Robert Cort, producer of box office hits such as Jumanji, Mr. Holland's Opus, Save the Last Dance and Runaway Bride spoke candidly with students about the impact of cinema on Tuesday evening.
The event, titled "Movies: America's Secular Religion," was held in conjunction with this year's Penn Humanities Forum's theme of "belief."
Cort tied in a comparison of movies to religion and explained his view that in a movie the "filmmaker's vision is on god-like display."
He began his talk with a personal anecdote -- his experience with A Bridge on the River Kwai -- and explained how the movie "profoundly changed the way I viewed the world."
However, Cort also discussed the recent trend of moviemakers becoming "clumsy at evoking emotions."
Cort pointed to the lack of diversity and the underrepresentation of blacks and Latinos in the major studios as having bred "alarming insularity."
He also pointed to the pressure put on moviemakers to create movies that generate heavy profit, sequels and merchandise.
Cort said that he had personally experienced the pressure to create commercial success, particularly with the release of Mr. Holland's Opus and the commercial flop, Roommates.
He encouraged fellow Hollywood players to avoid focusing on commercial success and to "go with your instincts."
"I have recommitted myself to that pledge," he said.
Cort, a 1968 College alumnus, spoke to a packed lecture hall of students from Penn and other local universities, as well as community members.
"It is interesting to see the opinion of someone inside the business who has information, but not someone so powerful whose stake would prevent him from giving the truth," College freshman Mike Rugnetta said.
Dierdra Reber, a fifth-year dissertation fellow in the College, said she "was very impressed." He was "remarkably honest," she added.
After his prepared speech, Cort participated in a question-and-answer session for close to an hour, addressing a variety of topics such as the targeted young male demographic, the improvements in special effects and the general lack of inspired films.
Cort was introduced by Professor Tim Corrigan, director of Film Studies at Penn.
It was "terrific, very provocative -- very correct for [the] Humanities Forum," Corrigan said afterwards.
