10 Questions with Chelsea Burka
Inside Hollywood: Aspiring film producer makes Oscar predictions
2/21/2013
By Megan Dutill ’13
College Relations Intern
If "Silver Linings Playbook" chalks up an Oscar win at this weekend’s Academy Awards, Chelsea Burka will know that she helped the film strike gold.
Chelsea, a senior Schreyer Scholar majoring in accounting in the Smeal College of Business and public relations in the College of Communications, worked on publicity and marketing events for "Silver Linings Playbook" and other films at last year’s Cannes Film Festival in France.
At Cannes, Chelsea landed an internship to work with The Weinstein Company film studio. In addition to promoting films, she attended screenings and even got to walk the red carpet.
Many of this year’s Oscar-nominated films were first screened at that festival, so we caught up with Chelsea to ask her 10 questions about her Academy Award predictions and future plans.
- You’ve had some experiences in the film world already. Do you want to continue working in film and entertainment in the future?
I grew up in Southern California, and my dad worked in the entertainment industry, so Hollywood was always in my backyard and my dreams. It's a bit aspirational, but my ultimate goal is to get into the production side of filmmaking. I think producing and financing a film is the perfect intersection between the creative end and the business end. Seeing a film from inception to post production and trying to sell to distributors to go into theaters – that would be my ideal. - You're getting a head start on producing with your Honors thesis, which includes drafting your own plans for creating and financing a film. Can you talk a little bit about that?
In my thesis I'm looking at alternative ways to finance films, because they are extremely expensive and tend to be monopolized by studios. There tends to be a dilution of artistic vision in order to appease investors, so I would love to see filmmakers leveraging ways to finance films that protect artistic vision. I'm writing a complete investment package for a film I would want to produce. I'm drafting the predecessor of a screenplay, the creative inspiration, casting, soundtrack – the whole bit. Then I'm researching the current methods of film financing and looking at the alternative investment space such as hedge funds, private equity and venture capital funds and even crowdsourcing, and how that could potentially be the future. - You've had your own red carpet experience at the Cannes Film Festival – what was that like?
I remember I was so excited – you're on the red carpet seeing all the celebs go past, there's paparazzi all around, music blasting and then you get to walk the red carpet as well and get your photo taken.
Then you get into the theater and the movie starts and you realize as you're watching that the actors and directors and producers are all watching it with you. It's a totally different experience. They're seeing the end product for the very first time, watching and experiencing it with you.
It was a moment that hit me and I just said, “Wow, this is why I love movies." I love film because it's an art medium that can connect people from different countries and cultures around the world – it unites humanity along the way. - What is something that goes on behind the scenes of an event like the Academy Awards or Cannes that viewers wouldn't know?
Most people don't know the amount of time and effort and commitment to a vision that just one film takes. If you're looking way back at the inception, it starts with an idea and is turned into script, then having the script approved, finding the talent, getting the contracts – and the legalities can take months, the actual production can take anywhere from three months to a year, and then you have the editing process. Then once you have the final product, you're taking it to different venues such as film festivals and promoting it. And you're probably faced with a lot of scrutiny – it's art, and people are very eager to give criticisms. To hold strong to your vision and believe it will succeed takes a lot of courage. It's not just fluff, about the glamour and money – it's about the commitment and dedication from the get-go. - What is your favorite part of the Academy Awards?
It's definitely changed a little bit in the past year. Before, I would love watching it because of all the superficial glamor that comes with it – it's bringing all of Hollywood into one night to celebrate film. It's so fabulous to see everyone walk down the red carpet, and it's fun if you've seen a bunch of the movies. But after having gone to the film festival and working directly in that environment, I have such a deeper appreciation for it – you see the countless hours and work that goes into something like this. And it's fun to say I got to see these films at the festival, before anyone else did, that I helped create a marketing event for “Silver Linings Playbook." And those producers and distributors who came to that event and thought it had potential drove it forward into distribution sales and theaters, and now it's going on to the Oscars. That is so cool. - Prediction time: What movie do you think will win Best Picture?
