UC Irvine Extension Announces Annual 'Sneak Preview' Series

Online, August 9, 2011 (Newswire.com) - The University of California, Irvine Extension is pleased to announce the 2011 fall session of "Sneak Previews with Michael Berlin" film series. The program will screen exclusive, advance previews of upcoming Hollywood movies before they are released to the general public. Held for six consecutive Monday evenings from Nov. 7 to Dec. 12 from 6:30-9:30 p.m., "Sneak Previews" will take place at the Edwards University Center, located at the University Center in Irvine, Calif. - across the street from the University of California, Irvine campus. Registration is now open.

"As we start to plan for this year's 'Sneak Preview' series, we take into consideration a wide variety of films that would appeal to our audience and offer our participants an opportunity to satisfy their discerning tastes in movies," said Kirwan Rockefeller, director of arts and humanities at UC Irvine Extension. "By keeping in tradition of not announcing the title of the film until the night of the event, adds to the element of surprise and intrigue of the experience."

Previous "Sneak Previews with Michael Berlin" have included both Academy Award®-winning and nominated movies such as "Black Swan," "Slumdog Millionaire," "Juno," "Atonement," "Kinsey" and "Hotel Rwanda." Each engagement is accompanied by interviews and open Q&A sessions with producers, directors, screenwriters and other entertainment industry leaders. However, the titles of the films and the names of the guest speakers remain under wraps until the night of the screening-all in the spirit of elevating the evening's excitement and fun.
Each session will be hosted by Dr. Michael Berlin, who has a long list of screenwriting and producing credits to his name. Berlin, formerly an associate professor of Screenwriting and Film at California State University, Long Beach has a distinguished three-decade career in Hollywood. He has written feature films including "Anguish," "Breaking Point" and "Robo-Warriors" and for many TV series including "Miami Vice," "Cagney & Lacey," "Murder She Wrote," "Diagnosis: Murder," "Sisters," "The Commish," "Jake and the Fatman," "Hunter," "Missing Persons," "The Exile," "UNSUB," "Earth: Final Conflict" and "The Outer Limits." Most recently, Berlin was the executive producer of "Ars Medicina," the 2011 winner of best documentary at the Downtown Boca Film Festival.

"Year after year we have 'Sneak Preview' fans returning because this is a perfect place for film lovers to experience movies of all genres and subject categories," explains Berlin. "We are mindful of our participants deep passion for movies and will ensure each film is Oscar worthy and the guest speakers offer insightful thoughts into the magic of movie making."

University Synagogue will sponsor the fall 2011 "Sneak Previews" series. Attendees must be 18 years of age or older. General admission is $150 for the series and $75 for UC Irvine students. To learn more about UC Irvine Extension's "Sneak Previews with Michael Berlin" film series or to register, visit http://unex.uci.edu/.

About UC Irvine Extension: As the continuing education arm of UCI, UC Irvine Extension is dedicated to providing a university-level learning experience for students, offering thousands of exciting courses and programs to local, regional, and global constituencies via online curriculum as well as through on campus classes. UC Irvine Extension offers a rich array of academic and community programs to support a diverse audience, from a wide selection of academic programs to numerous campus activities. For more information, please visit www.extension.uci.edu or fan the school at www.facebook.com/UCIExtension.

About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is a top-ranked university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Led by Chancellor Michael Drake since 2005, UCI is among the most dynamic campuses in the University of California system, with nearly 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students, 1,100 faculty and 9,000 staff. Orange County's largest employer, UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $4.2 billion. For more UCI news, visit www.today.uci.edu.

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