This May students in The Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design will have the opportunity to study under one of the more innovative producers in television and film today. Dan Etheridge, Los Angeles-based producer most recently esteemed for turning out the Veronica Mars series and movie, will serve as one of Drexel University’s 2014 Rankin Scholars in Residence.
Etheridge, who is credited with producing the most successful crowd-funded film in history: the Veronica Mars movie, will spend a week at Drexel meeting with students and guest lecturing in television, film and video classes as well as visiting the sets of various student productions.
In addition, Etheridge will host a pair of events that are open to the Drexel community.
On Monday, May 19 he will lead a “TV Night” event at 7 p.m. in the URBN Annex Screening room (34th and Filbert Streets). At the event, Etheridge will screen the pilot episode of the Veronica Mars series and his favorite episode of Party Down – an award-winning cable comedy that ran for two seasons on Starz, on which he was the co-creator, co-writer and executive producer.
On Thursday, May 22 Etheridge will screen the Veronica Mars movie at 7 p.m., followed by a question and answer session in the URBN Annex Screening Room.
“We’re excited to have such an accomplished and innovative producer as our Rankin Scholar in Residence this year,” said Allen Sabinson, dean of the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design. “Dan Etheridge’s diverse background in successfully producing for television and film, and keen business judgment make him a valuable asset as a visiting scholar and guest lecturer.”
Most recently, Etheridge made waves in the entertainment industry when he leveraged the popularity of the Veronica Mars series, which had a cult following during its run from 2004-07, to run a successful crowd-funding campaign that raised $5.7 million to make the Verionica Mars movie. He debuted the film at the 2014 South by Southwest film festival and Warner Brothers released it in March.
Etheridge, who produced all three seasons of Veronica Mars, currently serves as executive producer for iZOMBIE, a television pilot commissioned by Warner Brothers Television for the CW, and is co-executive producer for The Carrie Dairies, the television series prequel to Sex and the City.
In addition to his television work, Etheridge has also produced numerous successful independent films including 2011’s The Good Doctor, starring Orlando Bloom. The film was well received at its Tribeca Film Festival debut and was released by Magnolia Pictures. Etheridge produced writer-director John August’s first feature The Nines, starring Ryan Reynolds and Melissa McCarthy, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by Sony. Ethridge also premiered Come Early Morning at Sundance, a film written and directed by Joey Lauren Adams and starring Ashley Judd.
The Rankin Scholar-in-Residence award, established in 2006 to honor former Westphal Dean Marjorie Rankin, brings to campus noted individuals who excel fields related to media arts and design. The award is funded through continuing donations of her friends and colleagues with the goal of inspiring students, stimulating faculty, invigorating the professional field and aiding in the development of the college.