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Three SFSU alumni nominated for Academy Awards

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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SFSU Office of Public Affairs & Publications
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Press Release published by the Office of Public Affairs & Publications

 


Short documentary 'The Mushroom Club,' sound for 'King Kong' mark 7 years of alumni nominees

SAN FRANCISCO, February 2, 2006 -- For the seventh consecutive year, the film achievements of San Francisco State University alumni have earned them a place among the annual Academy Award nominees.

Steven Okazaki (B.A., '76) has been nominated for Best Documentary Short Subject for his film "The Mushroom Club," while alumni Christopher Boyes (B.A., '85) and Ethan Van Der Ryn (B.A., '85) are nominated for their sound work on the blockbuster movie "King Kong." Boyes shares his nomination for Achievement in Sound Mixing with team members Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges and Hammond Peek. Van Der Ryn was nominated, along with colleague Mike Hopkins, for Achievement in Sound Editing.

These three alumni are no strangers to the red carpet. Okazaki was nominated for Best Feature Documentary in 1985 for "Unfinished Business" and won an Oscar in 1990 for Best Documentary Short Subject for "Days of Waiting." His newly nominated film returns to the subject of his 1980 documentary "Survivors," the effects of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Boyes is an eight-time Oscar nominee. He took home his first Oscar for Best Sound Effects Editing for "Titanic" in 1998 and his second Oscar for "Pearl Harbor" in 2002. The third win came in 2003 for Best Sound for "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King." If Van Der Ryn and Hopkins win their Oscar, it will be their second win. The two share the Oscar for Best Sound Editing on "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" in 2002.

This year's trio follows the 2005 nomination of alumna Annette Bening (B.A., '80) for best actress in a leading role for "Being Julia," her third Academy Award nomination. Other past Academy Award nominees and winners from SFSU's Cinema Department include Steven Zaillian (B.A. '75), who won Best Adapted Screenplay for "Schindler's List" in 1993; and Gloria Borders (B.A. '78), who won Best Sound Effects Editing for "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" in 1991. Shawn Murphy, (B.A., '68), who graduated with a degree in history, won the Oscar for Best Sound for "Jurassic Park" in 1993.

The 78th annual Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2005 will be presented Sunday, March 5, at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre and televised on ABC.

One of the largest campuses in the California State University system, SFSU was founded in 1899 and today is a highly diverse, comprehensive, public, urban university.

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Last modified April 20, 2007, by the Office of Public Affairs & Publications