On Campus News

Academy Award� and Emmy� award-nominated actor James Woods to host Q&A at Ringling College Digital Filmmaking Studio Lab, screen �Salvador� and participate in development events January 10-11.

(Sarasota, FL) -- Ringling College of Art and Design�s Digital Filmmaking Studio Lab today announced Academy Award� and Emmy�-nominated actor James Woods will be the first visiting filmmaker of the Spring 2012 season. Throughout his career, Mr. Woods has worked with an impressive roster of directorial talent, including Martin Scorsese, Oliver Stone, Clint Eastwood, Harold Becker, Rob Reiner, Robert Zemeckis and Sophia Coppola. Critics have acknowledged his ability to bring wrenching reality to any role, as reflected by the real-life characters he has portrayed, from Roy Cohn to Rudolph Giuliani.

�Mr. Woods� extensive experience in film and television provides a wealth of transferable knowledge for our students,� said Ringling College president Dr. Larry R. Thompson. �His insight into the actor/director relationship and how to provide the direction actors are looking for will be invaluable to our Digital Filmmaking students as they seek to grow their directorial expertise.�

Mr. Woods will be hosting a private screening of his 1986 film �Salvador� for Ringling College students and guests and conducting a Q & A session following the film on Tuesday, January 10 from 4-7 p.m. at the college�s Academic Center Auditorium. Media is invited to attend the Q&A session. A limited number of 1:1 interviews will be accommodated during the screening time, based on Woods availability and discretion. Following James Woods� appearance, the Studio Lab will host visiting actor Elijah Wood for the Spring 2012 season on January 23-24. Several other filmmaker visits are yet to be announced.

The Ringling College Digital Film program� now in its fifth year � is ranked as one of the top 25 film schools in the world by The Hollywood Reporter. Since its inception in 2010, the Digital Filmmaking Studio Lab has hosted film and media luminaries including Edward Burns, Werner Herzog, Bill Paxton, Martha Stewart, Andy Garcia, Paul Schiff, Oren Moverman, Ben Foster and Ed Carroll. The 2011-2012 Digital Filmmaking Studio Lab is made possible in part thanks to corporate support from PNC Wealth Management (https://www.pncsites.com/wealthinsight/), Sarasota Magazine (http://www.sarasotamagazine.com) and Biz941 (http://www.Biz941.com).

�We are really fortunate to have James Woods at this year�s Studio Lab to work witih Ringling College students.. He is considered by many to be �the director�s actor� and his insight and interaction should be invaluable to these young filmmakers,� said David Shapiro, co-founder with Sam Logan of Future of Films LLC. �Woods reputation as one of the finest character actors in Hollywood today is well deserved and we look forward to hosting him in the Digital Filmmaking Studio Lab.�





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