Superheroes can work so well for movies now because movie effects have caught up to heroes' great powers, and because people who grew up on comics often write the movies. But what made the comics popular in the first place? Among the myriad and mostly forgettable stories of capes, punches and derring-do, which ones stuck in readers' memories, and why? Stephanie will ask why superhero stories—and which superhero stories—work best, and for whom. She'll talk about who identifies with superheroes, and why, and what those identifications have to do with being, or feeling like, a minority; why superhero stories so often seem, to fans, political but not  political enough; and why—even if you're there for the romance and character—superhero stories may require big long fights.

RSVP to attend this virtual talk by 12pm PT on June 1, 2020.

“Burt is one of the leading poet-critics of her own emerging generation, turning out an astonishing amount of terrific review-based criticism.”  —Publishers Weekly

Stephanie Burt is a poet, literary critic, and professor with eight published books, including two critical books on poetry and three poetry collections. Her essay collection Close Calls with Nonsense (Graywolf Press, 2009) was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her next poetry collection is Advice from the Lights: Poems (Graywolf, 2017). Her other works include Don’t Read Poetry (Basic Books, 2019); The Poem is You: 60 Contemporary American Poems and How to Read Them (Harvard UP, 2016); Belmont (2013); The Art of the Sonnet (Harvard University Press, 2010); Something Understood: Essays and Poetry for Helen Vendler (University of Virginia Press, 2009); The Forms of Youth: Adolescence and 20th Century Poetry (Columbia University Press, 2007); Parallel Play: Poems (Graywolf, 2006); Randall Jarrell on W. H. Auden (University Press, 2005); Randall Jarrell and His Age (Columbia University Press, 2002); and Popular Music (Center for Literary Publishing, 1999).

Burt grew up around Washington, DC, and received an A.B. from Harvard in 1994 and a Ph.D. in English from Yale in 2000. She taught at Macalester College for several years before becoming a professor of English at Harvard University.

The New York Times called Burt “one of the most influential poetry critics of her generation.” The recipient of a 2016 Guggenheim Fellowship, her writing has appeared in the New York Times Book Review, the London Review of Books, the Times Literary Supplement, the Believer, and the Boston Review.

Register for this event at the link below. Harvardwood members, friends, and non-members are ALL welcome, but every attendee must register for themselves individually. So if you're inviting others to join you for this panel, please forward them the link to this page so they can sign themselves up. Thank you!

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Purchase ticket   $5.00 Members & Friends

Join Lea Salonga, Cecilia Mejia, and NY Times best-selling author Abigail Hing Wen AB '99 as they share perspectives on utilizing their platforms as leaders in the arts and entertainment industry to activate the API community around important social issues like immigration and humanitarian efforts.

Lea Salonga

Multiple award-winning actress and singer Lea Salonga is renown across the world for her powerful voice and perfect pitch.  She is best known for her Tony Award winning role in Miss Saigon. In addition to the Tony, she has won the Olivier, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World Awards, in the field of musical theatre. She was also the first Asian to play Eponine in the musical Les Misérables on Broadway and returned to the beloved show as Fantine in the 2006 revival. Many fans of all ages recognize Lea as the singing voice of Princess Jasmine from Aladdin and Fa Mulan for Mulan and Mulan II. For her portrayal of the beloved princesses, the Walt Disney Company bestowed her with the honor of “Disney Legend”.

Cecilia R. Mejia

Cecilia R. Mejia is a first-generation Filipino-American born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She has worked in development for non-profit organizations, including NGOs at the United Nations. She has a master’s degree in Public Administration and Affairs and is a graduate of the Columbia Business School’s Emerging Nonprofit Leaders Program. She’s worked with several grassroots organizations focusing on underrepresented communities, which led to her working in film. Cecilia has produced a number of short films focusing on critical social impact issues. She’s the lead producer of the upcoming Sony-acquired feature film Yellow Rose, a Social Impact Producer of the award-winning doc Call Her Ganda (TIFF 2018), and Co-Producer for Lingua Franca (Tribeca All-Access 2019). Cecilia is combining her love of film and social impact work with under-resourced youth through her non-profit organization Art of Me as the Creative Director. She was recently featured in Forbes Magazine for her work.

