Anne Preven '86 (Singer / Songwriter)

By Sara Melson '90

Anne Preven '86 wrote her first song in the tenth grade, as part of a creative-writing assignment. "I got encouraging feedback from my teacher,” she recalls, "even though I forced my cousin to write the lyrics, and I borrowed the chord progression from a Neil Young song.”

At Harvard, Anne was actively singing, but not songwriting. She sang in (and for one year was musical director of) THE OPPORTUNES, performed in a cabaret-style show called MOOD INDIGO, and was an occasional guest vocalist in a friend’s band. She didn’t actually write another song until after she’d graduated Harvard and was living in New York. "A friend I sang with in college, who had graduated two years before me, basically called me from the real world and said, ‘Avoid a regular job at ALL cost.’ So we formed a little band, and after getting terrible songs from an ad we had placed in the Village Voice, I decided I would just write the songs myself. I got a hold of a little Casio keyboard and a simple recording setup, and went to work.”

Ben Mezrich '91 (Author, BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE, THE ACCIDENTAL BILLIONAIRES)

By D. Dona Le '05

"I think I want to live vicariously through my characters, so I’m always looking for something exciting and interesting.”

An unexpected statement from an author whose career has certainly been exciting and interesting in its own right.

Ben Mezrich ’91 has written a number of non-fiction works about young college students whose talent and intelligence enable them to "beat the system, something we all aspire to do.” BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE: THE INSIDE STORY OF SIX MIT STUDENTS WHO TOOK VEGAS FOR MILLIONS, published in 2003, was the work that truly launched Mezrich into the spotlight. Adapted into the film 21, the book describes how a group of MIT students became a team of expert card counters who jetted off to Las Vegas every weekend.

Andrew Bujalski '99 (Writer & Director, FUNNY HA HA, MUTUAL APPRECIATION, BEESWAX)

By Cristina Slattery '97

Filmmaker Andrew Bujalski '99 states that the "desire for a controlled existence” is a theme that runs through his work. This writer/director of independent films, FUNNY HA HA, MUTUAL APPRECIATION, and BEESWAX, currently lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, novelist Karen Olsen, and their five-month old son. The journey that has taken him from Harvard to Austin is one that started in a supportive family in Boston. Unlike many artists who use their anger against family members to propel their creativity, Andrew states that this is a "well from which he has never been able to draw.” He adds that his "family has been supportive…without fail” and says that he is sure that this is the basis for any confidence he has, clarifying that he will take full credit for any and all of his insecurities.

David Alpert '97 (Executive Producer, THE WALKING DEAD)

By Dayna Wilkinson

"I knew there was this place called Hollywood where people made a living in film and television, but I had very little understanding of what that meant and how I could get there from Harvard,” muses David Alpert ’97, partner at prominent management-production company Circle of Confusion, and Executive Producer of the highly-anticipated AMC series THE WALKING DEAD.

Ken Kragan HBS '60 (Manager, Producer, & Former President of the Country Music Association)

By Dayna Wilkinson

Question: What do Kenny Rogers, Lionel Richie, Burt Reynolds, the Smothers Brothers, Olivia Newton-John and the BeeGees have in common?

Answer: Ken Kragen MBA '60 was their manager.

The winner of multiple "Manager of the Year" awards, Ken has been the president of the Country Music Association and received two MTV Awards, an American Music Award, an NAACP Image Award and a United Nations Peace Medal, among other accolades. He’s probably best known as principal organizer of the original "We Are The World” and Hands Across America, the landmark charitable events.

Thania St. John '83 (Writer & Producer, ROSWELL, DROP DEAD DIVA, UNNATURAL HISTORY)

By D. Dona Le '05

Television writer and producer Thania St. John (née Papas) ’83 knew her calling even when she was "a little person,” avidly watching as many television shows as she could digest.

"I would make people rehearse during recess and bring costumes in, and the teachers would ask, ‘What’s this?’ And I would say, ‘We’re putting on a show!’”

Putting on a show is what St. John still does today. She has worked as writer and producer for a number of successful, widely acclaimed television series, including LIFE GOES ON, LOIS AND CLARK, and ROSWELL, to the more recent HUFF, EUREKA, DROP DEAD DIVA, and UNNATURAL HISTORY.

Gregg Hurwitz '95 (Author)

By Dayna Wilkinson

Gregg Hurwitz’s tenth novel will be released on July 6th. "I’m really excited about this one,” he says, "in some ways I’m more excited about this than any of my other books. It’s an homage to the suspense and paranoia of REAR WINDOW where you realize someone’s watching all the time.” The film rights to this novel, THEY’RE WATCHING, have already been snapped up.

Anyone who knew Gregg Hurwitz as a child wouldn’t be surprised that he grew up to be a writer. "When I was young I wasn’t allowed to watch TV so I read all the time. All I ever wanted to be was a writer. I wrote mysteries that I illustrated with crayons and put together with cardboard covers. I still have some of them on my shelf.”

Geoffrey Fletcher '92 (Screenwriter & Director, PRECIOUS)

By Cristina Slattery '97

"My name mean somethin’ valuable—Precious,” the protagonist of the novel, PUSH, by Sapphire, asserts. Geoffrey Fletcher ’92, winner of the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for the film PRECIOUS: Based on the Novel "Push” by Sapphire, and the first African American to win an Oscar for screenwriting, agrees. He says he fell in love with the character and likens her resilience to that of Odysseus and her self-awareness to that of Huck Finn.

"Who hasn’t felt underestimated or discarded?” Fletcher asks.

Rodrigo Garcia '82 (Director, TEN TINY LOVE STORIES, NINE LIVES, THE SOPRANOS, IN TREATMENT)

By D. Dona Le '05

Rodrigo Garcia’s successful, unique career is stamped by both his driven independence and his ceaseless pursuit of themes, projects, and characters that he finds personally compelling.

The son of renowned writer Gabriel García Márquez, Garcia has carved a wholly distinct name for himself in the film and television industry. He has written and directed a number of films, including THINGS YOU CAN TELL JUST BY LOOKING AT HER (2000), TEN TINY LOVE STORIES (2001), NINE LIVES (2005), and more recently, the much-anticipated MOTHER AND CHILD, due for release in the United States in May 2010. Furthermore, Garcia has directed episodes for such television series as IN TREATMENT, SIX FEET UNDER, and THE SOPRANOS, among others.

Michael Cohen '99 (Composer for Film, TV, Commercials, & Video Games)

By Cristina Slattery '97

"You have to be prepared for luck,” Hollywood, Florida born-and-bred Michael Cohen ’99 advises those eager to succeed in Hollywood (California). An almost-chance encounter with a Mather House tutor helped Cohen change his professional focus post-Harvard from law to music. The tutor persuaded Cohen to apply to USC’s Thornton Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television program, for which he turned down Harvard Law School. However, he explains, he had been mastering instruments (bass guitar in 9th grade, guitar in 12th) since his childhood in South Florida.