daily list

Thanks to everyone who entered our Mel Brooks Member Sweepstakes last month and congratulations to our 10 lucky winners! Your copy of the Shout! Factory's box set of five DVDs and one CD, "The Incredible Mel Brooks: An Irresistible Collection of Unhinged Comedy," is on its way. Winners answered correctly that 1) Sid Caesar gave Mel Brooks his start; 2) Carl Reiner first interviewed The 2000 Year Old Man; and 3) "Springtime for Hitler" was the title of the show produced by Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom in THE PRODUCERS. Among those who answered correctly, the following AFI members were chosen at random to receive the prize: Daniel Benjamin, Mark Browning, Donna McNeely Burke, Allen Eckhouse, Stephan Fortes, Thomas Holliday, Joyce Lynn Jones, Mitra Mohammadi, Bill Mosier and Duggan Wendeborn. We hope you enjoy and share the laughter that our 41st Life Achievement Award honoree brings into your home!

AFI's Directing Workshop for Women (DWW) will screen eight short films for invited members of the film community and AFI Patron Circle Members at 6:30 p.m. tonight at the Director's Guild in Los Angeles. The films were developed in an immersive year long fellowship tailored to women who have had at least seven years' experience within the film industry and are transitioning into the role of director. This year's participants are: Shaz Bennett, Catherine Dent, Antoneta Kastrati, Lauren Ludwig, Stephanie Martin, Juliana Peñaranda-Loftus, Lisanne Sartor and Sarah Gertrude Shapiro.

A keynote address will be delivered by Ava DuVernay, winner of the Best Director Award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival for her second feature film MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. DuVernay, a former publicist, is currently in post-production on her documentary about Venus Williams for ESPN Films and has just completed a promotional film for Prada.

Actors featured in DWW films who are expected to attend include: Shohreh Aghdashloo, Anna Camp, Frances Conroy, Ashley Williams and Rumer Willis.

AFI has offered this tuition-free training workshop and opportunity to direct a digital short since 1974. The Directing Workshop for Women has launched the career of many working directors. Among the remarkable past participants of this program are Maya Angelou, Ellen Burstyn, Dyan Cannon (whose film earned her an Oscar^® nomination), Lesli Linka Glatter (whose film earned her an Oscar^® nomination), and Rhanda Haines and Joanne Woodward who have steered major Hollywood films, as well as acclaimed television directors Tricia Brock, Hanelle Culpepper, Jennifer Getzinger and Nancy Malone, among many others.

'Tis the season of Mel Brooks. On May 20, your local PBS affiliate will air MEL BROOKS: MAKE A NOISE as part of its American Masters series. Then on May 21, the DVD of that broadcast will be released. AFI's 41st Life Achievement Award Tribute, which takes place June 6, will be broadcast on TNT cable later in the month, followed by encore viewings on its sister network Turner Classic Movies (TCM).

But the celebration of Mel Brooks begins right here, right now with a Sweepstakes Giveaway – for AFI members only. The lucky prize-winners, chosen at random from all qualified entrants, is a copy of the Shout! Factory's box set of five DVDs and one CD, "The Incredible Mel Brooks: An Irresistible Collection of Unhinged Comedy." To qualify, AFI members must answer these three questions correctly:

1. What television comedian gave Mel Brooks his start?
2. Who first interviewed the 2000 Year Old Man?
3. What's the name of the play produced by Bialystock and Bloom in THE PRODUCERS?

Send your answers along with your name, address, phone number and e-mail address to membership@AFI.com with "Mel Brooks Contest" written in the subject line. The names of those who answer all three questions correctly will be entered into a random drawing and the first 10 will receive the prize. Complete giveaway rules and conditions are available. Good luck!

The Sony Digital Arts Center is perched high atop the American Film Institute's Hollywood Campus, behind the Louis B. Mayer Library. The one-story building is a rabbit warren of editing labs and digital storage facilities. Terra Abroms, its new Manager and Post Production Supervisor for the thesis films made by AFI Conservatory Fellows, gave us a tour of the high tech hub and answered our 10 questions at the picnic table outside, a picturesque setting with a view of downtown Los Angeles.

