Iman Lavery, Class of 2023: Film & Creative Development

When I arrived for the first day of my internship with Paramount Pictures in summer 2022, it felt like I was stepping into a movie scene. And, in a way, I was. The Paramount Pictures Studio Lot is located in Hollywood – the only major studio lot remaining in the neighborhood that gave the entertainment capital its name. As I made my way from the parking lot to the office that would be mine for the next ten weeks, it felt like the world was moving at warp speed around me. Costume department assistants brushed by rolling racks of firefighter uniforms and dresses straight out of a Jane Austen movie, props coordinators carried autumn trees towards the New York set, and golf carts shuttled all manner of crew and equipment between sound stages. To my right, set designers put the finishing touches on a hospital scene, while to my left they dismantled the façade of a house. I had wanted to spend my summer in the heart of the storytelling world, and there I was.

When I arrived at Harvard four years ago, concentrating in English was a no-brainer. The prospect of earning a bachelor’s degree by reading and writing for four years felt too good to be true, and I dove headfirst into the department’s offerings, consuming English courses with an insatiable appetite. Choosing a career path was far more daunting, but I was led towards Hollywood thanks in large part to my professors, who incorporated a range of media—including film and television—into their syllabi. They encouraged me to translate my passion for entertainment into my work, for example, in my Expos midterm paper, which used Shakespeare’s Henry VI plays to make predictions about the then-forthcoming final season of Game of Thrones.

Indeed, a job in film development is much like an English course. Creative development in the film and television industry encompasses everything that occurs between the conception of an idea and the beginning of production: buying a script, hiring a writer, casting, buying or selling a project for distribution, and (most exciting) workshopping and developing the story. When you’re working in development, the most important skill to have is the ability to formulate and articulate your own opinions. Much like an in-class discussion on the week’s readings, there is no right answer when it comes to the evaluation of scripts and the development of a film. Strong opinions and unique perspectives are welcomed – because the only thing that matters is creating the best movie possible.

There are many thinks about working in Hollywood that a classroom could never prepare you for: telling your boss to turn down the script of a famous writer, remembering eight different coffee orders, calling your favorite actor’s agent to request his availability for an upcoming project, filling out customs forms to mail a package to France, etc. However, the ability to engage in the storytelling process and truly understand what makes a story work is intrinsic to the work done in an English classroom. When I finally drove off the lot for the last time at the end of the summer—the sound stages as abuzz with activity as ever—I left assured that I had added value to my team by bringing a fresh perspective and a thoughtful opinion to each project.