Universal greenlights students for Hollywood internships

How many people know that ASU has a program that allows students to rub elbows with movie stars?

It’s called the Film and Media Production Program, and the first ASU student under the program served as an on-set intern on Universal Picture’s upcoming movie “Funny People,” starring Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen, to be released July 31.

The program continues to grow, with ASU’s Herberger College School of Theatre and Film announcing a cooperative education project with Universal Pictures in Universal City, Calif.

The ASU-Universal Co-op will allow competitively selected students to spend a full semester working with Universal’s production department in a cooperative learning environment. Following a successful pilot this fall, the program is entering its next phase of development.

“We are thrilled to be able to announce this collaboration with a Hollywood studio,” says Linda Essig, director of ASU’s Herberger College School of Theater and Film. “Through this program, our students receive a superlative opportunity to learn among some of the entertainment industry’s top professionals.”

“ASU students leave the Film and Media Production Program ready to jump in and make their mark in the world of filmmaking,” says F. Miguel Valenti, a Lincoln Professor of Ethics and the Arts, head of the film and media production program, and assistant director of film in the School of Theatre and Film. “This immersion into the world of studio filmmaking will add immensely to their education. We look forward to a lasting and fruitful relationship with Universal.”

When the program was established three years ago, it was touted as the first in the nation to include an ethical component to its curriculum, but also as a hands-on course of study designed to teach students real-life, professional skills.

Laurie A. Trotta Valenti, laurie.trotta@asu.edu
(480) 965-3381

ASU Herberger College, School of Theatre and Film