1. Where are you from? I'm from Los Angeles – from Westwood to the Hollywood Hills, and now Toluca Lake.

2. Where did you go to school? My schooling was a little unconventional, even though I went to UCLA. It was more of the "School of Life." I had opportunities to work with some very interesting filmmakers and so I took those opportunities. I worked with Francis Ford Coppola up in Napa Valley and also with Sean Daniel who was the President of Universal Pictures. Sean went on to start a production company with Jim Jacks (who worked early on with the Coen Brothers), where I helped set up their company including their story department. I've been so fortunate to learn from John Singleton, Stephanie Allain, Craig Brewer, Paul Hall, Richard Linklater, Adam Shankman, Kevin Smith, Michael Tadross, Richard Wright. Post production greats such as Greig McRitchie, Michael Harker, Jimmy Honore, John Naveira, Russ Paris.

3. What did you do before you came to AFI? I was a post-production supervisor – primarily on independent features and most recently on reality television (such as the re-launch of PUNK'D). A lot of people pooh-pooh that, but reality television is a good credit to have because you just can't depend on working 52 weeks a year in the current global climate and competing with rebates. Reality TV offers a lot of filler work. Some of the films that I worked on were: DAZED AND CONFUSED; Kevin Smith's first studio film, MALLRATS; John McTiernan's BASIC; Craig Brewer's HUSTLE & FLOW and BLACK SNAKE MOAN; and a lot of independent films that probably most people haven't seen.

4. How long have you been at AFI? Five months, since October 22.

5. What do you do at AFI? AFI has a talented faculty and staff. As the post supervisor for thesis films, I work under the Vice Dean of Production and Post Production, Phil Linson. I consult and advise the Fellows on sound, music, color correction and visual effects. I also manage the Sony Digital Arts Center including 19 editing rooms, the ProTools rooms and our color-correction suite. My goal is to make sure the filmmaker fellows have the post production tools or resources needed to complete their movies and support the amazing faculty and staff however I can, if needed. I'm also working with the Library and AFI Productions on archiving and digital asset management.

6. How does that affect our members? I think the connection would be through the films the Fellows are able to complete.

7. What was your best day at AFI? This is a very hectic culture I've been dropped into. I get to work with professionals who have had a great deal of success. It's a great day and a real pleasure when I get to know them. The Fellows are inspiring to me. It's great to come to work and see how they approach the inherit challenges of the craft which results in extraordinary films because of the synergy that happens here.

8. What are you working on today? Today I will be working with Fellows on their thesis projects to help with visual effects, finding composers and replacement songs. Providing resources for Fellows to research practical blood vs. digital blood or how to extend a compound because they're only going to build a few buildings and they want to extend it on the screen. Checking in with a team to make sure they are on schedule. Building a community of vendors to support AFI Fellows and alumni by offering their services at reduced prices. Organizing the status of the 20+ projects on paper. Reviewing how to better utilize our space and technology, the day-to-day costs and needs as well as projecting what costs and technology we'll need to keep current.

9. What don't your colleagues know about you? My father-in-law edited SUGARLAND EXPRESS, was nominated for an Academy Award^® for BLUE THUNDER as well as winning two Emmys^®. He also was a television director.

10. What's your favorite film? How can anyone have a favorite movie? There are so many good films. Once I started working at AFI, I started watching the film lists that fellows need to watch. ALL THAT JAZZ, HAROLD & MAUDE, TOOTSIE, to name a few. I love good stories (TENDER MERCIES, THE IMPOSSIBLES); small films with big hearts and stories that grab my imagination or stir something inside me. Jarmusch's STRANGER IN PARADISE. Godard's BREATHLESS. Herzog's FITZCARRALDO. Lee's SHE'S GOTTA HAVE IT. Egoyan's CALENDAR. David Russell's THREE KINGS. Or pure entertainment (like "SKYFALL" OR "DJANGO UNCHAINED").