HISTORY

In 1967 Donald and Amelia Russo welcomed a bouncing baby boy by the name of Stuart Jacob Russo into the world. At a young age his father immersed him in various cinematic features. Stuart also found himself watching films that probably weren't deemed appropriate by his mother, or many other adults, during his youth. His father concluded as long as he wasn't having nightmares or spouting off inappropriate words he was merely exposing Stuart to a world that would allow his son's imagination to run rampant. However, these sentiments were not shared by his mother who was constantly shaking her head at the two of them.

The Wizard of Oz is one of the first movies Stuart remembers viewing in theaters. He was amazed by how rich the colors appeared when Dorothy found herself in Oz, but loved the feeling of the grain enriched black and white footage of Kansas. Other films, while not so appropriate for his age, that Stuart fell in love with included the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Psycho, and On The Waterfront. Sure, some of the messages and meanings at the time he viewed them with his father went over his head. As Stuart aged, he slowly began to care more about the meaning behind his beloved films. He would ask many questions and his father would teach him the visions behind the classics. Listening to the words his father spoke, Russo learned the importance of studying a medium that most people didn't seem worthy of such time.

While his mother attempted to educate him in the world of art, she realized the young man before her wasn't interested in such. So she continued to keep him enamored with various pieces of literature and poetry, while his father kept pushing boundaries to show his son the films he deemed important. In 1977, a small film house was screening what was then revered as a classic for one evening only. Ten years after the film's debut, Bonnie and Clyde was back on the silver screen. A film that was originally panned with images that depicted violence in ways never audiences were not privy to prior. Very few people wanted to give the film the credit Arthur Penn and others deserved at the time of its release. In fact, until Pauline Kael's lengthy review of the film, audiences and critics alike did not quite understand how cinema was about to change forever.

Despite his mother voicing her opinion about how no one should be seeing such filth in a movie, Stuart and his father found a way around his mother knowing they were going to go see this so-called piece of trash. Both father and son were so amazed by the depiction of these crooks who were viewed in a heroic status in the film. And like most secrets, the one that the two had shared that afternoon was inevitably found out. Upon discovering this film had been shared with her child, the first fight of many which would dissolve the couple's marriage took place.

Regardless of the fights his parents would have, the father and son would continue to see these films that challenged audiences, as well as kid appropriate films such as Star Wars, and Stuart began to become wise beyond his years. In fact, his love increased by leaps and bounds during the theatrical release of Star Wars. And he often jokes in his classes he had that cliche childhood of the seventies and he is completely okay with being able to say he saw the good Star Wars in the theaters and not the dribble Lucas came out with for future generations. As he continued to grow, cinema continued to grow with him, divulging knowledge he would carry with him throughout his life. And while his family expected his passions to decrease, Stuart's passion for the medium continued to grow over time.

As Stuart was gearing up for college, his parents announced that they were going to be getting divorced. While that news did not come as a surprise to him, the fact that his mother was pregnant again did. The other big surprise? The fact that this upcoming sibling could possibly only be his half sibling, which turned out to be the case. For some reason the idea that his mother could cheat on his father came as more of a shock than anything else to him and caused a slight rift between mother and son for years to come. This rift was not helped by his mother leaving Georgia behind to live a life with her new husband. Despite feeling as if he had been transported into an alternate universe that was extremely far from his own, he began his first semester at the University of Georgia the Fall of 1985.

While away at college, Stuart began to give into urges he had been having for quite some time. He was attracted to the same sex. The truth was he had never been sure what to do with these urges. In fact, he had never really acted on them until he met Mark Jones. There was something about him that drew him in each and every time, and he found himself casually hanging out in the boy's dorm-room well after he should have gone home. And one night as he attempted to show off during a photoshoot for an elective the other young man was taking, Stuart managed to twist his ankle in the barn of Mark's grandparents. The two began to explore one another in ways he could have only imagined while living back home with his parents.

