Dale Pollock | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1950 (age 73–74) |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupations | |
Dale M. Pollock (born 1950) is an American film producer, writer and film professor. A journalist whose works have been published in a number of magazines and newspapers, Pollock is also the author of a biography of George Lucas. [1] Pollock has produced thirteen feature films, one of which ( Blaze ) received an Academy Award nomination for Cinematography. He was Professor of Cinema Studies at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts from January 2007 to December 2019. He served as Interim Dean from January 1 to July 31, 2021, and is currently Emeritus Professor in the School of Filmmaking. [2]
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Pollock graduated from Shaker Heights High School in 1968. [3] He later obtained a B.A. in Anthropology from Brandeis University and an M.S. in Communications from San Jose State University. Pollock is married to fiddle player Susie O'Keeffe Pollock. His children are Owen Pollock, Leo Pollock and Zoe Di Novi.
An excerpt of Pollock's Master of Science thesis, "The Use of Media in a Political Campaign," was published in 1975 in Daily Variety 's 42nd Anniversary Issue. [4] Pollock's entry into journalism was as entertainment editor at the Santa Cruz Sentinel in Santa Cruz, CA. Subsequently, he joined the staff of Daily Variety in Los Angeles becoming Film Critic and Box Office Analyst, before moving to the Los Angeles Times where he became Chief Film Reporter in the Calendar, Business, Metro and Editorial sections. In addition, he has published in Life , [5] Esquire, [6] People Weekly, [7] and in the Daily Variety AFI Life Achievement Award Tribute to George Lucas. [8] In 1983, his biography of George Lucas, Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas was published. [9] An updated version was published by Samuel French Trade in 1990 [10] and a further updated edition in 1999 by Da Capo Press. [11] In 2008 Pollock began writing a monthly audio book column for the Winston Salem Journal. [12] [13] Pollock's essay on the Billy Wilder film Five Graves to Cairo was published in the book Billy Wilder, Movie-Maker: Critical Essays on the Films edited by Karen McNall. Pollock's first novel, CHOPPED:A NOVEL, a vintage crime novel about the infamous Webster-Parkman trial in 1850 Boston, was published in March, 2023.
In 1985, Pollock joined The David Geffen Company as a development executive. He joined A&M Films a year later as vice president in charge of production, and was named president in 1990, producing such films as A Midnight Clear, Blaze, and Mrs. Winterbourne. Pollock founded and ran his own film company, Peak Productions, for 10 years, producing Set It Off in 1996, among other films.
Pollock's career at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, N.C. began in 1999, when he became Dean of the School of Filmmaking. [14] He held the position until 2006, when he became a professor in Cinema Studies. He had previously taught at the Peter Stark Graduate Program at the University of Southern California, the School of Professional Writing at the University of Southern California, Salem College, and the American Film Institute where he was co-chair of the Producing Program.
During his tenure as dean at the School of Filmmaking, he launched the CinEthics Conference in 2000 and in 2003 brought the RiverRun International Film Festival from Brevard, NC to Winston-Salem. He served as its Executive Director of the latter until the end of 2006, when he became chairman of the board of directors. Pollock received the title of Professor Emeritus in December 2019. Pollock served as Interim Dean of the School of Filmmaking for the Spring semester, from January through July 2021.
Pollock has appeared on several national news programs, including Dateline NBC , [15] Nightline , and National Public Radio's Morning Edition . [16] He has presented workshops on film producing and film ethics and has moderated several panels at major film festivals including Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Nashville Film Festival, Boston Film Festival and Palm Springs International Film Festival. From 2009-2019 Pollock appeared weekly on WXII TV Channel 12 as their film critic, beginning again in 2022. [17] [ better source needed ]
He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.
| Year | Film | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | The Beast | Executive producer |
| 1989 | The Mighty Quinn | |
| Worth Winning | ||
| Blaze | ||
| 1991 | Crooked Hearts | |
| 1992 | A Midnight Clear | |
| 1993 | House of Cards | |
| A Home of Our Own | ||
| 1994 | S.F.W. | |
| 1996 | Mrs. Winterbourne | |
| Set It Off | ||
| 1998 | Meet the Deedles | |
| 1999 | Bats | Executive producer |
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | George Washington | Thanks |
George Walton Lucas Jr. is an American filmmaker and philanthropist. He created the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises and founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairman of Lucasfilm before selling it to The Walt Disney Company in 2012. Nominated for four Academy Awards, he is considered to be one of the most significant figures of the 20th-century New Hollywood movement, and a pioneer of the modern blockbuster. Despite this, he has remained an independent filmmaker away from Hollywood for most of his career.
