Hollywood Reporter names John Douglass a top film school mentor

My very good friend and colleague at AU’s SOC just got some well deserved recognition. The Hollywood Reporter included John in their list of top mentors at film schools around the nation:

John Douglass Associate professor and director, film and media arts, American University

Douglass estimates that hes mentored thousands of students during the past 30 years at AU — and insists that time hasnt diminished the kick he gets out of seeing students learn the art of visual storytelling.

“I enjoy the dissemination of information, actually figuring out how to take something apart and make it understandable,” he says, “and then watch them have the Ah-ha experience … and subsequently turn out really top-rated product.”

And though the tools have changed from film to tape to electronic capture, “storytelling skills have remained pretty much the same but theres been an evolution. Kids who grew up on movies are now making movies, taking more chances, trying more things.”

Douglass, a D.C. native, got his masters degree at AU in theater, and began his career as a director, cameraman and editor, churning out commercial films for government agencies and others before taking a screenwriting instructor position at AU. His students have included Adam Goodman, head of production at Paramount; producer James Middleton “Terminator Salvation” and “Saturday Night Live” writer Max Brooks.

via Mentors: Film School.