By Ray Pride Pride@moviecitynews.com

Academy To Launch “Academy Gold” Talent Development And Inclusion Program

Posted Wednesday, April 5th, 2017 - Comments Off on Academy To Launch “Academy Gold” Talent Development And Inclusion Program
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[PR] Sixteen Entertainment Industry Partners Participate in Pilot Year

LOS ANGELES, CA – In June, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will launch Academy Gold, a new entertainment industry-wide summer internship and mentoring program that will expand opportunities for students and young professionals from underrepresented communities.  This initiative will afford top film entertainment, technology, production services and digital media companies an opportunity to recruit and educate a nationwide pool of diverse talent.  The Academy also will build an alumni database to track the professional development of Academy Gold participants and provide a resource to connect alumni with one another upon completion of the program.

Several companies, including Deluxe, The Walt Disney Company, Dolby Laboratories, FotoKem, FremantleMedia, HBO, IMAX, Lionsgate/Starz, Panavision, Paramount Pictures, Participant Media, Sony Pictures, Technicolor, Twentieth Century Fox Film, Universal Pictures and Warner Bros., have already committed to the program.  Each partner will sponsor up to three interns.

“As chair of the Academy’s Education Committee, I am proud that the Academy is taking proactive steps in building partnerships within the entertainment industry to move the needle on talent development and inclusion,” said Nancy Utley, Academy governor and president of Fox Searchlight Pictures.  “The Academy Gold program is a testament to the shared commitment of the Academy and industry leaders to address one of biggest challenges facing our community today and effectuate meaningful change.”

In this pilot year, more than 50 interns (including 15 interns who will be placed within the Academy) will participate in the Academy Gold program.  The eight-week program will offer participants networking opportunities with Academy members and industry professionals, screenings and educational workshops.  The internships are available to undergraduate and graduate college students with an emphasis on high-quality, underrepresented talent in order to help them acquire the knowledge, skills and connections to achieve success as they navigate full-time, above- and below-the-line entertainment industry careers.

“The Academy is in a unique position to tap into and encourage its nearly 7,000 members to become involved mentors,” said Edgar Aguirre, the Academy’s director of talent development and inclusion.  “The Academy Gold program will empower and create new opportunities for emerging and diverse talent, while engaging our membership and underscoring the impact these leaders can have on shaping the future of our industry.”

For more information about the Academy Gold program, visit www.oscars.org/AcademyGoldProgram.

 

ABOUT THE ACADEMY
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a global community of more than 7,000 of the most accomplished artists, filmmakers and executives working in film. In addition to celebrating and recognizing excellence in filmmaking through the Oscars, the Academy supports a wide range of initiatives to promote the art and science of the movies, including public programming, educational outreach and the upcoming Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, which is under construction in Los Angeles.

FOLLOW THE ACADEMY
www.oscars.org
www.facebook.com/TheAcademy
www.youtube.com/Oscars
www.twitter.com/TheAcademy

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It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?

So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.

And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.

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I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.

So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.

But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”

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