Through a unique summer internship, Vanderbilt students are getting a taste of life in Hollywood.

by Joan Brasher
photo courtesy of Bryan Kirk

Far from his native Surrey, England, Bryan Kirk has set up camp for the summer at a studio apartment in Marina del Rey, Calif.

Each morning the Vanderbilt junior, a mechanical engineering major with a film studies minor, makes the 20-minute commute to IMAX Corporation’s West Coast offices in Santa Monica, where he works as an intern through the Vandy-in-Hollywood summer internship program. This plum assignment is giving him hands-on training and an up-close look at the marketing, distribution and production aspects of films such as the animated hit Kung Fu Panda and the upcoming Batman Begins sequel The Dark Knight. The IMAX theater network, which includes 295 giant-screen motion picture theaters in 40 countries, is helping to distribute and screen these summer releases from Paramount/DreamWorks and Warner Bros.

“I became ‘one of the team’ from day one,” Kirk said of his experience so far. “I have worked on numerous projects, including a domestic theater distribution effort presentation for Kung Fu Panda that I will give to the marketing and distribution teams. I also wrote material that will be published and distributed to every IMAX theater in the country promoting The Dark Knight, Madagascar 2 and Deep Sea 3D.”

Kirk became involved in Vandy-in-Hollywood through his film professor, Kathy Conkwright, who recommended him to the program’s founder, Vanderbilt alumnus Chad Gervich. “We met, hit it off, and he interviewed me for the internship,” Kirk said. “A couple weeks later, I got a job offer from IMAX.”

Gervich said that many students take a “just get me to Hollywood” approach when seeking an internship, which ultimately isn’t very productive.

“You go so much further, faster, if you’re laser-focused and not afraid to articulate exactly what you want,” Gervich said. “Bryan was really passionate about the kinds of movies he loves and hopes to make, which made him a good person to pair with IMAX, because it makes a very specific kind of product and has a very specific set of goals and mission statements.”

In its second year, Vandy-in-Hollywood has nine interns currently placed at film and television companies in the Los Angeles area, including IMAX, the Tennis Channel, Double Feature Films, Echo Lake and Levity Entertainment, among others.

Gervich works closely with the Vanderbilt Career Center to coordinate the placement of students, and organizes networking events for the interns throughout the summer. These mixers help the students get to know one another as well as rub shoulders with industry executives.

“Hollywood is an entire industry based on contacts and relationships,” Gervich said. “When I first came out here, I knew virtually nobody. Vandy-in-Hollywood is a way to give Vanderbilt students a network of contacts and relationships – not only to help them career-wise, but to help them adjust to life and living in Los Angeles, which can be a lonely place if you don’t know anyone.”

Gervich, who has written and produced programming for the Fox Reality Channel, Fox TV, the E! and Style networks and Warner Bros., said he already has his first Vandy-in-Hollywood success story. After interning through the program at ABC in 2007, Vanderbilt graduate Sam Miller snagged the job of assistant to Patrick Maguire, a top comedy executive at ABC.

“I expect there will be many more success stories in the future,” Gervich said. “The students are talented and focused. This program gets their foot in the door, and they do the rest.”

A Day in the Life of Hollywood intern Bryan Kirk

8 a.m.          Make morning commute to IMAX offices in Santa Monica.

9 a.m.          Arrive at work; check e-mail.

9:15 a.m.    Read Daily Variety and work on Trade Update report, which gives the IMAX marketing team ideas for upcoming projects.

10 a.m.        Attend marketing and distribution meeting; share ideas, facts and figures about released, upcoming and future projects.

11 a.m.        Continue to work on Trade Update and check e-mails for new tasks and projects.

12 p.m.        Go to lunch with team (they pay).

1 p.m.          Tour IMAX facilities or have scheduled meetings with employees to learn more about the business.

2 p.m.           Work on In-Focus newsletter, distributed to all domestic IMAX theaters; check e-mail for news or photos from IMAX theaters on marketing efforts; organize information and photos and input to PowerPoint for presentation to the marketing team.

5:30 p.m.     Submit In-Focus newsletter and Trade Update to supervisor; go home for the day.

7 p.m.           Go to Venice Beach or catch a movie.


Posted 07/01/08