A recent presentation at Fordham’s cybersecurity conference last month helped illustrate why.

“When I asked the CEO of a major movie company recently, ‘What’s the craziest thing you can imagine will happen in the next two to three years?’ he said, ‘We will have a full cinematic feature starring zero actors, zero cinematography, zero lighting, and zero set design,” said Josh Wolfe, co-founder and managing director of Lux Capital at a keynote speech on Jan. 10.

“It will all be generated.”

As an example, Wolfe, whose firm invests in new technologies, screened a fan-made movie trailer that used AI to imagine what Star Wars would look like if it had been directed by Wes Anderson.

A Threat to Storytelling

James Jennewein, a senior lecturer in Fordham’s Department of Communication and Media Studies whose film-producing credits include Major League II, Getting Even with Dad, and Stay Tuned, said the prospect of AI-powered screenwriting is deeply concerning.

He called storytelling “soul nourishment” that teaches us what it means to be human.

“We’re still watching films and reading books from people who died centuries ago, and there’s something magical about an artist digging into their soul to find some kind of truth or find a unique way to express an old truth, to represent it to the culture, and I don’t think that AI is going to help make that happen more,” he said.

In many ways, AI has already infiltrated movies and TV; major crowd scenes in the show Ted Lasso were created using AI tools, for example. This summer, the directors of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny used AI to render the nearly 80-year-old Harrison Ford to look like he was in his 20s.

The ability to use fewer actors in a crowd scene is obviously concerning to actors, but Jennewein said the strike was about more than just saving jobs–it’s about protecting creativity.

“We don’t want AI to create the illusion that something is original when it really is just a mashup of things that have been created before,” he said.

“Flesh-and-Blood” Films Coexisting with AI

Paul Levinson, Ph.D., a professor of communications, saw first-hand what AI can do to his own image and voice. A 2010 interview he did was recently altered by the journalist who conducted it to appear as if Levinson was speaking in Hindi.  But he is less concerned about AI taking over the industry.

He noted that when The Birth of a Nation was first screened in 1915, it was predicted that it would kill off the live theater.

Levinson predicted that in the future, the majority of what we watch will be AI-generated, but there will still be films that are made with live human actors. Just as theater co-exists with live movies, traditional movies will co-exist with AI content.

“I think we are going eventually to evolve into a situation where people aren’t going to care that much about whether or not it’s an AI-generated image or a real person,” he said.

Levinson acknowledged that AI could inflict real harm on the livelihood of actors and screenwriters, but said an equally important concern is whether those who work with AI tools get the credit they deserve.

“I’m sure people are going to think I’m out of my mind, but I don’t see a difference, ultimately, between a director who is directing actors in person and somebody who understands a sophisticated AI program well enough to be able to put together a feature-length movie,” he said.

“What could ultimately happen as AI-made films become more popular, is that films that are made with real flesh-and-blood actors will advertise themselves as such, and they’ll try to do things that maybe AI can’t quite yet do, just to push the envelope.”

The endless selections on streaming services and beyond may be daunting, so Fordham News asked faculty members for a few of their favorite film and book suggestions to help narrow it down and avoid a night of infinite scroll. Hopefully, you’ll find an interesting new piece of media or rediscover an old favorite in the recommendations below.

Films

Mark Street, Associate Professor of Visual Arts

La Jetee (1963), directed by Chris Marker
This “cine novel,” which exists in book form too, is the movie upon which Terry Gilliam’s 12 Monkeys is based. The time travel story is told entirely in stills, except for one shot which is moving. In the absence of movement, we can let our imagination roam and contemplate the conceptual richness and audacity of the conceit.
Available on Kanopy

Meshes of the Afternoon (1943), directed by Maya Deren
This brilliant filmmaker pierces the masculinist world of the American avant-garde. This film is about dreams within reveries within dreams; we’re not sure what’s happening, what’s dreamed, what’s imagined. Its fracturing of time reminds me a bit of our current state, where things have slowed down, and we are looking at time in a new way.
Available on Kanopy

