Tom Benedek, the first graduate of the University of Massachusetts’ Bachelor’s Degree with Individual Concentration (BDIC) program, will speak Tuesday afternoon in the Student Union Ballroom on what he sees as a shift from a “golden age” in Hollywood screenwriting to the present state of filmmaking.
Benedek, who became the first BDIC alumnus in 1971, is a prominent screenwriter who has penned such works as “Cocoon” and “Free Willy.” His talk is titled “From one Golden Age to Another,” and will commence at 4 p.m. on Oct. 5.
The BDIC program facilitates interdisciplinary studies for students wishing to work across the University’s various schools. Benedek, for his part, concentrated in film when designing his major. The writer has since gone on to work with directors such as Robert Zemeckis, David Brown, Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese and Sydney Pollack, according to a UMass release.
Benedek is a member of the Writers Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and is an adjunct professor of screenwriting at the University of Southern California. He also teaches at the University of Michigan, where he is a James Gindin Visiting Artist. Benedek has also studied at L’Institut de Formation Cinematographique in Paris and is a graduate of the Director’s Program at the American Film Institute.
In his presentation, Benedek said he plans to address how he feels technological developments may help to usher in a new “golden age” of cinematic development.
“I hope to paint a picture of the golden age of original screenwriting which emerged in the ’70s in Hollywood to the current state which is anything but that – and how current technological and creative phenomena ought to lead to the emergence of another ‘golden age,’” he said in the University release. “Simultaneously, I will attempt to sketch my own academic, creative and professional journey – the catalysts to my BDIC in film – how the skill sets of BDIC and UMass continue to aid me in shaping my destiny,” he elaborated.
Benedek’s lecture will be free and open to all members of the public. It is also being sponsored by career services, the interdepartment film studies program, and the DEFA Film Library at UMass.
-Collegian News Staff
