Posted by SMAD September 30, 2007
Story by LIZ DELIVUK

HARRISONBURG, Va. - Lauren Meyer, a SMAD senior, is a digital video concentrator with an emphasis in directing and producing, not to mention a world traveler. Last summer, she studied in London, and this summer she landed an internship in Los Angeles with The Weinstein Company.

The Weinstein Company is a film studio owned by Harvey and Bob Weinstein. They founded the company after selling Miramax, their original studio to Disney. The company works alongside Dimension films and has put out such movies as, Factory Girl, The Ex, and SiCKO.

“I saw a ton of celebrities,” starts Meyer, who had the opportunity to work at the premieres of SiCKO and Whose Your Caddy? Meyer saw everyone from Michael Moore, to John Cusack, to Harvey Weinstein himself.

Meyer lived and worked in Los Angeles for nearly four months. She was placed in the development department where her main duty was to read and summarize scripts that came into the office. This, however, was interrupted regularly with intern duties such as running errands and other basic office work. After writing up the summary, Meyer would then decide whether or not the script was worthy of being passed along to the higher ranks of the company.

Although she was placed in the development department, Meyer had the opportunity to do temp work in other areas of the company. She filled in for the physical production department as well as the business and legal department. This allowed her not only to work closely with company executives, but also to get to know them on a first name basis.

"I think it's important for people to test themselves outside of their comfort zones," says Meyer, who not only adjusted to life in Los Angeles, but could now see herself living and working there.

Although she could return to The Weinstein Company after graduation, Meyer wants to keep her options open. She is not sure that she wants to work in such a celebrity driven area of the industry. She is also interested in working for National Geographic or The Travel Network.

No matter what Lauren Meyer decides to do, her internship definitely helped prepare her for a career in her field.