Colgate students had a chance this week to meet with director, actor, writer, and producer Harold Ramis, who spent two days on campus talking shop and showing special previews of his upcoming movie.
Ramis, whose son is a first-year at Colgate, is a veritable Hollywood heavyweight with many popular movies under his belt such as Groundhog Day, Caddyshack, Analyze This, Animal House, and Ghostbusters.
Ramis met with students in a film history course and two theater classes, and had lunch with Colgate’s improvisational group, Charred Goosebeak, and with the Student Lecture Forum.
Students responded to Ramis’s down-to-earth nature and quick humor as they quizzed him about his career.
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| Harold Ramis meets with students in Ryan Studio in Little Hall. (Photo by Andy Daddio) |
One student elicited a roar of laughter from classmates and Ramis himself when he asked: “I saw one of the movies you were in and the character really spoke to me. So I just wanted to know, what was the profound meaning of Knocked Up?”
“It was so interesting to have a man with such diverse talents in class. He was so funny! I was surprised at how many great anecdotes he had about these huge stars like Robert De Niro” said Arianne Templeton ’10.
Ramis was asked what advice he would give to someone looking to enter the entertainment world.
“I never want to discourage anyone. You don’t need me to tell you the odds are against you. Be as good as you can be. If you’re gonna do it, don’t hold back,” said Ramis.
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Ramis also shared one of his special talents with the class – his ability to do accents. He performed his lines from the movie Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story in which he was required to speak in Yiddish.
At the screening of Groundhog Day in Golden Auditorium, Ramis talked about how the film, which he directed and co-wrote, was not fully appreciated at first, though the reviews were good and the audience was solid.
What really struck Ramis about the movie was the overwhelming response from different communities. He said everyone from Hasidic Jews to Buddhists to psychoanalysts all championed the film because they identified with some part of its message.
At the screening the audience was treated to a preview of Ramis’s new comedy Year One, which will be released June 19. Film students in one of the earlier classes saw 36 minutes of the “biblical comedy,” which stars Jack Black and Michael Cera and is directed by Ramis and produced by Judd Apatow.
Ramis also showed a preview to Hamilton Central School students, who were thrilled to have a chance to spend Wednesday afternoon with him.
He told students that plans are progressing for Ghostbusters III, in which he expects to have a cameo role along with Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Rick Moranis.