Page 236 – NYFA

Kevin James, NYFA Alumnus Mike Soccio, and Producer Leo Severino Hold Panel at NYFA

The King of Queens paid a visit to lower Manhattan this past Friday, as the New York Film Academy welcomed comedian and actor Kevin James. James began his career in stand up and eventually moved over to television where he rose to stardom playing the role of Doug Heffernan in the CBS comedy The King of Queens. James’ career moved over to film when he teamed up with Will Smith in Hitch, and then teamed up with friend Adam Sandler in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. James would go on to star in several other comedic films, including Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Grown Ups, Zookeeper, and others.

As an additional surprise, James brought with him writer and former NYFA student, Michael Soccio, as well as writer and producer Leo Severino. Soccio has written for The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and The King of Queens. He’s also done numerous re-writes and script doctoring for major motion pictures such as Hitch, The Karate Kid, and Men in Black 2 & 3. Severino produced Bella, which won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival in 2006, and is developing the film Mary, based on the biblical character.

The panel was moderated by Acting for Film Chair, Glynis Rigsby.

James opened by discussing how he broke into the business, which came about from stand up and performing. “It’s about getting out there and really getting comfortable in that space,” said James. He stressed the importance of humility, adding, “You are going to fail without a doubt.” The key is to continue to hone your craft until you are comfortable and confident enough to own it.

As James looked around the full classroom of acting and filmmaking students, he said, “I wish I had this experience. If I could go back to school, I would learn every aspect of filmmaking.”

Soccio added in the fact that his experience in the NYFA Filmmaking Program in 1997 is what truly elevated his craft as writer. “You can never learn too much,” Soccio said. “I went [to NYFA] for directing. That quite honestly is what made me a much better writer.”

A key element that James kept coming back to was the idea of surrounding yourself with a great team. He admitted to his own faults of sometimes not seeing the full picture in a film or project and seeking the advice of his directors and writers, who “can see the whole landscape.”

Another important piece of advice given by each guest was the notion that you can never stop learning. A student concluded the day by asking James, “When did you know you mastered your craft?” To this, James replied, “I’ll let you know when I get there.”

NYFA thanks Kevin James, Michael Soccio, and Leo Severino for taking the time out to speak to our students in such a down-to-earth manner, and looks forward to their upcoming projects, including the new CBS series, Kevin Can Wait.

NYFA WELCOMES KEVIN JAMES, NYFA ALUMNUS MICHAEL SOCCIO, AND PRODUCER LEO SEVERINO

Students were delighted with the most recent Guest Speaker Series event, which welcomed comedian and actor Kevin James, along with former New York Film Academy student Michael Soccio, who has written for several of James’ projects, including The King of Queens, Hitch, and the upcoming CBS sitcom Kevin Can Wait. Also joining the panel was producer Leo Severino, who produced the award-winning film Bella and is developing a film based on the biblical character, Mary.

Moderated by Acting for Film Chair, Glynis Rigsby, the talk began with James discussing how he originally broke into the business. After being unsure of what to do with his life while in college, James built up the courage to write and perform stand up material. From there, he never looked back, eventually building a successful career as a comic and, ultimately, landing his own sitcom deal. With The King of Queens being a major success, James took his first big step onto the big screen with his role opposite Will Smith in the smash hit, Hitch.

James then teamed up with friend Adam Sandler in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry and would go on to star in several other films, including Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Grown Ups, Zookeeper, and more.

Though he’s reached a level of success that few in this business can compare to, James stressed the importance of a filmmaking education. “I wish I had this experience,” James said to an audience full of film and acting students. “If I could go back to school, I would learn every aspect of filmmaking.”

NYFA alumnus Michael Soccio with Kevin James

Former NYFA student Michael Soccio added, “You can never learn too much. I went [to NYFA] for directing. That quite honestly is what made me a better writer.”

James, Soccio, and Severino stressed the importance of developing a solid working team around you. Find other talented people who can elevate your work to the next level. James says it is important to know and understand the big picture when working on a project, noting his own faults when he can become a bit narrow minded on a scene. Again, it’s about finding the right people who understand the whole landscape of the filmmaking process.

