Central Valley Students Visit with Emmy-Nominated Producer
More than 550 students from Central Valley, Barker and University High schools participated in a special opportunity to explore careers in filmmaking, animation and the visual arts last Friday. Following a screening of the emmy-nominated documentary “The Pixar Story” at Central Valley High School, students met Leslie Iwerks, the film’s producer, director, writer and co-editor.
Iwerks answered a variety of questions from students ranging from the film production process to how to best prepare for a career in film. She told students they must be “thick skinned” to work in the film industry and need a wide understanding of the film production process while telling students “you need to be good at one thing.” She also responded to questions about Pixar, the animation process and shared several behind-the-scenes stories about the production of “Finding Nemo.”
Iwerks is a graduate of the University of Southern California Film School and has directed several award-winning documentaries including “The Hand Behind the Mouse – the Ub Iwerks Story” about her grandfather, the creator of Disney’s Mickey Mouse.
