The University of California's Academic Freedom Statement; The Business of Hollywood: Lew Wasserman; FilmWeek
The University of California's Academic Freedom Statement
The University of California is revising its academic freedom statement, causing debate about the very nature of academic freedom. The issue at the core of the debate is: Can professors interject their own opinions into the subjects that they teach? Can they be passionate about a subject, without pushing their own agendas onto their students? Created in 1934, the current Statement does not allow this. It instructs professors to "stick to the logic of the facts." Don't the opinions of most professors color their lectures somehow? What was your experience at university? Did you choose a class, or even a university, because of its leaning? Joining guest host Patt Morrison to discuss is Robert C. Post, Alexander F. and May T. Morrison Professor of Law, in Boalt Hall, the UC Berkeley School of Law.
The Business of Hollywood: Lew Wasserman
Patt Morrison talks with author, New Yorker writer, and investigative journalist Connie Bruck about her new book, When Hollywood Had A King: The Reign of Lew Wasserman, Who Leveraged Talent Into Power and Influence (Random House). It chronicles the life of Lew Wasserman who ran MCA, the largest talent agency in the world. As an agent, he shifted the balance of power from the studios to the stars, as the head of Universal, he built one of the first diversified entertainment companies in the world. Wasserman also pioneered the made-for-TV movie, and developed some of the most popular shows in the history of television. He worked with such film directors as Stephen Spielberg, Ron Howard, and Martin Scorsese, and forged lucrative connections between Hollywood and the White House.
FilmWeek
Guest host Charles Solomon, animation critic for amazon.com, and critics Jean Oppenheimer of New Times and Andy Klein, film editor and chief critic of both CityBeat and ValleyBeat, discuss this week's new film releases, including The Hulk, Alex & Emma, The Hard Word, May, The Legend of Suriyothai, Secret Lives: Hidden Children and Their Rescuers During World War II, and the re-edited The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
This week's new videos and the Japanese Outlaw Masters 5 series at the Egyptian Theater were also discussed.