SPOTLIGHT: The Quakers Do Hollywood

Some University alumni have taken tinsel town by storm Wendy Finerman, a 1982 Wharton graduate, always planned to work on Wall Street. But then, during the fall of her senior year, the would-be businesswoman started interviewing with high-powered companies -- and quickly discovered that she wasn't really interested in what prospective employers were offering. So, armed with an entrepreneurial management degree from Wharton, Finerman went to work for The Movie Channel, where she coordinated film deals. Soon, she was the first woman in the business affairs department of Universal Television who wasn't a lawyer. "That was really bizarre," she said recently, reflecting on her circuitous route into show business. "I fell into this, and then I got smitten." Smitten indeed. In 1988, Finerman founded her own production company. By March of this year, working through that company with Steve Tisch and Steve Starkey, Finerman had won the Academy Award for Best Picture -- for the blockbuster hit Forrest Gump. Not surprisingly, Finerman currently feels all Gumped out and declined to muse further on that aspect of her success. However, she was eager to talk about her new projects -- feature films dealing with a wide range of topics, from World War II-era female pilots to fairies to a drama focusing on a family's response to cancer. "I feel that I have the greatest job in the world," she said. "I get to meet, both fictionally and non-fictionally, the most fascinating people in the world, and get to learn about them." To prove her point, Finerman explained that she will be talking to Acting Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig for her next movie, The Fan, which tells the story of -- what else? -- a deranged baseball fan. From her headquarters in Southern California, Finerman said she oversees every aspect of movie production, from the development of scripts and shooting locations to the marketing of finished products. Her days are filled with activity --whether she is pitching ideas to prospective talent or studios, meeting with writers or budgeting to turn an idea into reality on the silver screen. Finerman said she, like the characters with whom she works, is constantly aware of the past -- including her time at the University -- and the subtext it provides for the present. Someday, she added, she'd like to return to the City of Brotherly Love to make a movie -- although her college roommate, Stacey Snider, has already beaten her to it. Snider, who is president of production at Tri-Star Pictures, was instrumental in the release of such hits as Sleepless in Seattle, Legends of the Fall -- and of course, Philadelphia. "Much of what I do now, even though it seems like a very glamorous position, is select[ing] and choos[ing] the material we develop into screenplays," the International Relations major and literature buff explained. She also said she enjoys the hectic and varied pace of her job, because it allows her to work on upwards of a dozen interesting projects at one time. "Projects are always in different stages of development," Snider said. "As a result, I'm meeting talented, creative, vibrant people all the time." Snider added that she feels the University gave her not only a broad-based, liberal arts foundation for her eventual career, but also provided her with a large network of colleagues in all areas of the entertainment industry. Joan Harrison, vice president of the miniseries division at CBS, is just one of these many colleagues. Founder of the all-female musical comedy troupe Bloomers, Harrison graduated from the University in 1981 with an English degree. "I feel very indebted to Penn," she said, adding that she got her start in the entertainment business by pursuing the practical opportunities available at Philadelphia television and radio stations. Since she moved to the Golden State, Harrison has been active with the University of Pennsylvania Alumni Association of Southern California. The club has about 700 members, both because California is now the fourth-most represented state on campus and "because the entertainment business has proved to be such a magnet" for alumni, she said. A few years ago, the growing size of the University's California alumni contingent inspired Harrison to start what has become another University tradition -- the annual Penn-in-Pictures luncheon, which brings together 300 to 400 University alumni working in motion pictures, television, news, talent agencies and numerous other segments of the entertainment field. Among those who were invited to a recent luncheon: Paul Provenza, who replaced Rob Morrow on CBS' Northern Exposure, Joe Rascoff, manager of the Rolling Stones, Richard Baker, executive producer of The Santa Clause and Home Improvement star Tim Allen's manager, and Tri-Star Pictures President Mark Platt. "I found that I was on the phone with someone, and sure enough, we'd hit upon our Penn connection," Harrison said, explaining the impetus behind Penn-in-Pictures. "It seemed like an obvious meeting waiting to happen?