Abigail Hing Wen

Abigail Hing Wen, who works in VC and AI in Silicon Valley, released her book, Loveboat, Taipei in January this year. The novel hit the NY Times Best Seller list and has recently been optioned for film in Hollywood by ACE Entertainment (To All the Boys I've Loved Before). The story is a young adult Crazy Rich Asians meets a Jane Austen Comedy of Manners, inspired by the actual cultural exchange program in Taipei attended by many Asian American teens since the 1960s. The romp is woven through with an immigrant girl’s coming-of-age story, of navigating family complexities, discovering identity in all its facets and finding love. Abigail is serving as an executive producer for the book-to-film adaptation.

Event Format:

• June 3, 7pm-8:30pm PDT / 10pm-11:30 pm EDT / June 4, 10am-11:30am Manila Time
• 60-min Panel moderated by Abigail Hing Wen
• 30-min Audience Q&A

Hosted by Gene Pao MBA '97, Harvardwood’s Director of Social Impact, Julie will walk us through her 50 years of filmmaking and her approach to incorporating social impact themes and messaging into her works.

Julie Corman

Veteran producer Julie Corman has produced over 30 films. She has worked with noted talents: Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme, John Sayles, Monte Hellman, Martin Sheen, Charles Grodin, RayWalston, Diane Ladd, Phil Hartman, Jon Lovitz, Jonathan Kaplan, Jason Priestley, Barbara Hershey and Mario van Peebles. She has never lost money on a film.

Her first feature producing credit was on BOXCAR BERTHA, directed by Martin Scorsese, starring David Carradine and Barbara Hershey. She went on to produce MOVING VIOLATION, starring Kay Lenz and Eddie Albert; CRAZY MAMA, directed by Jonathan Demme, starring Cloris Leachman, Jim Backus, Stuart Whitman and Ann Sothern (chosen as the U.S. entry in the Edinburgh Film Festival); THE LADY IN RED, written by John Sayles, starring Robert Conrad and Pamela Sue Martin (chosen as the U.S. entry at the Deauville Film Festival); SATURDAY THE 14TH, starring Richard Benjamin, Paula Prentiss and Jeffrey Tambor; and DA, starring Barnard Hughes and Martin Sheen, based on the Tony award-winning play.

In the 1970’s Corman and her husband, film legend Roger Corman’s New World Pictures became one of the most successful independent production and distribution companies in the film industry. The company produced and distributed over 200 feature films, in addition to distributing a prestigious slate of international films by such acclaimed directors as Francois Truffaut, Ingmar Bergman, Volker Schlondorff (whose TIN DRUM won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film), Federico Fellini and Akira Kurosawa.

After the sale of New World Pictures (the name and the going concern only) in 1983, the Cormans founded a new production and distribution company, New Horizons Picture Corporation, which has proved even more prolific than its predecessor. The library of Corman films now exceeds 450.

Julie Corman has produced family films under her Trinity Pictures label. The Academy of Family Film and Television named her “Producer of the Year” in 1996. A CRY IN THE WILD is based on Gary Paulsen’s Newbery award winning novel, HATCHET; and THE WESTING GAME is based on Ellen Raskin’s Newbery award winning novel of the same name.

Corman has produced several other family films: THE DIRT BIKE KID, starring Peter Billingsley; MAX IS MISSING, shot at Machu Picchu in Peru and LEGEND OF THE LOST TOMB, based on Walter Dean Myers’ book “Tales of a Dead King” and shot in Egypt.  Following on the success of A CRY IN THE WILD she made a series of wilderness films: WHITE WOLVES; A CRY IN THE WILD II, starring Mark Paul Gosselaar and WHITE WOLVESII: LEGEND OF THE WILD, starring Elizabeth Berkley, Corin Nemec, Justin Whalin and Jeremy London.

