Community Invited to Oscar Talk Panels

The Communication Studies Department is once again hosting Oscar Talk, an evening of panel discussions with experts on communication issues that influence the Academy Awards and shape the entertainment industry.

Oscar Talk will be held Thursday, February 21, at Emerson Los Angeles, beginning at 7:00 pm. Emerson undergraduate students who attend the event can apply for non-tuition credit by emailing owen_eagan@emerson.edu.

Both undergraduate and graduate students may be eligible to apply for a grant from the Emerson Enhancement Fund (EEF) to attend. The EEF, established by Leo and Patti Wheeler Hindery P’15, provides awards to help students with demonstrated financial need enrich their educational experience through extracurricular programming, event attendance, or creative/research projects.

The night kicks off with a panel on The Importance of Film Critics of Color, moderated by Gil L. Robertson IV, co-founder and president of the African American Film Critics Association. In a historic year, with releases like Black Panther and Crazy Rich Asians, come hear what this diverse group of leading film critics has to say about these films and the importance of perspectives from the African American, Hispanic/Latinx, Asian, and Native American communities.

Panelists include film critic and host of the One Week Only podcast Carlos Aguilar; Yolanda Machado, film critic, freelance entertainment journalist, and award-winning writer of the Sassy Mama in L.A. blog; Claudia Puig, president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and a critic on NPR’s Film Week; Carla Renata, known as The Curvy Film Critic, named one of 2018’s Underrepresented Critics of Color by the Los Angeles Times; and Jocelyn “Joz” Wang, editor-in-chief/CEO of the popular collaborative site 8Asians.com.

At 8:00 pm, Emerson Executive-in-Residence Owen Eagan will moderate Oscar Buzz, featuring the perspectives of consultants, journalists, film critics, and marketing executives on the strategies and tactics used to generate Oscar buzz.

Joining Eagan will be panelists Dana Bseiso Vazquez, vice president at The Angelloti Company, a leading entertainment awards consultancy; Kymn Goldstein, COO of entertainment, culture, and lifestyle agency Allied Integrated Marketing; Variety Awards Editor and Senior Vice President Tim Gray; Pete Hammond, chief film critic and awards columnist for Deadline Hollywood; and veteran broadcast entertainment journalist K.J. Matthews.

For more information, visit websites.emerson.edu/oscar-talk.