Tufts students who are "Seinfeld" fans often boast that Elaine Benes is an alumna - not Julia Louis-Dreyfus, but the character she played on the show. (Tufts was her safety school, by the way.) Sure, we have other famous alumni, many of whom are not even fictitious. Any ardent "OC" lover or perhaps a follower of notable eyebrows knows that Peter Gallagher is also a Tufts alumnus. And Meredith Vieira, Hank Azaria and even Jessica Biel (for a short time) all lived it up on the Hill at some point.
But there are other Tufts alumni who are contributing to art and media, often in more considerable and relevant ways than these various celebrities.
Monday, Oct. 23, Tufts alumnus Cary Granat (A '90) will return to campus to give a lecture on today's film industry. Granat is the former CEO of Miramax's Dimension Studios. During his time at Miramax/Dimension, Granat executive produced films such as "Scary Movie" (2000) and "Spy Kids" (2001).
After four years at Miramax/Dimension, Granat founded Walden Media, a production company that makes family films, with his former roommate at Tufts, Michael Flaherty (A '90). The duo founded Walden Media with the intention of making educational, literary-minded films for children and recently released the first installment of C.S. Lewis' "Narnia" series, "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe."
Hook 'em while they're young
Granat's lecture, which will take place in Eaton 206 at 12 p.m., will pay special attention to the difficulty that comes with making financially viable films that are still educational and entertaining. In his lecture, Granat will stress the importance of building a franchise to achieve success in today's film industry.
"It's always difficult making a profit in any business. Most films barely break even, let alone make profits. It's very important to build franchises that you can use as your locomotive to carry the rest of the films with," said Granat.
Proper marketing is a crucial element in honing a financially successful film. Granat explained that exceptional films are often ignored by audiences due to inadequate exposure.
"We did a film called 'I Am David' (2003) that we're incredibly proud of. It was one of the most impactful [sic] films, yet it didn't make money. It won all sorts of awards and it was just a lauded film, but it was horribly released. We rectified all of our release and marketing issues, because we've launched our own marketing and distribution company."
The "Narnia" books have fairly blatant Christian undertones which stopped several production companies from developing the books into films. However, Granat wanted to take the epic story on, seeing the potential for franchise as more valuable than potentially offending some religious groups.
"...Other than 'Harry Potter', ['Narnia' is] the largest literary franchise in the world. It had been read by over 300 million people, so for me, it wasn't the religious aspects that make the movie, [but] so much more that it was a huge movie franchise with a great story," said Granat. "Many people look at it for the Christian allegories; many people look at it just as a great adventure. We made a movie that was a great adventure."
Hollywood in the classroom
In his lecture, Granat will also discuss Walden Media as a whole. The company's motto - "We make movies that are inherently educational" - is accurate, mostly because the projects that Walden Media decides to develop are often based on famous children's books or are turned into books after their theatrical releases.
Currently, Walden Media has "How to Eat Fried Worms," based on Thomas Rockwell's cult children's classic (children can have cult classics, too!) in theaters. Jules Verne's "Around the World in Eighty Days" was adapted into a 2004 release for the studio, joining their 2003 take on Louis Sachar's novel, "Holes."
Some might argue that turning children's books into feature films will make kids less likely to actually read the books, but Walden Media aims to achieve precisely the opposite. They claim that their films encourage literacy in young viewers.
The company reaches out to teachers with lesson plans that accompany the reading of novels in class. They also choose to make films in which the characters are positively affected by reading, films in which the world of literature is exciting and inventive.
Granat said, "We create collaterals to help kids see the relevancy of what they're learning in school. We offer very detailed lesson plans that could go on for six months that are completely accredited in that state."
The Walden Web site has forums for teachers to share the ways in which they have used the films and books in their lesson plans. Their site suggests ways in which the film can be used to teach in areas like language arts, the social sciences and science.
Granat points out that some schools are still using textbooks from the 1960s, so Walden Media provides new teaching and learning aids free of charge. But some suggestions are perhaps more far-fetched than others.
Take, for example, a lesson plan suggestion from the "Holes" educator's guide: "Lesson 10: Jim Crow Laws and the American South." In this instruction manual, Walden Media urges teachers to draw parallels between the taboo romance between Miss Katherine (a white schoolteacher) and Sam, the Onion Man (a black produce peddler) and the restrictive social and legal codes placed on African-Americans in the Civil War and Civil Rights era United States.
The complexities and atrocities of the Civil Rights movement might not necessarily be best conveyed to students through Sam, the Onion Man, but many of the lesson plans do seem to provide several solid learning tools and ideas for enriching the classroom.
The idea of marketing films directly to teachers on the grounds that the films are educational is also a brilliant way of exposing a product to its target demographic. Children in these classes will be more likely to have their parents take them to the see the movie version of a book they read in class instead of whatever other family fare theaters offer.
Parents too, will probably feel better about spending ten dollars on a movie ticket if they think it is educational. Luckily, adults might actually enjoy many of the Walden releases, as they are not just meant for children. They have used classics like E.B. White's "Charlotte's Web" (still in production) and "Narnia" that adults will recall fondly from their own childhoods. Granat insists, "We don't make [movies] that will make parents groan when they see them."
Liberal arts educations are good for something, Mom and Dad
While Granat and Flaherty's company educates little kiddos across America, the two attribute much of their current success to the institution where they were educated: the streets. Kidding! Tufts, they were educated at Tufts.
Granat, a political science and drama double-major, appreciates the sweeping liberal arts education he received here.
"Because of the incredible arts education that Tufts gave me, I was able to have a much better purview of a wider subject matter. Tufts prepared me for everything from mythology - which really helped me when I was the executive on 'Lord of the Rings' for three years -...[to] English and being able to appreciate great literature, which helped me with 'Narnia,'" said Granat.
Julie Dobrow, the director of Tufts' Communication and Media Studies Department, also praises the liberal arts education Tufts provides as far as its ability to prepare students for careers in media and arts. "[The CMS] program gives students some grounding in media and the communications industry...We teach students about how you can examine media, we teach students about ways that you can deconstruct the messages of media, we teach students about the communications industries - but in a way you can contextualize it, because most of our classes are very firmly rooted in the liberal arts tradition."
Granat and Flaherty are certainly not the only alumni making waves in the communications world. Gina Sanders (J '81) is the publisher of Teen Vogue, Wendy Whitman (J '76) is the Vice President of Court TV Networks, Albert Berger (A '79) is a producer of the recent indie-esque hit "Little Miss Sunshine" (2006), and Jeff Greenstein (A '84) is a writer for "Desperate Housewives," just to name a few.
Dobrow explains that CMS students gain an "understanding of the conventions of media and are able to be more media literate...through getting some hands-on experience."
"Our students are very well-placed when they graduate, so it's really no surprise that there are so many Tufts alumni who are out there in prominent positions in communications, media and entertainment industries," said Dobrow.
Apparently, Tufts alumni look out for fellow Jumbos once graduation nears and unemployment sets in. With any luck, there are a few openings left at J.Peterman - or, if all else fails, maybe Elaine can hook us up.
