For most UCLA students, finals week means pulling all-nighters
in a last-minute attempt to learn 10 weeks’ worth of
material. For actor and third-year philosophy student Colin Bain,
however, finals week last quarter consisted of 14-hour days on the
set of crime drama “Cold Case.”
Bain’s eight-day shoot happened to fall on the same week
as finals.

Everything is politics. And in the glamorous industry of
filmmaking, sometimes it’s not just what you do or how well
you do it; it’s mainly who you know.

After the ceremony for the 49th annual Samuel Goldwyn Writing
Awards Competition on Nov. 1, UCLA has good reason to boast. Once
more, one of its own won first place, as well as this year’s
monetary prize of $15,000.

It’s not unusual for a college or university to be more
than an academic environment for students. For screenwriter and
alumnus Scott Kosar, UCLA was the safe haven that changed his
life.

Having just received the Spotlight Award from the School of
Theater, Film, Television and Digital Media this year, graduating
film student Jared Drake is eager to start a career in directing
among Hollywood hotshots.

While most students were on campus studying for midterms in
mid-May, graduate film student Tim McCarthy was in Cannes, France,
enjoying a little limelight at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival
where his short film, “The Rick,” had its first public
screening.

Those who ordinarily could care less about Greek mythology may
find themselves showing a bit of interest on Friday.
Wolfgang Petersen’s much anticipated blockbuster,
“Troy,” is based on Homer’s “Iliad,”
the epic story of the Trojan War.

While the name Henry Mancini may not be as famous as some of the
people he’s worked with, anyone who has seen “Breakfast
at Tiffany’s” or hummed the slinky saxophone line to
“The Pink Panther” theme has heard Mancini, loud and
clear.

For 2003 UCLA graduate ChiChi Nnadi, going back to school is
part of his job. Hired last year by MTV, Nnadi is now a video
jockey for the station’s newest branch, mtvU.