George Clooney, Don Cheadle to co-found film school for underserved communities
Jun 21, 2021
Washington [US], June 21 : Hollywood stars George Clooney, Don Cheadle, Kerry Washington, Mindy Kaling, Eva Longoria and others will co-found a film school for underserved communities beginning in fall 2022.
According to Variety, the Roybal School of Film and Television Production will give students robust academic education, practical training, and access to renowned storytellers and other industry professionals and experts from Hollywood. The school will also offer a dedicated internship initiative.
"Our aim is to better reflect the diversity of our country. That means starting early. It means creating high school programs that teach young people about cameras, and editing and visual effects and sound and all the career opportunities that this industry has to offer. It means internships that lead to well-paying careers. It means understanding that we're all in this together," Clooney said in a statement.
Overseen by principal Blanca Cruz, the school will start with ninth and 10th-grade students and expand to 11th and 12th grades over the next two years. There is a potential opportunity to expand the pilot program to more schools in the Los Angeles area.
As per Variety, Grant Heslov, Nicole Avant, Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner of Working Title Films and Creative Artists Agency's Bryan Lourd will also serve as founders with Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Austin Beutner. All the founders will serve on the Roybal School of Film and Television Production Advisory Board.