THX 1138 is a 1971 American social science fiction film co-written and directed by George Lucas in his directorial debut. Produced by Francis Ford Coppola and co-written by Walter Murch, the film stars Robert Duvall and Donald Pleasence, with Don Pedro Colley, Maggie McOmie, and Ian Wolfe in supporting roles. The film is set in a dystopian future in which the citizens are controlled by android police and mandatory use of drugs that suppress emotions.
Howard G. Kazanjian is an Armenian-American film producer best known for the Star Wars films The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, as well as the Indiana Jones movie Raiders of the Lost Ark. Kazanjian was an originating member of Lucasfilm, Ltd., serving as its vice president for approximately eight years.
The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) is a public art school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It grants a high school diploma, in addition to both undergraduate and graduate degrees. Founded in 1963 as the North Carolina School of the Arts by then-Governor Terry Sanford, it was the first public arts conservatory in the United States. The school owns and operates the Stevens Center in Downtown Winston-Salem and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
Toyetic is a term referring to the suitability of a media property, such as a cartoon or movie, for merchandising tie-in lines of licensed toys, games and novelties. The term is attributed to Bernard Loomis, a toy development executive for Kenner Toys, in discussing the opportunities for marketing the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, telling its producer Steven Spielberg that the movie was not "toyetic" enough, leading Loomis towards acquiring the lucrative license for the upcoming Star Wars properties.
John Randal Kleiser is an American film and television director, producer, screenwriter and actor, best known for directing the 1978 musical romantic-comedy film Grease.
Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB is a 1967 social science-fiction short film written and directed by George Lucas while he attended the University of Southern California's film school. Lucas reworked the short into the 1971 theatrical feature THX 1138.
The RiverRun International Film Festival is an annual Oscar-qualifying film festival held each spring in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. The festival is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and presents a variety of feature-length and short films from all genres, and also presents special events, regional premieres of significant films, celebrity tributes, family events and classic retrospectives as well as panel discussions and parties.
Marcia Lou Lucas is an American film editor. She is best known for her work editing the Star Wars trilogy (1977–1983) as well as other films by her then-husband George Lucas: THX-1138 (1971) and American Graffiti (1973). She also edited Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), Taxi Driver (1976), and New York, New York (1977).
Jordan Kerner is an American film producer.
Freiheit is a 1966 short film by George Lucas, made while he was a student at the University of Southern California's film school. His third film, it was the first to contain a narrative.
The Emperor is a short film by George Lucas about the radio DJ Bob Hudson, made while Lucas was a film student at the University of Southern California's film school.
Filmmaker, or "Filmmaker: a diary by george lucas", is a 32-minute documentary made in 1968 by George Lucas about the making of Francis Ford Coppola's 1969 film The Rain People.
John Korty, was an American film director and animator, best known for the television film The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and the documentary Who Are the DeBolts? And Where Did They Get Nineteen Kids?, as well as the theatrical animated feature Twice Upon a Time. He has won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and several other major awards. He is described by the film critic Leonard Maltin as "a principled filmmaker who has worked both outside and within the mainstream, attempting to find projects that support his humanistic beliefs".
The Roger L. Stevens Center is the primary performance venue in downtown Winston-Salem, North Carolina and is owned and operated by the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. It is named after the theatre producer and real estate magnate Roger L. Stevens and was opened on April 22, 1983. The venue serves the major UNCSA productions, the Winston-Salem Symphony, Piedmont Opera, and many other touring and local productions. All in all the theatre is used for rehearsal or performance all but 70 days of the year.
George Lucas is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, editor, and entrepreneur. His most well known work includes both the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises and establishing Lucasfilm. In addition to producing feature films, he has also created television series and written books.
The Dirty Dozen is the nickname for a group of filmmaking students at the USC School of Cinematic Arts within the University of Southern California during the mid-late 1960s. The main group consisted of budding directors, screenwriters, producers, editors, and cinematographers. Through innovative techniques and effects, they ended up achieving great success in the Hollywood film industry.
Anyone Lived in a Pretty How Town is a 1967 short film made by George Lucas inspired by E. E. Cummings' poem of the same name.
A list of books and essays about George Lucas:
Bruce Green is an American film editor known for his work with directors such as Garry Marshall, Mark Waters, and Jon Turteltaub. Trained by editor Michael Kahn, he was the first assistant editor on Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. He was in the visual effects department of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
