Emerson named a top film school

Emerson College’s Department of Visual and Media Arts has been named one of the world’s 25 best film schools by the Hollywood Reporter. The selections were made based on consultations with industry insiders, executives, filmmakers, and film school graduates. Schools were ranked in the following categories: alumni, cost, facilities, industry access, and strength of faculty.

“Originally a Boston school of oratory, Emerson now boasts filmmakers and writers who are heard loud and clear in Los Angeles, where it’s building a big satellite campus,” according to the Hollywood Reporter. “When student Denis Leary asked a professor if he could perform his own scripts, the professor said, ‘It’s Emerson! You can do anything.’”

Emerson ranked 18th among the schools on the list, which included New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, the American Film Institute, and the University of Southern California.

Emerson Visual and Media Arts alumni include producer Dorothy Aufiero (The Fighter), screenwriters Brent Simons and Alan Schoolcraft (DreamWorks’ animated film Megamind) and screenwriter and director Richard LaGravenese (Water for Elephants, The Fisher King).