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Film producer Phil Cooke ignites vision within communication students

Movie producer Dr. Phil Cooke speaks to a class of Liberty University cinematic arts students.

Movie producer Dr. Phil Cooke and his wife, Kathleen, co-founders of Cooke Pictures, visited classes at the Liberty University School of Communication & Creative Arts (SCCA) on Thursday, sharing practical tips for success in a storytelling career, across a number of mediums.

Phil Cooke, considered “one of the most innovative communicators of our generation,” has produced media programming around the world and is the president of Cooke Pictures. He was the executive producer of the documentary “Hillsong: Let Hope Rise,” which played in over 800 theaters nationwide last year, and has appeared on a number of major news networks as well as profiled in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and the Wall Street Journal. Cooke has authored a number of books, including “One Big Thing: Discovering What You Were Born To Do,” which was named one of the Top Five Business Books of 2012 by the Washington Post, and his latest, “Unique: Telling Your Story in the Age of Brands and Social Media.”

Kathleen Cooke is the vice president of Cooke Pictures and an award-winning actress. She speaks across the nation and helps a number of universities develop entertainment internship opportunities. Cooke is on the advisory board for the Hollywood Prayer Network and is a National Board Member of The Salvation Army.

Cooke Pictures has helped some of the largest nonprofit organizations and leaders in the world use the media to tell their story in a changing culture.

Kathleen Cooke offers career advice to aspiring creatives and storytellers.

The couple visited students in the Department of Studio & Digital Arts (SADA), Department of Digital Media & Communication Arts, Department of Theatre Arts, and Cinematic Arts, Zaki Gordon Center. They shared stories from their decades of working in Hollywood — as producers and innovators and, in Mrs. Cooke’s case, an actress — in an attempt to inspire the students and provide a window to industry success.

Many students were hungry for more, and when it was announced that Cooke was offering one-on-one meetings on Friday, they raced to sign up.

Among them was cinematic arts senior Josh Kirkland, who aspires to direct feature films. He said that it was impactful to hear perspective from someone who is working in the field.

“All of the (Cookes’) stories tie back to practical advice you can do every day: how to fix your résumé, how to connect with people,” he said. “It was inspiring but it was also real stuff that we can do now.”

Kirkland especially appreciated the passion the speakers emulated.

“That means a lot to us (film students). They seemed very genuine; a lot of people in film come across as superficial.”

Phil Cooke was also the keynote speaker at the SCCA’s annual Ann Wharton Banquet on Thursday, where he shared principles to ignite one’s influence, including having an enormous ambition, being purposeful with one’s time, always taking responsibility, and leveraging your personal story. He said that Christians should strive to expand their platform and find ways to tell their story well, because it is an important one.

“He really pushed (knowing) your vision and your dream,” said senior Amber Tiller, who is studying journalism with a minor in photography. “I think that followed through in the banquet speech last night as well as in the classroom.”

She said it was evident that Cooke is very passionate at helping the church become better at telling stories and being more culturally engaging.

“That is fascinating to me as a journalist, because that is what I want to do with my work — to engage culture more than stray away from it,” Tiller said. “He came with a fire that he was excited about his work, and that got me really excited about my work. He made me feel like my dreams were important because he was telling us to follow the vision that the Lord has given us. It was very pertinent considering I am about to go into the workforce.”

The Cookes’ visit also included meeting with the Center for Apologetics & Cultural Engagement, which produces a number or resources intended to help Liberty students as they seek godly influence in the conversations relevant to the world around them.

On Friday, SCCA students were given another opportunity to hear from an industry professional. FOX News contributor and digital host Todd Starnes spoke to a room full of journalism students Friday afternoon after giving the Convocation message in the morning.

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