Despite feeling as if he were coming into his own, he spoke a word of his desires to no one. This didn't stop the two men from being together. Arguments between the two came and went, but for the next four years, Stuart found himself in a relationship behind closed doors. He was in love, and miraculously he managed to keep his grades upheld. Maybe that was in part because there were some nights that he would lay in Mark's arms and let the man read one of the many books he had to read for classes that particular week. There were many nights he would fall asleep in his arms and would dream of the day it wouldn't matter that this was the person he wanted to be with.

Enough though Stuart had declared his major, Stuart was unsure most of the time if he had chosen wisely. Eventually his father asked his son if he were happy during a weekend fishing trip the two had taken. Stuart simply lied because part of him wanted to wait to get into a school where he could study film. He could go through the motions until then. Besides, he loved literature and he loved poetry. Regardless of his passions, he was sure that his mother would think he was crazy for wanting to do so, but his passion was just as strong for both subjects. Thankfully, during the middle of his first composition class, one of Stuart's professors encouraged him that he could have the best of both worlds.

To further both of his passions, Stuart joined the school paper and began writing movie reviews and other pop culture reviews around campus. His articles became widely read and this only fueled his love for both worlds further. Stuart continued onward with his courses and his writing and began to look into various graduate programs before he was even remotely close to graduating. He found himself yearning for a new destination. While he loved Atlanta, he yearned to get away for a while and to explore yet another world. There was only one problem. Where did this leave him with Mark?

The last afternoon still haunts Stuart to this day. He found himself sitting on a bed, tears in his eyes as he listened to the man before him go on about how they could be together. Really together. At the time Stuart was too young to imagine such a beautiful outcome. Stuart did what he felt was right at the time and that was to let the man he had fallen in love with for the past four years go. They vowed to remain in touch and for a while they managed to do so. But time eventually pushed the two men further away from one another and they inevitably lost touch. And for a while he allowed himself to truly feel the loss. Though he couldn't help but wonder if he had the right to be heartbroken based on his own poor choices.

In the Fall of 1990, he had a new alma mater as he attended Carnegie Mellon University. During that summer, Stuart told himself he needed to earn some major cash. He didn't want to depend on his parents for their money anymore. Granted he knew that if he needed something he could always fall back on one of them, but he wanted to be able to support himself. Soon he found himself working in a local coffee shop, saving money and writing in his down time. During this time he made the decision to move in with his mother, who had moved to the began to call Pittsburgh area, much to everyone's surprise.

By that time his mother had remarried, Stuart found himself surprised by being able to bond with his step-father. During this time, he also began to form a bond with his half-sister, despite their age difference, and began to teach her the wonders about the musical genre she was so infatuated with. And on the rare nights he wasn't working, he found himself rushing home to be with his baby sister, which gave the couple more time to go out. In a lot of ways, being able to watch his sister helped him heal. He didn't have to concentrate on any sort of love life, or in his case lack thereof. Little did he know that would soon change.

During his time at Carnegie Mellon, Stuart became oddly smitten with a young woman in his writing classes. He even convinced himself that maybe the urges he had back home was a one time thing. After all, everyone experimented in college. Though he wasn't sure they had a full blown relationship for the duration. Somehow he still managed to convince himself that maybe that was his case as well. Regardless of whatever his sexuality was, he fell in love again. Her name was Anna Parker and soon he became as passionate about her as he was with writing and film. And on the weekends, whenever they could afford to do so they would go to an art house and see whatever was showing. And not long into their studies, Anna revealed to Stuart that she was pregnant.

Over their break Stuart had moved out of the place he had called home and together they moved into a quaint two bedroom apartment. And while Stuart had talked about taking on a second job, his father wouldn't have any of it. He offered to pay for whatever they couldn't cover until the two had settled into their roles of parenthood. While Stuart will forever be grateful to his father for such, he felt guilty in a way for not giving his sole focus on becoming a father. Anna wouldn't allow his guilt to set in on most days. However, she noticed a change in Stuart. His anxiety was up and she noticed the man having panic attacks despite he would never admit such to himself. So as she took care of herself, she found herself taking care of her boyfriend as well.