In 2000 Corman became Chair of the Graduate Film Department at NYU in the Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film and Television. While there Corman executive produced a series of short films by NYU film students, REFLECTIONS FROM GROUND ZERO, based on the students’ 9/11 experiences. The films aired on Showtime.

Most recently Corman has produced a series of "creature" films for the Syfy Channel with her husband, Roger, most notably the “Sharktopus” series. She executive produced "Death Race 2080". She is currently in development on a remake of "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin.

Corman is a member of: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Women in Film and the International Women’s Forum. She has given numerous film seminars at NYU, UCLA, USC, UPenn, Yale, Duke, and Sundance. In 2012, she gave lectures in Japan at Rikkyo University and Nihon Eiga (the Japanese Institute of the Moving Image). She has received career achievement awards from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts and Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas and was given the Indy Pioneer Award at the Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee. She has been on the jury or chaired the jury of numerous film festivals.

Corman was commencement speaker in 2010 for the UCLA (her alma mater) English Department, where she is a visiting professor in creative writing.

The Cormans have reared four children in Los Angeles and tended to a farm in the San Joaquin Valley that contracted with Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers.

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. THOSE WHO HAVE ALREADY RSVPED WILL BE CONTACTED SHORTLY.

Attend this talk with comedy writing duo Emily Halpern '02 & Sarah Haskins '01 (Writers & Executive Producers, TROPHY WIFE, BOOKSMART, CAROL'S SECOND ACT). From ViacomCBS:

Emily Halpern and Sarah Haskins’ successful partnership can be traced back to their college friendship at Harvard University. While their initial post-college careers sent them in different directions, they caught up with each other again, and their collaboration has thrived as a result of writing complex, relatable characters set in poignant stories that make audiences laugh, cry and feel seen.

Harvardwood Advisory Board member Robert Kraft AB '76 (President, Kraftbox; Former President of Fox Music) will give a talk + Q&A covering film & TV music, music careers in general, how to move past the "perspiring" artist phase, and how to transition between creative and business roles.

Robert Kraft is an award-winning songwriter, film composer, recording artist and record producer. As President of Fox Music from 1994 to 2012, Kraft was the Executive in Charge of Music for more than 300 Fox feature films, as well as dozens of TV shows.

Highlights during his tenure at Fox include the record-breaking scores and soundtracks from “Titanic”, “Avatar”, “Moulin Rouge!”, “Romeo + Juliet”, “Garden State”, “Waiting To Exhale”, “Crazy Heart”, “Walk The Line”, “Ice Age”, “Juno”, “Once”, “Slumdog Millionaire”, “Rio”, and “Life of Pi”.

At Fox Music, Kraft supervised the music for 20th Century Fox Television hits such as “Family Guy”, “Ally McBeal”, “X-Files”, “24”, and “The Simpsons”. Under his leadership, Fox Music garnered 11 Academy Award nominations for Best Score and/or Best Song (winning 4 Academy Awards), 20 Golden Globe nominations (including 5 Golden Globe Awards), 61 Emmy nominations (11 awards) and 50 Grammy nominations (winning 14 awards).

In 2013, Kraft started Kraftbox Entertainment, which currently is in production on projects across several platforms, including the feature film, “Rapper’s Delight” at Warner Bros Studios, with co-producers Paula Wagner and Stephanie Allain, to be directed by Justin Simien.

In 2017, Kraft produced the award-winning independent film, “SCORE: A Film Music Documentary”, which is currently in development as a TV series with Hans Zimmer. In partnership with Quincy Jones, Kraft is also developing “Jazz Ambassadors”, the true story of a jazz band that toured Europe and the Middle East during the Cold War. He was a producer of “The Lion”, an Off-Broadway musical, and managed the solo debut of Spencer Ludwig on Warner Bros Records.