[it has been] hugely successful for people in and out of the business. "Penn is a really good place to spring from, and now that there's a strong alumni network, it's even better," she added. Many of Harrison's on-the-job responsibilities resemble those mentioned by Finerman and Snider, although Harrison said she did not receive formal preparation at the University for her television career. In recent years, Harrison has worked with stars such as Melanie Griffith, Sidney Poitier, Anjelica Huston and Cicely Tyson. It's these people -- and the members of her production team -- who make possible the long process of seeing a story through from script to celluloid frames. "I work with such smart, informed people and I'm constantly learning," she said. "The business is changing and evolving before my very eyes?I can't say where I'll be in 10 years but that's also the exciting part of this business." Stand-up comedian, actor and producer Lew Schneider couldn't care less where he'll be in 10 years -- as long as he has as much fun getting there as he has had over the past 10 years. "I don't know where this will take me -- I'm still finding my way 10 years later," he said, adding that the ability to use acquired knowledge and "fit things into intellectual frameworks [is] rarer and more valuable than you think out here." Being able to write has benefits, too, since the written word is one of Tinsel Town's hottest commodities -- and the only product studio executives have until they plunge into filming, according to Schneider, who majored in History. He eschewed law school for a career in show business so that he could retain the Mask & Wig aspect of his collegiate career for a lifetime. "Not with the clothing," he cautioned, referring to the fact that Wiggers dress in drag for a good portion of their shows. "But I wanted to be involved in writing and performing." After appearing in the CBS series Wish You Were Here and the FOX series Down The Shore, Schneider had his own HBO "One Night Stand" comedy special. For the past four months, he has been writing and producing The George Wendt Show for CBS. A pilot he co-created for the network -- Meant for Each Other -- should hit the airwaves this fall, and last month, Schneider started his own production company, Back to Camp Productions. "Everything in my life relates to summer camp," he said, adding that before he commits to a project, he weighs its fun factor relative to a summer at camp. "There's nothing more satisfying than coming up with a great idea and having fun doing it," Schneider added. Like Harrison, Schneider said he believes his experiences at the University did point him toward his eventual career. "The seed was basically planted there," he said. "Knowing how much fun it was to perform and to create and to write -- at least it helped exclude everything else that was worthwhile." Mandy Films President Leonard Goldberg, who characterized himself as "probably the oldest living alum working in the entertainment industry," took considerably longer than Schneider to strike out on his own. With a 1955 Wharton degree and an interest in marketing and advertising, Goldberg established the path to television that Finerman followed three decades later, serving as head of programming at ABC before going into partnership with Aaron Spelling of Beverly Hills, 90210 fame. Goldberg and Spelling produced literally dozens of series, including The Rookies, Starsky and Hutch, Charlie's Angels and Fantasy Island. They also made about 40 made-for-TV movies, a genre Goldberg credits himself with inventing. After running Columbia Pictures Television and 20th Century Fox Film Corporation -- where he oversaw the production of movies such as Big, Wall Street and Working Girl -- Goldberg released War Games, Sleeping With the Enemy and Distinguished Gentleman under the Mandy Films label. "I thought that television was going to be such a powerful medium that I wanted to be a part of it," Goldberg said, adding that films followed from television in "an easy transition." His current projects include a remake of a 50-year-old "thriller love story" called Laura, which will start production in September, and a feature-length version of Charlie's Angels. And although Goldberg has thrived in the often-cutthroat entertainment industry, he said that these days, surviving at all is an accomplishment. "It took Wendy [Finerman] seven years to get [Forrest Gump] made," he said. "[But] her passion for the material was just so strong. "If you have that passion you will persevere," Goldberg added. "It happens fairly frequently in this business, and you must not give up if you believe in it." Schneider agreed, explaining that if a recent graduate is lucky enough to find work in the business, his or her position is likely to involve copious amounts of "grunt work." That's not all bad, though. "The problem and the good thing about the entertainment industry is that some of the most powerful people in Hollywood started in the mailroom," Schneider said. "They know the business from the ground up, and the tenacity required to stay with that ill treatment?That goal-directed behavior becomes real valuable." Unfortunately, according to Schneider, "Your college education doesn't count for much." Unless it's from the University, Harrison said. "Having an Ivy League degree is always helpful," she quipped. "People are very status conscious in Los Angeles."