Curated playlist
USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni
- George LucasGeorge Lucas turned down a higher directing fee for Star Wars. He asked for toy and merchandise rights instead.
- Bryan BurkBryan Burk co-founded Bad Robot Productions with J. J. Abrams in 2001. He became its Executive Vice President.
- Kevin FeigeUSC film school rejected Kevin Feige five times. He applied a sixth time and got in.
- Ron HowardRon Howard, age five, had to cry while holding a toy turtle. Andy Griffith coached him through it in 1960.
- Rian JohnsonRian Johnson shot his debut film, Brick, at his old high school. It cost roughly $450,000 and grossed nearly $4 million.
- Howard KazanjianHoward Kazanjian proposed filming Return of the Jedi as a fake horror movie called Blue Harvest.
- John KnollJohn Knoll, born on the 6th of October 1962, is an American visual effects supervisor and the chief creative officer at Industrial Light & Magic, better known as ILM. The director Guillermo del Toro, who first worked with Knoll on the film…
- John SingletonAt 24, John Singleton became the first African American nominated for the Best Director Oscar.
- Irvin KershnerIrvin Kershner once asked George Lucas a direct question: "Of all the younger guys around, all the hot-shots, why me?" Kershner told the story himself, and Lucas had an answer ready: "Well, because you know everything a Hollywood director…
- Ben BurttDarth Vader's heavy breathing was sound designer Ben Burtt's own breath, recorded through an old scuba regulator.
- Chris TerrioChris Terrio spent months checking whether Gatorade existed in December 1979. He needed it for one joke in Argo.
- Ludwig GöranssonComposer Ludwig Göransson was not Christopher Nolan's first choice for Tenet.