Filmmakers pass on Hollywood advice

Hollywood is one of the hardest places to make a living but also one of the most rewarding… Hollywood is one of the hardest places to make a living but also one of the most rewarding places to do so, according to insiders Dana Jackson and Kurt Voelker.

Yesterday, Jackson and Voelker, producer and director, respectively, of the award-winning independent film “Park,” discussed their film and their experiences in the film industry with a group of Pitt students in Posvar Hall.

The event was sponsored by Pitt in Hollywood, a student organization that seeks to “demystify” Hollywood and establish connections between students and the entertainment industry through speakers, networking opportunities and internships. Group adviser Carl Kurlander, who wrote the television series “Saved by the Bell” and the movie “St. Elmo’s Fire,” moderated the event.

Both Jackson and Voelker said they didn’t know they wanted to work in Hollywood before attending college, but soon realized that they wanted jobs in the film industry, despite the difficulty of getting a job in the entertainment industry.

“I’d rather be poor and happy than rich and miserable,” Jackson said.

Jackson was raised in Mount Lebanon has worked for Castle Rock Entertainment and has arranged projects with Disney, Fox, Paramount, Sony and Warner Brothers.

Jackson didn’t know she wanted to be a producer until she started producing off-Broadway plays while she attended New York University. Her first experience in film occurred when she produced a student film while in college.

Her career in Hollywood began to take off when she worked as an intern for producer Edward R. Pressman and at the William Morris Agency, the world’s largest talent and literary agency.

Voelker was raised in Dallas and attended Harvard College as an undergrad. He realized he wanted to work in film after seeing “Field of Dreams.” “I said to myself, ‘To be a part of that process, wouldn’t that be cool,'” he said.

After college he attended film school at the University of Southern California. He has written screenplays for Sony, Disney, Fox, Paramount, Warner Brothers, MTV, Beacon and Jerry Bruckheimer.

“Park” has won awards at several film festivals and will premiere tonight at the South Side Works Cinema.

Voelker recalls showing the script for “Park” to several of his friends, who all disliked it. It wasn’t until Jackson forced him to let her read it that he even thought about directing the film.

“Park” was made with a small budget and filmed in only 18 days, many scenes being shot in one take.

“It’s the least that’s humanly possible,” Voelker said of their filming time. Curlander said, generally, independent films with a short filming schedule are done in around 40 days.

They also gave tips to students aspiring to “make it” in Hollywood, which, according to them, requires great amounts of determination and luck.

“You have to be the kind of person who, when someone tells you the odds are a million to one, you have to say, ‘I don’t care,'” Voelker said.

“It’s entirely subjective. You can have a million ‘nos’, but it only takes one ‘yes,'” Jackson said.

A question-and-answer period with Jackson and Voelker will follow the 7:15 p.m. showings for Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the South Side Works Cinema.