Bill Rauch '84 (Writer, Director, & Producer)

By Kim Bendheim '81

To say that Bill Rauch ’84, the new Artistic Director of The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, appreciates Harvard’s effect on his life is an understatement. The circle of friends Rauch made at Harvard shaped both his life and his career. He met his partner of 23 years (Christopher Liam Moore ‘86) at Harvard doing theater, and he met Alison Carey ‘84, another long-time theatrical collaborator, at the Coop during freshman week. Rauch asked Carey if she could help him find books on theater. They’ve been busy making theater history together ever since.

Jeff Melvoin '75 (Writer & Producer, ARMY WIVES, ALIAS, NORTHERN EXPOSURE)

By Kim Bendheim '81

Jeff Melvoin '75 was invited to Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust's recent inauguration. Since he is a big fan of the new president, he was delighted to accept the offer to make a short film in her honor. The evening of October 11 featured "A Musical Prelude to an Inauguration" in Sanders Theatre, with different acts including Melvoin's film. Melvoin snuck in as an allegedly serious film his humorous lessons from Hollywood on leadership. It's called "A Primer for the President," complete with nine 'lessons' and several corollaries. Melvoin, an Emmy-winning TV writer and producer best known for his work on "Remington Steele," "Northern Exposure," "Picket Fences," and "Alias," had a wealth of knowledge in the entertainment business to draw from.

Adam B. Stein '99 (Writer & Director)

By Kim Bendheim '81

Adam B. Stein '99 has garnered a great deal of notice recently through the short films he made for "On The Lot", the Fox reality show for filmmakers executive produced by Steven Spielberg and Mark Burnett of "The Apprentice" and "Survivor." The process of being accepted to the show was arduous: submitting films, sitting through various rounds of interviews, and directing a new film in five days. To make the final rounds of the competition, according to the "On The Lot" website, Stein had to beat out some 12,000 other applicants. What buoyed the developing filmmaker even more was that in the finals, the judges consistently awarded him highest marks. Judges included accomplished industry professionals such as director Garry Marshall (PRETTY WOMAN), actress-screenwriter Carrie Fisher (POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE, STAR WARS), director-producer Brett Ratner ("Prison Break," AFTER THE SUNSET) and director Gary Ross (PLEASANTVILLE).

Gabrielle Zevin '00 (Author & Screenwriter)

By Kim Bendheim '81

Gabrielle Zevin's '00 second novel, MEMOIRS OF A TEENAGE AMNESIAC, is coming out in September. Her first, ELSEWHERE, is about fifteen year old Liz, who dies in a car accident and finds herself in Elsewhere, living life backwards in the company of her grandmother and her adopted dog Sadie. The novel has many sweetly humorous touches, such as the dog's being named for a Beatles song and a ship captain who, having lived life backwards, becomes a toddler doing a big job. As we discover, there's an order in Elsewhere. It's just the opposite of what you'd expect on earth.

Michael Roiff '01 (Producer, WAITRESS)

By Kim Bendheim '81

Michael Roiff '01 is ambitious in a “gee whiz, let’s put on a show” kind of way. The class of 2001 grad is upbeat, and he has reason to be: WAITRESS, his first feature as a producer, went to Sundance, where Fox Searchlight bought it for a reported 4 million dollars. The film has opened to overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics and a great response from its target audience: adult women. So far, since its May opening, WAITRESS has grossed over 15 million at the box office. It was the number four movie during the Memorial Day weekend. “We’re just thrilled to still be in theaters. No one’s ever seen such a crowded summer in terms of big blockbusters," said Roiff, whose aim as a producer is nothing less than "creating magic." Talking about his films, he is cheerful, proud and pleased at the same time.

Neal Baer GSE '79, GSA '82, HMS '96 (Writer & Producer, ER, LAW AND ORDER: SVU)

By Amit Samuel

The Wizard of Awes.

Downed power lines. Great. I am already late to the first Harvardwood Salon. Now, if I were Dr. Doug Ross (played by some actor named George Clooney) from "ER" in a Neal Baer-penned script, I would be in a tuxedo, suavely saving the day and making it to the Salon in the nick of time. Instead, I am stuck in traffic wearing a crummy pair of jeans and a dark t-shirt that hides the stains of last night's dinner.

Before "ER" – heck, before puberty – Neal Baer spent his time in elementary school like every other kid: networking. As luck would have it, one of his schoolyard buddies grew up to be the producer of "China Beach." Perhaps remembering Neal's prodigious gift for cursive handwriting, John Wells gave Neal a job writing for "China Beach". Neal's first episode was promptly nominated for a Writer's Guild award for Best Drama.

Lucy Fisher '71 (Studio Executive)

By Kim Bendheim '81

Lucy Fisher, class of 1971 and studio executive for 25 years, is running for Harvard’s Board of Overseers. This is ironic because Lucy Fisher went to Harvard at the end of the Sixties, an era when she, along with many other classmates, spent much of her time protesting the Harvard administration as well as the war in Vietnam and Cambodia. Napalm recruitment on campus sparked one protest in which she participated. “It was a very heady time,” she remembers. By day, this passionate protester served up meals as a waitress at The Signet (Harvard’s literary society), which at that time did not yet admit women as members. Gradually, during her sojourn at Harvard, The Signet did become coed.

Nicky Weinstock '91 (VP of Comedy Development at 20th Century Fox TV)

By Kim Bendheim '81

The last time I saw Nicky Weinstock, he’d left Manhattan for Garrison, NY with his wife (writer Amanda Beesley) and their Yorkshire terrier, Emerson. The couple quit their jobs to move to the country and write books. He’d been a book editor at Random House; she’d been an agent at ICM. “The Golden Hour,” based on Weinstock’s experience in the Garrison Fire Dept, comes out in paperback this month. It’s his third book. Catching up with Weinstock ten years later, I learned that he’d moved his family to LA in 2004, and in 2006 he was promoted to Vice President of Comedy Development for Twentieth Century Fox Television, developing some 60 or 70 new shows a year. He has three children, Lincoln (2), Derek (5), and Savannah (7). Unlike Nicky, who grew up on the east coast, his children ride bicycles in the sunny streets of Westwood.

Peter Rader '82 - '83 (Writer, Director, Producer, & Cinematographer, WATER WORLD)

By Sean O'Rourke MAT '68

His e-mail moniker says it all: fablemaker. He practices one of the oldest arts on earth, one that satisfies some of our deepest needs. Humans have been doing it for thousands of years, sitting around the campfire, telling and listening to stories. Peter Rader '82/'83 - a writer, director, cinematographer in Hollywood - believes that if Homer were alive today, he'd probably be a filmmaker.

Hans Canosa '93 (Writer, Director, & Producer, CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER WOMEN)

By Kim Bendheim '81

Hans Canosa's first feature, CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER WOMEN (starring Aaron Eckhart and Helena Bonham-Carter), just came out on DVD. The film offers an unusual double perspective on the characters of the two leads. They are in every scene. You can see each of them, their reaction to one another, at the same time on a split screen. That gives their brief, amorous encounter at a NYC wedding another dimension, one that lingers on in the viewer's mind after the closing credits have rolled.