Stacy Cochran (courtesy George H. Price Productions)
(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.) — Local filmmaker and Williams College alumna Stacy Cochran will be at the Clark Art Institute on Saturday, November 2, at 2pm for a screening of her terrific new film, Write When You Get Work. After the screening, Cochran will be joined by Emmy-nominated writer/producer and fellow Williams College alumnus Michael Sardo for a conversation about the film and Cochran’s work. A reception follows the event.
Rachel Keller and Finn Wittrock (courtesy George H. Price Productions)
Write When You Get Work is a thorny romantic comedy set in New York City at a private school for girls and in the world outside its exclusive walls. As in Cochran’s previous films, there is a biting if subtle wit and commentary lurking beneath the wry, quirky fun of the story itself. And not unlike Woody Allen at his classic best, Write When You Get Work is a quintessentially New York City movie, in both its visual presentation of the gorgeous city as well as its brutally honest portrayal of the city’s socioeconomic and cultural conflicts.
Written and directed by Cochran and shot on Super16 film by Oscar-winning cinematographer Robert Elswit, ASC, the film stars Finn Wittrock (American Horror Story), Rachel Keller (Legion), Emily Mortimer (Mary Poppins Returns), Scott Cohen (The Fix), Jessica Hecht (Friends), and Andrew Schulz (There’s… Johnny!). It premiered in the Narrative Competition at the South x Southwest film festival (SXSW) in 2018.
Rachel Keller (courtesy George H. Price Productions)
Director, producer, and screenwriter Cochran’s feature film debut, My New Gun (Columbia TriStar, 1992), starring Diane Lane and James LeGros, premiered in Director’s Fortnight at Cannes and earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best First Feature. Subsequent projects as writer-director include the Touchstone/Interscope title Boys (1996), starring Winona Ryder; the short documentary Richard Lester! (1998) — about the director perhaps best known for his Beatles films — which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and is now showing on the Criterion Channel; and Drop Back Ten (2000), which premiered in Dramatic Competition at Sundance. Cochran attended Williams College as a political science major and earned an MFA in film at Columbia University. She was an Arthur Levitt Artist-in-Residence at Williams College.
Michael Sardo has worked on hundreds of episodes of television, including The Tracey Ullman Show, Grace Under Fire, Wings, Picket Fences, Caroline in the City, American Embassy, and Rizzoli & Isles. He has developed and written series pilots for HBO, Showtime, Starz, TNT, ABC, NBC, Lifetime, and USA networks. He was the creator, showrunner, and executive producer of the series Fairly Legal and Normal. Current projects include the half-hour comedy pilot Sagittarius Meets Cancer, adapted from a Russian script, for Storyworld Entertainment; nonfiction event program The Ten; and the series adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s novel The Heart Goes Last for MGM Television.
ABOUT THE CLARK
The Clark Art Institute, located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. Opened in 1955, the Clark houses exceptional European and American paintings and sculpture, extensive collections of master prints and drawings, English silver, and early photography. Acting as convener through its Research and Academic Program, the Clark gathers an international community of scholars to participate in a lively program of conferences, colloquia, and workshops on topics of vital importance to the visual arts. The Clark library, consisting of more than 275,000 volumes, is one of the nation’s premier art history libraries. The Clark also houses and co-sponsors the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.
The Clark, which has a three-star rating in the Michelin Green Guide, is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Its 140-acre campus includes miles of hiking and walking trails through woodlands and meadows, providing an exceptional experience of art in nature. Galleries are open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm; open daily in July and August. Admission is $20; free year-round for Clark members, children 18 and younger, and students with valid ID. Free admission is available through several programs, including First Sundays Free; a local library pass program; EBT Card to Culture; and Blue Star Museums. For more information on these programs and more, visit The Clark or call 413 458 2303.