Over 500 attendees listened to “Miracle” director Gavin O’Connor and “The LEGO Movie” producer Dan Lin expound on their experiences as major Hollywood filmmakers at the 19th annual Biola Media Conference this past Saturday.
Aspiring filmmakers, writers, and both Biola and non-Biola college students packed the seats inside CBS Studio Center’s Sound Stage 3 at 9 a.m. for one of two main sessions that day. They were greeted by Jack Hafer, director of Biola’s Cinema and Media Arts department, and Faithful Central Bible Church Gospel Choir, who provided the musical invocation.
AN EMOTIONAL JOURNEY
During these main sessions, Lin — who received the BMC’s Producer of the Year award — recounted what he says has been a difficult two-year journey, from producing “The LEGO Movie” to battling a lawsuit with a film production company. Lin became emotional toward the end of his talk as he read a letter from the family of a 9-year-old boy, thanking him for allowing the boy, who had cancer, to watch an unfinished, unreleased version of “The LEGO Movie” before he passed away.
COLLABORATION AND CONVERSATION
Vine and YouTube star Zach King, a 2012 Biola alumnus, also explored the importance of collaboration in production and how to gain an audience in a TED Talks-style lecture, while a panel of writers discussed the biblical merits of 2014’s “Noah” afterwards.
“If [a film] could get people who wouldn’t normally have any reason to be interested in the Bible to be interested, I think that’s a great thing,” Los Angeles-based writer and social media manager for University Communications and Marketing Brett McCracken said during the discussion. “We just need to embrace and celebrate any time the Bible is being in the cultural conversation.”
CREATIVITY SETS US APART
MOSAIC church founder Erwin McManus gave the keynote speech, flying into Los Angeles on a helicopter just after he spoke in Washington, D.C. the day before.
“You are an artist. You will create. The question is not whether you will create, but what will you create with your life,” he told the audience. McManus went on to describe how creativity and imagination make humans different from other earthly species.
The Biola Media Award, which honors Christians who excel and lead in the media industry, was given to conference attendee Stan Freberg, 87. Freberg, whose father graduated from Biola, is an iconic voice actor and radio personality known for his role in the renowned 1950s children’s television show “Time for Beany” and his satirical comedy records. Rob Minkoff, co-director of Disney’s “The Lion King,” briefly gave a commemorative speech on Freberg’s career.
Three one-hour workshop sessions were provided for attendees, where topics like women in business and entertainment design were discussed.
INTENSIVE PLANNING
It took 60 volunteers, some arriving as early as 4:30 a.m., to help set up for the conference.
“It takes months of planning and two long days at CBS [Studio Center] to set up,” Matt Hawksworth, the conference’s co-producer, said.
Hawksworth, along with all his crew, had to endure 90-degree weather while they oversaw the logistics of the conference. Several large BMC balloons popped throughout the day, apparently unable to withstand the high temperatures.
Despite the heat, attendees were able to enjoy a meat kabab and penne pasta lunch while nestled between tall, Bronx-esque buildings on New York Street, an urban city backlot set. Various organizations, ranging from the Christian Comic Arts Society to Hands for Africa, also had booths to showcase themselves to conference-goers.
BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
Carl Varnado, a professor of screenwriting at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Ariz., brought his students all the way from Phoenix to the event.
“It’s really cool to see people share … not only successes in Hollywood, but their struggles to kind of give the human face to what’s going on here,” he said.
Spencer Johnson, a film student at Pacific Union College in Angwin, Calif., drove down with about 30 people to attend the conference after seeing an announcement at his school. While he admitted to having difficulty paying attention — the result of lack of sleep — he said he was still able to enjoy the speakers.
“It is interesting hearing about the industry from people who are actually inside the industry,” he said.
CMA professor John Schmidt, who also attended the conference, believes that while the BMC takes a lot of resources and a large budget, the payoff lies in the opportunity for students and professors alike to venture out of the classroom and build community outside Biola.
“One of the most important things in the film industry is connection,” Schmidt said. “We don’t create and have an impact in this industry in a vacuum.”