Tying back into the notion that one can never stop learning in this business, or any business for that matter, a student asked James, “When did you know you mastered your craft?” James replied, “I’ll let you know when I get there.”

NYFA looks forward to continuing to watch James, Soccio, and Severino’s work in both film and television. You can see James star in his newest TV series Kevin Can Wait, with Soccio on board as a writer, premiering this September on CBS.

PHOTOGRAPHY STUDENTS’ WORK FEATURED IN “LUXURY LIVING”

As is the case with a majority of our programs, the Photography School at New York Film Academy offers a truly hands-on experience, providing our students with the opportunity to “learn by doing” in addition to in-class instruction.

PHOTOGRAPHY STUDENTS FEATURED IN LUXURY LIVING

Recently, photography students were able to get a glimpse of the lavish life while photographing The LakeHouse restaurant located at Bay Shore.

Headed up by Photography Chair David Mager, Instructor Chris Knight, and Instructor Andreanna Seymore, students on location broke up into three groups to capture environmental work, portraiture, and food product photography.

“We were really trying to show how beautiful the restaurant is, as well as the faces of the owners,” said NYFA Photography student, Emma Clinton.

Students accomplished their goal in providing The Lakehouse with some product and advertising images. A few of their photos were featured in a Luxury Living article that highlighted the ten-year anniversary of the Long Island beachfront restaurant.

Luxury Living is Long Island’s premier lifestyle publication serving the needs of the area’s most affluent residents. Published quarterly by Newsday, Long Island’s leading content provider, Luxury Living celebrates the life well-lived with coverage of high-end homes and gardens, dining and entertainment, art and culture, travel and automotive, and retail, specifically fashion, beauty, jewelry and accessories.

“One of my favorite things about this school is the hands-on class work,” said NYFA student, Stephanie Schnabel.

“I’m really impressed with how everyone worked at this shoot,” said NYFA Instructor Andreanna Seymoure. “After this experience, I can really see them working, shooting and being really professional. I think that this experience has been very successful.”

To view the students’ published work on Luxury Living, please CLICK HERE.

NYFA LA Students Attend Roger Ross Williams Event at IDA Conversation Series

Students from New York Film Academy LA’s Documentary Department are given student memberships to the International Documentary Association and frequently attend IDA screenings, workshops and events. In July, they attended the kick-off of the Summer/Fall season of the IDA Conversation series with Academy Award®-winning director Roger Ross Williams. Williams was the first African American director to win an Academy Award for his documentary short Music by Prudence, about a severely disabled but extraordinarily talented African singer. Williams’ s latest film, Life, Animated, was just released in theaters on July 1st. The film tells the inspirational story of Owen Suskind, a young man who was unable to speak as a child until he and his family discovered a unique way to communicate by immersing themselves in the world of classic Disney animated films. Life, Animated won the prestigious U.S. Documentary Directing Award at this year’s Sundance Festival and is widely expected to be nominated for the Oscar.

NYFA students really took note when Williams discussed how he made his film, God Loves Uganda, a searing look at the role American missionaries are playing in the persecution of homosexuals in that country. Uganda has become the prime destination for American missionaries who proselytize heavily against homosexuality. As a gay man, Williams said he “thought about following the activists — brave and admirable men and women — who were fighting against these policies. But I was more curious about the people who, in effect, wanted to kill me.” He described how he was able to gain access to one such evangelical group, The Call, without denying his own truth or dissembling in any way.

NYFA GRAD AMY WRIGHT’S DOCUMENTARY WINS BEST SHORT AWARD AT WHITE HOUSE

Former New York Film Academy Documentary student Amy Wright’s film Legacy won Best Short at the March on Washington Film Festival, which was held at the White House in Washington D.C.

“I accept this award in honor of my late grandfather, who was the inspiration for the film,” said Wright. “I’m so glad to have been able to share the legacy of black Cowboys with the world.”

NYFA alumna Amy Wright with Documentary Chair Andrea Swift

Her film provides us with the lesser-known aspects of Black history. Her journey with the Federation of Black Cowboys, from urban Brooklyn to rural Virginia, reveals the nuanced intersection of Black culture and American iconography.

