Hits, Flops, and Oscar Gold

Go behind the scenes with legendary director Ed Zwick (Glory, Blood Diamond) in conversation with filmmaker Chip Duncan. Featuring a screening of Legends of the Fall.

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Date
June 7, 2025
Ticket Prices
Starting at $25
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Event Details

5:15PM – Ed Zwick In Conversation with Chip Duncan

Enhance your experience and come early for an optional Legends of the Fall screening at 2:30PM.

Spielberg. Lucas. Nolan. Tarantino. Lee. The list of Hollywood film directors who can boast more than one or two hit movies is a small one. Director Ed Zwick is among the most successful of all time. Think Blood Diamond. Think Legends of the Fall. Courage Under Fire. About Last Night. Defiance. Trial By Fire. The Last Samurai. And who can forget Glory!

What does it take to make a great movie? A polished script? Absolutely. An emotional, innovative soundtrack? Definitely. The finest cinematographers? Without a doubt. An editor skilled in the language of cinema and the mood of the times? For sure. However, Ed Zwick’s success is also fueled by the brilliant actors who go out of their way to collaborate with him. They’re in constant demand, but DiCaprio, Cruise, Hopkins, Pitt, and Craig choose to work with Ed because he brings out their best. Notably, the renowned Denzel Washington has made three films with Ed, including his Oscar-winning performance for Best Supporting Actor in Glory.

A native of Chicago and graduate of Harvard, Ed Zwick broke through the Hollywood firewall with the award-winning television movie Special Bulletin in 1983. But his 1987 television hit series Thirtysomething set the bar for one of Hollywood’s most prolific and notable careers. And, of course, there’s Ed’s Oscar as a producer for Shakespeare in Love.

Please join us for Hits, Flops & Oscar Gold at the Great Lakes Center for the Arts on Saturday, June 7th. We’ll have the popcorn, a screening of Legends of the Fall, and cinematic master Ed Zwick will be in conversation with award-winning documentary filmmaker, author, and Petoskey area favorite Chip Duncan. Ed will also have signed copies of his recent New York Times best seller, Hits, Flops and Other Illusions.

Ed Zwick

Ed Zwick is an Academy Award and Emmy Award-winning director, producer and writer with over four decades of highly-acclaimed film and television projects. His filmography as director includes Glory, Legends of the Fall, Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai, Courage Under Fire, Love & Other Drugs, and Defiance; with producing credits including Steven Soderbergh's Traffic and Shakespeare in Love, for which Zwick won the Academy Award.

From early-career, breakout performances from Denzel Washington, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon, to career-defining roles for Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio, and more, Zwick has directed many of Hollywood's biggest stars. His mark on television is equally impressive, including two series he co-created with longtime creative partner Marshall Herskovitz: the Emmy award-winning thirtysomething, regarded as one of the most influential dramas in modern TV history; and ABC's Emmy-winning ensemble drama, Once and Again.

He also executive produced the groundbreaking teen drama, My So-Called Life, which launched the careers of Claire Danes, Wilson Cruz and Jared Leto. A graduate of Harvard and the AFI Conservatory, Zwick and Herskovitz -- by far the longest-running partnership in Hollywood -- continues to lead their award-winning production company, Bedford Falls, founded in 1985.

This past year Zwick published his New York Times bestselling memoir, Hits, Flops and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood.

Chip Duncan

Award-winning documentary filmmaker Chip Duncan has created long-form films in more than 40 countries, interviewed numerous presidents and heads of state, and conducted oral histories with significant figures in American history, including former Senate Majority leader George Mitchell and former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel. As an unabashed fan of Ed Zwick and his extraordinary career in Hollywood, Duncan will bring his documentary expertise to this onstage interview featuring one of America’s truly gifted motion picture directors.