Penn Alumni You Should Know About Vol. 22
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FILM
Mike Karz (C’89, W89) follows up the animated hit The Nut Job with Spark, featuring the voices of Hilary Swank, Susan Sarandon, and Jessica Biel. Spark follows a teenage monkey, a fox, and a warthog as they embark on a mission to take back the besieged Planet Bana from the power-mad General Zhong. An evil Asian dictator? Careful, folks. Kim Jong Un takes these things very personally.
Also from Mike comes the independent comedy Three Little Words about a group of people dealing with various romantic relationships as they try to summon the courage to say those three simple words: “I love you.” I remember when I realized I loved my dog. It took me two months to summon the courage to tell her. She responded by licking my hand and peeing on the floor. Mixed messages. Women, right?
Norman Golightly (W’94, Mask & Wig) produced a documentary on The Police that hits theaters later this month. Can’t Stand Losing You: Surviving The Police follows guitarist Andy Summers’ journey from his early days in the psychedelic 60s music scene to the formation of the punk trio, The Police.
During the band’s phenomenal rise, their songs tackled such taboo subjects as stalking (“Every Breath You Take”) and prostitution (“Roxanne”) before Sting left the band in the 80s so he could be a bigger star.
Check out Norman standing to the right of his better-looking doppelganger Sting in the photo below and get more info about his documentary at www.CantStandLosingYou.com.
Follow Norman on Twitter here
People may notice a shout out given to two Class of ’95 PENN alums – Jay Matsueda (W’95) and Paul Yarin (C’95) – in the credits of film SPARE PARTS, which is based on the true story of four undocumented AZ teens who entered an underwater robotics competition with a robot they self-funded for less than a grand and went on to beat colleges such as MIT in the annual competition.
Paul got a shout out for sharing his robotic expertise with the screenwriter, and Jay got a shout out for coming up with the film’s title. I love shout outs. I hope to get one someday.
Tangerine, co-produced by Kevin Chinoy (Wharton MBA ‘97), nabbed a Sundance distribution deal and got a nationwide theatrical release.
Tangerine was shot completely on the iPhone 5s. I shot a movie with my iPhone of my friend Gil fighting imaginary monsters and bad guys in the alley behind my apartment building. Sundance 2016?
Vice’s Danny Gabai (W’03), along with Megan Ellison and Sina Sayyah, will produce The Bad Batch, a dystopian love story set in a Texas wasteland. Vice will support the film with its inhouse marketing capabilities in the U.S. and select international territories.
Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures and Vice collaborated last year on marketing Harmony Korine’s “Spring Breakers.” Hope there’s as many bikini-clad hotties in this one!
Big congrats to Chloe Castellón (C’11) and Ridgeway Wilson’s (C’11) for being named Quarterfinalists in the 2014 Academy Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting! Their script An African Western follows the adventure of 17-year-old Aissa as she treks through the most dangerous landscapes of Africa in search of her kidnapped sister. Please send submission requests to: [email protected] or [email protected].
During Mariano Gonzalez-Guerineau’s (C’15) senior year of high school, he played a young man who receives a scholarship to play soccer in the United States but learns he’s an illegal immigrant in the short film “Underprivileged.”
Take a gander below. Mariano gives a riveting performance.
Josh Heald (W’00, Editor-in-Chief 34th Street Magazine (’99), Penn Jazz) brings us another booze and chlorine 
soaked time traveling adventure with Hot Tub Time Machine 2. No decade is safe as the boys travel into the past and future and f*#k up every time they visit.
After I saw the first one, I got really drunk in a hot tub and tried to use it as a time machine. The next thing I knew, it was eight hours later and the hot tub was full of vomit. So I guess it kinda worked.
Jasmin Rosemberg (C’02) got the opportunity to fill in for four months as Events Editor of Variety magazine, where she’s been coordinating all of their event coverage (premieres, awards, benefits) in LA, NY, London and at festivals.
Her first print story that she’s done came out in the issue a few weeks ago (their “flip issue,” which features Variety on one side, and WWD’s cover story on Tom Ford from the opposite: check it out online here).
Side note: both Variety & WWD are owned by Penn grad Jay Penske! Jasmin also put together the comprehensive six-page Oscar Guide, which features all of the star-studded events celebrating the Academy Awards all week long! Side note 2: Steve Carrell is nominated for Best Actor for playing wealthy wrestling enthusiast and convicted murderer John du Pont, who also went to Penn!
Next Up: Penn Alumni in TV
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 follows up the animated hit The Nut Job with Spark, featuring the voices of Hilary Swank, Susan Sarandon, and Jessica Biel. Spark follows a teenage monkey, a fox, and a warthog as they embark on a mission to take back the besieged Planet Bana from the power-mad General Zhong. […])
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