“These cowboys have character in every sense of the word, from their quiet integrity to their colorful personalities,” said Andrea Swift, Chair of the Documentary Department, New York Film Academy. “Seen through the lens of Amy Wright’s camera, scions of the American West like Captain Lee, Rabbit, Momma, Bug, Magic and Mountain Man fill the screen and the imagination with an unconventional vision of life on the range—if the range was Brooklyn.”

NYFA alumna Amy Wright wins award at White House

“The making of Legacy has been a whirlwind experience, from pitching it in the one year NYFA doc program to its screening at the White House,” Wright said after receiving her award.

Wright’s film also premiered at DOC NYC and has gained critical acclaim in the press, including an exclusive radio interview with SHOT 97.

Highlights from NYFA Australia Sydney’s Acting Department

It’s been a busy few months for the Acting department at the New York Film Academy Australia – Sydney. We started with a bang at NYFA Australia Sydney’s ‘Big Night Out’ – our end of semester showcase for the January intake of actors. Loosely themed around food and drink, we turned one of our larger spaces in the campus at Fox Studios Australia, into a bar/restaurant and served up a collection of delicious tasting scenes.

We had couples both making up and breaking up over dinner, scenes from Mystic Pizza and Pulp Fiction (This IS a tasty burger!) and not to forget our very own version of the last supper.

Peppered throughout the evening was also a collection of motley characters, with everything from surly waiters, pompous maître ds and a psychotic chef to an overzealous busboy. Running over three nights—to an audience of family, friends, students and faculty—a theatrical feast was had by all.

Following that was our Advanced Diploma acting students with their graduation plays. In a NYFA Australia first, they performed over two weeks in the beautiful 236-seat Monkey Baa Theatre at Sydney’s premiere entertainment location, Darling Harbour. First up, was an Australian classic Don’s Party by David Williamson with guest director Travis McMahon. This was followed by an American classic Dark of the Moon by Howard Richardson and William Berney. Directed by our resident American Speech teacher, Paige Walker, who, as one of the most sought after Voice Over artists and dialect teachers in the country, we are proud to claim as our own.

Amidst all of the above activity, students have been busy shooting their show reel scenes both on campus and on location. We have also seen the launch of our graduating students’ first ever self-devised web series Actor’s Vs, which is rapidly gaining a cult following online. With a comedy/improvisation night and scenes from Chekov just around the corner, not to mention our next big showcase at the historic Australian Theatre For Young People in September, NYFA Australia Sydney is full steam ahead.

– Jacki Mison

NYFA and Mexican Consulate Present Mexican Film Series in LA

Recently, the New York Film Academy worked with the Mexican Consulate of Los Angeles to present the Itinerant Mexican Film Program – screenings that celebrate the cinematic and artistic history of Mexico. Thursday featured a pre-screening reception with Andres Webster Henestrosa (cultural attache from the Mexican Consulate), and a few honor students from Mexico, invited by the diversity department.

In his remarks before the screening of “El principio” (The Beginning) Thursday evening, Consul Webster spoke to the importance of showing films by Mexican filmmakers. “I think now that Mexican filmmakers are more recognized…[we want to] show people that Mexican creators are very strong in history.”

He also spoke to the importance of changing the current perception of people from Mexico, saying that they want to show people from Mexico “a different way than is commonly known — movies are important for this.”

Consul Webster concluded his introduction by saying, “with this project we want to show that Mexico is a very rich culture…cinema is powerful.”

The screenings continued on Saturday July 23^rd, with “La Pasión según Berenice” (The Passion of Berenice) at noon, and “El lugar sin Límites” (Hell Without Limits) at 2pm.

NYFA BROADCAST JOURNALISM STUDENT & ALUMNA JOIN NATO SUMMIT AS PART OF THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS CORPS

I live my life by a quote from Napoleon Hill, “What the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” So it should not have come as a surprise when Urvashi Barua and I received an invitation from the White House to travel with President Barack Obama to Poland for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit–and we would make the journey as part of the White House press corps. Even though we had already covered news events at the White House twice, this was an unprecedented honor. It was only possible because of the support and encouragement we received from New York Film Academy.

