Students Travel to LA to Experience Film Industry Past, Present and Future
October 29, 2025
Written by Kari Borne
Last summer, Anna Hajdik and Holly Wilson led a group of 13 film studies students on a “Hooray for Hollywood” travel study course to Los Angeles. Hajdik and Wilson, both faculty in the Department of Literature, Writing and Film had been developing the course for more than 18 months and were excited to see it come to fruition.
The course began with online work, including modules such as making sense of the “City of Angels, LA before moviemaking, the emergence of Hollywoodland, classical Hollywood cinema and the studios and the rise of new Hollywood and a more inclusive LA. They also spent time preparing for travel and getting to know each other.
On June 15, the group of 15 met at O’Hare Airport and departed for 9-day stay in LA. The home base was the University of Southern California (USC), which also houses the School of Cinematic Arts. Silent film star Douglas Fairbanks founded the School of Cinematic Arts at USC. It is the first American university to offer a bachelor’s degree in Film. USC was selected for its convenient location, and its unique ability to host guest speakers in its outdoor gardens.
Students had the opportunity to hear from a wide variety of guest speakers, highlighting the many career options in the industry. UWW alum Jeff Gordan is the director of animation at Walt Disney Television shared his experiences in the industry with students. Jeff Simms, another UWW alum, arranged for the group to visit the national television studio and media headquarters of the NFL. While there, they heard from Derek Hildebranndt, senior vice president of Pixelogic a global creative technology company and learned more about his 30+ year career in the entertainment industry. Daniel Larson is an associate producer at Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions. He is also a graduate of UW-Milwaukee, and shared his advice on breaking into the field. Dr. Allison Perlman, an associate professor of history, film, and media studies at UC-Irvine shared her research on the history of public television with the group.
“Through all of the guest speakers, students really could see themselves with promising career paths in film and media,” said Hadjik. “They all love film for a variety of reasons, but through this experience they could also see their passion as a livelihood.”
The group also visited many landmarks quintessential to understanding Hollywood and film. Paramount Studios, Hollywood Boulevard, the historic Egyptian Theater, the Los Angeles Museum of Art, the Academy Museum, Santa Monica Pier, Griffith Park and Griffith Park Observatory, Universal City, and Hollywood Forever Cemetery were some of the locations they took in. Students explored sets and props from iconic films and examined original scripts and production notes from others.
“Many students in our group had never been out of Wisconsin or to a bigger city,” said Wilson. “We used the Metro to get all over the city. It was a great way for students to navigate public transportation and interact with a diverse community.
The course is offered in partnership with UWW’sContinuing Education department and is being offered again in summer 2026. It is open to anyone with an interest in the topics and students from any institution can enroll.