As a songwriter, Kraft has earned nominations for an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, and two Golden Globes. For co-composing the song, “Beautiful Maria of My Soul” from the Warner Brothers feature, “The Mambo Kings”, he was nominated for an Oscar, a Grammy and a Golden Globe. Kraft was nominated for a second Golden Globe for the song, “How Can I Not Love You” from “Anna and the King”, co-written with Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and film composer George Fenton. Kraft wrote the songs for Touchstone Pictures’ “Adventures in Babysitting”, as well as the theme song for the long-running ABC-TV series, “Who’s The Boss”.

In 1989, Kraft co-produced all of the Oscar- and Grammy Award-winning songs on the multi-platinum soundtrack, “The Little Mermaid”, including the Academy Award-winning song, “Under The Sea”. He was nominated for a Grammy Award as the producer of “The Muppet Christmas Carol”, and his song, “Hudson Hawk” was the basis for the Tri-Star film, “Hudson Hawk” (1991) starring Bruce Willis and Andie MacDowell.

As a solo artist and with his band, Robert Kraft and The Ivory Coast, he has released four albums on RCA, RSO, and Sonic Edge Records. His songs have been recorded by Bette Midler, Roberta Flack, Diane Schuur, Manhattan Transfer, Bruce Willis, Los Lobos, and Kermit the Frog.  In October 2013, Milan Records released “Consensual Sets”, a compilation of Kraft’s greatest hits from 1979-1989. In November 2013, VIVID SOUNDS released a boxed set of Kraft’s five original CDs, including “Robert Kraft Live at the Newport Jazz Festival, Town Hall NYC, 1980.”

Kraft was elected to the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences’ Board of Governors, Los Angeles Chapter and is a member of the Music Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Kraft was honored with the City of Hope Spirit of Life Award in 2002, and with the T.J. Martell Foundation’s Spirit of Excellence in the Arts Award in 2010.

Kraft was elected to the Board of Directors of the Harvard Alumni Association in 2008, and is Co-Chair of the Advisory Committee of the Harvard Office for The Arts. He has lectured on film music at Harvard University, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Brown University, New York University, UCLA, USC, UCSB, and Syracuse University. In 2005, he spoke on “Music and Images” at MIDEM, the international music conference, and in 2009, 2010, and 2013 conducted film-music seminars at the Havana Film Festival in Havana, Cuba. In 2012, he was appointed the Visiting Professor of Music and Media at Berklee College of Music’s International Campus in Valencia, Spain. In 2013, Kraft was hired by Warner Bros. Records as the Soundtrack Consultant for the label.

Robert Kraft graduated cum laude from Harvard University in 1976. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Beth, and has two sons, Noah and Lucas.

Register for this event at the link below. Harvardwood members, friends, and non-members are ALL welcome, but every attendee must register for themselves individually. So if you're inviting others to join you for this panel, please forward them the link to this page so they can sign themselves up. Thank you!

Members, Register Here

Purchase ticket   $5.00 Members & Friends

Roadmap Writers is a leader in screenwriting education teaching writers what to do after they have completed a script. Roadmap has helped over 150 writers get signed, optioned, staffed and produced. 

This 1-day program will walk each writer through how to figure out what their personal logline is, how to brand themselves and how to find companies that are right for their projects. To get personalized feedback during the class, please email the loglines for your completed projects and a 1 paragraph writer’s bio to joey@roadmapwriters.com. When emailing, please put "Harvardwood Program" in the subject line.

Joey Tuccio:

Joey Tuccio is the CEO of Roadmap Writers. He previously worked at Bold Films (DRIVE, WHIPLASH). Roadmap Writers is a screenwriting education and training platform for writers looking for a guided path to success. Our programs are hosted by working industry executives and are designed to empower writers with actionable tools and insights to elevate your craft and cultivate relationships with industry professionals. Since 2016, we have helped more than 150 writers sign to representation and countless others get staffed, optioned, or sell their script.

