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Raising the Bar
Reviews Unraveled Theresa
Coyle ’84
  heresa
Coyle ’84 is a modern day explorer. As a television
producer, she travels and documents the world. Coyle’s journeys
have taken her across five continents and 30 countries and all over
America. She scours the globe to shoot The Travel Channel’s
“World’s Best Beaches.”
Her vibrant personality allows her to embrace and capture
the wonder of different cultures and landscapes. One moment she
is hanging from a Utah mountain or riding a camel to Egyptian Pyramids
and in the next, crawling in a New Mexico cave or standing on top
of a New Zealand glacier.
A talented writer, focused worker and energetic traveler,
Coyle is a producer paradigm. “A producer does everything
from shooting the story in the field to writing and editing,”
she says. “Last year, I produced three mini documentaries
for the FX Network—one on the USS Iowa Battleship just won
a NY festival award.” With her flexibility and skill, Coyle
excels at her demanding job. “I never know what I’ll
be doing from month-to-month,” she says. “I’ve
had some wonderful jobs.”
Dylan O’Brien ’96
  ylan
O’Brien ’96 is in a constant battle with his own schedule—he
has been traveling every week for the last 2 1/2 years as a director
of photography. His freelance assignments with MTV,
History, Discovery and A&E have brought him to locations around
the world and throughout the United States.
In May, O’Brien traveled to Germany to shoot another
installment for the “Modern Marvels” series on the History
channel. “We went to a WWII German concentration camp where
they had assembled V-2 rockets in an underground factory with slave
labor,” O’Brien says.
When dealing with such important issues, O’Brien understands
the importance of accuracy. “I deal with a lot of minute detail,”
he says. “You have to make sure you get the shot done right—or
you won’t get any more work.”
On occasion, an assignment fails to feel like work.
“I spent two weeks shooting in Antarctica and saw parts of
the Antarctic Peninsula that no one ever gets to see,” O’Brien
recalls. “It’s all completely undisturbed.”
O’Brien loves what he does. “I’ve
always wanted to be behind the camera—knowing that was the
easy part,” O’Brien says. “The hard part was getting
there.”
Gene Laufenberg ’83
  ene
Laufenberg ’83 supplies skill and sarcastic humor with his
writing. “I’m known as an edgy and dark
writer,” Laufenberg says. “That’s why I work on
so-called weird shows.” Those shows have included “Clueless,”
“Family Guy” and “Duckman,” where an episode
he wrote received an Emmy nomination for Best Animated Show.
Laufenberg was the supervising producer for the FOX
program “Family Guy” for two years. “A supervising
producer in TV really means you’re one of the head writers,”
he explains. “My days involved 12 to 15 writers sitting in
a room writing jokes.” Laufenberg is now a producer and director
of “She Spies,” an hour-long action-comedy show that
debuted on NBC on July 20. “It’s a funny version of
Charlie’s Angels,” he says.
Laufenberg struggled through lean times before landing
his present position. “You have to make sacrifices,”
he says. “I spent a lot of time eating Ramen Noodles, hoping
to sell a script. I’ve worked in painting and construction—writing
is better on my worst day.”
Charles Currier ’91
 
bad day for Charles Currier ’91 involves breaking up
brawls on the set of “Tribunal del Pueblo.”
“It’s a Spanish “People’s Court”—they
wanted a gringo bailiff,” Currier jokes about his 1-year-old
role on the show. “I stop an occasional fight. I go to one
shoot a week and from that alone, I can pay all my bills.”
Currier also performs in Disney and Universal stunt
shows. But he doesn’t limit himself. Occasionally he gets
to show off his other talents, such as singing in a “West
Wing” episode.
Currier has broadened his career by learning specific
skills. “I’ve trained with firearms, sword-fighting,
hand-to-hand combat—all illusory violence,” Currier
says. “I’m over six-feet-tall and have an imposing voice,
so directors see me as a villain.”
Currier knows he’s much more than a bailiff or
a brute. “I’m not a car-crash, light-myself-on-fire
type of guy,” he says. “I’m mostly an actor who
does his own stunts.”
Cindy Smith Anderson ’85
 
indy Smith Anderson ’85, trails real criminals on a daily
basis as a producer for FOX’s “America’s Most
Wanted.”
Anderson is associated with a respected reality show
that has reunited two dozen missing children with their families
and has led to the capture of more than 500 fugitives.
“I field calls from cops and victims’ families about
cases and also fugitives on the run,” Anderson says. “I
gather information about the case including details of the crime
and photos of the fugitive, victim and crime scene.” If her
supervisors approve airing the case, she leaves with a camera crew
to interview people pertinent to the crime’s investigation.
