School Maintains #7 Spot In The Hollywood Reporter’s Annual Ranking of Top 25 Film Schools

Orange, CA (August 12, 2014)– For the third year in a row, Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts has been recognized by The Hollywood Reporter as one of the top 10 film schools in America. For its most recent annual ranking, THR conducted its widest-ever survey: More than 2,300 ballots were submitted from the guilds, Film Independent, the American Cinematheque and the schools themselves. Their responses, weighed with the help of educational insiders, resulted in a less Hollywood-centric list.

The Hollywood Reporter’s annual ranking of ‘The Top 25 Film Schools in America’ (on newsstands now) placed Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at number seven (7), noting the achievements of the school’s faculty; its impressive facilities, the completion of Chapman Filmed Entertainment’s inaugural film Trigger, and endorsements from Hollywood power players.

The excerpt from the Hollywood Reporter reads:

How does one get to Hollywood? Start in Orange County: The 1,500 students at Chapman’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts nabbed 607 high-powered internships during the 2013-14 school year.

“We have been very impressed by Chapman students’ knowledge of the business and great work ethic,” says Michelle Satter, director of the feature-film program at the Sundance Institute, which has taken on many Chapman interns and offered some permanent positions.

“Dean Bob Bassett is a master fundraiser,” says an envious educator at another top film school. Case in point: Chapman’s $42 million, 76,000-square-foot Marion Knott Studios, open to students 24/7.

“Chapman is worth the extra half-hour drive,” says producer Michael Phillips (Taxi Driver, The Sting), who has taught at the school. “This fall, AMPAS president Cheryl Boone Isaacs is going to have students create possible remakes of classic Hollywood films, only for a Latino audience,” says Bassett. “That’s a real-world strategy from someone who’s been there.”

The school’s Chapman Filmed Entertainment label plans to produce three movies within the next year using pros and students. The only problem: “Hollywood is raiding my faculty!” jokes Bassett, noting that marketing professors Dawn Taubin and Russell Schwartz joined DreamWorks Animation and Relativity, respectively, in 2013.

► Notable Alumni: Comedy Central development executive Adam Londy, 20th Century Fox executive director of global promotions Cynthia Pascoe

The Hollywood Reporter’s complete rankings with details can be viewed at

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/top-25-film-schools-united-721649

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