Helping him get to a place where they were less frequent, any time he had doubts she insisted how difficult dropping what one was doing research wise and attempting regain a new research pattern again. Knowing deep down she was right, he began to take a medication to help him with his anxiety. Getting the dosage right was difficult at first, but soon between that and hearing he knew as soon as he heard his son's heartbeat for the first time, he realized he could do this. They could do this. The next nine months went by quicker than either of them could have imagined, but on August 9, 1991, their little boy, James Donald Russo was born.

And despite living a life that could only be deemed as complicated, during what little free time Stuart had left, he began to compile research for his doctorate as well. It was during this time that the two parents made a decision. Stuart would continue working toward his goals and she was going to put her own ambitions on hold upon completing her masters. While Anna loved her work, she wanted to merely be home with her child and raise him instead of constantly being stressed attempting to juggle such a workload. Part of this decision came upon discovering the two were expecting their second child together. The less stress the better and once again they found themselves making it work and the couple even moved into a new apartment to fit their growing family. And on November 16, 1993, their little girl, Ryder Maggie Paxton Russo was born.

Stuart soon found himself working two jobs, attending his night classes on the nights he wasn't working and loving fatherhood when he was around to actually enjoy the time with his children. Considering his lack of downtime, he constantly wrote down his thoughts on Edward Albee's and Mike Nichols' versions of Who's Afraid of Virginia of Woolf? while at work. Napkins, whatever he could find so he could make ends meet and make sure his family was taken care of at the end of the day.

While everything appeared great on the outside, on most days Stuart's anxiety still played a major role in his life. And despite the fact the two of them had talked about how he shouldn't take a break from his studies, in the spring of 1994 while trying to play the role of student, father, and boyfriend, he passed out due to exhaustion at work. From the moment he ended up in the hospital, Anna remained by his side, but insisted something had to give. And as she spoke those words, Stuart's father agreed as he stepped foot inside of the hospital room. Agreeing with his future daughter-in-law, Donald insisted that Stuart take a semester off from his studies, quit one of his jobs, and let him cover the rest. When Stuart began to argue, he noticed the look in Anna's eyes and agreed to his father's terms. Who the hell was he to argue from a hospital bed?

And soon after he arrived back at home, he finished up his spring semester with a vow not to go back until next spring. In many ways, being able to be at home more opened his eyes. Grateful to have the bit of a savings he had built up, Stuart decided to have a long talk with not only his own father, but Anna's father as well. And in late 1994, Stuart asked Anna to marry him. Considering how unorthodox the couple happened to be, the two decided to be married on New Years Eve as the clock struck midnight, asking the preacher not to pronounce them man and wife until New Year's Day 1995. Surrounded by their family and friends, the love in the room is a night that Stuart would always remember as well as two very sleepy children who were determined to stay up that night but fell asleep on the couch. Stuart couldn't have been happier at that point in his life. Between being a father and being able to immerse himself in his studies, his life was perfect. He also continued to take trips to Atlanta to view films with his father whenever he could and eventually began to take Jamie with him on these trips.

The next year and a half flew by as Stuart his M.F.A. in Playwriting and Screenwriting in Spring of 1996. And instead of taking a break in between degrees as Stuart had planned, he wasted no time in preparing for his PhD. He immediately began to take the research he had compiled during his graduate courses about the power of the adaptation process during the little bits of downtime the couple shared together. The play and film Russo decided to focus closely on was Edward Albee's and Mike Nichols' Who's Afraid of Virginia of Woolf? Russo can still remember how numb he felt while on a trip back home to view the film with his father. He has unique spins on thoughts from the past as well as his own on the trails and tribulations of the on-screen pairing delivered by an on/off again real life pairing.