EVERYONE TOGETHER, a comedy series, follows two dysfunctional families from different cultural backgrounds as they clash and bond over a new major family milestone each season. In the pilot – which was set to make its world premiere at SXSW prior to COVID-19 – resentments and old wounds come to the forefront when siblings Lulu and Martin Gutman are forced to attend the week-long, campsite wedding of their younger sister, Fern, to Eli, the younger brother of Lulu’s boyfriend. 

The creators of EVERYONE TOGETHER are: Jessica Kaye (creator/actor), Steven Klein (creator/actor), and Kelsey Ledgin (creator/writer).

Jessica Kaye AB '01 (Creator/Lulu)

A recent graduate of the AFI Directors Workshop for Women, Jessica Kaye was born in South Africa and raised in Minneapolis. After studying Literature and Performance Studies at Harvard, she earned her MFA in Acting at Columbia. While in New York, she starred in plays and feature films, produced and performed in ribald performance-art parties, and played a soap opera villain on television's ONE LIFE TO LIVE. In 2008, she produced and starred in GARGOYLE, a SAFTA-nominated short film shot in Johannesburg. In 2013, she received an MFA in Film Production from USC. Her short films ANGEL and FABIAN DEBORA, A LIFE FOR ART, screened at numerous festivals. Her short film SHORTAGE was executive-produced by James Franco. Kaye is the co-writer/director and lead actor of the feature film INHERITANCE, which premiered at SXSW in 2017 and was released theatrically and on VOD. In addition to EVERYONE TOGETHER, Kaye is currently writing the feature film SKATER, inspired by her AFI DWW short.

Steven Klein (Creator/Martin)

Steven Klein is an actor/producer and the founder of Firefly Theater & Films. As an actor on screen, films include THE CIRCLE, KENSHO AT THE BEDFELLOW, and THE SKYJACKER, and TV includes BURN NOTICE, PIZZA TIME, and STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE. On stage, favorite shows include the award-winning LA premieres of CAUGHT, by Christopher Chen, and of COMPLETENESS and THE FOUR OF US, by Itamar Moses. Firefly’s theater productions have won more than two-dozen awards for shows in Boston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Belfast, Off-West End London, and Off-Broadway. Firefly’s films – including notable documentaries MAKE BELIEVE, PRINT THE LEGEND (2014 SXSW Jury Prize winner), FINDERS KEEPERS, and 2019 films OUT OF OMAHA and WRESTLE – have been distributed worldwide after playing and winning prizes at dozens of festivals internationally, including SXSW, Sundance TIFF, and LAFF. Steven can’t resist the opportunity to inform Harvardwood that he went to Yale (’98).

Kelsey Ledgin (Creator/Writer of Pilot Episode)

Kelsey Ledgin is a writer living in Los Angeles with her husband and two young kids. Previous credits include THE CHAIR and OVERSHARE.

Register for this event at the link below. Harvardwood members, friends, and non-members are ALL welcome, but every attendee must register for themselves individually. So if you're inviting others to join you for this panel, please forward them the link to this page so they can sign themselves up. Thank you!

Members, Register Here

Registration   Free

More details coming soon, but this Lowdown call will be open to ALL Harvardwood members. Confirmed panelists include Adam Fratto AB '90 of HISTORY and Zadoc Angell AB '03 of Echo Lake Entertainment!

Where will the music biz be when we can return safely after the pandemic?

Join this talk with Mark Kates, founder of Fenway Recordings, an artist management company headquartered in Boston. Originally an independent label offering management services to a small number of clients, Fenway has evolved into a full-fledged artist management company, guided by a simple principle: To work hard for artists we truly believe in and are inspired by. Fenway’s client roster currently includes MGMT, The Cribs, Mission of Burma, Doves, Swim Mountain and KUNZITE.

This webinar is free to all Harvardwood members and friends and $10 for non-members. Please register at the bottom of this page.