Amy (2015), directed by Asif Kapadia
A wrenching examination of Amy Winehouse’s life, including home movie footage and interviews with friends and family. She’s a product of her time in that she was a mediated image from the beginning of her life (as a sonogram of her in her mother’s womb), right up until her death. This very imaging of her led to her struggles with eating disorders and alcoholism.
Available on Kanopy

What Happened, Miss Simone? (2015), directed by Liz Garbus
A good bonus double feature to pair with Amy. Also a product of her time, we see an uncompromising artist from a classically trained prodigy in North Carolina to explosive artist, to righteous, uncompromising activist. She battled mental health issues, racism, and domestic abuse along the way, and her voice is as current and powerful as it ever was.
Available on Netflix

James Jennewein, Senior Lecturer of Communication and Media Studies

The King’s Speech (2010), directed by Tom Hooper
Based on the true story of King George, who was crowned King of England after his older brother abdicated, The King’s Speech is a very moving and inspiring tale of his fight to overcome a serious speech impediment so as to become a more effective king to his people. But deep down it is also the story of one man’s battle with his own inner demons and how his friendship with his speech therapist helps him ultimately to grow as a man.
Available on Netflix

Tootsie (1982), directed by Sydney Pollack
A classic comedy about a driven New York City actor who becomes a soap opera star, dressed as a woman. A brilliant tale of how a sexist learns how to be a better man as he lives out the trials and tribulations of being a woman in society.
Available on Netflix

Television Shows

Lance Strate, Professor of Communication and Media Studies

The Strain
I recently discovered that The Strain, an FX series that originally aired from 2014 to 2017 is steaming, and even though I had watched it in its entirety as it came out, I decided to binge it a second time, something I almost never do. I highly recommend it, if and only if you are fine with the horror genre. Created by acclaimed film director Guillermo del Toro together with Chuck Hogan, the series is set almost entirely in New York City, and makes full use of neighborhood locations in all five boroughs, which makes it a real treat for New Yorkers. The story is an original take on the vampire genre, mixed together with a good amount of the contagion genre, and even a touch of the zombie motif included. At a time when we are experiencing a form of true horror in the real world, you might think it best to stay far away from that sort of storyline, but I found retreat into this fantasy version diverting and in some ways inoculating, and the plot is absolutely gripping.
Available on Hulu

Star Trek: Picard
As someone who often turns to science fiction, I find no shortage of series available on streaming services these days, but one that stands out that recently completed its first season is Star Trek: Picard. As someone who prefers the original Star Trek series to the Next Generation, I reserved judgment on this new series that debuted only a couple of months ago and just wrapped up its first season. I was very impressed with the first new Star Trek series on CBS All Access, Star Trek: Discovery, a prequel to the original series that has been exceptional in its first two seasons, and Star Trek: Picard rival Discovery in regard to overall quality and entertainment value. Star Trek: Picard is a welcome continuation of the Star Trek story, and with Patrick Stewart in the lead, how can you go wrong? Top that off with several new and interesting regular characters and guest appearances from a few old ones, and an intriguing plot line, and Picard stands out easily as my favorite new series of this strange new year. And on the topic of Star Trek, I strongly recommend Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as the best of the earlier series, with marvelous characters and a dramatic, continuing story that emerged after the first couple of seasons.
Available on CBS All Access

The Plot Against America
I am currently enjoying The Plot Against America miniseries on HBO, based on the novel by Phillip Roth. Set circa 1940-1941, the story is an alternate history in which Charles Lindbergh, as a Nazi sympathizer running on an antiwar platform, defeats FDR and becomes president. While fascinating for its historical detail regarding life in Newark in this era, and thought provoking as a what-if scenario, the series resonates in many ways with contemporary American society and politics, making it all the more relevant.
Available on HBO