During this time, Stuart truly came into his own as a father. He loved his family life and felt he had truly embraced his true self as he continued with his studies on a topic that was no where close to being kid friendly. However, in 2002, about a year before finishing up his dissertation, Anna was offered a spot on a television show by an old friend of theirs they two had met during their graduate classes at Carnegie Mellon. Anna kept trying to come up with reasons not to abruptly move their children out to Los Angeles, especially since she knew Stuart would have to stay back in Pittsburgh to finish his doctorate. Despite all this, Stuart insisted that she move to the West Coast. They had always found a way to make it work in the past, they would now.

And with Stuart's blessing, she found herself uprooting their family and living in San Diego. Despite the insane commutes that laid ahead of her almost every morning, she was happy to be back with her family once more on the West Coast. There was only one problem. She constantly found herself missing what she considered the last ingredient to their small family. Her husband. The truth was Stuart felt the same, making time to travel as much as humanly could to see his family during the last year of his research coming together.

On most days, his family's absence was far more than Stuart could bare. The truth was once his family uprooted, he felt like he had a ton of time on his hands. Most days he filled his time attempting to complete his PhD so he could join them. When he wasn't completing his doctorate, he found himself on the phone with his children and his beautiful wife. She seemed to be having the time of her life between working on the writing staff and being able to take the children to all these places they had once talked about taking them together. During this time Stuart made friends with a man by the name of Luke Davis. While he considered their friendship something he truly valued, Luke found himself wanting more to their relationship. One late night while the two were writing, he leaned in to kiss his dear friend, feeling that Stuart had given him the greenlight.

Despite knowing how he felt before Anna, Stuart pushed his friend away asking him what the hell he was doing. And oddly enough despite the fact that Luke was the type of guy Stuart could have fallen for previously he was a married man now, which he insisted to his dear friend. Luke kept insisting that evening that Anna was all the way on another coast and she didn't have to know about it. Upon hearing the words out of his friend's mouth, he told him that he needed to leave and found himself pushing himself further to complete his degree. The truth was while he had never thought about such since Mark, he didn't exactly want the temptation in his life from Luke either. Nothing was ever the same between the two men and from that point forward when they would meet, they did so in public.

Upon finishing his third degree in 2003, he was revealed to finally be out in California and with his family once more. Instead of putting his degree to use right away, he choose to spend time with his children and adjust to life on the opposite coast. The West coast was far different than anything he had experience back home or in Pittsburgh. He found himself taking his children to the beach and writing while his children were sleeping. This was what pure bliss was. It had to be. And while he knew he needed to find a job, the best Stuart could do for the time being was put in applications everywhere and anywhere he could find.

Meanwhile Anna continued to venture in and out of various television shows, Stuart taught at UCSD while sending out spec scripts. During this time, a funny thing happened to Stuart and his family. While he was growing close to his children he began growing further apart from Anna. He also found himself growing closer to a friend of his, Spencer Royceston. Unlike with Luke, Stuart found himself far more tempted than before to be with the man who made it painfully clear he was interested. The other catch? His wife was best friends with Spencer's current girlfriend at the time. Complicated didn't cover it and unlike with Luke he didn't pull away. Stuart merely kept a distance between the two of them that didn't allow the two of them to become any closer than they already were.

During this time, Anna began to realize she didn't want to raise their children in California. And as luck would have it, in 2007, Stuart got an offer from New York University to teach at the Tisch School of the Arts. Upon being offered such a position, and opportunity for that matter, the Russo family uprooted their children once more and moved to New York City. The change was what they needed and the desires of long ago reminded hidden once more. For the most part, the move changed Stuart's entire perspective. He felt as if the temptation that was once around every corner had been lifted. He began to have a better balance of his home life than before until tragedy struck in late 2008.

One night while sitting at home with Anna and the kids, Stuart received a phone call that would deeply affect him more so than he had ever anticipated. Upon picking up the phone that evening, he received a phone call from his mother that his step-father was in the hospital after suffering a heart-attack. She wasn't sure that he was going to make it. The only two people she had managed to call that evening were Stuart and his sister Stella. Stuart insisted that she not worry about anything and that he would take care of notifying everyone else that evening. Stuart had attempted to do so once he landed back in Atlanta that evening, with the exception of his father. While he wasn't sure that his mother would want him there, he called his dad before he got on the plane and any phone calls that were to be made were made by Donald by the time Stuart and Stella arrived in Atlanta late that evening.