Mark Kates has been a central figure in the genre of alternative music since before it even had a name. He work has included A&R, promotion, marketing, label head and owner, and now is primarily an artist manager. Kates grew up in the Boston area where Mission of Burma's music inspired him to work for their label Ace of Hearts. From there he moved to Big Time Records in Los Angeles and artists like Love and Rockets, Alex Chilton and the Hoodoo Gurus. His work there led to Geffen/DGC Records where he spent 10+ years and created the alternative promotion department eventually seguing to A&R and playing a significant role in the development of the alternative radio format. He signed Beck, Jawbreaker, Elastica, Alabama 3 and others. He brought Sonic Youth to Geffen and a&r’d albums by them as well as Nirvana, Hole, Teenage Fanclub, Siouxsie and the Banshees, White Zombie and many others as well as co-executive producing the soundtracks for "Beavis and Butt-head Do America" and "Suburbia." Kates left Geffen in 1998 to run Grand Royal Records for the Beastie Boys and work with them and their roster including Sean Lennon and Luscious Jackson. In 2001 he returned to Boston and established Fenway Recordings, a music management and record company.

Coincidentally Mission of Burma decided to reunite that year and he again works with them as well as MGMT, The Cribs, Doves, KUNZITE, and Swim Mountain as a manager. As DJ Carbo he was resident at Los Angeles electronica club Atmosphere at The Viper Room for 2 years as well as on the legendary pirate station KBLT and since 2003 has hosted The Fenway Recordings Sessions in Boston. As a DJ he has appeared alongside Paul Oakenfold, David Bowie, Tricky, Richie Hawtin, DJ Rap, Grooverider, The Jungle Brothers, and many, many others. The Fenway Sessions have brought nearly 450 shows to Boston including Echo and the Bunnymen, fun., Diplo, Two Door Cinema Club, Alt-J, Built To Spill and hundreds more. Kates is a founder of The Shout Syndicate Fund created at the request of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to the for-profit arts community to address a funding gap for after school arts programs. He also served on the Leadership Council of Boston Creates, the mayor’s comprehensive arts plan.

Register for this event at the link below. Harvardwood members, friends, and non-members are ALL welcome, but every attendee must register for themselves individually. So if you're inviting others to join you for this panel, please forward them the link to this page so they can sign themselves up. Thank you!

Members, Register Here

Registration   Free

Do your kids love animated movies and TV shows? Are they aspiring writers, artists, or just fans of TROLLS, KUNG FU PANDA, and/or THE SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS MOVIE? In these strange quaran-times, kids (and grown-ups) around the world are getting more screen time than ever—and we here at Harvardwood thought some of them might be interested in learning how stories go from the page (or the toy) to the screen!

Please round up the kids in your life* and join us for a conversation with writer-producer Jonathan Aibel AB '91, who is headlining our first-ever Harvardwood event geared toward school-aged children. Jonathan (along with his creative partner Glenn Berger) has brought beloved children’s films and shows to audiences worldwide for several decades, and he’ll talk about what makes a good story, how to develop a character, how movies and TV shows get made, the animation process, and other topics of interest in a fun-filled discussion for kids of all ages!

*Grown-ups are welcome to attend, but space is limited and priority will be given to parents registering with their children under 18.

The event will be moderated by Harvardwood co-founder Mia Riverton Alpert and her 9-year-old daughter, Hollyn.

Jonathan Aibel AB '91 and Glenn Berger are the writing and producing team behind some of the most successful family films of the past decade. In addition to TROLLS and TROLLS WORLD TOUR, they wrote and co-produced Dreamworks’ Oscar®-nominated KUNG FU PANDA trilogy. They wrote the screenplay of Paramount’s hit THE SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER and created the story for its forthcoming sequel THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE ON THE RUN. Other family film credits include ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: CHIPWRECKED and ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE SQUEAKQUEL, plus Dreamworks’ first 3D film, MONSTERS VS. ALIENS. They currently are adapting the best-selling book series WARRIORS into a feature film for HARRY POTTER producer David Heyman and STX Entertainment.

RSVP INFO IS FORTHCOMING—PLEASE CHECK THIS PAGE AGAIN