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The Dirty Dozen is the
nickname for a group of
filmmaking students at the
USC School of Cinematic Arts within the
University of Southern California during the mid-late 1960s. The main group consisted of budding
directors ,
screenwriters ,
producers ,
editors , and
cinematographers . Through innovative techniques and effects, they ended up achieving great success in the
Hollywood film industry.
Also known as the "USC Mafia", the group's name was a reference to the 1967
Robert Aldrich -directed
war film
The Dirty Dozen .
[1]
The core group
George Lucas - Academy Award-nominated director, screenwriter, producer, creator of the
Star Wars series and co-creator of
Indiana Jones series
John Milius - Academy Award-nominated screenwriter of
Apocalypse Now and director of
Conan the Barbarian
Howard Kazanjian - producer of such films as
Raiders of the Lost Ark ,
The Empire Strikes Back , and
Return of the Jedi
Walter Murch -
Academy Award -winning film editor and
sound editor of Apocalypse Now ,
The Conversation ,
The Godfather Part II ,
The English Patient , and
Cold Mountain
Hal Barwood - screenwriter
Matthew Robbins - screenwriter
Randal Kleiser - director
Grease ,
The Blue Lagoon ,
It's My Party
Caleb Deschanel - Academy Award-nominated
director of photography on
The Right Stuff ,
The Natural ,
Fly Away Home ,
The Patriot ,
The Passion of the Christ and
Never Look Away
Robert Dalva - Academy Award-nominated editor of films such as
The Black Stallion ,
Jumanji ,
Jurassic Park III , and
Hidalgo
Willard Huyck - Academy Award-nominated screenwriter of films such as
American Graffiti
Donald Glut - Writer of television animation and of the novelization of
The Empire Strikes Back
Other affiliated members
Group projects
THX 1138 - having evolved from an experimental
short film called
Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB , this was Lucas' first feature-length project as a director.
[2] It was co-written by Murch and released in March 1971.
American Graffiti - after George Lucas dropped plans to produce a documentary on
disc jockey
Wolfman Jack , he was able to make a name for himself with American Graffiti , which was produced by friend and mentor
Francis Ford Coppola .
[3] The film was co-written by Lucas, Huyck, and the latter's wife,
Gloria Katz .
Apocalypse Now - written by Milius and sound designed by Murch, and having established himself with the success of American Graffiti , George Lucas was originally set to direct the film in California as a low-budget, documentary-style feature.
[4] However, the complicated production process of
Star Wars caused him to drop out.
[5]
Corvette Summer
Howard the Duck
Radioland Murders
Dark Star , directed by John Carpenter and written by Carpenter and Dan O'Bannon.
References
^ Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas, Dale Pollock, pp. 48
^
The Student Movie Makers ,
TIME Magazine , February 02, 1968
^ Baxter, pp. 70, 104, 148, 254
^ Cowie 2001, p. 3.
^ Cowie 2001, p. 6.