Communication Arts students enjoyed a visit Wednesday from Hollywood producer and UW-Madison alumna Deborah Schindler, one of many lectures included as part of an effort to bring in alumni who work in the entertainment industry.
Schindler is best known for producing the films \Maid in Manhattan"" and ""Mona Lisa Smile.""
Schindler said her most taxing role as a producer is finding material worth expending years of time, sweat and stress. She said ""Mona Lisa Smile"" took more than three years to come full circle.
She offered advice to students interested in the field, but said the most important thing is to follow your heart.
""If you care about what you do, your passion will sell it,"" Schindler said. She encouraged students to take advantage of all opportunities that present themselves because ""there's no way of knowing what life's going to bring you.""
Schindler graduated from UW-Madison in 1977 with a degree in history, but soon found herself learning on the set of ""Raging Bull"" with director Martin Scorsese, whom she worked along side until 1987.
She also told students about her current projects, including a movie called ""Little Black Book,"" starring Brittany Murphy and Jessica Bates, which is now in post-production.
Communication Arts Professor Tino Balio said he was extremely pleased to have someone with Schindler's experience come to his class, but said her friendship with the university really played a key role in getting her to come.
""She heard about the class [through the UW Foundation] and became very interested in it,"" Balio said.
Schindler said her visit was fate because Balio's class coincided with her daughter's campus visit.
But for Balio's students, appearances like Schindler's are just another day at class.
""I thought she had a lot of interesting and funny stories,"" UW-Madison senior Allison Caldwell said. ""This class has had a lot of people that know big names and we're going to have a lot more.\