You have “Amour," “Argo," “Beasts of the Southern Wild," “Django Unchained," “Les Misérables," “Life of Pi," “Lincoln," “Silver Linings Playbook" and “Zero Dark Thirty." So, gosh, it's going to be very tough this year. Looking at this list, I think that the studios and independent studios did a great job with the films they decided to take on – it's going to be a very, very tough race.
I think one of the strongest contenders is definitely “Lincoln" – Steven Spielberg was the director, Daniel Day Lewis has already won two other Oscars, and it's a historical piece. The Oscars love their historical pieces and they're hard to do, so I think that one is a very strong contender. “Argo" is also up there and very likely to win Best Picture based on how it's been received by critics already – the people who voted for most of the awards it's already won are also the same people voting in the Academy Awards. I have a strong feeling that “Argo" will win. - And your predictions for Best Featured Actor/Actress?
There are so many people up for Best Actor as well, but I think that Daniel Day Lewis will probably win for “Lincoln." He's a very, very talented actor, and I stand by my bet.
For Best Featured Actress, I definitely hope it's Jennifer Lawrence in “Silver Linings Playbook." I'm biased – I love her – but it's one of those amazing stories where she was a nobody from Kentucky, started out as an indie star, and then she was brought on to the “Hunger Games" trilogy and “X-Men," and now she's the second youngest woman to receive a nomination for Best Actress. She's only 22 years old.
Her story for "Silver Linings Playbook" is so cool, too – she was up against megastars like Angelina Jolie and Kristen Stewart, and she auditioned on Skype from her home in Kentucky. The director was blown away, and she got the part, beat out all odds and has just proven herself a very talented actress. - If you could act or direct any of these films, which would you want to be in?
There's part of me that would have loved to play Jennifer Lawrence's character in "Silver Linings Playbook." I love "Silver Linings Playbook"; it's one of those films that at first glance people wouldn't have thought would make it in so many nominations – typically the Oscars love those history or Spielberg films, and this is more indie. I love her character because she plays this crazed woman who is slightly insane but normal, a tough exterior with a very human vulnerability. It really brings to light the dysfunctionality that exists in all our lives, that most people suppress, and that's what makes it so loveable and relatable. She's such a real character, more so than you typically see in the mega pictures. It's nice to see something that's so human and so relatable making it to this level. And being able to star opposite Bradley Cooper? That would be a good film! - If you could nominate any film/director/actor that wasn't nominated, what would it be and why?
Ben Affleck for best director. I think he got snubbed out of the Oscar nominations, and I'm not sure why because "Argo" is up for Best Picture. Historically it's very rare for a film to win Best Picture if it's not also up for Best Director nomination. A lot of people were surprised by that, and I think he's proven himself not only as an actor but as a director – he was recognized at the Directors Guild for their highest acclaimed award and he's won countless other critical awards for his film. - Any tips for watching the Academy Awards?
Definitely the first thing would be to see the films. Not all of them, because there's a lot, but it's important to watch them and have your own opinion on what you think went well and your own predictions. Otherwise, it will be meaningless if you don't have any attachment. And I would do a little bit of background research – if this director is up, what are some other films he's directed? And just enjoy it: It's a magical night. It reminds us of why we still love going to the movies. I hope one day I can be there!
Bonus Question:
In your opinion, what sets an Oscar-winning performance apart from others?
I don't think it needs to be someone that is a huge celebrity – we've seen that with stories like Jennifer Lawrence – but it comes back to taking a story and being able to tell it so well that when you're watching it, you are totally convinced of the character and you feel the emotions that they're feeling. You could have any great story but it's up to the creative talent, the directors and actors, to tell that story. And if you look at some of the roles of the movies up for nominations, they're hard roles to play. You typically find that the roles are much more dramatic and challenging. They don't go up for Oscars because it's an easy chick flick role – there's a lot of character depth but it's not artificial. I did a lot of acting when I was in high school, and for me the most important part was trying to take this character that I saw on paper and adding my experience to it – not just trying to be someone else, but adding who you are into that character. That's what makes it seem really real.