During that night at the hospital, tragedy struck their family when Colton passed away during his open-heart surgery. Amelia was devastated to lose her husband and found herself seeking comfort in her ex-husband. Donald refused to leave her side. Granted, the older man knew it probably wasn't the most orthodox way to act around one's ex-wife, but he found himself staying over in her spare bedroom. He made sure she got up and got out in the morning. He made sure that Amelia was whole again. And while the family could have never predicted such, they found themselves in a wonderful, but rather unique situation at the point in their lives. Stuart's parents were dating once more after thirty years of being apart. They were reconnecting on levels that Stuart couldn't have imagined in a thousand years.

Despite everything going seemingly well for his family, Stuart realized he needed to be able to lose himself in something again. Since his step-father's death, he felt as if he were in more of a downward spiral than anything else. And losing himself in a bottle from time to time was quite counter productive and not a side of himself he wanted his children to view. Instead he poured himself into writing. Nothing like he had done before. No scripts. No plays. But a book. He began to write about the relationship his mother had with his step-father. Flying through the first draft, Stuart used a few of his connections and publishing deal mid-2009. While his publisher wanted to push for an April 2010 release initially, Stuart knew he wasn't about to give up teaching to participate in a book launch. In fact, he was beginning to think this might very well be his downfall and there would be no release.

Thankfully the summer book tour for his initial release, Descendant Of Heaven, was a bit more of a success than Stuart had anticipated. Knowing he wasn't about to stop teaching, he knew that he would probably have to cut down on the course loads all the same if he wanted to continue his own writing. And for a while Russo found himself writing and teaching two courses a semester at the university. However, instead of continuing to cut classes from his schedule, Russo took on a teaching assistant in the Spring of 2012 by the name of Toby Cooper. And between all the time he and Anna spent apart, the spouses continued to fight on almost a daily basis. Their rule not to go bed angry was out the window as the space grew between the couple.

And despite Stuart hoped the two would be able to make their marriage work, Enough space was wedged in between them that in the middle of his Spring semester in 2012, Stuart finally gave into temptation he had been fighting for over twenty years. He found himself sleeping with his teaching assistant and former student. For months he sneaked around and made time for the younger man. Toward the end of the affair, the two decided to end their relationship. Toby couldn't keep hiding in the proverbial closet, and Stuart couldn't keep cheating on his wife. And despite the fact the two had amicably parted ways, and there was no hope of getting back together with Toby, Stuart realized he needed to give into the man he was. The man he had always been. He just couldn't do it any longer. He had done so well at keeping his urges at bay over the years due to his love for Anna, but he knew deep down he couldn't continue in the marriage he was currently in if they didn't mend fences. If he couldn't fix his marriage, he knew he didn't want to be in the shadows, but he wasn't sure what would occur between his wife and himself.

Instead of ending his marriage, or giving into thoughts of his ex-lover, Stuart focused on his next book release, Confessions Of The Ocean, which came soon rather than later with an August 2012 release, and attempting to fix his marriage. While he had a bit of difficulty juggling everything, he figured it out. And the truth was despite the chaos that was taking place in his life at the time, his relationship with Anna seemed to be somewhat on the mend. Why he wasn't sure, but he took it as a sign that maybe he was meant to be with his wife. However, God had a different plan set in motion that Stuart could have never imagined in a thousand years. In October of 2012, Anna was involved in a terrible car-wreck that took her life, leaving him a widower.

