{"id":642912,"date":"2025-03-11T12:22:59","date_gmt":"2025-03-11T16:22:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=642912"},"modified":"2025-03-12T16:56:44","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T20:56:44","slug":"steve-blank-zigzag-path-to-lucasfilm-executive-642912","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/steve-blank-zigzag-path-to-lucasfilm-executive-642912\/","title":{"rendered":"Steve Blank \u201907: A \u2018zigzag\u2019 path to Lucasfilm"},"content":{"rendered":"

The film and media studies major worked numerous part-time gigs before landing a job with the company that produces Star Wars<\/em>.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

After graduating from the University of Rochester<\/a> with a film and media studies<\/a> degree, Steve Blank \u201907 had his future planned. \u201cI was going to be a movie editor,\u201d he says. \u201cI love taking all these different pieces and putting them together into a complete whole story.\u201d<\/p>\n

But his plans didn\u2019t match his luck\u2014or the economy.<\/p>\n

A global financial crisis was in its early stages when Blank left Rochester. That\u2019s when he entered what he calls the \u201czigzag\u201d portion of his career, working nearly two dozen odd jobs over three years. \u201cPhysical labor, a mail room, answering phones, data entry, and countless others,\u201d he says. \u201cSometimes a job lasted 24 hours, sometimes two months.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few marketing gigs whet his appetite for the industry, so he visited a temporary employment agency to pursue something more long-term. He found a position at a real estate firm. \u201cI did it for eight months and hated every second,\u201d he recalls, \u201cbut I gave it everything I could.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Steve
Steve Blank. (Credit: Joel Aron \/ Lucasfilm)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Blank finally talked with his boss at the time. \u201cI told him that I love marketing, but this isn\u2019t the right industry for me. He looked me in the eyes and said \u2018Well, my wife is executive vice president of programming at TV Land. Do you want to talk to her?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Which is how Steve Blank began the journey that has led to his current role as director of franchise content and strategy for Lucasfilm, one of the world\u2019s leading entertainment production studios.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m part of a 16-person creative team responsible for managing the development of all new stories for Star Wars<\/em> or Indiana Jones<\/em> across all franchise platforms,\u201d says Blank, who works in San Francisco. \u201cThis includes video games, animation, publishing, parks, immersive experiences, and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no shortage of story ideas for the two legendary franchises. \u201cOur team is there to help develop those stories, determine what stories are best and on which storytelling platforms, and then manage the continuity,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Climbing the ladder of success<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Blank grew up in Brooklyn and chose Rochester, about 300 miles away, because of its signature flexible curriculum<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never been a fan of being told I have to do something,\u201d he says, \u201cand every college was like, \u2018When you get here, you have to take these 74 courses before you can focus on your major.\u2019 Rochester gave me the freedom to choose.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Blank says the variety of classes he took at Rochester gave him the skills he uses today as a creative executive. \u201cSome of the most influential lessons that defined how I articulate and read a story came from the English and film courses I took,\u201d he says. \u201cI took a science fiction course, a detective course, a French New Wave cinema course, and more, and those have paid dividends working in genre-fiction storytelling. I took a directing course and an acting course through the theater program as well, and those helped me more better understand live production elements.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Steve
REBEL ALLIANCE:<\/strong> Blank joined Lucasfilm in 2014. As a senior manager for franchise marketing, he helped kick off the animated TV show Star Wars Rebels. <\/em>(Photo provided)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The job at TV Land was as a freelance marketing coordinator. Blank\u2019s role came to a close after six months, but the experienced opened the door to his next gig in the marketing department at Nickelodeon. One of his proudest accomplishments was helping to launch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles<\/em>, which became a major television hit in 2012 and spawned a top-selling action figure brand.<\/p>\n

He started at Lucasfilm in 2014 as senior manager for franchise marketing and helped kick off the animated TV show Star Wars Rebels. <\/em>He then joined the story group in 2015 and has been in his current position since 2018.<\/p>\n

Finding stories that touch the soul<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Blank says working for an established franchise like Star Wars<\/em> has its challenges\u2014and its rewards.<\/p>\n

\u201cStar Wars<\/em> has been around for almost 50 years, so there are a lot of stories out there,\u201d he says. \u201cThe responsibility is to make sure we\u2019re still telling great stories so people can continue to love and enjoy the series for another 50 years. The priority is always going to be, how do we tell a good story? And how does it fit into Star Wars<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Steve
KEEPING UP WITH THE INDIANA JONESES:<\/strong> Blank returned to his alma mater to discuss his career in the entertainment industry with current students. (University of Rochester photo \/ Michelle Kleinhammer)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And what characteristics make the best stories?<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say any good story that can touch someone\u2019s soul\u2014even if it\u2019s not everybody\u2019s soul\u2014is a good story,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

And although Blank\u2019s own story features an unorthodox path to his current influential job, he believes college students shouldn\u2019t be afraid of the zigzags their own careers might take.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust because you\u2019ve started in one place doesn\u2019t mean that\u2019s where you have to end up,\u201d he says. \u201cYou can find other things and use what you\u2019ve learned in creative and different ways. Trust me. It can lead you to better things than you ever anticipated.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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