Comic Book Writer (Red Sonja, Poison Ivy)

Amy Chu may not have followed the stereotypical Asian-American woman's career path, but this self-confessed soccer mom is enjoying a life that features lots of coffee, whiskey, and Comic Con panels

Terence O'Toole Murnin AB '84

We catch up with Amy Chu MBA '99 at Wizard World in New Orleans, where the renowned writer of comics including Red Sonja, KISS, and X-Files Deviations has just delighted her fans as a guest panelist at this convention celebrating the magnificence of the ever-expanding geek universe. And while Chu’s followers may know her as co-founder of Alpha Girls Comics and recognize her work for industry heavyweights DC and Marvel, including Poison Ivy, Ant-Man, Deadpool, Sensation Comics Wonder and Wonder Woman ’77, what they probably don’t know is that Chu possesses an MBA from Harvard Business School, as well as a joint S.B., IV Architecture from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.A. in East Asian Studies from Wellesley.

Kemper Donovan JD '04 (Author, The Decent Proposal)

by Terence O'Toole Murnin

In a world where dating now often means swipe left or swipe right, Kemper Donovan creates an old fashioned romantic comedy set in Los Angeles, one of the most unlikely places to find true love.

Kemper Donovan sounds like the name of an indie-rock band you may have seen at Coachella, and the actual guy—impossibly handsome—looks like the leading man in a Hollywood rom-com. Possessing a resume that includes an undergraduate degree from Stanford followed by Harvard Law School, he “retired” from law at the age of 25 to pursue a 10-year stint at Circle of Confusion in LA, where he represented screenwriters and comic books.  Donovan is currently sporting the hat of published author, and his debut novel, The Decent Proposal, was recently named the “#2 Summer Beach Read” by Cosmo.

Couper Samuelson '02 (President of Feature Production, Blumhouse Productions) 

by Terence O'Toole Murnin

A TALL MAN RISES IN STATURE: The “Harvard Mafia” is alive and well in Hollywood with Couper Samuelson producing a new paradigm for art and commerce to coexist on the silver (really any) screen

William Couper Samuelson is a human dynamo, and with all respects to the late, great James Brown, the very tall (6’6”) producer may have just snatched the title as the “hardest working man in show business” and claimed it for himself.  Known for such hits as the Academy Award-nominated WHIPLASH, WE OWN THE NIGHT, and THE GIFT, the lanky livewire has no less than five films already set for release in 2016, including HUSH, AMITYVILLE: THE WAKENING, DELIRIUM, 6 MIRANDA DRIVE, and THE PURGE 3.

Our interview is a fit of stops and starts. Calls and deadlines — and details — and a dinner to attend this evening. At last, he’s ready and it’s easy to see why the man has charmed his way into the upper echelons of Hollywood with a combination of brains, luck, pluck and networking savvy extraordinaire.

Kermit Roosevelt AB '93
(Professor & Author, In the Shadow of the Law, Allegiance)

by Terence O'Toole Murnin

Kermit Roosevelt’s Real-Life Tales of a Government Bent on Repeating History Inform the Historical Fiction of Allegiance, His Latest Novel, while also Sharpening His Vision as a Professor of Law

Kermit Roosevelt has the kind of brilliant, beautiful mind that makes attorneys look cooler than Matthew McConaughey in THE LINCOLN LAWYER. Shifting seamlessly from his role as Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School where he has prolifically published on matters focusing on constitutional law and conflict of laws, in 2005, he also published his first novel, In The Shadow Of The Law (Farrar, Straus and Giroux). Paramount quickly snapped up the rights to the entrancing book set in a powerhouse Washington, D. C., law firm, and Carol Mendelsohn of CSI fame served as Executive Producer of a TV Pilot that featured Joshua Jackson, Frank Langella, Kevin Pollak and Alan Tudyk.

Joe Toplyn '75, MBA '79 (Writer, Late Night with David Letterman, Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Comedy Writing for Late-Night TV, Winner of four Emmy Awards)

By Terence O'Toole Murnin

After Years of Writing Comedy for the Likes of Leno and Letterman, Joe Toplyn Now Shares His Secrets in the First Book Ever on Writing for Late Night TV with His Sights Set on a New TV Show

Photo Copyright: Nate Williams

“As my stockbroker friends might say, ‘You can’t fight the market,’” deadpans Joe Toplyn on his need to write hilarious, topical humor, often skewering Bill Cosby, or Kim Kardashian, or whoever is currently making the news. His Twitter feed (@JoeToplyn) mines the same topical gold that Toplyn has been perfecting for years for comedy heavyweights like Letterman and Leno:

David Kwong '02 (Magician & Puzzler, Now You See Me, The Imitation Game)

By Terence O'Toole Murnin

Not a Cruise Ship Magician—Puzzles and prestidigitation can't really begin to describe the genius of David Kwong

Photo to the left by Aaron Epstein

Calling David Kwong a magician is kind of like calling John Harvard a collector of books. It describes one of his many passions, but it only hints at what the man is becoming—and what he will ultimately become. Although not a household name (yet), Kwong has indeed “arrived,” tapping into the Zeitgeist on an enchanted path where highbrow Intelligentsia meets Hollywood spectacle in a tantalizing mix of performance art that both entertains and informs.

Broderick Fox '96 (Writer, Director, Editor, & Producer, THE SKIN I'M IN, ZEN & THE ART OF DYING)

By Terence O'Toole Murnin

After boldly tackling the cultural shame of gender, sexuality, addition, body dysmorphia, fantasy, and illness, Broderick Fox '96 takes on the ultimate taboo in ZEN AND THE ART OF DYING.

On a daily basis, Broderick Fox ('96, Lowell House) readily admits that he has the same doubts and fears as any human being. But when it’s time to get down to work, Fox never flinches from the tough issues that many people don’t want to talk about: Taboo and shame. Physical body dysmorphia. Alcoholism, gender and sexuality. This fearless auteur tackles some of our planet’s most difficult subjects with an artistic, poetic approach to visual storytelling.