TO SOME OF MY FELLOW CLASS MATES FROM THE CLASS OF '75 @ AFI

DIRECTORS: CLASS OF 75 LIEN;BJORN - NORWAY JOASSIN;PIERRE - BELGIUM DWW - DIRECTORWRITER BILL WHITE - REMEMBER BILL BECAUSE WHEN I TOLD HIM I HAD STUTTERED AS A CHILD HE SAID, "ONLY BOYS STUTTER" WHEN HE VIEWED "CHANGES" HE SAID, "WE SAW YOUR VIDEO AND WE DESTROYED IT" AND HE CITISIZED MY "MOVING PAN SHOT" IN THE BEDROOM OF MARY AND TERRY THE UNHAPPILY MARRIED COUPLE, SINCE I BELIEVE THAT TROUBLE IN A MARRIAGE NORMALLY, NOT ALWAYS, STARTS IN THE BEDROOM. (MORE TO FOLLOW, HAVING LUNCH RIGHT NOW)12:12AM time:2:15PM BEFORE I CONTINUE MY LIST, WHAT NAMES ARE MISSING, IS MY GERMAN JEW PRODUCER, ISIK, AND ALSO AN EXCELLENT WRITER: ROBERT PRICE (HIS WIFE HAD BEEN A MODEL)ROBERT'S PIECE THAT WAS MEMORABLE WAS REGARDING THE OZONE LAYER. MY FELLOW CLASSMATES: EDWARD ZWICK SANTA MONICA, AND MARSHALL HERSKOVITZ, (Creators of the hit show "30 SOMETHING" WHICH I NEVER SAW, ACADEMY AWARD WINNING, "SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE" WHHEN HARVEY WEINSTEIN OR HIS BROTHER, I CAN'T TELL THEM APART, BUT WOULDN'T ALLOW ED TO MAKE HIS ACCEPTANCE SPEECH, ED JUST STOOD BY HARVEY SAYING NOTHING AND LOOKING VERY UNCOMFORTABLE, I FELT FOR HIM, LATER I HEARD THAT ED AND MARSHALL WERE BEING SUED FOR SUPPOSEDLY PLAGARIZING AN ASIAN FILM WHICH I SAW WITH SWINDELL CHESTNUT WHICH WE BOTH AGREED WAS JUST OK. I HAD SENT A SCRIPT TO WEINSTEIN WHICH THEY GOT BACK TO ME ON, SAYING THEY WERE INTERESTED, AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED, BUT THEY DID LIKE MY SCREENPLAY, THE TITLE ESCAPES ME NOW, BUT ONE OF MY CHARACTERS GOT AROUND ON A SKATE BOARD. WHILE STILL AT AFI, ED AND MARSHALL, WHO SUPPOSEDLY MET FOR THE FIRST TIME AT AFI, PITCHED AN IDEA TO THE NETWORKS ABOUT THE NEWS BEING PRESENTED AS FACTUAL, THOUGH FICTION, AND I THOUGHT HOW GREAT FOR THEM. THEY ALSO DID A SERIES STARRING LAURA LINLEY A CANCER SURVIVOR ON CABLE. THEN THEY SUDDENLY DISAPPEARED. ORIGINATORS OF TV SERIES AND FILM, ORIGINALLY I READ THAT ED WAS OUT OF CHICAGO, WHERE BOTH OPRAH AND MARIA TAMBURRI WERE RESIDING IN THE SAME APARTMENT BUILDING. BILL BENERSON - DIRECTOR ARENA POINT SUSAN CLOS - MY CINEMOTROGROPHER ON "CHANGES" STEVEN BUSSART - DIRECTOR JOHN MCTERNAN DIRECTOR DIRECTING WORKSHO FOR WOMEN WAS A "PRIVILEDGED" GROUP OF WOMEN, DWW DIRECTING WORKSHOP FOR WOMEN WHO EITHER HAD FAMOUS