” Gianopulos for his part explained: “I have long admired the commitment to being at the forefront of the cinematic arts that [Dean] Elizabeth Daley and USC have exemplified over the years.”
Related: Bryan Singer Donates $5M To USC Film School; Sumner Redstone Facility Christened
USC was funded in collaboration with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1929 and offers comprehensive programs in directing, producing, writing, critical studies, animation and digital arts, production, and interactive media. On Tuesday night, Hollywood bigwigs turned out for the Redstone building dedication which follows the Viacom Chairman’s donation of $10 million to the USC School Of Cinematic Arts kast January. The state-of-the-art production facility houses two soundstages, dubbed Redstone 1 and Redstone 2. Part of SCA’s new Cinematic Arts Complex, it features 2,600 square feet of production space for use by the about 1,000 students from the school’s various divisions who are studying production skills such as staging, lighting, directing, producing and forming/leading a crew. The building also is equipped with industry standard Strand dimming systems and Mole-Richardson lighting; floor lights, grip and electrical hardware; a Production Equipment Center; wooden stage floors; and soundproofing and soundproof utility doors, among many others features. “I’ve always said that content is king. It’s the lord of the realm. It’s the highest value in this industry,” Redstone told the crowd. “I’m hoping that adding my name to the Redstone building will further the art of storytelling and that, within its walls, the Spielbergs and Lucases of tomorrow will continue to make magic.”
Lucas in 2006 donated $175M to expand the film school with a new 137,000-square-foot in what was the largest single donation to USC and any film school. (His previous donations resulted in the naming of two existing buildings. The project also received another $50M in contributions from Warner Bros, Twentieth Century Fox, and The Walt Disney Company. There’s also the Marilyn & Jeffrey Katzenberg Center for Animation, the Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts, the David L. Wolper Center, and the Louis B. Mayer Film and Television Study Center.
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.


This is silly. USC has never had a problem getting big names and a ton of money. Their problem as an institution is on a micro level with poorly run programs and lack of equipment and opportunity for actual filmmaking.
I’ve heard plenty of gripes about USC but “lack of equipment” isn’t usually one of them. Compared to what program?
I am a Film Student at USC. USC does not allow Students to use the School’s Equipment unless you are actually working on a Specific Class Project. Students cannot randomly checkout equipment for their own Projects. I was so tired of dealing with USC’s Film Equipment Nazis that I purchased my own Equipment – Canon 5D Mark 3 Camera and a MAC for Editing. Having your own equipment is instrumental in achieving success as an aspiring filmmaker.
Definitely no lack of equipment here. When did you graduate exactly?
Ha!
“USC Alum” more like “UCLA/AFI Plant”. Sure, every large program has things it could improve on, but it still doesn’t change that USC is widely considered the best film school in the world.
No, it isn’t. You should get out of LA more often.
USC Film School may not be the #1 Film School…but it is definitely in the Top 5 Film Schools in the Country.
UCLA’s cinema department is a dump. I love their archive, but the film school needs a serious renovation and some new professors with better credentials.
Will they name a ledge of the Redstone building after the flight attendant who died in the Boston hotel fire while Sumner dangled from the side of the building?
Lack of equipment and lack of stage availability for all levels is very much a reality. As is having instructors that don’t know terminology, rude staff and not appreciating staff that do care and mentor students. The school needs a complete overhaul.
The school doesn’t need an overhaul. It’s far from perfect but the main problem is that 95% of USC film students are totally unrealistic with their career goals. They think they’re destined to become the next breakout director and have no backup plan when their scripts and thesis films just aren’t that good.
You sound like someone whose beautiful art thesis was recognized for the genius it was and you were screwed out of stage time by people who just don’t appreciate how long it take for you to achieve your vision. What happened? They not let you direct a 546 so it must mean the whole place doesn’t get it?
Very good write-up.
I agree that USC has no trouble attracting big names, and when I was there getting equipment was never a problem, and the profs were great. Every school has its issues, but USC is still one of the best in terms of film education. Can some things be changed? Maybe, but from what’s in this article, that’s what they’re doing.
Has-beens? What a dumb ass way to refer to people in the industry who may not be as active as they once were but who are certainly name-worthy enough to support USC or any institution for that matter. Typical mean spirited swipe by this “Editor In Chief.” Eyesight exam obviously failed to uncover the extreme case of shortsightedness so often displayed.
Good Luck to them but don’t think they are “the best in the world”
Going to the USC was the greatest decision of my life. Going there doesn’t guarantee anything, but there is a reason why USC has turned out more academy award nominees than any other institution, academic or otherwise, in history.
Any stats to back that up or is it just a belief?
Ok, all you Oscar winners that left comments. I have a question for you. Name the Oscar winner that was brought into USC on a scholarship? Notice they have no program for finding talent like the sports programs do. Do you know WHY?
Art Center is the only relevant film school in LA with 4 of the biggest tentpole directors working today as alums: Michael Bay, Zack Snyder, Tarsem and Michael Sucsy. Not to mention Roger Avary- Oscar winner for Pulp Fiction, and scores of others.
I am a Film Student at USC. USC is 1 of the best film schools in the country…but what Film Schools like USC fail to tell their Student Body is that the most important thing a Film Student must learn is “How to pay the Bills until they break into Hollywood”…which is why so many Film Majors go into different fields a fews years after graduation – finding an above the Line Job in Hollywood can take a 10-15 Years after your Graduation Date. I wish Film Schools would tell Students this Grim Statistic while the Students are still in school, so that the Students can begin figuring out ways to make money external to Hollywood while still enrolled in Film School. On a 2nd Note, USC’s Film School is like any Art-Based School – it’s competitive (every student thinks they are God’s Gift to Cinema), the Teachers are unhappy (most faculty members wish they were making movies, not teaching them) and you cannot use their equipment unless you are actually working on a Specific Class Project. I was so tired of dealing with the Equipment Nazis that I purchased my own Equipment – Canon 5D Mark 3 Camera and a MAC for Editing. Having your own equipment is instrumental in achieving success as an aspiring filmmaker.
What Film Schools (in addition to Art Schools) do not tell Students is that a Student’s Value is equivalent to their Portfolio. Simply put, if a Film Student has a solid Portfolio (great short film, great spec script or a great indie feature film) they stand a chance at “Breaking into Hollywood”. If a Film Student doesn’t have a solid Portfolio, they stand “No Chance”. That said, aspiring filmmakers do not have to attend Film School to penetrate Hollywood. They can simply make a great portfolio piece (short film, spec feature script or spec indie feature) in their spare time and “Break into Hollywood” (and not spend a fortune on an education). Bottom Line – If you attend Film School, make sure to leave with a Great Portfolio…otherwise you will never “Break into Hollywood”.