3/5/2010

One of Hollywood’s leading film producers and honorary Suffolk graduate David Hoberman sat down with Distinguished Scholar in Residence James Carroll for a conversation and film screening in Suffolk’s packed Studio Theatre on March 3rd.

Hoberman, the president and founder of Mandeville Films and Television, discussed his career in the entertainment industry and his upcoming film, The Fighter.

“I had to take advantage of all the opportunities that came my way,” said Hoberman, who ascended from the ABC mailroom to talent agent, studio executive, film producer, and assistant professor in UCLA’s Producers Program. He has worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood and on more than 100 movies, including a number of high-profile films, from Dead Poets Society to George of the Jungle.

“We all make choices in life. You can look at someone’s resume and wonder why they made that movie. A lot of decisions are made for the wrong reasons. Fortunately, I’ve made a lot of really good decisions,” said Hoberman.

Describing the film, The Fighter, Hoberman showed clips from a documentary which chronicled the story of Dick Eklund and Micky Ward, two half-brothers from Lowell who were boxers. The hard-hitting documentary showed the decline of one brother’s career due to drug addiction and the improbable rise of another brother to boxing greatness. For Hoberman, the poignant footage of the documentary proved irresistible and was the perfect script for a movie.

“This is a story of redemption,” Hoberman said. “This is the brothers’ story and the family’s story of redemption. At one point, they were loved by Lowell. Then they became hated.”  Hoberman screened some clips from The Fighter, which will be released in the fall. The movie, which stars Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, and Amy Adams, will be Hoberman’s first R-rated release. So far Hoberman has seen rave reviews in early screenings of the movie, as audiences are drawn to the emotionally complex story of Ward and Eklund’s relationship.

“We took the emotional story from the documentary and tried to downplay the drugs and boxing,” Hoberman said.  “This is your American story of going up and then down and then coming out winning.”
 
by Andrew Clark

For more information about the Distinguished Visiting Scholar series including a list of this year's visiting scholars, please visit the Distinguished Visiting Scholars website.

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