HUSBANDS OR KNEW SOMEONE AND WERE IMMEDIATELY GIVEN VIP TREATMENT ENABLING THEM TO IMMEDIATELY DIRECT THEIR FILM PROJECT, THE FOLLOWING MRS. MARILYN BERGMAN,MS EVE BRANDSTEIN,MS LENORE DEKOVEN, KATHLEEN FREEMAN,RANDA HAINES, ANN HASSET, CAROLE OLIGANIO, JUDITH RASCOE, LYNN ROTH, THOSE THAT I KNEW AND WHOSE TAPES I RECALL. OR WHOSE NAMES ARE KNOWN TO ME ARE, LEE GRANT, ANN BANCROFT "FATSO", DYAN CANNON,JUDY ANN ELDER, CLASS OF 87 I CAME ACROSS WHILE LOOKING THROUGH THE DIRECTORY, SHE ATTENDED AFI LONG AFTER I HAD LEFT, SHE WAS THE WIDOW OF LONNIE ELDER, WRITER OF "CEREMONIES IN DARK OLD MEN" AN EXCELLENT TITLE OF AN AWARD WINNING PLAY. I WAS NOT OF THIS PRIVILIGED GROUP. I HAD CLASSES EVERY WEEK DAY, FOR A YEAR AND I HAD TO COMMITT TO NO ACTING JOBS DURING THIS TIME AND I PAID THE TWO THOUSANT FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS TUITION AT THE END OF THE COURSE, AND WHEN THE CLASS OF 1975'S PHOTO WAS TAKEN I TURNED MY BACK TO THE CAMERA, I WAS STANDING I BELIEVE IN THE FRONT, SECOND OR THIRD ROW, AND TO THIS DAY, WONDER WHY A DECISION WAS MADE FOR ME TO TURN AWAY FROM CAMERA. ANOTHER UNSOLVED MYSTERY. CONTINUING ON: "MOLLY JOSEPH" MY SET DECORATOR. JOHN BAUER THOUGH DON'T REMEMBER HIS WRITING, NRS. MARY MCFERREN-STOBIE - WHO WROTE A PIECE AGAINST ABORTION USING THE PREMISE THAT THE INFANT YOU MAY ABORT COULD BE JESUS. I BELIEVE I SAW MARY ON THE BUS RECENTLY LOOKING WELL, SPEAKING, "POLISH". BRUCE MURKOF, AND AGAIN ROBERT PRICE ARE MISSING AND ISIC'S NAME ARE MISSING FROM THE ALUMNI DIRECTORY 1999-2000. ROBERT'S PREMISE THAT THERE WILL COME A TIME WHEN THE OZONE LEVEL'S INCREASING DETERIORATION MAKES EVERYONE EXPOSED TO THE SUN, AND WE WILL PERISH (SIMILAR TO A SOMEWHAT RECENT MOVIE "MELANCHOLY" WITH A SIMILAR ENDING. I LIKED HIS WORK VERY MUCH AND SO DID OUR INSTRUCTOR BLOCK, I BELIEVE WAS HIS NAME, ALONG WITH PFIZER WAS ANOTHER INSTRUCTOR AND NINA FOSCH WAS OUR ACTING INSTRUCTOR, WE ALL HAD TO ATTEND THE ACTING CLASSES, NO MATTER YOUR DISCIPLINE. YAN KADAR WAS ALSO ONE OF OUR INSTRUCTORS WHEN AFI WAS LOCATED IN GREYSTONE MANSION IN BEVERLY HILLS. ROBERT PRICE WAS THE ONLY OTHER BLACK WRITER IN MY CLASS, OTHER THAN DONNA MUNGEN, WHO'S WORK UNFORTUNATELY I DON'T RECALL. SOME OF THESE NAMES, LIKE MARK HARRIS, DIRECTOR, ALSO AFRICAN AMERICAN, DIDN'T APPEAR IN THE DIRECTORY, HOWEVER, MARK WAS A VERY CAPABLE DIRECTOR IN MY