"Avenue Q," the musical which features puppets who use profane language and engage in sexual acts, also boasts a musical number entitled, "What do you do with a B.A. in English?" This question is becoming increasingly relevant for literary-minded seniors as degree sheet deadlines and lingering math requirements are quickly becoming the only things standing between the Tufts bubble and this much talked-about "real world."
On Monday evening, some students' fears about the future may have been eased slightly as Tufts alumnus Albert Berger (LA '79), an English and political science double major, discussed his career in the film industry. Several years ago, Berger formed Bona Fide Productions with his longtime artistic partner Ron Yerxa. They've produced such notable films as "Little Miss Sunshine" (2006), "Little Children" (2006), "Cold Mountain" (2003) and "Election" (1999) - the latter of which provided the framework for Monday's discussion.
No film program, no problem
Berger credits his years at Tufts for helping him cultivate and develop his movie tastes. As a student at Tufts, which in the late '70s had no communications and media studies program, Berger had to find his own ways of feeding his film fascination.
"The great thing about Tufts is that unlike some other places that have very well worked-out film programs, you sort of have to find your own way to explore film," Berger. "You really get educated in other things, which is what college is all about. You sort of create your own program in film. It sort of forced you to be entrepreneurial about it."
During his time at Tufts, Berger initiated new ways of studying film that had not previously been attempted by other students. As a sophomore, Berger felt a need to share movies with others, and so was born the Tufts Alternative Film Series.
"We showed films in Hill Hall and all of my friends would bring our mattresses down - people would sit on mattresses and project movies on the wall," he recalled. Berger went on to run the Tufts Film Series, as well as write film reviews for the Tufts Observer.
Though there was no defined film studies program, Berger took film courses wherever he could, through whatever department was offering them. He cites the Experimental College as providing some of his favorite courses.
You don't need subtitles to make a film literary
Berger's taste for English courses at Tufts however, also seems to have had an affect on his career and the sorts of films he develops.
"So many of our movies are based on books: 'Cold Mountain' is based on a book, 'Little Children' is based on a book, 'Bee Season,' [(2005)] 'The Ice Harvest,' [(2005)] - so much of it comes out of [literature]," Berger said.
Currently, the guys at Bona Fide Productions are most excited about another book that is in the process of being developed into a film. Tom Perrotta, who wrote the novel "Election" as well as the novel and parts of the screenplay for "Little Children," is drafting the screenplay for his latest novel, "The Abstinence Teacher." In addition to Perrotta, this film will boast Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, directors of "Little Miss Sunshine" - and a slew of '90s music videos.
Berger describes the tale as "a story for our times."
It follows a sex education teacher in a public high school who stirs up fundamentalist backlash with a classroom comment.
"It's about this woman's relationship with a fundamentalist and how it evolves into a romantic relationship," Berge said. "It takes on the culture wars but it's very character-driven."
If his history is any indication, Berger has a good eye for books ripe for movie adaptation. Before "Cold Mountain" became a massive bestseller, Berger had the good fortune to find it in a bookstore and, sensing that the book would translate well to film, secured the rights to it.
Always the man behind-the-scenes
Before he was producing multimillion dollar films starring the likes of Jude Law and Nicole Kidman, however, Berger was just another recent college grad. After graduating from Tufts, Berger returned to his hometown of Chicago and opened a movie theater that showed double features as well as art and independent films. Running a cool repertory theater soon gave way to graduate school at Columbia University in New York, where he studied screenwriting and directing during the administration of Milos Forman.
Berger spent 10 years as a screenwriter after film school, but found that the films people would pay him to write were not, in fact, films he would want to see. When he finally grew tired of helping write big-budget, studio comedies - like the 1987 Goldie Hawn/Kurt Russell mistaken identity/fish-out-of-water vehicle "Overboard" - he decided to try his hand at producing. This career move would allow for more complete creative control and an ability to produce films that resonate with audiences and have personal value to Berger.
Producing something without the pen
"Finally it started to dawn on me that as a writer, I was only getting hired to write projects that other people decided to pay me for," Berger said. "As a producer you can choose your own projects ... It's almost like you're sharing an appreciation of something, as opposed to when you are a writer [and] you have to create that thing from the ground up."
Berger became a producer almost inadvertently. At Monday's discussion, he told the story of how his first major production was born. He and Yerxa went to the Sundance Film Festival in 1989 and, having been kicked out of a party, went to a nearby screening of Steven Soderbergh's "Sex, Lies and Videotape." Inspired by the film, the two approached Soderbergh about working on a project together and shortly thereafter - give or take five or six years - their first film, "King of the Hill" (1993) was born.
These days, Berger seems to relish the creative freedom that comes with being a producer, choosing to work on films that are important to him.
But what exactly does a producer do?
It's a bit difficult to pin down exactly, but as Berger explains, it starts with an idea - in his case, often from a book. If the idea has movie potential, a producer will take it to a director, get a studio on board, and begin developing a script with writers.
"Sometimes we'll read a story in a magazine or hear a piece of music ... It starts with something we have an interest in," Berger said. "Once in a while, a screenplay shows up like 'Little Miss Sunshine' that is great in and of itself and you're off to the races. But more often than not, you've got to come up with the initial idea and start from the ground floor."
Getting to the silver screen through a few white lies
Having an interest in subject matter that he describes as "the fringes" or "left of center" is precisely why Berger's films work. That's not to say it's easy to get these films made. During his lecture on Monday, Berger explained that getting the studio on board with "Little Miss Sunshine" which he describes as "an R-rated family film," required a bit of truth-bending. Berger indicated that if you believe in a project that is slightly controversial - say, a heroin snorting grandpa or a gay, suicidal, Proust scholar uncle - it may be necessary to omit certain details until the studio can screen the completed film.
For example, the details of "Election," which involves teenage lesbianism and extramarital affairs with a minor, might not have gone over well with the conservative community in Omaha, Neb., where it was filmed. In order to use the high school and other areas of the city, a fake script was circulated and the film was made without stirring up controversy.
Berger's advice to those who do not wish to log 15-hour days in a cubicle come graduation seems to be that if you really have something to say, you'll find a way to say it - and if you really believe in your work, chances are someone else will, too. That person, company or giant Hollywood studio may even have the money to make it happen.
