UC Santa Barbara (Audio)

Director Jeremy Podeswa joins Pollock Theater Director Matt Ryan for a Script to Screen discussion of the season 7 finale of Game of Thrones, “The Dragon and the Wolf.” Podeswa recalls his admiration for the cast, the challenges of creating a show that transcends the episode length and production values of typical television programming, and his creative influences. The talk focuses in particular on shooting a complicated ensemble showdown where many main cast members finally share a scene simultaneously and what was involved in bringing that moment to the screen. Series: "Script to Screen" [Humanities] [Show ID: 34755]

John Caldwell, UCLA media studies professor, ethnographer and filmmaker discusses his film Land Hacks: Masculine Media Anxiety Disorder (2018). Caldwell is joined by moderator, Jennifer Holt of the Department of Film and Studies at UCSB. Their conversation covers the inspiration and significance of the film which sets out to explore white male victimization in the Trump era. Caldwell’s film uses advertisements, excerpts from Hollywood films, and documentary footage to highlight a series of masculine anxieties for the modern era, and particular to California’s Central Valley. The Q&A contextualizes Caldwell’s development of the film, which explores the politics of industry and labor in the Central Valley, the birthplace of the UFW, and a bastion for California conservatism through the lens of Caldwell’s own health concerns during the filmmaking process. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 34591]

Bill Morrison, comic book writer and artist, and colorist Nathan Kane join moderator Joe Paladino in a Q&A about Yellow Submarine (1968). Kane and Morrison discuss their collaborative work on the 2018 graphic novel adaptation of the film, as well as their careers and the wider significance of the film. The conversation covers Morrison's work with Matt Groening as an illustrator for The Simpsons and as art director for Futurama, and the influence Yellow Submarine had on the art styles of these shows. Kane discusses his career in the comics industry and his work as creative director of Bongo Comics. Together, Morrison and Kane, reflect on the legacy of Yellow Submarine fifty years later, in terms of their comic adaptation, but also in terms of its pop-cultural significance and influence on directors from Terry Gilliam to John Lasseter. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 34641]

What can we learn about gun violence, prevention, and preparedness from mass casualty incidents such as the Las Vegas mass shooting? How can this be applied to the campus experience? Dr. Scott Scherr discusses the challenges, logistics, response, recovery and long term impact for pre-hospital first responders, emergency personnel, and the community. Scherr is an emergency physician for TeamHealth, Medical Director for Sunrise Hospital Emergency Department, and Medical Director for Clark County Fire Department in Las Vegas. He was on duty in the emergency room on the night of the Route 91 shooting in Las Vegas. Series: "Ethics, Religion and Public Life: Walter H. Capps Center Series" [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 34567]

UCSB Script to Screen, hosted by Pollock Theater Director Matt Ryan, was invited to the 2019 Writers Guild Awards and 2019 WGA Beyond Words. On the red carpet, directors and screenwriters alike were able to reflect and shed light on the creative process of writing their vision on a page and then translating it to the screen. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 34590]

Song rights, first time directors, female comedians, and a critical intervention by Steven Spielberg all arise in this discussion between Beatles: Revolutions co-curator Joe Palladino and I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978) writer/producer Bob Gale and lead actress Nancy Allen. The three speakers discuss the origins of this film, the screenplay structure, and the joy of a young cast/crew building a nostalgic coming-of-age story celebrating a moment of early Beatles’ fandom. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 34592]

The American energy system is in transition away from coal and toward less carbon intensive fuels, such as natural gas and wind. Energy produced by renewables and gas is projected to grow by 10 quadrillion BTUs over the next two decades, while other sources will remain constant or decline. Such a rapid transition requires construction of new facilities for generating and transmitting energy. Stephen Ansolabehere, Professor of Government at Harvard, tells the story of recent energy development efforts across the United States and the lessons for the transition toward a less carbon intensive energy system. Series: "Bren School of Environmental Science & Management" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 34563]

In The Lion Seeker and The Mandela Plot, two powerful novels full of raw, vividly-drawn characters, Kenneth Bonert explored the unique and fascinating story of the Jews of South Africa. In this talk he explains why he became a novelist and the inspiration that he drew from growing up in Johannesburg. He talks about the history of his family and of the Jewish community in South Africa and reflect on his literary goals such as capturing the authentic voices of his characters and examining their moral and political struggles. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Humanities] [Show ID: 34564]

Visual storytelling and genre blending are central topics in this wide-ranging discussion between Quiet Place screenwriters Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and Pollock Theater director Matt Ryan. Beck and Woods reflect on and explain their desire to build a monster/sci-fi/horror/silent film that paid homage to classic television and cinema creators like Rod Serling, Alfred Hitchcock, and Charlie Chaplin while fashioning a new experience for contemporary viewers. Series: "Carsey-Wolf Center" [Humanities] [Show ID: 34569]

Undermining widely held beliefs about the black-Jewish alliance, Marc Dollinger, Professor of Jewish Studies at San Francisco State University, describes a new political consensus, based on identity politics, that drew blacks and Jews together and altered the course of American liberalism. Dollinger’s most recent book takes a new and different look at Jewish involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, showing how American Jews leveraged the Black Power movement to increase Jewish ethnic and religious identity in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Series: "Taubman Symposia in Jewish Studies" [Public Affairs] [Humanities] [Show ID: 34566]