March 27, 2000

Samuel Goldwyn Jr. will speak about the filmmaking industry in the Konover Auditorium at the Dodd Center on April 6, at 5 p.m.

His presentation, intended as a public discussion, will be the first Robert Gray Lecture, sponsored by a fund established after the death last year of former dean of fine arts, Robert Gray.

From the earliest days of the American film industry, the name Goldwyn has been associated with quality films with excellent production values. Today, Samuel Goldwyn Jr. is widely known in the industry for carrying on that family tradition.

The discussion April 6 will focus on his response to digital technology and the future of film study, filmmaking and distribution in the digital age.

Samuel Goldwyn Jr. founded the Samuel Goldwyn Co. in 1979. The company grew out of his vision for a motion picture company with the scope of a major studio and the heart of an old-fashioned family business. He used more than 50 classic American films owned by the original Goldwyn company, including Wuthering Heights, The Little Foxes and The Best Years of Our Lives, as building blocks for the multi-tiered organization that exists today. Goldwyn now presides over a company whose activities encompass feature film development, production, distribution and exhibition.

Goldwyn's keen eye for talent has launched the careers of many writers, directors, producers, and actors. These include Kenneth Branagh (Henry V 1989); Julia Roberts (Mystic Pizza 1988); Jim Jarmusch (Stranger than Paradise 1984); Ang Lee (The Wedding Banquet 1993 and Eat Drink, Man Woman 1994); Robert Townsend (Hollywood Shuffle 1987); and Anthony Minghella (Truly, Madly, Deeply 1991). In addition the Goldwyn Co. has produced and/or distributed films including: Sid & Nancy (1986), Longtime Companion (1990), La Femme Nikita (1991), I Shot Andy Warhol (1996), Big Night (1996), and Lolita (1998).

Goldwyn films have received many national and international awards. As a television producer, Goldwyn received an Emmy Award for Best Variety-Music Programming for producing the 60th Academy Awards telecast. He has also received the Lifetime Achievement Award for ShowEast, the Association of American Exhibitors, and served on the board of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for eight years. In 1997, UConn awarded him an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree.