1 of 5 | George Clooney (L) and his wife Amal Clooney arrive for the American Film Institute's 46th annual Life Achievement Award tribute gala in June 2018. George Clooney is backing the Roybal School of Film and Television Production in Los Angeles along with Mindy Kaling, Don Cheadle, Kerry Washington and Eva Longoria. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI |
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June 21 (UPI) -- George Clooney, Mindy Kaling, Don Cheadle, Kerry Washington, Eva Longoria and more have teamed up with the Los Angeles Unified School District to found a new film and television production academy.
The Roybal School of Film and Television Production will be housed within the Edward R. Roybal Learning Center in Los Angeles and open its doors in fall 2022 as a magnet school.
Other backers include Grant Heslov, Nicole Avant, Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner of Working Title and Bryan Lourd of Creative Artists Agency.
The school will promote change across the entertainment industry and will help students from underserved communities. The school will start with ninth and 10th-grade students before expanding to 11th and 12th grade over the next two years.
Clooney and the other founding members will serve on the school's advisory board. Teachers will have access to industry professionals and students can take part in an internship program.
"Our aim is to better reflect the diversity of our country. That means starting early. It means creating high school programs that teach young people about cameras, and editing and visual effects and sound all the career opportunities that this industry has to offer. It means internships that lead to well-paying careers. It means understanding that we're all in this together," Clooney said in a statement.
Cast member George Clooney (L), and then-girlfriend Celine Balitran arrive for the premiere of "The Peacemaker" in Los Angeles, on September 24, 1997. Clooney rose to fame for his role in
the TV series, "ER," that ran from 1994 to 2009. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI |
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