1ST PLANNING MEETING HELD ON DREAMWORKS PROGRAM.

Byline: Sharline Chiang Daily News Staff Writer

DreamWorks SKG and Los Angeles Community College District officials met for the first time Friday to begin planning a program to prepare students for jobs in film production, technology and the entertainment business.

It's the first step in what is being billed as a partnership to increase diversity in the city's film and animation industry.

``The community college district gives us that opportunity to really reach out to the city, particularly to young people, and trying to match up real jobs that are going to be created in the industry with training programs,'' said Andy Spahn, a DreamWorks spokesman.

DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg set things in motion Thursday by giving a verbal commitment at a luncheon at the company's Glendale animation studio.

The Los Angeles Community College District has an ethnically and economically diverse population of 100,000 students across nine campuses - including Mission College in Sylmar, Valley College in Van Nuys and Pierce College in Woodland Hills.

Trustee Kelly Candaele, a key liaison for the college district and the driving force behind the partnership, said he would like to see internships and mentorships begin this fall. But other details, including how much money and resources DreamWorks will contribute, the number of campuses and students affected, and when the new curriculum will be ready, are still being worked out.

``You enter these partnerships on good faith. When you have the verbal commitment of Katzenberg that they are involved for the long haul, that's a pretty good indication they're serious,'' Candaele said.

Candaele, with the help of City Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, began talking to DreamWorks representatives about a year and a half ago. Candaele said he is also talking to Warner Bros. and hopes the DreamWorks partnership makes it easier to woo other companies in the industry.

The meeting, which included a tour, was attended by a group of 30 people, including Candaele, Galanter, LACCD trustee Georgia Mercer, college presidents, community-based organization leaders, faculty and students. DreamWorks officials included the company head from the animation and interactive divisions and human resources.

Mercer said she would like to see the agreement better defined over the next few months.

``It's all muddled to me, it's not 100 percent clear. But I also understand that it's evolving,'' said Mercer, who serves on the board's educational planning and development committee. She said, in her opinion, ``It's not going to be this huge big overwhelming program. I'd rather it be small and successful.''

The agreement calls for DreamWorks to work with the district to help create a pilot Entertainment Studies program at one of their campuses. DreamWorks executives or staff members will help design the curriculum of the pilot and serve as technical advisers and guest lecturers.

The company also will coordinate visits to DreamWorks facilities and allow job shadowing of DreamWorks staff.

Galanter began encouraging DreamWorks to support city schools about three years ago. She did not seem concerned that the partnership is loosely defined.

``The whole point of this is to be flexible and adaptable enough so that the colleges can change their curriculum to keep pace with the changes in the industry so the colleges don't have to go back and figure out what are they doing wrong,'' she said.

Some skeptics have implied that DreamWorks is only agreeing to play a role with the colleges in order to win city subsidies to help it move its headquarters onto a housing and commercial project planned in Playa Vista. But Galanter dismissed that notion, saying most of the original $70 million in subsidies slated for the project are now covered by citywide policies that reduce costs for similar projects.

``First of all, all of the subsidies everyone's talking about have basically evaporated. There are none left. It's not fair to call them subsidies if we reduce it for everybody,'' she said.