Director Gives $5 Million to USC Film School

Academy Award-winning director Robert Zemeckis has donated $5 million to USC’s School of Cinema-Television toward the creation of a digital arts studio. The $15-million facility, the school’s first new building since 1984, will introduce students to high-tech production techniques that are increasingly vital in Hollywood, said Dean Elizabeth Daley. The Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts will be housed in a 20,000-square-foot building at USC in the Figueroa Corridor, an area targeted for multimedia industry development. Construction is scheduled to begin in May, and students will begin using it no later than Jan. 1, 2001, Daley said. Zemeckis, a USC alumnus, won an Academy Award for the film “Forrest Gump,” which used digital editing to enable the title character to “speak with” President Kennedy, among others. His other films, including “Contact” and “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” are also known for their innovative use of digital effects.