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NYU’S TISCH SCHOOL OF THE ARTS
HONORS
OLIVER STONE
AND
LIZA CHASIN
AT WEST COAST BENEFIT GALA
Evening Celebrates Notable Alumni
With Show-Stopping Entertainment by Current Tisch Students
Over $1 Million Raised.
Los Angeles, CA (October 29, 2013) –
East met West last night when NYU’s Tisch School of the
Arts honored prominent alumni, Academy Award winning film
director and screenwriter Oliver Stone and award-winning
producer Liza Chasin, president of U.S. production at
Working Title Films, at its annual benefit gala, taking
place this year in Los Angeles at The Beverly Wilshire
Hotel.
Tisch alumna, director and award winning star
of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy Chandra Wilson co-hosted the
benefit, together with alumnus and Tony and Grammy Award
winning actor, Steve Kazee. Wallis Annenberg, Tracy Pollan
and Michael J. Fox, Laurence Mark and Steve Tisch served as
Honorary Chairs
of the event. Co-Chairs included Monica
Devereux and Chris Columbus, Michele and Lawrence Herbert
and Sheri and Howard Schultz.
More than 350 guests, many Tisch alumni or
parents of current or former students, entered the hotel’s
ballroom, transformed into a dramatic, jaw-dropping,
multi-dimensional homage to the Big Apple, complete with a
cacophony of New York City street sounds and video mapping
of bustling street life.
The real stars of the evening were the eight
wildly talented current Tisch students, singing, dancing and
stomping their way through a montage of show-stopping
numbers, each met with thunderous applause. Their opening
number, “New York City Mash Up” was an eight minute salute
to NYC themed songs, against a video background of iconic
New York City landmarks. Later numbers including “On
Broadway” brought the audience to their collective feet,
further emphasizing the range of exceptional talent that is
the backbone of Tisch and highlighting the stars of
tomorrow. Bill Castellino directed and choreographed the
evening’s production.
One star of today, Tony and Grammy
Award-winning alum and co-host Steve Kazee performed a
stirring rendition of the Oscar winning “Falling Slowly,”
accompanying himself on the guitar with backup from Tisch
students.
Honorary Chair, award-winning producer and
Dean’s Council Member, Steve Tisch formally welcomed
attendees before Kazee introduced Universal Pictures
Chairman Donna Langley who presented the Tisch Big Apple
Award to her long-time friend, Liza Chasin. In explaining
what prompted her to enroll at Tisch, Chasin cited a bit of
advice she has never forgotten, “I remember I asked around
about film schools – the whole New York versus LA of it all
– and everyone told me, ‘if you want to work in the
business, go to LA, but if you love film go to Tisch.’ I
chose love and fortunately for me, I got the best of both!”
Award-winning writer and Tisch Alumnus of
the Kanbar Institute of Film and Television, Stanley Weiser
presented to his long-time friend and writing partner,
Oliver Stone. After a bit of playful chiding of Steve Tisch
and his NY Giants, Stone eloquently regaled the audience
with the difficulty he had adjusting to life after his stint
in Viet Nam, but learned about Tisch and their film school.
“Loved the idea of watching movies all day and getting
credit for it!” “I entered back into civilization at Tisch.”
He called his days at Tisch “popcorn fun” and reminisced
about an early instructor, Martin Scorsese. At that time,
“Hollywood was a mythical place,” but he embraced the “tough
talking New York state of mind.” “Forty years later, I’m
still here…still trying to write and direct…still waiting
for that bell to ring or that ax to fall.” “New York was
the right place at the right time. It’s been my orphan
home.” “There is something about the pursuit of truth…24
frames per second that can change the world.”
Introducing co-host Chandra Wilson, Steve
Kazee provided poignant background on the Grey’s Anatomy
star whose financial needs nearly kept her from completing
her senior year at Tisch, all of which prompted Wilson to
set up a scholarship program at her alma mater for current
seniors in drama in need of financial aid.
Before guests retired to an after-party in
the ballroom’s cocktail area, transformed into a New
York-style supper club, Dean Mary Schmidt Campbell (retiring
in August, 2014 after a stellar 23 year career as the
driving force behind Tisch) summed up the Tisch experience.
“When Tisch students become Tisch graduates, they repay us
over and over. They have won every possible accolade, from
the Oscar to the Pulitzer Prize. They work in film,
television, theatre and dance. They consistently challenge
and change the face of digital media and games. They are
recorded music entrepreneurs, photographers and performance,
cinema and arts politic scholars. They have changed the way
we think about some of the central ideas of our time.
Chances are their work has touched you in some way.”
In addition to Oliver Stone, Liza Chasin,
Chandra Wilson and Steve Kazee, Tisch’s list of graduates
includes many renowned artists, including: Pulitzer Prize
winners Tony Kushner, Doug Wright and Chang Lee; Academy
Award winners Marcia Gay Harden, Keiko Ibi and Ang Lee; Tony
Award winners Nina Arianda, Steve Kazee, George C. Wolfe,
Idina Menzel, Stephen Spinella, Jeff Whitty and Frank Wood;
Emmy Award winners Alec Baldwin, Billy Crystal, Kristen
Johnston, John Leguizamo, Camryn Manheim and Debra Messing;
as well as acclaimed filmmakers Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee
and Amy Heckerling.
ABOUT TISCH SCHOOL OF THE ARTS
For more than 45 years, the NYU Tisch School
of the Arts has drawn on the vast resources of New York City
and New York University to create an extraordinary training
ground for the individual artist and scholar of the arts.
Students learn their craft in a spirited, risk-taking
environment that combines the professional training of a
conservatory with the liberal arts education of a major
research university.
As one of the nation’s leading centers of undergraduate and
graduate study in the performing and cinematic arts, Tisch
offers programs of study that incorporate a collaboratively
oriented community of award-winning faculty members;
state-of-the-art facilities; internship opportunities with
established professionals; and the incomparable artistic and
cultural resources of New York City. Learn more at
www.tisch.nyu.edu.
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