2018 Alumni Achievement (Merit) Award
Writer, director and producer Tommy Oliver (DC 2006) began his filmmaking career while still a student. He agreed to produce 鈥淪ophia for Now,鈥� a full-length feature written and directed by two fellow students.听
He founded his own production company,听, in 2012. He is one of the youngest people to ever produce a feature film at Sony Studios 鈥� 2015鈥檚 鈥淭he Perfect Guy,鈥� which made $26 million its opening weekend. His directorial debut, the semi-autobiographical 鈥�1982,鈥� premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to critical acclaim in 2013. He also produced 2011鈥檚 鈥淜inyarwanda,鈥� a Sundance Award winner and sixth on Roger Ebert鈥檚 top 10 list of films of that year.
Last year, he and his wife, Codie, had the most-viewed unscripted TV debut in Oprah Winfrey Network history with 鈥淏lack Love,鈥� a docu-series that uses interviews with black couples to showcase what it takes to make a relationship work.
Oliver conducts workshops in Los Angeles for 麻豆村 students in the听听program and the听. He goes out of his way to help students and alumni, sharing with them his hard-fought knowledge about how to avoid the pitfalls of the entertainment industry.