We've heard about vanity courses taught by celebrities at universities which are nothing more than a guest lecture with cameras present to document the occasion.  Not so on the campus of the University of Texas where Oscar winner and local Matthew McConaughey was joined by Gary Ross, the director of the Hunger Games, to teach an advanced graduate-level course last week.

Moody College of Communication is on the UT campus and for years has been one of the finest schools of the moving image in this part of the country. McConaughey is so very closely identified with the Austin area and the university that it only seems natural for him to give us time and talent.  So here he comes with the director of one of the most successful movie franchises in recent memory in a class about bringing your vision to the screen. Based on insight alone, the tuition must be astronomical!

Speaking of vision to film,  One of the focus points of the class is McConaughey's film Free State of Jones.  The Civil War drama is a very personal project of the star's.

I wish this class had been recorded so we could all see his lecture. If there's a class that teaches filmmakers how to make more movies like this and fewer like comic books, it ought to be taught in every film school in the country.

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