The film industry is a notoriously hard business to break into, but Gaby Grossman is well on her way. Gaby is from LA, and came to BU not sure what she wanted to major in, but knowing it would be something in COM. She’s taken many classes here that explore all aspects of filmmaking, but has lately decided that producing interests her the most. She plans to graduate next January and pursue a career in film. Here, Gaby talks about her current projects and hopes for the future.
Why did you decide to major in film?
It’s gotta be the most fun major there is.
What are you working on currently?
I am finishing up production on my two thesis films in Production III, BU’s senior most production class. The films are titled “Big Shot” and “Off to the Races.”
“Big Shot” is a comedy I co-wrote about a middle school-aged aspiring rapper named Armando. Armando gets teased a lot in school when a rap video he made goes viral. He tries to prove himself through a comeback performance in his school talent show. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/evanscottmoore/big-shot/
“Off to the Races,” written and directed by Megan Lovallo, is about a twelve-year-old boy who visits his twenty-something year old sister at her apartment unannounced and the evening they spend together.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/451924651/off-to-the-races?ref=live
I am also planning for Fall 2012, which will bring lots more producing!
What’s your favorite aspect of filmmaking?
The collaborative aspect, hands down. Filmmaking, especially producing, comes with a great deal of headaches and sleepless nights. The main reason it’s been so enjoyable for me is because I have had the luxury of working with talented, hardworking, passionate and just plain awesome young filmmakers.
Who are your professional or artistic role models?
Oh goodness. Mindy Kaling and Tina Fey because they’re everything I hope to be. Lena Dunham (HBO’s new show Girls and Tiny Furniture) is a living example that being a post-grad young woman tearing it up in the film and television industries is not an impossible achievement. As a COM student, I don’t need to go too far to find great role models—nearly every professor I’ve had in the Film & TV Department is someone I aspire to be like.
What are your plans for the summer and hopes for post-graduation?
I’m still playing the waiting game in terms of summer, but it will be something film related, most likely in LA. As for post-graduation, I hope to get a job with a production company or at studio in LA, but regardless of what I get jobwise right out of school, I intend to make documentaries and independent films with the great filmmakers I’ve met here at BU.