Film Heaven

GAMBIER, Ohio (April 7, 2005) Film buffs on campus and in the community have a treat in store during the week of April 11-17, when screenwriter and film critic Jay Cocks, Class of 1966, and his wife, stage and screen actress Verna Bloom, visit Kenyon. Scheduled events promise a week packed with learning and pleasure for lovers of film and anyone interested in getting the visitors' inside view of the entertainment business today.

Cocks graduated from Kenyon in 1966 with a major in English. Following more than two decades as a writer of film criticism and cultural reviews for Time magazine, he has pursued a career as a screenwriter. His credits include The Age of Innocence and Gangs of New York, both directed by Martin Scorsese and both nominated for Academy Awards in the best screenplay category. Other movies for which he is credited as writer include Strange Days, Titanic, and De-Lovely. Bloom starred in Haskell Wexler's 1969 film Medium Cool. She has also appeared in High Plains Drifter, The Last Temptation of Christ, National Lampoon's Animal House, and After Hours, among other films and television shows. On Broadway she has acted in Marat/Sade and Brighton Beach Memoirs. Both are affiliated scholars in Kenyon's Department of Dance and Drama.

Throughout the week, Cocks and Bloom will participate in classes, conduct workshops with students and faculty members, and view films made by students. Cocks will run a screenwriting workshop, Bloom will offer a workshop on auditioning for television and film, and individually they will visit classes in film studies, directing, women's studies, and American studies.

In addition, three special events-including two film screenings and a discussion session- are open to the public:

On Monday, April 11, Cocks will introduce and present The Bridge on the River Kwai (dir. David Lean, 1957). Cocks will be available to talk about the film after the screening. 7:00 p.m., Higley Hall Auditorium.
On Tuesday, April 12, Cocks and Bloom will join associate professor Jonathan Tazewell for an onstage talk entitled "Hollywood Today: The Art and The Business." 7:00 p.m., Olin Auditorium.
On Thursday, April 14, Cocks will introduce and screen The Big Country (dir. William Wyler, 1958). 7:00 p.m., Higley Hall Auditorium.

The two visitors will also join students and faculty members for meals and informal conversations throughout the week. The residency is sponsored by the Department of Dance and Drama, the American studies program, and P.F. Kluge, Kenyon's writer in residence.