Books

Mary Bly, Professor of English

Mary Bly, professor and English department chair, Shakespeare scholar, and author of popular romance novels under the pen name Eloisa James, offered this list of 20 books from her to-be-read-during-quarantine pile, which has something for everyone:

Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir by Ruth Reichl
Meg and Jo by Virginia Kantra
Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey
Magpie Murders by Antony Horowitz
There There by Tommy Orange
The Best American Sci Fi & Fantasy 2019 edited by John Joseph Adams and Carmen Maria Machado
An Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard
The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley
American Duchess by Karen Harper
Thicker Than Mud by Jason Morris
New Dramaturgies by Mark Bly
The Pier Falls: And Other Stories by Mark Haddon
The New Life of Hugo Gardner by Louis Begley
Hit Makers: The Science of Popularity in an Age of Distraction by Derek Thompson
Moonglow by Michael Chabon
My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
The Road to Little Dribbling: Adventures of an American in Britain by Bill Bryson
All I Know About Animal Behavior I Learned In Loehmann’s Dressing Room by Erma Bombeck
Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer
The Lighthouse by P.D. James

Shonni Enelow, Associate Professor of English

Theodor Adorno
I’m actually reading a lot of philosophy (in the 15 minutes when my kid is occupied with something or napping), particularly Theodor Adorno. I’m finding it oddly soothing. 

Afro-Fabulations: The Queer Drama of Black Life by Tavia Nyong’o
I’m also reading Tavia Nyong’o’s new book Afro-Fabulations, which is fantastic. 

Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life by Maurice Sendak
And a lot of Maurice Sendak with my kid. We were just given his not-really-a-kid’s-book Higglety Pigglety Pop, which is like Lewis Carroll by way of Samuel Beckett.

Laura Childs, Emerging Technologies Librarian

The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon
First, a warning: these books will consume your life! I love this series because you get completely lost in it—you feel like you’re in the story alongside the characters. You’ll be reading for hours and look up, having no idea where (or when) you are. Great for readers who love historical fiction. It’s also been made into a fantastic show that you can binge watch on Netflix!

11/22/63 by Stephen King
This is probably my favorite Stephen King novel, but it’s not a typical horror story. If you like to get emotionally attached to a book, this is for you. It is thrilling and will also break your heart. Another book you will not be able to stop reading (but it’s over 1,000 pages, so you’ll be occupied for a long time).

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
Any book by this author is an excellent choice if you enjoy drama, mystery, and some humor mixed in. This particular book is a lot of fun because you get to experience the story through the eyes of different characters, each with their own unique voice. This is a fast, entertaining read.

Additional Resources

Mary Bly, Professor of English

The English Department launched a Mighty Networks site when this happened. It’s a one-stop place for all our spring events, for student-run workshops, etc. Last week, for example, we had a creative writing/cooking demonstration by Sarah Gambito (head of Creative Writing), a yoga class, and a lecture by a disability activist.

Shonni Enelow, Associate Professor of English

The visionary downtown theater director Richard Maxwell and his company New York City Players have put up Vimeos of all their shows.

The Wooster Group is posting a new video every week of their shows, which transfer exceptionally well to video.

The playwright Jeremy O. Harris is doing a master class on Monday through New York Theatre Workshop.

Laura Childs, Emerging Technologies Librarian

As for library resources, I’d like to add that there are thousands of e-books available in our collection that students/faculty can access anywhere. They can be found by searching the catalog on our website. We also offer streaming video and movie platforms that students can watch from anywhere, including many new and popular films. Lastly, even though we’re not in the library, we are still here to help with research questions and can be contacted via email, text, and the 24/7 chat service!

The film “MASK,” produced by Yang Xu, FCLC ’21, and Mengxuan Annie Du, FCLC ’20, portrays a private phone call between an Asian mother and daughter who live on opposite sides of the world. In their conversation, they ruminate on the coronavirus-related racism and xenophobia that many people have been experiencing. 

