Inside the Golden Age of Hollywood | George Stevens Jr.

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George Stevens, Jr. has achieved an extraordinary creative legacy over a career spanning more than 60 years. He is a writer, director, producer, playwright and author. He has enriched the film and television arts as a filmmaker and is widely credited with bringing style and taste to the national television events he has conceived.

As a writer, director and producer, Stevens has earned many accolades, including 15 Emmys, two Peabody Awards for Meritorious Service to Broadcasting, the Humanitas Prize and 8 awards from the Writers Guild of America, including the Paul Selvin Award for writing that embodies civil rights and liberties. In 2012 the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted to present Stevens with an Honorary Academy Award for “extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement.”

Stevens served for eight years as Co-chairman of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities following his appointment by President Obama in 2009.

Stevens is Founding Director of the American Film Institute and during his tenure, more than 10,000 irreplaceable American films were preserved and catalogued to be enjoyed by future generations. In addition, he established the AFI’s Center for Advanced Film Studies, which gained a reputation as the finest learning opportunity for young filmmakers.

Stevens was executive producer of The Thin Red Line, which was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. He co-wrote and produced The Murder of Mary Phagan, starring Jack Lemmon, which received the Emmy for Outstanding Mini-Series. He wrote and directed Separate But Equal starring Sidney Poitier and Burt Lancaster which also won the Emmy for Outstanding Mini-Series. He produced an acclaimed feature length film about his father, George Stevens: A Filmmaker’s Journey and in 1994 produced George Stevens: D-Day to Berlin, which depicted the wartime experiences of his father – one of the most highly regarded directors of all time. In collaboration with his son and partner Michael Stevens, he produced the feature length documentary Herblock – The Black & The White on the famed political cartoonist Herbert Block for HBO.

Stevens made his debut as a playwright in 2008 with Thurgood, which opened at the historic Booth Theater on Broadway. The play had an extended run starring Laurence Fishburne as Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Fishburne received a Tony nomination and returned to the role in the summer of 2010 with runs at the Kennedy Center and the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. Thurgood was filmed while at the Kennedy Center and shown on HBO in 2011.

In 2006, Alfred A. Knopf published Stevens’ Conversations with the Great Moviemakers of Hollywood’s Golden Age – the first book to bring together the interviews of master moviemakers from the American Film Institute’s renowned Harold Lloyd Master Seminar Series. Conversations with the Great Moviemakers – The Next Generation was released by Knopf in April, 2012.

Please enjoy my conversation with George Stevens Jr.

For links to today's guest - click below:

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[NSUTurtle]

He's such a treasure trove of how American media has evolved. This man needs a 3 hours show just to break down his journalism pursuits, time in the war, the 40s and 50s film industry.

[ArtBonillaActor]

George Stevens Jr. a gem of film knowledge, and to have the vision of AFI!!! The greatest film School in the world!

[bryanoldenburg]

Wow... what a treasure trove! Thank's Alex for covering the Golden Age, as well as the current one (and what should we call this one)? I wish there were some Silent Film Stars/Directors still around who you could interview, because you do such a good job at it! Perhaps you'll be one of the last folks to talk with disappearing giants, because (as you say), Generation X, Y and Z don't have the same interest in past Cinematography. That said, you're providing an invaluable service Alex... thanks again!

[angierucinski]

Sir Alec Guinness told the story of James Dean showing him the Porsche Spyder. To paraphrase, Sir Alec said "Don't get into that car, you won't live for a week if you do". Sadly prophetic words. RIP James.