The lights of Hollywood may be a far cry from our West Philly campus, but that hasn’t stopped Penn alumni from diving into every part of the film industry. Below, Street profiles some of the most notable contributors, most of whose stars are still rising. THE ACTORS
She may be lighting up the silver screen now, but at Penn Elizabeth Banks (C’96) kept busy with Tri-Delt, a job at the Faculty Club and her studies (she graduated magna cum laude). She has already lent her talents to The 40 Year Old Virgin, Definitely, Maybe and Spider-Man, and look for her in this year’s The Next Three Days alongside Russell Crowe.
Aaron Yoo (C’01) has been flexing his theater-major muscle on the big screen since 2004, with showy roles in Disturbia, 21 and Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. This Sigma Nu brother even kissed Lindsay Lohan in Labor Pains, and he’s back in theaters next year with a role in John Stockwell’s Kid Cannabis.
THE DIRECTORS
There’s a good chance that director Mark Waters (C’86) is responsible for one or more of your favorite guilty pleasures. Waters’ work — including Just Like Heaven, Head Over Heels and Mean Girls — typically heads straight to the multiplex, but he recently branched out, serving as a producer of (500) Days of Summer.
Oscillating between producer and director is never easy, but John Avnet (C’71) seems to have the transition down pretty well. As a producer, he was responsible for The Mighty Ducks trilogy, among fifty-plus other titles, and he directed Fried Green Tomatoes and Righteous Kill, with Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. He visits Penn regularly and offers internships to students.
THE PRODUCERS
Kevin Misher (W’87) has proven that Wharton grads can join the film scene too, having established himself as a first-rate producer. He followed up The Rundown and The Interpreter with last year’s blockbuster Public Enemies, and his next project, It’s Kind of a Funny Story, starring Zach Galifianakis and Emma Roberts, hits theatres this fall.
A former member of Mask and Wig, Dave Baronoff (C'99) now works with one of the coolest men in Hollywood, J.J. Abrams. He is the creative executive for Bad Robot, Abrams' production company, and served as the associate producer on Cloverfield and Star Trek. Surprisingly, he was more of a Star Wars guy at first, but he quickly was converted into a Trekkie.
THE BIG GUNS An English and IR double major, Rich Ross (C‘83) attended law school after Penn, but hated it. He then got involved in television, and the rest is history. Ross built up Disney Channels Worldwide, including its original movie franchise (High School Musical, anyone?). Currently, he is the Chairman of Walt Disney Studios, overseeing all Disney, Touchstone, Miramax and Disney/Pixar films.
Ranked 50 on Fortune’s 2006 list of the most powerful women, Stacey Snider (C’82) shows no signs of slowing down. Her first job was in the mailroom of a talent agency. She quickly worked her way up, moving from TriStar Pictures to Universal, where she became Chair(wo)man in 1999. Now she is in the CEO of Dreamworks, working closely with Steven Spielberg.
