Orange, CA (December 15, 2010) – Academy Award® winning producer Michael Phillips (The Sting, Taxi Driver, Close Encounters of the Third Kind) has been appointed Trustee Professor at Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, recognized as one of the premier film schools in the United States.

Phillips has been producing films and television in Hollywood since 1971. His films have garnered 23 Academy Award® nominations, winning him a best picture Oscar® for The Sting. He also received the coveted Palme d’Or Prize for best film for Taxi Driver and the David di Donatello award for best film for Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

The work of Michael Phillips has had a major creative impact on the business, particularly as he produced some of the pivotal films of the 1970s, widely noted as one of the most fertile creative periods in Hollywood history.

Professor Phillips brought some of his industry friends to campus to participate in his popular “Science Fiction in Cinema” class, including director Robert Zemeckis, actor Richard Dreyfus and Academy Award®-winning visual effects supervisor Richard Edlund (Star Wars).

“Dodge College is privileged to have this Academy Award® winner as part of our faculty,” says Dean Bob Bassett. “When Michael taught his first class for us, “Films of the ‘70s,” the response was phenomenal. He is an incredible resource for our students as a filmmaker who has been on the front lines of the industry during some of its most productive and creative years.”

For more information on Professor Phillips and all Dodge College faculty members please visit http://ftv.chapman.edu

About Chapman University:
Chapman University, founded in 1861, is one of the oldest, most prestigious private universities in California.  Chapman’s picturesque campus is located in the heart of Orange County – one of the nation’s most exciting centers of arts, business, science and technology – and draws outstanding students from across the United States and around the world.  Known for its blend of liberal arts and professional programs, Chapman University encompasses seven schools and colleges: Wilkinson College of Humanities and Social Sciences, George L. Argyros School of Business and Economics, Lawrence and Kristina Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Schmid College of Science, College of Performing Arts, School of Law and College of Educational Studies.   Named to the list of top universities in the nation by U.S. News & World Report and the Princeton Review, Chapman University enrolls more than 6,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students.

Lawrence and Kristina Dodge College of Film and Media Arts:
One of the premier film schools in the country, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts offers students the unique opportunity to learn filmmaking in a hands-on environment modeled on a working studio.  The college is comprised of the Sodaro-Pankey Undergraduate School of Film and Media Arts, offering degrees in film production, film studies, screenwriting,  television and broadcast journalism, public relations and advertising, and digital arts; and the graduate Conservatory of Motion Pictures, offering M.F.A. degrees in film production, film and television producing, and screenwriting, and an M.A. in film studies. Dodge College is housed in Marion Knott Studios, a state-of-the-art, 76,000-square-foot studio and classroom building that provides students with 24-hour access to sound stages, edit bays, Dolby surround mixing, a motion capture stage and more.  With an Oscar and Emmy-award winning faculty that boasts more feature film credits than any other film school, Dodge College is where students learn the entertainment business from the inside out.

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