Film producer to speak tonight

Filmmaking methods are constantly changing, and keeping up with increasing technology requires dedication and talent. Robert Benedetti, renowned film producer and IU alum, said he believes that films create much more than momentary entertainment. \nThe Department of Theatre and Drama has invited Benedetti to speak on the use of digital technology in film and Hollywood ethics. He will speak in the Ruth N. Halls Theatre at 5 p.m. tonight. \n"He will help to de-mythologize Hollywood," said Dale McFadden, head of the acting and directing program in the theatre department. \nDuring his post-graduate education at IU, Benedetti laid a solid foundation for his career in film. Benedetti honed his acting skills as a member of the first season of the Indiana Theatre Company, which inspired him to begin directing at regional theatres. While in Indiana, he met his wife, Joan, who received her bachelor's degree in theater and her master's degree in library science. \nEven after leaving IU, Benedetti continued to be a part of the education system. Over the course of 35 years, he held multiple teaching positions, including a position at the Yale Drama School. But he did not teach consistently for these 35 years.\n"One reason why I left teaching was because I noticed that vitality has evaporated from college campuses since the 1960s," he said. \nBut today he sees that liberalist energy returning to students and thus he has continued to speak at universities nation-wide. By also conducting theatre workshops, Benedetti is able to continue sharing his knowledge with students. \nBenedetti strives to use his films as another means of teaching. Because of his films' strong social content, many are made for cable television, where more issue-driven work can be shown. "Miss Evers' Boys," shown on HBO, dealt with the United States Government's 1932 Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments; a group of test subjects were allowed to die when a cure for the disease had been developed. \nBenedetti said these sorts of films create heightened social awareness. \n"I have always worked on films with issues of social interaction," he said, "to try to make a better world." \n"The Actor at Work," now in its eighth edition, was written by Benedetti and is used as a standard text for teaching acting. In addition to speaking twice at IU, he will also lead two seminars for the Theatre Department. The first is a question and answer discussion on the topic of the current state of the theatre, and the second will be a workshop on acting for the camera. \nJohn Kinzer, the director of audience development for the theatre department, believes that the workshop will be especially beneficial, because IU does not have a program that trains students for film acting.\nEach year, the IU Theater Department, brings in different speakers funded by the Collins Memorial Lecture Series. Benedetti was chosen in part because of his studies at IU, but mostly because of his long and rewarding career.\n"He has been able to successfully transition himself from a career in theatre to one in film," McFadden said, "and that is a rare phenomenon."\nHis films have proved successful, as Benedetti has won several awards. The two that he said he is most proud of -- the Peabody Award and the Humanitas Prize -- both won for producing "A Lesson Before Dying." "Miss Evers' Boys" was nominated for 12 Emmys and won 5. \n"Good films are still being made," he said, "but they need to have devotion, or celebrity backing."\nAlthough it is important to Benedetti that his films be recognized for their social value, he said his greatest accomplishments are his relationships with his students. Educating is something that Benedetti said he will never give up, whether he is lecturing at a university, conducting a student workshop or looking through the lens of a camera. \n"I never really want to stop teaching," he said.