“The film speaks to the racial prejudice so many Asians are experiencing in real life, and it does so in such an intimate and personal way,” said Jacqueline Reich, Ph.D., professor and chair of the department of communication and media studies. 

Xu and Du’s film won “Best Drama” in Fordham’s inaugural One-Minute Film Festival, a student competition sponsored by the Department of Communication and Media Studies and Fordham’s chapter of the New York Film and Television Student Alliance. Their film was among six award-winning videos that were screened at the Story 2020 Summit on March 7. The all-day summit at the Lincoln Center campus featured panels and Q&A sessions with leading entertainment industry professionals.

“It was an accomplished film that showed real storytelling talent as well as a passion for speaking out against social injustice,” said screenwriter James Jennewein, a senior lecturer in Fordham’s communication and media studies department who helped spearhead the conference. “At times like these, we must be more vigilant about racial and ethnic bias than ever.”

It was a far cry from HBO, home of Sex in the City, and Fox, which hosted Beverly Hills 90210.

But Star said he couldn’t be happier.

“You’ve got to just do it for yourself . . . and hope the audience gets it and comes to it,” he said in a Q&A and screening with communications students on Dec. 2 at the Lincoln Center campus.

“I think some of the worst shows are the shows that seem to pander to their audience a little more, or you sense the network is in there, basically saying ‘It needs a little more of this,’ or ‘a little more of that.’”

Younger stars Sutton Foster as a single 40-year-old mother who, after being mistaken as younger than she really is, decides to reboot her career and her love life as a 26-year-old. The show returns for its second season in January.

In a wide-ranging conversation with James Jennewein, Fordham’s artist-in-residence, Star talked about the difference between writing for television versus film, how to break into the business, and the way he’s adapted to the changing media landscape with Younger.

One example of that change, Star noted, is that Younger draws more viewers via the online portal Hulu.com than from traditional network viewing.

“That’s what all these networks need to survive,” he said. “You need the content to travel to Hulu, iTunes, and Amazon, he said, noting that “airing shows in time slots is becoming obsolete.”

Of course, advertisers still need viewers to tune in at an appointed time for a show, so Star said he’s purposely written the comedy in a serialized way, so viewers are left hanging at the end of each episode.

One of the great things about writing for TV, he said, is that you can tailor a character to the unanticipated talents of the actor as the series progresses. That happened with the character of Samantha in Sex in the City.

“Kim Cattrall (Samantha) gave us signs that she was really funny and she could do more. It’s a symbiotic relationship between a writer and an actor. When you see an actor doing things [well], you want to give them more material in that direction,” he said.

Star shared some thoughts on why certain shows failed. There was a mismatch between his vision for a show and that of the executives at the network, he said, on Central Park West, which aired for two seasons only. In another series, Grosse Pointe, Golden Globe winner Amy Adams was cast in the pilot, but was fired after a network executive didn’t like her reading.

“The worst thing is when you have a show, and a network stops giving [you]notes. Then you know you’re in trouble,” he said.

As with Star’s monumental hit Sex in the City, Younger is also filmed in New York City—this time in the rising borough of Brooklyn.

“I think New York’s an exciting city for everybody,” he said. “Anywhere you point your camera, there’s something to look at.”

Darren Star, one of America’s most successful television producers, will be coming to Fordham to screen his series, Younger, starring Hillary Duff and Sutton Foster. The event will take place on Wed., Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. in Room 3-01 in the Fordham Law Building.

From Beverly Hills 90210 to Melrose Place, Star’s television series hit on a West Coast zeitgeist of the 1990s, only to be topped by Sex and the City, which came to define a certain kind of New York City woman in the 2000s.

For his new series produced for TVLand, Star turns once again turns the spotlight on New York women. Sutton Foster plays a 40-something returning to the urban workforce after a 15-year hiatus raising her daughter in the suburbs. Unable to find a job she lies about her age, saying she 27, lands a gig in publishing, and starts dating younger men.

“It’s a lighthearted but wistfully knowing look at the gender imbalances and generational rifts that make life hard for even fabulous women,” a New York Times review said of the program.

