Kicking off the Conversation

The following is the outline of the kickoff speech I gave at “The Conversation,” a conference on the future of independent film at Columbia University. Sorry that it’s missing the adlibs…maybe someone taped it.

On behalf of the Columbia University School of the Arts and the Columbia Business School, I’d like to welcome you all to our campus. If you haven’t been here before, I’m sure you are a bit shocked to see that a place like this exists right in the middle of Manhattan. It’s a great place to live and to learn. I want to thank Daisy Nam at the School of the Arts and Hollis O’Rourke at the Business School for making this day possible.

When Scott Kirshner put the word out that he wanted to find a place in New York to hold this event, I told him right away that I wanted to bring it to Columbia. The reasons why are a bit complicated, but I thought they might be a good starting point for the discussion that will be going on all day. Continue reading “Kicking off the Conversation”