{"id":16341,"date":"2025-02-03T08:16:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-03T13:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/?p=16341"},"modified":"2025-03-03T09:33:44","modified_gmt":"2025-03-03T14:33:44","slug":"40-under-40-entertainment-art-and-style","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/2025\/02\/03\/40-under-40-entertainment-art-and-style\/","title":{"rendered":"40 Under 40: Entertainment, Art, and Style"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Movie Producer, Palme d\u2019Or Winner<\/h3>\n\n\n
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Photo credit: Abaca Press\/Alamy Live News<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

It seems like a dream sequence: You\u2019re at the Cannes Film Festival, jury president Greta Gerwig announces your movie as winner of the Palme d\u2019Or (the top prize), and at the after-party, she tells you she genuinely loved the film. \u201cIt was a magical experience,\u201d says Alex Coco \u201912<\/strong>, who produced the award-winning, dark romantic comedy Anora<\/em>. (Pictured, second from right, with Vache Tovmasyan, Samantha Quan, Sean Baker, Mikey Madison, and Karren Karagulian.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, it was \u201cthe thing I always wanted to do \u2014 win that award. To be in that class and to be a part of history that way is pretty special.\u201d Coco says he and writer\/director Sean Baker had set their expectations low going into the festival last May. But after the premiere, \u201cwe felt better and better about our chances.\u201d The audience was \u201cfully engaged, and you could feel the energy,\u201d he says, adding that the crew saw the glowing reviews online as soon as they left the theater. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coco previously worked on Baker\u2019s The Florida Project<\/em> and Red Rocket<\/em>; his other producer credits include The Sweet East<\/em> and Pet Shop Days<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the writers\u2019 strike, he started building up a slate of smaller films ($5 million and below) \u201cto cultivate more talent, which is what we need in this industry very badly \u2014 we need more young filmmakers,\u201d he says. In addition, Coco has been producing commercials and music videos for stars like Childish Gambino, Addison Rae, and Vince Staples. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He describes his producer role as \u201csoup to nuts with filmmaking.\u201d Coco explains: \u201cI\u2019ve always tried to be as well rounded as possible. I\u2019m involved in coming up with ideas, developing the script, taking it out to cast, taking it to agencies or talent directly, finding money for the project, building the budget and the production plan, executing the film on set, taking the film into post-production, and then working with sales agents if we haven\u2019t sold the rights to the film yet.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing up, he was the kid with his dad\u2019s camcorder at family events and making movies with his friends. While in high school in New Canaan, Conn., Coco took a film class and saw David Lynch\u2019s Eraserhead<\/em>. \u201cThat movie destroyed me. It put me in a horrible mood. I wanted to take a shower. When I came out of that emotional state, I was like, \u2018I didn\u2019t know a movie could actually do that to you, and I didn\u2019t know you could walk the line between art and storytelling in this way.\u2019 David Lynch was able to bring those two worlds together, and I was like, \u2018This is what I\u2019ve been waiting for\u2026 I\u2019ve found what I want to do.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coco was recruited by Colgate for track (he ran the 110-meter hurdles) and, although he knew he wanted to focus on art and film, chose the University for its liberal arts education.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Know <\/h3>\n\n\n
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Imani Ballard \u201918<\/strong> predicts the future. A senior content curator with the streaming service Tubi, Ballard says, \u201cThe main part of my job is having an encyclopedic knowledge of the industry and what\u2019s trending, looking at data and seeing what has performed well, and trying to forecast what will perform well.\u201d Other streaming services \u201crely on an algorithm to show viewers what to watch; at Tubi, a lot of that is driven by a person like me, and we make containers of content.\u201d Ballard will look at the platform, see what collections are missing, scour available content, and create these containers. For example, she built a collection based on true events and one on book-based content. She can also \u201cniche down,\u201d like creating a Shonen (for young boys) subcategory of anime. Ballard specializes in Asian cinema, sci-fi and fantasy, and international content, so she helped launch Tubi in the UK last summer. From personal projects like her Subcultural<\/em> show on Spoon Radio to her professional experiences that have included working for Redbox and Fox Soul, Ballard has explored different ways of telling audiences \u201cwhat\u2019s popping in the zeitgeist.\u201d Her ultimate goal is to bridge the gap between Asian cinema and U.S.-based stories about people of color \u2014 which might be how Ballard\u2019s personal Venn diagram would look. Her fascination with Korean culture began at age 12, when her brother had a Korean roommate at school. She\u2019s since been learning the language, was a member of Colgate\u2019s Korean Student Association, studied abroad there, has traveled there on her own several times, and has developed a circle of close friends who live in Korea (one of whom she talks to daily, alternating between Korean and English conversations). When she joined Tubi three years ago, she told them that that\u2019s where her interests lie. \u201cKorean has opened up so much for me,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2018Picking Out the Pieces That Reveal Someone\u2019s Character\u2019<\/h3>\n\n\n
