Carson School alumna Lenosky returns for Geske Cinema Showcase
calendar icon28 Sep 2022 user iconBy Kathe C. Andersen
Lincoln, Neb.--Film producer and Husker alumna Tory Lenosky (B.F.A. 2007) returned to Lincoln on Sept. 2 for the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts’ Norman A. Geske Cinema Showcase, where she did a Q&A with the audience following a screening of her recent film, “Resurrection.”
While back in Lincoln, Lenosky also met with students in the Johnny Carson Center for Emerging Media Arts, as well as local high school students from Lincoln Public Schools’ Arts and Humanities Focus Program.
“It’s awesome to be back,” Lenosky said. “I have so many memories, especially in this building, the Ross, and in the Temple Building. It’s very exciting to see how it’s changed. I love the campus so it’s a lot of nostalgia.”
Lenosky described “Resurrection” as a psychological thriller.
“It’s about a mother, played by Rebecca Hall, who is single, and very much has life in control and has a young daughter about to go to college,” she said. “And this man suddenly comes back in her life and just sort of shakes her to her core, and you sort of realize that he’s a man from her past. She feels the need to sort of protect herself and her daughter at any cost. It’s a project I’ve been trying to make for a long time, and I’m just overjoyed that it’s getting such a wide release, and I can bring I back to the school.”
Originally from Omaha, Emmy-nominated producer Lenosky has worked as a producer on 22 movies. She most recently produced the 2022 New York Times Critic’s Pick feature film “Resurrection” (starring Hall and Tim Roth), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
“One of the most important aspects of The Ross’ programming, the Geske Cinema Showcase brings movie makers here to interact with the audiences, and when the visiting movie maker is a graduate of UNL like Tory Lenosky, that makes it remarkable,” said Danny Lee Ladely, director of the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center. “Tory’s career since she graduated from UNL has been nothing but stellar having worked on 22-plus movies.”
In addition to “Resurrection,” she produced the Netflix comedy special “Nightclub Comedian” starring Aziz Ansari this year. She has also produced several previous films, including “The Hater” (2019 Sundance Director Lab Project) starring Joey Ally and Bruce Dern; “Lost Transmissions” (Tribeca Film Festival 2019) starring Simon Pegg and Juno Temple; and “Loitering with Intent” starring Academy Award-winners Marisa Tomei and Sam Rockwell (Tribeca Film Festival 2014).
Short-form content produced by Lenosky includes the Emmy-nominated “Humankinda” starring Sam Richardson (2016 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Special Class Short Format Daytime Program).
Lenosky is also an alumnus of the Sundance Creative Producing Lab & Fellowship, Rotterdam Producing Lab, Sundance Catalyst and IFP No Borders.
Lenosky didn’t originally think she would be a producer.
“I love the creative process of making a film, and there wasn’t really one job that stood out to me. I had always thought when I heard the word producer that was only the money people, and that sounded very icky to me,” she said. “When I learned there are lots of different types of producers, that was exciting to me.”
She was inspired when she met a younger producer.
“I met this younger producer who was in their late 20s when I was very young—21 or 22,” she said. “I was very inspired because I realized maybe I don’t have to work my way up in all these different manners. In independent film, you very much have to carve out your own way. It’s different than working your way up through a studio system. That was my initial move toward producing, and I just continued to meet more people who I liked.”
While being a producer is challenging, Lenosky also likes supporting the creative process.
“You’re in charge of everything, so your job never ends, in a way,” she said. “But I love that you can sort of have your hands in everything. You’re supporting the creative. It’s being super creative with the team that we have to make the vision come true.”
When Lenosky thinks back to her time in the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film, she remembers certain teachers.
“Sandy Veneziano is still somebody that I look up to, and I’m lucky enough to call a friend,” she said. “But she was pivotal because she had worked in the industry. I knew I didn’t want to be a production designer [like her], but she just very practically talked about how she hustled for work and how she worked creatively with a director. That was super inspiring to me. I also vividly remember Bill Grange’s classes which weren’t filmmaking, but were directing and acting. He pushed us to really think about those elements, and I was surprised at how much those came into play when I started working on projects and working with directors. I’m really grateful that we had the theatre background here.”
Lenosky said a lot goes into choosing what projects she works on.
“It’s a combination of things,” she said. “I think you have to be somewhat passionate about it because it’s going to take up a lot of your time. As I told the students, nobody works in this industry because they love the hours or they love the pay even sometimes. I have to be invested in it. It’s first the material and then who is involved. It has to be people that I feel like I can be in a room with and enjoy my time.”
Lenosky enjoyed being back in Nebraska and spending time in the Carson Center and in the Carson School.
“I saw the Johnny Carson quote when you walk in the door [of the Temple Building], and it said November 2004 when they announced [the gift]. It would have been my sophomore year. I remember when they announced it, it was very exciting,” she said. “I didn’t get to see the fruits of that money, but I remember coming back a couple of years later and seeing the new theatre. I just think it’s super cool that he put his name on the school. I mean, everybody in the industry knows Johnny Carson, so to have that be a part of my history of my education is really thrilling.”
Her lasting memory of her time in the Carson School was the student projects she worked on.
“I’ll never forget going to my first film set. It was a student film they were shooting at Barrymore’s,” she said. “I walked in, and I think they had the dolly track down and they were getting ready. I walked out, and I was just so excited. I called my Mom and I was just like, I know I really want to do this. This is so cool. I just had realized this is what I wanted to do.”
Later, she had an internship with the film production and distribution company Pathé, where she had a chance to spend one day on reshoot for “The Queen” and ended up as a stand-in for star Helen Mirren.
“That was pretty wild and very unusual that I was able to see that,” she said. “After I got that opportunity, I just realized I have to take every opportunity that comes at me. You have to put yourself out there, and you have to network.”
Lenosky is excited for the future of the Carson School and Carson Center.
“I’m excited to see the work that the students are going to keep creating,” she said. “And I hope I can keep bringing work back here.”