Distraught with guilt, Russo wanted to resist the urge to drown himself in his sorrows, but realized he couldn't be as strong as he needed to be for his children. Stuart was completely lost and yearning to let go. He wanted to be free of his guilt, but didn't have the heart to tell either of his children. Who could do that to their children after such a horrific tragedy? He was all they had now. So Stuart told the only person he knew could keep his secret. He told his half-sister, Stella. It was late in the evening by the time he showed up on her doorstep late at night while his best friend looked after his children. His breath reeked of whiskey and he told her everything. He told her about Mark, he told her about Toby, and how as much as he loved Anna but that he was gay and he didn't how to deal with such. And while she didn't have all the answers she told him he shouldn't live his life as a lie, but that she would support him no matter what he chose to do.

Trying to let go of his past, Stuart drank his way through the rest of the semester after Anna's death. His wife's death had affected him in ways he couldn't explain to anyone, causing him to pull away from practically everyone, including his children. That was when he decided to take a small sabbatical. Stuart needed to write. He needed to get away. He needed something, anything to make sense again. He wanted to get lost in something, and that meant he needed to get away from the city for a while. After Christmas, Stuart decided to finally embrace his heritage and visit Italy while his daughter stayed back home with his sister. Despite certain people in his life viewing he decision as rash and irresponsible, he had an out even if it were for just a little while. Though he never would have guessed in a thousand years a sabbatical for research on upcoming novel would bring him such inner peace.

Still reeling from his jet-lag in addition to the day, Stuart decided he couldn't come to Italy and remain in his hotel room. That wasn't anyway to live his life. Though he wasn't exactly sure how the hell to live anymore if he was being honest with himself. As he made his way into a local restaurant that day, he ordered himself a drink far earlier in the day than he should have. There he was. New Years Eve. A widower sitting alone at a table drinking by himself. Studying those around him, if it weren't for Stuart's peripheral vision, he never would have noticed the man sit down across from him. And while the restaurant was busy that afternoon, there were plenty of other seats to choose from in that restaurant. As the man started talking, he introduced himself as Camillo Moretti, insisted most people simply called him Milo so that was what Stuart could call him too.

Soon rather than later into their conversation, Stuart found himself merely enjoying being able to be in this man's presence. The other shocker of his afternoon? The advances Milo seemed to be making on the man before him. And while Stuart would not have thought of flirting back in a thousand years while back in New York, he began to flirt back and have a good time with the younger man that afternoon. As their talk came to a close, Stuart insisted it was nice meeting him before getting up to walk out the door. Milo wouldn't have him leaving though just like that and grabbed a pen from one of the waitresses before running up to the door with him and taking his hand in his own. Turning it over so he could write a number on his palm, he insisted he come to a party later that evening. No matter what was plaguing Stuart he needed to ring in the new year right. Shaking his head, Stuart said he would think about it.

Ridding himself of such a crazy ideal, Stuart wrote the number on the pad behind his bed once he reached the hotel room. As the day drew to a close, he stared at the number and realized he couldn't get this man off his mind. Giving into some crazy urge, Stuart called the number mocking him from the legal pad later on that evening. Making his way through he crowd at the party, there wasn't much time until midnight as he tried to find this man who had captivated him the majority of the afternoon. Realizing he was probably looking in vain, there he was looking around the room. Smiling to himself, Stuart pushed through the crowd and found himself kissing someone different at midnight for the first time in over twenty years. And as their lips parted, he laughed, wrapping his arms around the man's neck before him as he felt Milo's arms wrap instinctively around his waist and they shared the first of many moments together during his stay in Italy. The two were in agreement that they had two months together and wouldn't waste many seconds of it apart. And as he tore himself away from the romance he discovered in Italy he knew far more about himself than he expected to from his time away and arriving back home in March of 2013.

He needed to finally coming out. But despite feeling reinvigorated, Stuart still had his doubts about moving forward with his true self when he arrived back home. And the truth wasn't as easy to admit as he once believed back in Italy. At least not verbally. The truth began pouring out of him on paper though. Stuart began to write about his time with Milo. While writing a novel he would never would have dreamed of publishing earlier on in his career, he knew ultimately that Perfection Of My Imagination was the story he finally had to tell. Two years later however, Stuart still find himself unsure how his audience is going to react to his newly penned love story and his book in an unknown purgatory despite the efforts of those around him attempting to remedy the situation. And for the first time in a long time, Stuart is finally one step closer to letting the world know the man he's always been. Even if it's just by telling one person at a time until he's ready for that so-called official announcement.