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A sign Elizabeth L\u00ea \u201909<\/strong> chose the right career: She often forgets she\u2019s working. For a recent documentary on Jim Henson, L\u00ea, lead assistant video editor for Imagine Entertainment, found herself watching hours of Muppet Show<\/em> footage, looking for clips that demonstrated Henson\u2019s before-his-time focus on acceptance and inclusivity. \u201cI\u2019d just get pulled in,\u201d she says. L\u00ea, an English major, got her start in post-production work for an ad agency, creating spots for Jif, Walgreens, and Folgers, among others. Soon, she was hired to work on a home renovation show for celebrity chef Bobby Flay\u2019s production company and, later, created digital extras for TLC\u2019s Say Yes to the Dress<\/em>. When COVID-19 shut down production \u2014 \u201cnobody was buying wedding dresses during the pandemic,\u201d she quips \u2014 L\u00ea transitioned to documentary-style work, including a Peacock series on Ghislaine Maxwell, a Judy Blume doc for Amazon Prime, and the Henson film, Jim Henson Idea Man<\/em>, which took home five Emmy Awards last September. While her work involves hours of perusing content and working with complex editing software, she likens her job to something much simpler: \u201cI\u2019m a storyteller,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m combing through raw footage and picking out the pieces that reveal someone\u2019s character.\u201d L\u00ea\u2019s current project \u2014 a hush-hush docuseries on, at press time, an unnamed famous actor \u2014 is keeping her busy, but she hopes her future projects highlight people who often \u201cget ignored or othered,\u201d she says, relating her own background as the daughter of Vietnamese refugees. \u201cThose perspectives and voices add texture,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd they\u2019re stories worth telling.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supporting Storytellers <\/h3>\n\n\n
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Michael LoFaso \u201910<\/strong> was primed for a career on Wall Street when he graduated from Harvard Business School in 2016. But after a stint at Morgan Stanley, he felt pulled toward Hollywood. LoFaso, a Buffalo, N.Y., native and Colgate mathematical economics major, had always loved movies (Christopher Nolan\u2019s Batman<\/em> trilogy is his all-time fave) and soon parlayed his business background into a career at the intersection of art and commerce. Now as co-CEO of the film and TV production company Rideback, LoFaso \u201csupports storytellers in helping big, creative endeavors come to life,\u201d he says. Some of Rideback\u2019s recent endeavors: 2019\u2019s live-action Aladdin<\/em>, the LEGO<\/em> movie franchise, and the adaptation of Stephen King\u2019s It<\/em>. He shares his insights on choosing projects with blockbuster appeal:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make it relatable.<\/strong> \u201cAt Rideback, we always try to tell stories with universal themes that audiences can relate to \u2014 a coming-of-age or underdog story, for example. Even a movie like It<\/em>, when you strip away the scares, is about a group of outcast kids who band together to face their fears. That\u2019s something people can identify with.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make it immersive.<\/strong> \u201cWe\u2019re drawn to projects that create distinct new worlds, so that when you take in something like [Rideback-produced TV series] Avatar: The Last Airbender<\/em>, you\u2019re immersed in an engaging visual setting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t forget the grown-ups.<\/strong> \u201cFor family movies like the LEGO<\/em> series or the live-action Lilo and Stitch<\/em> movie we\u2019re working on now, we like to lean into humor and heart that adults can enjoy too. When it works on different levels, we know we have a chance at making something memorable.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Newsmaker: Taylor Mooney \u201917, Documentary Producer, CBS Reports <\/h3>\n\n\n
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Teenage dream: <\/strong>\u201cAs a high schooler, I remember watching a 60 Minutes<\/em> segment of Anderson Cooper speaking with marine biologists who were trying to save coral reefs, and I pointed to the screen telling my mom, \u2018I want to do that.\u2019 But I wasn\u2019t talking about the marine biologists, I was talking about Cooper\u2019s work \u2014 communicating science to the public through factual, visual reporting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeing stars: <\/strong>\u201cDocumentary producer Caitlin Grossjung \u201913 helped me land my first job as a production assistant for National Geographic\u2019s StarTalk With Neil deGrasse Tyson<\/em> and a subsequent role with NatGeo\u2019s docuseries Explorer<\/em>. Now as a producer with CBS Reports, I\u2019m researching stories, writing scripts, pulling material from archives, roaming court records databases, polling experts, and talking to anyone and everyone who wants to share their story with me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rage bait: <\/strong>\u201cCaring about something enough to find ways to make others care is an absolutely critical (and occasionally infuriating) process in developing a story idea. I\u2019ve found that when I\u2019m in a full rage spiral of \u2018Why doesn\u2019t anyone care about this as much as I do?!\u2019 that means there is absolutely something there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No fake news: <\/strong>\u201cEvery single decision is fact-checked. My editor and I spend weeks choosing what shots and bites to use to ensure the proper framing of a story. I\u2019ll spend hours rewording one sentence of narration to make sure it\u2019s accurate but nuanced.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making Musk<\/em>: <\/strong>\u201c[Webby Award\u2013winning CBS Reports documentary] Elon Musk, Inc.