Though the Robins School of Business and the School of Arts and Sciences are divided in many ways, they are actually very similar and should work together, said Dave Rosenbaum, the vice president of talent at Illumination Studios and University of Richmond alumnus.
“Business can not exist without art, and art can not exist without business,” Rosenbaum said to the crowd of about 100 people in the Ukrop Auditorium on Monday night.
The speech, titled "Hollywood Blockbuster: the big business of the arts," focused on Illumination Studios’ lucrative creation, the ‘minion’ character, and how the company promoted it.
“The minion is a whimsical piece of art, a pop culture icon that has made billions,” Rosenbaum said. “But that piece of art could not thrive on merely its design. It needed a business model behind it.”
Rosenbaum graduated from Richmond in 1996 with degrees in business administration and theater, according to an invitation distributed by the university. Prior to joining Illumination Studios, he worked at Dreamworks and Screen Imagination Agency.
Rosenbaum chose to join Illumination Studios, which was a startup at the time, because it was unlike any other production studio in Los Angeles, he said. Unlike most production studios based in Southern California, Illumination Studios acquires superb talent by hiring the best artists from around the world to work remotely, and has only 60 employees in its California office, Rosenbaum said.
The lecture was lighthearted, forcing Rosenbaum to pause several times while the audience broke out in laughter. As he showed the crowd slides of different ‘minion’ themed children toys, he unveiled a plastic megaphone that made flatulent noises from underneath the podium. He continually set the machine off into the microphone throughout the lecture.
Rosenbaum repeatedly emphasized the value his liberal arts education played in his success, and encouraged students to make the most of their classes.
Pointing to a list of business and theater courses offered at Richmond, Rosenbaum said: “There’s not one thing as on this list that myself or someone in my office doesn’t use on a daily basis. If you think that the courses you’re being offered here aren’t going to help you in the working world, think again.”
Rosenbaum then offered marketing and theater students a $1,000 reward to write and implement a concrete plan to increase student attendance at theater productions on campus.
“He was very talented and engaging,” said Rikke Reimann, an exchange student who attended the lecture. “I was very impressed.”
After answering questions from the audience, Rosenbaum mingled with the crowd during a reception in Queally Hall.
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“This was very special to me,” Rosenbaum said. “This is my alma mater, and my education here meant so much to me. I really do believe that the business school and school of arts and science need to work together.”
Contact contributor Hunter Ross at hunter.ross@richmond.edu
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