PERSONALITY

Stuart is one of the most laid back people around. He loves his family and treats his best friends as if they were part of his family. The best song to describe Stuart is the Tracey Lawrence song, "Find Out Who Your Friends Are." He is the guy who will drop everything and be by someone's side until they inform him he is no longer needed. There are even times when he is told that and comes back after being gone for thirty minutes because he feels guilty for leaving in the first place. Russo will also go out on a limb for his family. If anyone tries to say anything bad about any of them and he will cuss the person out rather than try to settle anything calmly. His family is definitely his hot button and he feels he has an inability to control his temper in regard to them. As far as everything else goes Stuart is very easy to get along with, and the first one to try something new or be there supporting someone else as they attempt a new venture in their life. He believes that everything should be tried once if the opportunity presents itself, and finds the only way to handle life is head on. When he's not in his office on campus, he can be found spending time with his family or hanging out with a friend. Stuart insists on honesty. He truly believes that without honesty and communication and a relationship has nothing, despite not always being the one to practice what he preaches.

THE 9 TO 5

Fall 2016 Office Hours:
T: 11:00AM to 1:30PM
W: 9:00AM to 11:30AM & 3:30PM to 5:00PM
TH: 11:00AM to 1:30PM

Advanced Film Studies: Hitchcock (Tuesday: 2:00PM - 4:45PM) No filmmaker has been subjected to more critical analysis than Alfred Hitchcock. No director had a clearer theoretical understanding of how films work nor a stronger desire to put his theories to the test. In this seminar we shall analyze some fifteen of Hitchcock’s films both as the objects of numerous theoretical approaches and as manifestations of Hitchcock’s own mastery of the art. Grades are calculated by participation in group discussions, presentations, and film analysis papers. Films of focus include: The Man Who Knew Too Much, Rebecca, Shadow of a Doubt, Strangers on a Train, Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Psycho, and The Birds.

Advanced Writing Film & Television: (Wednesday: 12:00PM-2:45PM) Using the skills taught in the Fundamentals of Writing for Film & Television, students will develop either a script for television or film. Students who choose to write a screenplay may either choose to write an original screenplay or an adapted screenplay from a current piece of literature. Students may also choose to develop at least three spec scripts based on current television shows or create an original series including the pilot as well as the next two episodes. Grades are calculated by participation in group discussions, presentations, and final screenplays.

Advanced Film Studies: Musicals (Thursdays: 2:00PM-4:45PM) Course description goes here. Grades are calculated by participation in group discussions, presentations, and film analysis papers. Films of focus include: The Wizard of Oz, West Side Story, Cabaret, Singin' in the Rain, Grease, Moulin Rouge!, The Sound of Musica, Guys & Dolls, with a special midnight showing mid-semester of the The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Anything italicized I did not write. It's a film description from a film course I found online.

FAVORITES

Ice Cream: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Snack: Ruffles Sour Cream & Cheddar Chips
Movie(s): The Apartment, Star Wars, Psycho
Actor: Jack Lemmon
Actress: Grace Kelly
Director(s): Alfred Hitchcock & Billy Wilder
Current TV Show(s): The Walking Dead
Past TV Show(s): Justified, I Love Lucy
Cartoon: Tom & Jerry
Author: Edgar Allan Poe
Comedian: George Carlin
Singer: Billy Joel
Band: The Beatles
Book: Of Mice and Men
Sports: Baseball & Football
Alcohol(s): Red Wine, Jack Daniels
Magazines: Entertainment Weekly & Variety
Cereal: Captain Crunch
Color(s): Blue

