Garry Marshall, director of Overboard, Beaches, Pretty Woman, The Other Sister, and The Princess Diaries, recently sat in on a class with AFA Acting for Film students at New York Film Academy’s Universal Studios campus. The legendary writer/director/actor/producer got his start writing for television, including The Lucy Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and The Odd Couple. He recalled meeting Acting Chair Lynda Goodfriend as a spirited young chorus girl on Broadway. He would later cast her as Lori Beth in Happy Days, a show he created. He also created Laverne and Shirley and Mork & Mindy before transitioning to feature films. Marshall watched graduating students’ short films, and gave them helpful feedback on their performances, peppered with stories from his long career. “Don’t quit,” he said. “Life is a journey, and I’ve been doing it a while. Whining is absolutely allowed, but try to confine it to a half hour per day, or you’ll drive everyone crazy.”

Garry Marshall speaks to AFA - Acting for Film students.

Richard Halsey, who won the Academy Award in 1977 for his work on Rocky, recently led a master class for MFA Filmmaking students. The prolific editor has worked on over 70 films, including American Gigolo, Beaches, Edward Scissorhands, and Sister Act. He shared clips from Rocky, saying, “That’s definitely my signature film – my calling card. Viewing it now, years after, what I really like is that we held the shots. Montages are where the editor really gets to show off.”

Academy award winning editor of "Rocky" - Richard Halsey!

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