You don’t have to convince Amy Cron ’01 of the value of her senior thesis. It’s a big reason she struck out for Hollywood after graduation. In addition to winning the Edwin R. Hunter Award for Excellence in Research in English or American Literature, her thesis “Contrasting Horizons of ‘Romeo and Juliet:’ The Adaptations of [movie directors] Franco Zeffirelli and Baz Luhrmann,” helped her discern her calling.

“It was while I was researching and writing my thesis that my friends and professors began to encourage me to pursue a career in film and television, an obvious passion of mine,” she said. “So I packed up and moved to California. I arrived on Sept. 12, 2001. The industry had closed its doors.”

In the aftermath of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks, Cron went to work for the American Red Cross Blood Services but kept her eyes and mind open to opportunities. After a screening of Moulin Rouge at the Egyptian Theatre that fall, Amy said she had the “amazing fortune” of speaking with its director, Baz Luhrmann, during a Q&A session. She showed him her thesis, and he signed it.

“It was an amazing experience, and it made me believe that breaking into the industry, while extremely hard, was possible,” she remembered. “A year later, I got my first industry job as a production assistant on a car commercial. Instantly, I knew that this was where I belonged.”

In three years, Amy has worked her way up from production assistant to post-production assistant to post-coordinator to associate producer. Her résumé includes work with various studios and networks, including CMT, NBC, Warner Brothers Television, Buena Vista Pictures, Sony Pictures and Sony Music.

“I have moved from commercial work to television, and I now work on a series for CMT,” she added.

For CMT’s documentary series “Small Town Secrets” and CMT’s “Most Shocking,” Amy is in charge of research, scheduling, booking topics, talent and locations, and serving as field producer at various shoots all over the country.

As post-production coordinator for “Steve Harvey’s Big Time,” she assisted producers and editors in creative and online processes, maintained the tape vault, oversaw dubbing of all material, and organized, maintained and logged all music used in the show.

Brushes – and near crashes – with fame

In addition to Steve Harvey, Amy has had brushes with several famous people:  Stevie Wonder, Tom Hanks, Dean Cain, Sean Penn, Juliette Lewis and Colin Firth. One particular actor is very likely to remember her.

“I almost killed George Clooney,” she said, acknowledging that the moment isn’t exactly a career highlight. “When I was working for ‘Steve Harvey’s Big Time,’ our offices shared the same building as George Clooney’s offices. The whole production team was on ‘Clooney Watch,’ and from time to time, we would run into him in the elevators or lobby.

“One morning, when I was heading into work, I looked over, and there he was on his motorcycle. There are two entrances into the parking garage; he drove in one entrance while I drove in the other. I was in a bit of a rush, and we found ourselves meeting in the garage, me almost running him over. Narrowly escaping with his life, he parked and headed inside while I proceeded to a lower level to park.

“Exiting the garage elevators in the lobby, I was still rushing as I headed for the main elevators. It was at this moment that I ran smack dab into Mr. George Clooney. And I mean SMACK.

“To my surprise, he actually got into the elevator with me, but I was so embarrassed that I didn’t say a word. As we rode the elevator in silence, the headline ‘PA runs down George Clooney’ kept running through my head.

“Thankfully, Mr. Clooney is still alive and well, but I doubt that I will be working with him any time soon.”