THE BASICS

FULL NAME: Stuart Jacob Russo
NICKNAMES: Stu, Doc, Stubert
DATE OF BIRTH & AGE: December 18, 1967; 47
PLACE OF BIRTH: Atlanta, Georgia
PLACE OF RESIDENCE: Brooklyn, New York
FATHER: Donald Russo
MOTHER: Amelia Russo (nee Callahan)
STEP-FATHER: Colton Kelley (deceased)
HALF-SISTER: Stella Kelley
WIFE: Anna Russo (deceased)
SON: Jamie Russo
DAUGHTER: Ryder Russo
SEXUALITY: Homosexual
MARITAL STATUS: Widowed; figuring it out
OCCUPATION: Film Professor; Author

FACTS

• Has one dog who he affectionately calls Bear. He's a black Scottish Terrier he insists is ferocious to people, despite the fact he merely wants to sit in everyone's lap.
• Absolutely loves baseball. His favorite team is the Atlanta Braves. At least once a year he makes it a goal to head back to Atlanta to see his favorite team on home turf. He primarily attempts to go on Friday nights so he can take part in their firework displays. And when attending a Mets or Yankees game where they are playing the game, he typically wears a Braves jersey or hat all the same as he sits in the stands.
• Is almost always clean shaved, with the exception of the winter months. Any other months he finds his own beard to be completely unbearable.
• He is a little bit rock 'n roll and a little bit country. While his mother was an avid rock fan, his father mostly listened to country music.
• When he was younger he was determined that he and his best girl friend were going to become big deals in the professional wrestling world. He even picked out names for them, which were Sagittarius and Gemini.
• Wears his heart on his sleeve. He's a hopeless romantic who believes in big gestures and monogamy. And he often speaks out about how he hates that he's not a part of a society who places more focus on one night stands than relationships. With this says he has attempted such, a man has needs after all, but realized they just aren't his thing.
• Chips are his nemesis. He also feels this way about anything Italian and living in New York does not make these cravings any easier for him, especially in the pizza department.
• He recently quit smoking. This will come as a surprise to the group of his students he shared a smoke with after most classes. His addiction was so bad at one point, he even smoked in the classroom, which did not please some of his students and various staff members.
• Almost always is in jeans and a T-shirt. He dresses up when need be, but is happier being comfortable even during his classes and often times considers wearing a dress shirt with jeans his idea of dressing up for them.
• Randomly finds himself sitting outside on his patio, singing and strumming his guitar. His neighbors have yet to complain about such, so he continues to do so at least once week, typically Saturday evenings with a beer close to his side.
• Has been known to make perverted remarks and curse during his various classes. His favorite curse word is fuck and his favorite exclamations are balls, hells bells, and fuck a duck.
• Absolutely loves going fishing when he can make time to head back home, but has never been able to get into hunting. He attempted to hunt one time and actually fell asleep at the camp sight. Once he woke up to a deer licking his face he realized he could not kill the animal and hunting was just not for him. He still gets teased for being a big 'ol softy when it comes to animals to this day.
• Has a tattoo in honor of his deceased wife on the inside of his right arm with the letter A in the middle.
• Generally leaves the television on CMT Pure when doing chores around the house so there is at least some background noise.
• Loves to vacuum and do dishes. He finds them to be oddly relaxing chores.
• Stuart ends up eating out a lot of take out, such as Chinese food and pizza because he isn't a very good cook. He also tends to shop for foods like Ramen noodles and other foods that most people would consider "college food" even though he is well past his so-called college years. He also considers gas station nachos a good meal.
• Only buys new clothes when the shirts are so holy there are no way to repair them.
• Hates the word cunt or any other degrading phrase toward women.
• Recently took in one of the stray cats near the apartment building and named her Ginger due to the pleading eyes of his daughter.

EDUCATION

Bachelors: University of Georgia. 1990. B.A
Masters: Carnegie Mellon University, 1996. M.F.A.
Doctorate: Associate Professor of English, 2003. Ph.D.