<\/em> was a challenge from the beginning. At the time of Musk\u2019s Twitter acquisition, there was news coming out every moment of every day, so our story was constantly changing \u2014 not to mention Musk and his various companies are notorious for not responding to media requests. Musk has defined his career by these extremely high-stakes business gambles, but digging a little deeper I found that, from a business perspective, [buying Twitter] was fundamentally different from his other ventures. So we leaned into that to provide a more comprehensive view of how it fits into the story of Elon Musk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Current projects: <\/strong>\u201cI love human interest stories with a focus on marginalized communities. I\u2019ve most recently been reporting on genderqueer youth and people with disabilities.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

10 Years, 37 Million Bottles Recycled <\/h3>\n\n\n
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Photo by Bryan Derballa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Siblings <\/strong>Jake \u201916 <\/strong>and Caroline Danehy \u201919<\/strong> are co-founders of Fair Harbor<\/strong>, a New York City\u2013based company that makes apparel from recycled plastic bottles. Jake is CEO and Caroline is CBO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Milestone: Fair Harbor just celebrated 10 years<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company has repurposed more than 37 million plastic bottles<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accolades:<\/strong> Forbes 2020 30 Under 30 list, EY Entrepreneur of the Year winners (2021)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jake and Caroline both majored in geography<\/strong> at Colgate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They come from a long line of alumni<\/strong>, including father Kevin \u201983, uncle Jack \u201946, cousin John \u201978, grandfather Bud \u201960, and great-grandfather Lester 1921.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been incredible to work with Caroline,\u201d Jake says. \u201cI remember it like yesterday when we would work on Fair Harbor in between classes at the Ho Science Center<\/strong>. Although that was a long time ago, we still work together every day and share the same vision for what we want Fair Harbor to become. It\u2019s been an incredible journey, and I can\u2019t wait to see what we accomplish together in the next 10 years.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the World\u2019s a Stage <\/h3>\n\n\n
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Photo by Matt Odom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Electrifying,\u201d \u201cbrilliant,\u201d and \u201cconfident\u201d were the praises sung by Washington, D.C., media when describing Jamil Jude<\/strong>\u2019s 2024 directing of Topdog\/Underdog<\/em>. Jude \u201909 directed a revival of the Pulitzer Prize\u2013winning 2002 Broadway play in the nation\u2019s capital last summer \u2014 one of his freelance gigs that he does when he\u2019s not spending most of the year as artistic director of True Colors Theatre in Atlanta. At Colgate, Jude was on the pre-med track, but when his football teammate Will Arnold \u201906 asked him to perform in an Urban Theater play, everything changed. \u201cWhat was nice about Urban Theater was that it was for students of color; we got to see ourselves,\u201d says Jude, who explained that in his previous experiences, \u201cI was seeing that the theater is fairly white.\u201d Urban Theater inspired Jude to start writing and producing his own student plays, and after graduating as an English major, he accepted an internship at Arena Stage in D.C. There, Jude met Tony Award\u2013winning director Kenny Leon, who would become his lifelong mentor. The two kept in touch while Jude pursued his theater career in Minneapolis; then in 2017, Leon brought him on as associate artistic director of True Colors, and in 2019, Jude\u2019s mentor gave him the reins. The nonprofit celebrates the \u201crich tradition of Black storytelling\u201d and elevates \u201cbold artists from all cultures.\u201d Its 2025 lineup includes Broadway\u2019s Jaja\u2019s African Hair Braiding <\/em>and Ain\u2019t No Mo\u2019<\/em>. Jude will also be traveling to Indiana Repertory Theatre and Syracuse Stage for his production of King James<\/em>, followed by a longer contract in San Francisco for a new musical called Co-Founders<\/em> that \u201cwe hope, fingers crossed, is bound for Broadway.\u201d Says Jude, who has received numerous awards and recently secured a $500,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation for True Colors: \u201cThis is the career that I never thought I would have 20 years ago, so everything I\u2019ve achieved has just been icing on the cake.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Imani Ballard \u201918, Alex Coco \u201912, Elizabeth L\u00ea \u201909, Mike LoFaso \u201910, Taylor Mooney \u201917, Jake \u201916 and Caroline Danehy \u201919, Jamil Jude \u201909<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1260,"featured_media":16370,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"coauthors":[135],"class_list":["post-16341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-features"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/palXSH-4fz","amp_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/01\/Entertainmentartstyle.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1260"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16341"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16341\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16983,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16341\/revisions\/16983"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16341"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=16341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}