NYFA BROADCAST JOURNALISTS JOIN THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS CORPS

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Alisa Rajkitkul and I am an alumna of the New York Film Academy Broadcast Journalism School. For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be a journalist. Last year, I finally made the life changing decision to leave everything I knew, and follow my heart to pursue my dreams. The journey has not been an easy one, but it has been extremely fulfilling. I learned a tremendous amount at NYFA, but the best and most unique part of a NYFA education is a real world-oriented, hand-on, intensive program that is unlike any other. They prepared us to do what no other student journalists have ever done — accompany the President of the United States on an overseas trip.

Our first stop was Poland, for the biennial NATO heads-of-state summit. Following that, we traveled to Spain where President Obama first met Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, and then His Majesty King Don Felipe VI.

Arriving in Warsaw, Urvashi and I reported alongside correspondents from CNN, Fox News, NBC, CBS, ABC and other top news publications and networks from around the world. One evening, I had a conversation with an NBC correspondent, who was in awe that reporters for NYFA News, an educational news outlet, were invited to attend. It felt surreal, and we definitely found ourselves taking it all in.

We had the opportunity to network and meet with generals, prime ministers and corporate executives. We reported on everything from US-EU crisis talks, to bilateral meetings involving NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, President Andrzej Duda of Poland, then Prime Minister David Cameron of the United Kingdom, President Francois Hollande of France, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi of Italy, and President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine.

This experience is something I will never forget. As my colleague, NYFA student Urvashi Barua stated, “I read about NATO in my college books. Today, being a part of the NATO summit as a credentialed White House reporter for NYFA News and the New York Film Academy, took me a step forward in my life.”

– Alisa Rajkitkul

Please note: NYFA does not represent that these are typical or guaranteed career outcomes. The success of our graduates in any chosen professional pathway depends on multiple factors, and the achievements of NYFA alumni are the result of their hard work, perseverance, talent and circumstances.

Legendary ICM Agent Boaty Boatwright Speaks at NYFA NYC

The New York Film Academy recently welcomed distinguished ICM talent agent, Boaty Boatwright, who has been in the business for fifty years. Moderated by producer Tova Laiter, the gracious guest fielded questions from a packed theater of filmmaking, producing, and acting students at 17 Battery Place.

boaty and tova — Producer Tova Laiter with ICM Agent Boaty Boatwright at NYFA

Boatwright began her career as a children’s casting assistant in New York for such iconic films as To Kill A Mockingbird and the original Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory. Boatwright also served as an executive for major film studios including MGM, Columbia, and Universal.

As a casting agent, Boatwright worked closely with legendary directors including Norman Jewison, John Huston, Sydney Pollack, Alfred Hitchcock, and Ridley Scott.

After moving into the role of a talent agent, Boatwright began representing directors such as Alan Pakula, Sidney Lumet, and notable actors, Joanne Woodward Paul Newman. Her current client list includes Stephen Frears (Academy Award Nomination), Tom Hooper (Academy Award Winner) and Cuba Gooding Jr. (Academy Award Winner).

While acknowledging how difficult the business can be to break in, Boatwright stressed the importance of pushing work at the film festivals, especially Toronto and Sundance. It is often the writer/directors job to be his or her own producer before gaining the attention of an agent. Most agents need to see proven work under a young filmmaker’s belt before they considering signing them. “Finding an agent is the hardest and most important part of the business,” she said.

Several actors from the audience also inquired about being cast as foreigners in American films. Boatwright understood the challenges involved, but stressed the importance of owning your cultural background and finding roles that could highlight what it is that makes your audition different than what’s expected.

Another fascinating moment of the evening came when Boatwright touched on a time she had worked with Alfred Hithcock, recalling the posh London hotel suites and expensive wine that Hitchcock would enjoy at lunch. In a time when California wine was just becoming popular Hitchcock told Boatwright, “I’ll never drink California wine.”

Few can claim the amount of experience that Boatwright has had in the entertainment industry, which leaves us extremely thankful for the time she spent enlightening our students on the path ahead.