Veteran Director Herzog Starts Film School in Los Angeles

New Opportunities for Attending Film School in Los Angeles

After years of successful movie-making—and being asked for advice—iconoclastic German filmmaker Werner Herzog has elected to share his wisdom in a more formal setting: a film school in Los Angeles. This is no conventional university film program, however. The Rogue Film School, consisting of periodic weekend seminars led by the director, professes to be "about a way of life....about the excitement that makes film possible."

The inaugural session will be held January 8 – 10, 2010. Instead of focusing on the technical aspects of film, Herzog intends to delve into the heart of filmmaking, exploring the why and the how of reaching an audience and telling a story. Academic achievement and Hollywood cachet don't interest him nearly as much as the real-life experience that infuses an aspiring filmmaker with depth of character, even daring.

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"The Rogue Film School is not for the faint-hearted," he says. Certainly his own filmmaking reflects this avant-garde sensibility, in his narrative films as well as his documentaries, but he also holds the distinction of never once having exceeded his budget or gone over schedule. With over fifty films under his belt, he clearly has a lot to teach novice moviemakers.

Nevertheless, seminar participants are expected to come prepared. Besides a very specific list of dos and don'ts, Herzog provides a list of recommended reading, including Virgil's "Georgics" and Hemingway's "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber." The small size of the seminar will ensure adequate attention to individual student projects and concerns.

Ambitious, courageous aspiring filmmakers, even those already attending film school in Los Angeles, may want to give the Rogue Film School a try. Future seminars will take place in varying locations, with the next one planned for Spring 2010 on the East Coast.

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