Back in the office, Anderson screens the videotapes and writes and
edits a script. The process can take three days to two weeks.
Anderson stays involved with her cases at all times—responding
to her pager even in the middle of the night. “I’ll
wake up and talk to a cop who says the fugitive I helped profile
just got caught,” she says. “It’s an amazing feeling.”
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Take 9
Hollywood hot-shots, honchos & heavy hitters
By Sabatino Mangini ’01
Hollywood. The land of make believe, where fantasy meets reality.
Where fame can be found and also flittered away. Where the sun shines
on stars of the screen and the busboy cleaning your table may be
next year’s Oscar nominee. Or at least that’s his dream.
Hollywood dreams are fulfilled in many ways, for many people. But
without dedication to craft, creativity and vision, a magical idea
is just another thought and a dream will always be just that: a
dream. Hardworking people on-and-off-screen bring stories to audiences
to entertain, inform and inspire.
The following 10 Rowan alumni make up an ensemble cast of Hollywood
achievers. Their skills and credits are impressive, whether proven
on-screen or behind the scenes.
So, quiet on the set. Action.
Sue Kroll ’83
  f
an entertaining movie is supported by an intriguing script and poignant
acting and groundbreaking directing, but not effectively marketed,
would it make a sound at the box office?
Sue Kroll ’83 can’t risk the wrong
answer to that question. As president of International Marketing
for Warner Bros. Pictures, she develops selling strategies for all
of the company’s overseas film releases. With Kroll at the
helm in 2001, the Warner Bros. international box office returns
totaled $1.34 billion—the second highest industry record.
Whether it’s having AOL promote a movie on the web or placing
movie trailers on similar-genre videos, Kroll evaluates film appeal
and then broadcasts it to the world. “You peel away the layers
to distill it down to what’s compelling,” Kroll says
of film marketing. “You craft messages that break out from
the clutter.”
Kroll broke into the entertainment business as an assistant at Showtime
Networks. A couple months later, she was promoted to advertising
supervisor. Then Kroll advanced her career with a move to TNT as
its new senior vice president of marketing. In 1992, she became
managing director for TNT’s European expansion. Based in London,
Kroll created an infrastructure for the operation of two networks.
Two years later, Warner Bros. sought Kroll to launch its international
brand channel. She accepted their offer and moved to Los Angeles,
where she lives with her husband, Michael Desilets.
Since arriving at Warner Bros., Kroll has handled the international
marketing of blockbusters Matrix, Perfect Storm, Ocean’s 11
and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Kroll says Harry
Potter’s international earnings doubled the domestic gross—a
rewarding return on her work. Her success has been recognized; she
was awarded the International Achievement Award in Distribution
and Marketing at Cinema Expo 2002 as well as the EDI Award for five
films that grossed more than $100 million internationally.
Kroll loves when her films are successful and wins praise from directors
and producers, but the job makes daunting demands. “It’s
so consuming,” Kroll says of her career. “You must allow
it to invade your life, otherwise you can’t do the job.”
Kroll credits her college advertising classes with instilling confidence.
The communications major also made a special connection with professor
emerita Antoinette Libro. “I admired Toni and relied on her
as a resource,” Kroll says. “I latched on to her intangible
qualities.”
The quality of Kroll’s creativity and professionalism is evident
to Warner Bros.—and throughout the world. “I knew I
belonged in entertainment,” Kroll says. “I am an intuitive
marketer. And I wanted to be in an environment that’s fun.”
John Rosas ’77
  or
some fans, to get a little taste of an actor’s off-screen
character is to taste ambrosia. And if you’ve watched a Sony
DVD recently, there’s a 90 percent chance John Rosas ’77
offered that ambrosia by producing the added value.
“Added value is the stuff you see before you watch the movie,”
says Rosas, founding owner of Rosas Productions. “We produce
the commentaries, story-boards, documentaries, interviews—all
the behind-the-scenes footage.”
Rosas Productions, started in 1992, boasts an impressive client
list: Fox, NBC, Disney, Columbia and Tri-Star, among others. The
company handles marketing, promotion and short documentaries as
well as DVD projects. His most recent DVD work is on Ali; Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon; and Stuart Little 2.
The added value on Stuart Little 2 draws special attention
from two of Rosas’ biggest fans—his twin sons, Nick
and Jack. As head of his company, Rosas gets to spend quality time
at his North Hollywood home with his 2 1/2-year-old boys and wife
of seven years, Jennifer. Scheduling his own hours is one of the
best benefits of running Rosas Production—a cue he took from
a communication professor. “Mike Donovan enjoys life,”
Rosas says. “Little things spark him. He’s a calm guy
who has life figured out.”