“I think show hits on the grand question of what is it to be a women in today’s society and the barriers at the intersection between sex, age, and work,” said James Jennewein, artist-in-residence in the Department of Communication and Media Studies.

Jennewein will moderate a Q&A with Star following the screening. With a background that includes screenwriting, marketing, and communications, Jennewein has known Star for more than 20 years. He said that the producer’s visit represents a rare opportunity for students to learn firsthand from a professional who has smoothly sailed from network television to cable, and who now incorporates marketing on the web.

The creative process will also be explored, he said, referring to the “tag team” qualities of television production, where 11 months of nonstop work creates special challenges for creative people.

“We’re at a place where the creative person has more power than ever before,” he said. “You have so much running room. The tools of content creation are all now in the hands of the artist.”

“Now all the media are blended together,” he said. “Darren understands how intellectual property behaves across multiple media platforms. That’s the nut of it.”

His produced film credits include The Flintstones, Richie Rich, Major League II, Getting Even with Dad, and Stay Tuned. He adapted the Jules Verne novel 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea as an animated film script for Walt Disney Pictures and is currently writing an animated film for the producer of Shrek.

Last year, Jennewein took up the position as artist-in-residence in the Department of Communication and Media Studies, where he is teaching screenwriting and one-hour television drama.

“My essential purpose here is to illuminate the art of storytelling and bring some real world knowledge and craft to the students,” said Jennewein.

To “do lunch” with Jennewein isn’t an exercise in discussing the latest politics in the film industry or star gossip, but rather the conversation tends toward craft and writing. Over a plate of pasta at the Law School cafeteria he discussed his love of narrative, and how writing for film differs from theater, journalism, and literature. The difference between media requires distinct approaches.

“Onstage, actors take action mainly through dialogue, often telling us what they’re thinking right out loud. But since film is primarily a visual medium, the actors often take action outside of the dialogue,” he said. “The stage directions and the dialogue take on a distilled form because movies are ruled by time.”

He said that action descriptions within a scene must be “compressed and incredibly economical,” as opposed to a novel where the prose allows the writer to go inside the heads of characters and allow readers to participate in their deepest thoughts.

“In novels, you’re being propelled along by the beauty of the language as much as by the story itself, but in screenwriting less is more,” he said. “Good screenwriting isn’t about flowery language, it’s about laying down the dramatic thrust of a scene in a few choice words.”

He described a brand of writing that directs the reader to see exactly what the writer wants them to see. But he discourages an exactness that spills into another collaborator’s turf—such as attempting to direct the director of cinematography.

“One mistake that newbie screenwriters make is they keep saying, ‘The camera moves this way,’ or ‘The camera pushes in,’” he said. “I tell my students to take the word ‘camera’ out and say ‘we,’ as in ‘We move in tighter on Tom’s face as he absorbs the truth.’ It’s a way to let the reader see the scene without directing the scene.”

Jennewein repeatedly reminds students that film is a collaborative medium and that the writer’s job isn’t to direct, but “to lay down the spine of the story, scene by scene, creating a blueprint of the core conflicts and emotional throughline.”

Studying screenwriting at Fordham, he said, differs from other New York City institutions in that the program is more integrated with other disciplines.

Besides getting a solid background in filmmaking and film theory, students also get “an academic foundation in the wider world of communications.” Though they concentrate on the narrative form of film and television, they also study alongside students from journalism and new media, and the visual arts.

The interdisciplinary training reflects film’s collaborative nature. Screenwriting often continues through production, and script changes come with input from directors, actors, and cinematographers.

“When students go through the matrix of decision making during production, they not only learn about lighting and direction, but—with the actors’ help—they find the intended moment,” he said. “This is where they really learn how to write for the screen.”

And, to use a phrase familiar to all writers, students also learn “to kill their darlings.”

