Corey Michelle
Corey Michelle, a graduate of the 2016 class, sat for an interview with us recently. Her story perfectly describes the hard work and productivity characteristic of film careers.
Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park inspired Corey Michelle to go into filmmaking. After graduating from Liberty University’s Cinematic Arts program, she moved to Hawaii—coincidentally, the primary film location for Jurassic Park. Since then, she has worked in the Assistant Director (AD) department on numerous big-budget features and TV shows, including her recent work as a Production Assistant (PA) on Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
“There are so many things I love about the film industry,” she said. “I love that I don’t work in a cubicle, especially being in Hawaii. My office is at the beach, in the mountains, the jungle, million-dollar mansions, penthouses, yachts, and even World War II bunkers. Being on an island, you work with a lot of the same crew, but they bring a lot of crew over too, so you get to meet new people on every shoot. I also love having a flexible schedule, like I can take a month off in between projects if I want.”
When asked if the Cinematic Arts department prepared her professionally, she said that although it is difficult to emphasize each facet of the industry, she did feel like working on cycle projects and thesis films helped prepare her for set life. She spoke about how she was sometimes discouraged during her senior year, but Professor Douglas Miller encouraged her to trust the process and believe in herself.
Michelle advised future students to “work hard, stay humble, and take nothing personally. Most projects last a few months so you will be working with the same group of people 16 hours a day and sometimes six days a week. You’ll get yelled at, sometimes for just being in the wrong place at the wrong time, which is incredibly frustrating, but you’ll need to get over it quickly. You have a job to do, and you can’t let your hurt feelings or bruised ego get in the way of that. Also, no one likes to work with someone who is arrogant, so leave your pride in your car.”
Nothing speaks more about leaving pride in the car than the story of how Michelle met actor Jack Black. While working on Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, she was learning how to survive 14-hour days standing in the hot Hawaiian sun. She was a lock-up PA, which meant she was always located away from set, and whenever the crew turned the camera around (away from her area), she was free to seek shelter. The bathrooms on set were portable units but had running water and air-conditioning, making them convenient places for her to cool down and check her phone. One day, she was in a bathroom for about 10 minutes when she decided to head back to her lock-up location. She opened the door and there in front of her, waiting for the bathroom, was Jack Black. He responded without missing a beat, “Should I light a match?”
Michelle’s final word to students was this: “Enjoy your time as a student; don’t be in such a rush to get out of there. Once you graduate, everyone kind of scatters, which is wonderful, because you are all pursuing your dreams. You can always stay in touch over social media, but it’s different. You never know when the next time all your friends will be together at the same time. So just enjoy the present.”