College mentors and peers remain dear, so Rosas keeps in touch with
friends from his years in Glassboro, in particular Gerry
Stepney ’76. It was while Rosas was at Glassboro
that he decided to have fun as a tour guide for NBC’s Page
Program. “The Page Program was like an internship,”
says Rosas. “I’d give tours around NBC’s New York
office, and then I’d work on “Saturday Night Live”
on the weekend.”
In 1983, he began working for NBC’s creative services—where
he learned about directing and producing. He worked behind the scenes
on “Kennedy,” a miniseries starring Martin Sheen. And
Rosas’ involvement with “Miami Vice” took him
on shoots from New York to Hong Kong. Seven years later, Rosas became
a freelance producer, which ultimately led to Rosas Productions.
Rosas is living life in the moment and loving it. “I have
had the opportunity to travel the world and work with, learn from
and share ideas with interesting, creative and passionate people,”
he says. “I put in long hours but still find the time
to sneak home and join my wife and sons to play tag in the
backyard.”
Joe Martino ’83
  ovie
magic asks an audience to suspend reality, to allow transportation
to a fantasy world. Joe Martino ’83 works inside a world that
audiences do not see, a world where he must balance headline talent
with bottom line results.
As senior vice president of development at Morgan Creek films in
Burbank, Calif., Martino must predict movie potential, purchase
scripts and polish scenes. He must talk to agents, writers, actors
and directors.
“The hardest thing in Hollywood is getting a movie made,”
Martino says. “A company sees 500 scripts a year and will
only make 15 to 20 of them. It’s a grueling decision—you
have to make sure the movie’s commercial.” Some of Martino’s
successes include Midnight Run, Scent of a Woman, Indecent Proposal
and Courage Under Fire.
Martino is continually under fire from the time he buys a script—working
with writers to create quality pacing and rhythm, and throughout
the filming process, viewing “dailies” of what the director
is shooting so he can make recommendations.
“We’re the ‘money people,’” says Martino,
who is married to Mary Therese. “We let the director know
what is working. Guys like Spielberg, Lucas and Scorcese have final
cut, but other than that, the company has final say. That’s
the world I navigate in.”
Once Martino has navigated through the script and filming, the movie
is edited and revised until it’s test-screened by a target
audience. “If the movie is geared for 18-year-old boys, you
better make sure that it’s not 35-year-old women who like
it,” Martino says.
Martino makes sure he abides by a piece of advice he learned as
an RTF student in college. “Richard Grupenhoff and Ned Eckhardt
instilled in me the notion of having to pay your dues,” says
Martino. “Out here, you see these kids from UCLA or USC who
want a top position immediately—like you owe them. They don’t
understand that you’re not going to make it over night.”
Neither is a commercial film. But because Martino has paid his dues,
he’s in a position to help create entertainment for millions
and inspire others to try.
Robert Hegyes ’73
  obert
Hegyes ’73 once paraded before millions of viewers in a Glassboro
State College tee-shirt on the Emmy Award winner, “Cagney
and Lacey.” Made famous as Juan Epstein on
“Welcome Back Kotter,” Hegyes’ credits include
Detective Esposito on “Cagney and Lacey” and cameos
on the “Drew Carey Show,” “News Radio” and
“Suddenly Susan.”
He began his career Off Broadway, culminating in the Broadway show,
Don’t Call Back. “I wasn’t in the union,
so I snuck backstage and went into Glenn Cariou, the director’s
office,” Hegyes recalls. “He said he liked my chutzpah
and gave me the part as co-star in the show.”
From Broadway to TV to film, Hegyes gathered fans, including Ronald
Reagan and George Harrison. Now admirers can read all about it on
the web. “RobertHegyes.com is a retrospective of 25 years’
work,” he says.
A seven-minute snippet of the film, Barhopping, appears on the site,
too. John Travolta—godfather to Hegyes’ daughter—produced
the Showtime movie. The site also tells about Hegyes’ most
recent film role as a corrupt detective in The Purpose, starring
Mia Farrow and Paul Reiser.
Although Hegyes has found success, his first purpose in pursuing
acting wasn’t to hone a craft. “I went to college to
avoid the draft and meet girls,” recalls Hegyes, who majored
in theater. “But college did help me decide that performing
was what I wanted to do. It gave me a safe place to work on acting.”
In recent years, Hegyes has turned his attention to raising four
children—his and hers—with his girlfriend, Cindy Wylie,
in their Venice Beach home. “We’re the neurotic Brady
Bunch,” he says.
Hegyes is happy when he’s performing and his family is supportive.
“I know my acting again makes them happy. My first career
was for me,” he says. “This second one is for the children.”
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