“When editing the finished film,” he said, “you might realize that one piece of dialogue you were in love with—that you felt was absolutely key to telling the story—isn’t needed at all. That what the actor can do with just one look says it all.”

Some of the biggest names in film have come to Fordham to talk with students about their experiences—both on-set and off. Director Spike Lee visited theater classes last fall to talk about the movie industry. Academy Award-winning actor and Fordham alumnus Denzel Washington, FCLC ’77, has visited students twice in the past three years, speaking about his craft and how Fordham contributed to his success. And in September 2014, Fordham hosted actor and UNICEF Goodwill ambassador Danny Glover, who screened a film he starred in about a slave uprising in Curacao and stayed for a discussion about the lasting impact of slavery.

James Jennewein, a screenwriter and artist in residence in Fordham’s Department of Communication and Media Studies, frequently invites industry professionals to speak to his classes. He said giving students a chance to connect with leaders in their field yields benefits beyond the content of the speaker’s presentation.

“It puts students in the same room with someone who’s really successful. You see that they’re a regular person like you, and it starts to feel like your dream is a more attainable goal,” Jennewein said.

While Fordham Theatre may attract some of the University’s best-known guest speakers, Fordham students have heard from noted leaders and thinkers in many other fields as well.

Each year, popular writers speak at orientation for incoming students who have read one of their books over the summer. Recent speakers have included National Book Award Winner Alice McDermott; Colum McCann, author of Let the Great World Spin; and novelist Valerie Sayers, FCLC ’73, whose work considers the Catholic experience in America.

Students also hear regularly from well-known physicians and researchers thanks to the Fordham University Science Council. Ronald A. DePinho, M.D., FCRH ’77, president of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and a luminary in cancer research, presented a recent fall lecture for the council titled “Conquering Cancer.”

In the philosophy department, Associate Professor William Jaworski, Ph.D., hosts the John C. and Jeanette D. Walton Lecture in Science, Philosophy, and Religion. He said these types of intellectual events help students draw deeper meaning from what they are learning in the classroom.

“It’s hard to see the implications of what you’re learning in biology class on what you just studied in theology. These outstanding scholars who are doing work at the intersection of these topics give students a model. It draws out the implications in ways that they themselves are still learning how to do,” Jaworski said.

Upcoming lectures in the Walton series include “Are We Embodied Spirits or Spiritual Bodies?” (March 11) and “Science and the Sacred” (April 21), featuring distinguished speakers from Central European University and the University of Oxford, respectively.

On-campus lectures also provide a valuable networking resource for Fordham students after graduation. The Fordham at the Forefront series, featuring leading Fordham faculty sharing their expertise on issues of broad interest, are hosted for the alumni community and give students a chance to connect with successful graduates in any number of fields.

Upcoming events include Fordham at the Forefront of Political Behavior with Fordham Law professor Zephyr Teachout, who ran against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, FCRH ’79, last fall in the Democratic primary, on April 23 in New York City; and Fordham at the Forefront of Positive Marketing with Professor Dawn Lerman, Ph.D., on Long Island on May 7. Students will be invited to attend both at no charge.

Jake Braithwaite, GSB ’11, assistant director for New York City programming in the Office of Alumni Relations, works on a series of lectures sponsored by the Fordham Wall Street Council to engage alumni in the business community. Events are open to current students as well.

Recent Wall Street Council events have featured Michael Steinhardt, whom Forbes called “the greatest trader in Wall Street history,” and Heidi Miller, former high-level JPMorgan executive who speaks frequently about women in the finance industry. Nemir Kirdar, GBA ’72, CEO of Investcorp, who holds an M.B.A. from Fordham, will speak on June 3.

Braithwaite said that while networking is a valuable component of these events, they also provide the Fordham community a forum to keep flexing and strengthening the intellectual muscles they built in the classroom.

“Fordham students are used to engaging in intellectually rigorous conversations on a daily basis. It’s great that we can offer these opportunities to continue these kind of broad and varied conversations,” he said.

—Jennifer Spencer