Does Hollywood ever let professors intern for them?

March 25, 2011 11:46 AM

One of my college professors from the TV department wants to come out to LA and learn more about the overall entertainment industry to update his knowledge. Are there any fellowships to help him do it?

One of the professors from my college was asking for a way to beef up his entertainment industry contacts to help with placing kids in internships as well as to reacquaint himself with current production models. I told him to apply for this: HERE with the ATAS. But is there anything else LIKE this that he should also be applying to? In film? In web media? The key is something with some sort of stipend to cover his time wherever he goes and with some behind the scenes introductions to help with the contacts and internships down the road.

posted by rileyray3000 to Education (3 answers total)

Regarding placing kids in internships. It might be really byzantine in L.A., but here in the New York entertainment industry, basically you just call up the production office and ask. If it's TV, and the show will be in production when the student wants to do the internship, they'll usually say yes provided it's all above board (the kid is fully enrolled, getting school credit, etc). When I worked on a certain major network police procedural, we had an intern from some random school in northern Michigan. Because his professor in the Communications department (or whatever - they didn't even have a film school there) called and asked.

If there's a New York based production or company he's interested in, he should just call them up and ask if he can send interns.
posted by Sara C. at 12:03 PM on March 25, 2011

In California, you have to be an actual bona-fide student to be an intern and most of the big places (Disney, Dreamworks, etc.) have websites that explain the procedures. Most production companies will pretty much agree to take some student if he or she shows up and asks, but having an in (USC, UCLA, Cal Arts) is helpful.
But I don't know of any programs that pay a prof to visit LA and meet and greet. Maybe he should get familiar with some of the writers who blog (John August, Jane Espenson etc.) or production companies like World of Wonder and make relationships.
posted by Ideefixe at 12:15 PM on March 25, 2011

Internships in CA are weird too because legally they're supposed to be paid internships.
posted by k8t at 12:51 PM on March 25, 2011