Film crews from the hit Fox show "The OC," which has featured Brown throughout its current season, were on campus in the past two weeks to shoot footage for an episode airing this Thursday.
Production crews from the show came to Providence to shoot background footage for the show, according to Michael Chapman, vice president for public affairs and University relations. Chapman said officials from Fox contacted him and asked for permission to film on campus.
The episode features Summer Roberts and Seth Cohen, played by Rachel Bilson and Adam Brody, respectively, as they make their first visit to Brown. Summer is deciding whether to attend the University, while Seth makes a final plea to gain admission, according to Lora Ducat, director of clearance and integration at Warner Brothers.
The actors and crew had planned to shoot scenes for the episode at Brown but ended up running out of time, Ducat said. Instead, the show "sent a photographer to take exteriors" while the actors were filmed on the campus of the University of Southern California, according to Ducat.
David Appelbaum, script coordinator for "The OC," said shooting on Brown's campus would have been preferable. But given that shooting on location "takes a lot of time and money and the actors have busy schedules, it made more sense to keep it (in California)," Appelbaum said.
Chapman said his office gave the show permission to shoot footage on campus. "We're fine with it. I think the University is being portrayed in a favorable light," he said.
Brown is not being compensated for the footage that was taken, Chapman said.
"The University has not charged us a license fee, which is great," Ducat said, adding that no school had charged such a fee in her experience.
Ducat said the University has been extremely helpful both in granting permission and giving Brown sweatshirts and other props to Fox. Chapman's office even gave the show authentic admission letters to use, Ducat said.
"Mike (Chapman) has been really great. Some schools are really specific about what we can and can't say, but it's been great to have the freedom of creativity," Ducat said.
Chapman read the scripts in which Brown was mentioned.
"The University asked us to change almost nothing," Ducat said. She added the University only asked for changes to small things "that would hamper the integrity of the school." Ducat added that writers hadn't foreseen a problem with these changed segments when originally drafting the scripts.
Appelbaum agreed the show has had a very good relationship with the University. "There hasn't been much conflict, or potential scenarios where Brown would have questioned our motives. Brown in the world of the show has always been painted in a positive light - it's where Seth has always wanted to go."
Ducat and Appelbaum could not comment on the upcoming episodes without giving the story away, but Appelbaum said Brown will likely continue to appear in future plotlines. Appelbaum said he did not know whether the actors would be coming to campus for future episodes, but it is a possibility. Currently, no plans exist either for filming the cast on campus or shooting more footage of the University, according to Ducat.
When asked why Fox chose to feature Brown over other prominent schools, Ducat said the University has a unique personality.
"Brown has the reputation of being the coolest of the prestigious schools," Ducat said. "When you think of Brown you think of John F. Kennedy Jr. It's a cool school, I really believe that."
The show's creator, Josh Schwartz, grew up in Providence's East Side and attended the nearby Wheeler School, located at 216 Hope St.
Lynn Horowitz '08, who watches "The OC" on a regular basis, said she is excited about the University being featured in the show.
"I think it's good for Brown's reputation. A lot of kids think of Brown as very liberal and hippy, so this might be good publicity for the school," Horowitz said.
"It'll be cool to see Brown on TV. It would have been cooler if they had actually shot at Brown, though," she added.
