Renowned Filmmaker Frank Oz Joins For Film Screening and Progressive Panel Discussion

On April 11, renowned filmmaker Frank Oz joined us for a movie screening of his film Death at a Funeral, followed by a panel discussion featuring Oz, Seton Hall Faculty Associate William Pace, and Associate Professor Ingrid Stobbe from Lesley University (Cambridge, MA).

The critically acclaimed film stars Ewen Bremner, Peter Dinklage and Matthew Macfadyen. Chaos reigns when members of a dysfunctional family gather to bury a loved one. Son Daniel (Matthew MacFadyen) anticipates a face-off with his famous brother Robert (Rupert Graves). At the same time, cousin Martha (Daisy Donovan) and her fiancé Simon (Alan Tudyk) are desperate to make a good impression on her father. Amid the family turmoil, a mystery guest threatens to bring the deceased's skeleton out of the closet.

The film has resonated with audiences so much that it has been remade several times, including a version featuring Chris Rock and a Bollywood version featuring Indian movie stars. For his efforts, Oz won the Audience Award at the US Comedy Arts Festival and the Locarno International Film Festival.

Oz rose to prominence as an American puppeteer working with the legendary Jim Henson, creating multiple iconic characters for The Muppets and Sesame Street before helping George Lucas bring Yoda to life for the Star Wars saga. He has also recently added theatre directing to his list of accomplishments and is working on a book where he will share his decades of experience in filmmaking.

When Faculty Associate of Digital Media Production William Pace was asked what Oz’s appearance on campus meant to the Seton Hall Film and Digital Production community, he said it was "of almost incalculable importance!"

"Every one of [the students] was just super, super motivated, and super excited to have heard him speak," said Pace. "They very much appreciated the information and that he spoke directly and honestly to them—no platitudes, just clear advice and information."

College of Human Development, Culture, and Media Dean Bryan Crable moderated the post-screening discussion featuring Oz, Pace and Stobbe. The discussion explored how limitations have guided Oz’s work and inspired Pace and Stobbe’s book The Filmmaker's Guide to Creatively Embracing Limitations.

"The whole premise of this book was about teaching filmmakers not to fear what they don't have," said Pace. "Look at what you don't have as a gift, as something to invite you to think of something even better, something you never would have thought of if you had the money or equipment or whatever you were pining for."

Co-authors Pace and Stobbe added further insight during the discussion on how filmmakers and other creatives should not fear restrictions and roadblocks but look forward to them as opportunities for discovering inspirational solutions.

"There are filmmakers who became famous for a certain aesthetic created only because they didn't have what they thought they wanted," said Pace. "The shark in Jaws is only as scary as it is because Spielberg got the prop shark he designed, and it sank right to the bottom of the ocean. So instead of showing the entire shark, he only showed pieces of it with tight shots and quick editing and let the audience imagine it to be."

"That's why I think restrictions and roadblocks are so important," said Pace. "These days, I actually build them into certain assignments because they force students to be creative and learn to trust that they can be and thus won't be stymied in the future when they run into a situation like that."

Categories: Arts and Culture