USD Magazine, Fall 2000

ALCALA ALMANAC

Our 15 Minutes Alcala Park gets Hollywood's attention I f you happen to catch the new Cameron

Crowe film "Almost Famous" this fall, be on the lookout for the Class of 1973 graduation scene - those fictional high school grads are enjoying the view from USD's own West Point Field as they wait to collect their diplomas. Crowe's movie, based on his experiences as young journalist for Rotting Stone magazine, is the biggest, but by no means the only, production to use Alcala Park as a backdrop. Over the past few years, the university's scenic buildings and panoramic views have increasingly attracted the attention of movie moguls looking for just the right setting. This summer, a caravan of technical trucks dropped by USD for a week of filming for 'The Brighton Chronicles," a television pilot in which adventurous college newspaper reporters track down the truth behind mysterious on-campus doings. Colachis Plaza and Shumway Fountain are easy to spot, but if you can guess the residence hall where the dorm room scene takes place, you really know your campus. Look for a possible debut on the WB network next year.

scenes for filming of "The Brighton Chronicles."

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The film shoots give students a behind– the-scenes peek and a chance to work as extras and production assistants, and location fees are used to supplement the university's marketing program. As long as Alcala Park stays its charming self - and the architecture of the new Jenny Craig Pavilion and Joan B. Kroc Institute of Peace and Justice indicate it will - USD will remain in demand as a location. Don't worry, though, we haven't gone Hollywood. Why should we, when Hollywood comes to us?

Last spring, Hollywood scars Rhea Pearlman and Mary Stuart Masterson spent time on campus filming "The Further Adventures," the pilot for a new CBS prime– time series. When it airs, check out the char– acters chatting in front of Camino Hall or stretching on the West Point Field track. And if you're into late night television, you might catch the rerun of the "Pensacola: Wings of Gold" episode in which troops storm the fictional Republic of Dahrooma embassy, a thinly disguised Founders Hall.

A thinly disguised Founders Hall ser~ed as the embassy for the fictional Republic of Dahrooma.

FALL 2000

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