“City of stars, are you shining just for me?” You might be humming this tune to get ready for the arrival of one particular star on May 23, when Studio 22 presents a showing of La La Land and a talk with its producer, Jordan Horowitz (Comm ’02).
La La Land took viewers on a melodious trip to Hollywood when it was released in December 2016. Nominated for 14 Oscars with six wins, the movie musical follows the lives of two struggling artists in love, actress Mia (played by Emma Stone, who won an Oscar for the role) and jazz pianist Sebastian (played by Ryan Gosling).
The screening and Q&A come at a pivotal time for Studio 22, a student film production company that had to shift its primary focus from filmmaking to workshops and speakers this year. When the Radio/Television/Film department changed its grant system in June 2016, the new rule, which stopped student groups from funding films, reduced Studio 22’s available grants from 10 to one. But co-president Megan Ballew, a Communication sophomore, believes her organization can still thrive.
“I would hope that because we aren't as busy with making films, that we would use the time and the resources that we have to continue things like this,” Ballew said of the event. She hopes it will draw crowds similar to those at A&O Productions and Contemporary Thought Speaker Series events.
Similar to when A&O brought Moonlight director Barry Jenkins to campus for a film screening and talk, Studio 22 leaders will allow students to submit questions in an online form in addition to having questions from the moderator, Professor Stephen Cone of the RTVF department.
Cone makes low-budget independent films in Chicago, which is an interesting contrast to Horowitz’s scale of filmmaking, Ballew said. He recently directed and produced Princess Cyd, and another of his films, Henry Gamble's Birthday Party, is on Netflix. Ballew cited his charismatic personality and range of experiences as reasons Studio 22 chose him to moderate.
The star of the night, Jordan Horowitz, is currently producing the film Fast Color, which he co-wrote with director Julia Hart (who is also his wife). In addition, he works as executive producer for the TV show Counterpart. At Northwestern, he studied Theatre and performed with THUNK a cappella.
Ballew said she was most excited to learn about Horowitz’s journey through the film industry, especially since he graduated from Northwestern.
"When you think of someone in Hollywood, like Stephen Spielberg or Martin Scorsese, you think – there's 'ahhh' – but they're a real person too,” Ballew said. “Like, Jordan's a real person too, you know? And to see what he has to say, coming from our shoes, and what he has to say about the industry and films in general – I wonder what his favorite movie is. It'll be interesting to see."
The Owen L. Coon Forum in the old Kellogg building (2100 Sheridan Road) will open at 5 p.m. for a showing of La La Land at 5:30 p.m. Then, at 7:50 p.m., audience members who only want to see the Q&A will be able to enter. free tickets will be available at the Norris Box Office starting May 16 at 3 p.m. They will be released in waves with updates posted on the Facebook event page.