OPINION WHOSE CAREER SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECOGNIZED, CERTAINLY BY NOW, IN MY OPINION. PERHAPS THE NAMES DID NOT APPEAR IN THE DIRECTORY BECAUSE THEY DID NOT PAY THEIR TUITION BECAUSE THEY WERE LACKING THE FUNDS, NOT NECESSARILY WANTING A "FREE RIDE", WHICH IS A COMMON STATE FOR MOST ARTISTS TO BE IN, INCLUDING MYSELF. CAROLE OLIGAIO WAS PART OF THE ELITE WHO KNEW SOMEONE AND WAS ABLE TO DO HER OWN PROJECT IMMEDIATELY, WHAT I DO RECALL IS WHEN SHE AND OTHERS, VERBALLY ATTACKED SIDNEY POITIER WHO WAS A GUEST SPEAKER AT AFI, I MUST SAY, KNOWING NOW ABOUT THE INDUSTRY, PERHAPS HER ATTACK, MAY HAVE BEEN JUSTIFIED, THAT IS A PRACTICAL POV, DUE TO THE FACT IN ORDER TO BE AN HONEST WRITER, YOU MUST WEIGH ON ALL SIDES OF AN ISSUE, AND DO NOT ACCEPT THE MOST COMMON POINT OF VIEW, WHICH LEADS TO BEING A "HACK" WRITER, IN MY OPINION. THOUGH MY DISCIPLINE WAS SCREENWRITING, I NOT ONLY WROTE "CHANGES", BUT I DIRECTED AND EDITED IT AS WELL. MORE CLASSMATES FROM CLASS OF 75 SCOTT BALCAREK, SAN FRANCISCO, LOUIS FANTASIA DIRECTOR,THOUGH I MAY NOT HAVE REMEMBERED THEIR SPECIFIC WORK, I DO RECALL THEIR NAMES. THAT'S ALL FOR NOW, THANKS FOR LISTENING. (C) COPYRIGHTED BY GWENDOLYN L MITCHELL ON DEC.1, 2014 AT 3:20PM LOS ANGELES, CA I'M ADDING TO MY CLASSMATE LIST, HOW COULD I FORGET ONE OF MY FAVORITE PEOPLE DURING MY STINT AT AFI- STUART CORNFELD...LOVED HIS ANIMATED CARTOONS, PLUS KAFKA, ETC. BROWSING THROUGH THE DIRECTORY LOW AND BEHOLD I CAME ACROSS THE NAME ROTHSCHILD, JUDSON, CLASS OF 86, SMALL WORLD BECAUSE ALLIE ROTHSCHILD IS THE PERSON I'D GIVEN A COPY OF "SOMETHING CALLED A MARRIAGE", ALLIE HAD SHOT MY TWO TAPING SESSIONS, AND LIKED HER WORK, WELL ACTUALLY I HAD LEFT A COPY FOR HER AT ARGENTUM PHOTO LAB,AT ONE POINT I WAS TOLD SHE'D GOTTEN THE SCRIPT, THEN ANOTHER TIME, I WAS TOLD THAT "MARVIN" DESTROYED IT...ARGENTUM'S # IS 323-461-2775.AND LOW AND BEHOLD GUESS WHAT ADDRESS, 1034 MASSELIN AVE, SAME BUILDING AS WHERE I LIVED, MY UNIT WAS 1037...WHERE WHAT'S HER NAME, CATE BLANCHARD, RESIDES IN THE VERY APARTMENT UNIT WHICH I HAD UPGRADED WITH WOOD FLOORS, ETC. AND THE CONTRACTOR WHO DID THE WORK WANTED TO SETTLE IN TRADE RATHER THAN MY PAYING CASH(REFERENCED IN PRIOR BLOG)...SMALL WORLD HEY, AND GETTING SMALLER ALL THE TIME...YIKES! (C)COPYRIGHTED BY GWENDOLYN L MITCHELL ON DEC 3, 2014 AT 8:06PM LOS ANGELES, CA