NCC’s Hollywood Salon returned home to Lincoln
calendar icon25 May 2023
Lincoln, Neb.--The Nebraska Coast Connection held The Hollywood Salon Comes Home event on May 8 at the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts. The event was part of a celebration of 30 years of the Nebraska Coast Connection and The Hollywood Salon.
The event featured a Q&A with two Nebraska friends who made their careers in Hollywood: Kearney native Jon Bokenkamp (creator, writer/producer of NBC’s “The Blacklist”) and UNL Theatre and Journalism alumnus Todd Nelson (CBS/Paramount producer and founder of the Nebraska Coast Connection).
“Your home sweet home in Hollywood has come home,” Nelson said.
Nelson was in Lincoln to receive the Award of Merit from the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts at its Honors Day Celebration on May 5.
The Nebraska Coast Connection is an education and networking alliance that connects professionals working in the entertainment industry. It was founded in 1992 by Nelson, and its monthly Hollywood Salon has been a touchpoint for University of Nebraska–Lincoln students, alumni and Hollywood transplants.
“Since 1995, we’ve hosted monthly meetings on the second Monday each month that we call The Hollywood Salon,” Nelson said. “In all that time, we’ve never missed a month, even during the pandemic when we moved to Zoom. At each Salon, we always host amazing special guests like Alexander Payne, Marg Helgenberger, Gabrielle Union, Donald Petrie, Dean Zanuck, Molly Parker, and hundreds of other entertainment professionals—people who share their stories of success and give inspiration and advice.”
The Nebraska Coast Connection has also sponsored internships for Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film students and celebrates regular engagement between professionals, alumni and current students.
The Hollywood Salon Comes Home event was sponsored by The Nebraska Coast Connection, the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts, the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts, the College of Journalism and Mass Communcations, and the Nebraska Alumni Association.