Screenwriting and the Ivy League

In Variety's top 10 new screenwriters to watch I noticed a very high number, 7 of 11 (one was a team) were graduates of an Ivy League school.

We all know the Ivy League is prestigious and generally smart people go to school there. Even so, 7 out of 11 seemed an abnormally high number from such a small number of schools. Why is this?

One argument, the argument Ivy Leaguers would make, is that top students attend Ivy League schools, so it is obvious that top professionals would be from the Ivy League. This includes screenwriting, a difficult and competitive industry where the cream rises to the top. Additionally, the education at the Ivy League schools are presumably superior to other schools, so you have an awesome combination of the students with the most aptitude for success given the tools for success and it puts Ivy Leaguers at a competitive advantage, etc, etc.

There is something suspicious about this theory. Anyone with a lick of experience in the real world knows competence and talent is hardly exclusive to the Ivy League. And screenwriting talent doesn't seem like it would correspond with SAT scores, which basically what determines your Ivy League credentials. Plus, there is sort of a disgusting elitism embedded in this way of thinking.

If it were true that Ivy Leaguers were generally superior at screenwriting - for whatever reason - it should hold both at the bottom (ie 10 screenwriters to watch) and the top. Therefore, we should look at the top work in the profession and evaluate from where it comes. Here is a basic list of the best writing/writers in the past 10-20 years. Obviously, one can argue on this issue, but I am trying to keep in mind both innovation and form (I include Rossio and Elliot as an example not because they are innovative, but because they successfully made two huge tentpole franchises for the studio) and a mix of film and tv.

1. The Sopranos - not ivy
2. The Wire - not ivy (University of Maryland - David Simon)
3. Seinfeld - not ivy (University of Maryland - Larry David)
4. 30 Rock - not ivy
5. Arrested Development - not ivy
6. Tarantino - not ivy
7. Coen Brothers - not ivy
8. Rossio and Elliot - not ivy
9. Charlie Kaufman - not ivy
10. Wes Anderson - not ivy
11. Alan Ball - not ivy
12. Cameron Crowe - not ivy

Honorable Mentions

13. Alex Payne and Jim Taylor - not ivy (although Payne went to Stanford, which is almost the same)
14. PTA - not ivy
15. David Milch - IVY

So within the top-top tier of screenwriters and television writers of the past 10-20 years there is only 1 out of 20 (including pairs) that actually went to an Ivy League school. And to be honest, if I wasn't watching DEADWOOD right now, I don't even think I would have included David Milch in the mix. You could argue with my list, but come on, this is embarrassing for the Ivies. My list was true, too. Not rigged at all. I came up with the list and then looked at the colleges. University of Maryland was home to both David Simon and Larry David, two of the obviously best TV writers of their generation - who write completely different stuff. UvM beats out every single Ivy League school and Stanford to boot. What's up with that?

Here's my theory: Ivy Leaguers do better at the bottom than at the top. At the bottom, studios or producers or whoever, are taking a risk on a newbie. Folks feel more comfortable hiring an unknown if they went to a really good college. This is stupid, of course, and yet it gives a person just a tiny bit more security if they are hiring someone from Harvard. It's just like Baldwin says is the Departed - "people trust you more if you're married. They think, well, if one person can stand to live with this guy, how bad can he be?" Well, if Harvard thinks enough of this person, they must be pretty talented. It lets people off the hook a little bit. They don't look like a fool to their bosses when the script sucks. "But they went to Harvard!" They can say to themselves. I see this attitude from people whether they went to an Ivy League school or not. Some Ivy Leaguers do it as a form of self-validation. And the non-Ivy leaguers are even worse about it.

There are two other components as well. Film has become more of an attraction to the "best and brightest" in recent years. I'm not sure why, Hollywood has always been sexy, but it seems like the elite are headed more and more out to Hollywood these days. This is just an impression, but it seems to hold up anecdotally. I would suspect there are simply a higher percentage of Ivy Leaguers coming out West now than say 25 years ago when they were probably going into banking or publishing.

And lastly, there is the mentionitis factor. For some reason, when I'm talking to someone who went to an Ivy League school, I know it. It seems to come up or get implied. Not everyone, of course. I'm just making a generalization. But - in general - it seems like folks who attended an Ivy League school view it as a character trait whereas people who attended say, a state school, view it as a place they went to college. It seems to be a little bit more front and center. The best spoof of this attitude is Andy in the office who is constantly mentioning attending Cornell. Not that this is a bad thing - but how it factors into this discussion is that when you read about 10 screenwritings about to hit it big in Hollywood - their Ivy League creds come out front and center. I'm a huge fan of Larry David and David Simon and have followed both for years. I didn't know where either attended college until today. I didn't care. Their work speaks for them. And if you work can't speak for you, well, then maybe your college can.