CSUN TO PLAY HOLLYWOOD ROLE.

Byline: Yvette Cabrera Daily News Staff Writer

Noah Ben-Menashe Yacoby knew the competition would be fierce for internships on TV's top-rated shows - ``Seinfeld,'' ``Friends,'' ``ER,'' among others.

Undaunted, the Cal State Northridge student mailed out countless cover letters and resumes. Six months later, Yacoby landed an internship with ``Seinfeld,'' the hit NBC comedy.

Today, the 22-year-old senior has a good shot at being hired as a production assistant after graduation in May.

``Even if I don't get the job, it was worth the experience,'' she said.

Stories like Yacoby's are the stuff that Cal State Northridge dreams will become far more frequent with the launch of an Entertainment Industry Institute on campus next fall.

The institute aims to establish a stronger alliance with Hollywood by developing curricula and degree programs, coordinating internships, providing on-site classes in studios and supporting research on the entertainment industry.

``We're a major university in the backyard of these companies,'' said Dean Philip Handler, who oversees about 3,000 students in the College of Arts, Media and Communication, where the institute will be housed.

``We educate a great portion of the entertainment work force in Southern California on this campus, so by focusing, by organizing ourselves and working in partnership with these companies, we can be more effective at opening up career opportunities for our students.''

Through the collaboration of three colleges at Cal State Northridge - Handler's college, the College of Business Administration and Economics, and the College of Engineering and Computer Science - the institute's goal is to give students a well-rounded education.

It's an idea promoted at an entertainment industry forum attended by prominent alumni in November.

``(Alumni) told us again and again that no matter what part of the industry you go into - the creative side, business side or technical side - it's useful for people to have a sense of what goes on in the other parts of the industry,'' said Handler.

With the entertainment industry employing one in every seven people from the region's work force, CSUN Professor Judith Marlane said the university can offer the industry not only a greater pool of workers, but students who are willing to take on a wider variety of jobs.

``USC provides the Steven Spielbergs, we provide the training for those people who not only want to be directors, but assistant directors, associate directors,'' said Marlane, chairwoman of the radio, television, and film department. ``(Students) are needed in a greater sense to be able to fill the additional cable and technical opportunities of the outgrowth in the industry.''

This month, CSUN President Blenda Wilson is reviewing Handler's application for $200,000 in funds from CSUN's 1997-98 budget to finance the institute. A decision won't be made until this summer when the budget is approved, but all involved say the institute will move forward regardless.

``It is a timely endeavor and President Wilson has offered her full support of our efforts,'' said Faye Ainsworth, director of development for the College of Arts, Media and Communication. ``This is a marvelous opportunity to really access the entertainment industry and do something that is really unprecedented and unique.''

For years, in a steady trickle, CSUN graduates have gone on to successful careers in the industry.

The list runs the gamut from ``Jeopardy'' game show writers and ``Star Trek'' executive producers to actors like Richard ``Cheech'' Marin and screenwriter Dale Launer, whose curriculum vitae includes ``Ruthless People'' and ``My Cousin Vinny.''

But the prestige and acclaim attached to the USC and UCLA film schools has long eluded Cal State Northridge, which hopes this institute will expose the the talent within the university.

``I would say it's our goal to be recognized for the excellence we have,'' said Marlane. ``We are a younger school and we have to work harder to get the recognition that automatically goes to USC and UCLA.''

One of Cal State Northridge's advantages is sheer numbers.

The number of applicants for the College of Arts, Media and Communication skyrocketed 44 percent this year, from 533 applicants last year to 769 applicants this fall.

With one year under her belt as an intern for ``Seinfeld,'' Yacoby said the institute will be a positive step for CSUN, allowing more students to intern with professionals.

``I've made so many contacts it's unbelievable,'' said Yacoby. ``There's nothing like seeing it in the real world. The classes help. I had to have that background to understand what was happening.

``But when you're in class you don't understand how it goes from being a script to being a scene on the show Thursday night.''

Michael Klausman, president of the CBS Studio Center and a 1974 CSUN graduate, couldn't agree more.

``What better way to get an education, if not right in the field itself?'' said Klausman, who estimates CSUN has more students in the industry than any other college in the state.

For years, the CBS Studio Center in Studio City has opened its doors to USC and UCLA students preparing film projects. But for the first time ever, the studio center is welcoming an undergraduate class from CSUN this June thanks to ongoing talks sparked by the creation of the institute.

``Southern California is the world center for the entertainment industry so (our students) have a tremendous influence on the culture, opinions, on thinking and on values for the country as a whole,'' said Dean Handler. ``Therefore it's important for us to educate those students the best way we can.''

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Photo: Cal State Northridge student Noah Ben-Menashe Yacoby is an intern for the TV comedy ``Seinfeld.''

Hans Gutknecht/Daily News