Rocco DiCicco
History Major/International Affairs Minor
Co-oping in LA….oooooh……aahhh
When on campus, can be spotted: At Snell studying or in the Curry center to enjoy the only Taco Bell in Boston! (Good thing he’s in L.A. because Curry is closed ’til Spetember!)
What do you do in your spare time?
I like to read, watch movies, and I play a lot of golf. Golf courses in California don’t close during the winter months so I’ve played a good amount since I’ve been on co op.
Where are you from and what originally attracted you to Northeastern?
Originally I’m from Fresno, California (which is the greatest city in the United States). I came to Northeastern because of it’s location in Boston. I visited the city once when I was in high school and something just clicked. It has a unique mix of history and youth vibrance, which to me was pretty awesome. I knew it was the place I wanted to go to college.
Where are you currently co-oping and what brought you to L.A. ?
I’m co-oping at Traction Media, a small company that produces and sells independent films. I wanted to stray away from the co op’s that history majors typically have. I’ve always loved movies, and when the opportunity to work in the film industry arose I thought, “hey, why not?!” LA is the Mecca of the film industry so this is the place to be to get the real experience.
and what does a normal day look like for you in SoCal?
I wake up around 8:30 and arrive at work usually before 10, because entertainment hours are pretty sweet like that. When I get to work, I’ll read a script or two before my lunch break starts at 1. On my lunch break I’ll walk down Santa Monica Boulevard with my shades on and decide where I want to eat. After work, I’ll either head to the golf course near the office to hit some golf balls or I’ll go home and watch a movie on Netflix. A pretty standard routine.
Hunger Games, Harry Potter or Twilight?
How about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? I’m a fan of Rooney Mara, I think she’s great.
How does your History-major background relate to your co-op?
The two don’t seem to connect, but I think my academic background has helped a great deal with my co-op. One of the most important duties I have for my co-op is to write coverage on the scripts that I read; basically writing a synopsis on the plot and an analysis on what I think was well-written and what I think could be improved. If you think about it, every historical event is a story in some way, just like a script for a movie is a story. The structure and thinking it takes to write coverage for a script is very similar, and almost identical to the structure and thinking needed to write all of those history papers I have written at school.
Since starting your co-op, do you have a better sense of what you want to be when you grow up?
Most definitely. You know, I think that’s one of the greatest things about the co-op program that us Northeastern students can take advantage of. During the semester we’re so tied down and focused on the classwork in front of us, it’s not easy to see beyond the immediate future. On co-op, there is much more time to take a step back and think about our next move after school is over. And this is in addition to getting real experience in an industry that we are interested in.
With a name like Rocco, have you attracted a lot of attention out west?
Absolutely. There aren’t nearly as many Italians in LA as there are in the Northeast!
What has been your coolest moment in L.A.?
That’s a tough question but I would probably say something that happened on my 3rd day of work at Traction Media. I had to deliver a DVD to the home of a producer, and all I knew about her was that her name is Kelly Meyer and she lived in Malibu. I took the scenic drive up the coast to Malibu, and finally found the address where she lived. I pulled up to this magnificent home right on the ocean, on about 5 acres of land. I needed to talk with about 4 security guards and prove my identity just to drop off that DVD! When I was leaving I thought to myself, this Kelly Meyer person must really be a somebody to live there. So I did what every sensible person of my age does to look up information: type her name into Google from my IPhone. I was forwarded to the Wikipedia page of her husband, Ron Meyer, who is the CEO of Universal Studios. I was at the home of the head of one of the biggest studios in the world. That was a pretty cool “welcome to the film industry” type thing.
If a movie was made of your life, what celebrity would you get to play the lead role?
Well, I know he’s not an actor, but I would say Tim Tebow. People tell me all the time that I look like him. A couple month’s ago I was walking down 5th avenue in New York with my brother and a police officer stopped us just to ask me if I was related to Tebow in some way. Hopefully a good cinematographer could make him look like he’s 5’8″ and 155 lbs.
What are you looking forward to when you get back to Boston?
Spending time with the friends who I haven’t been able to see this semester, and Dunkin’ Donuts. Not necessarily in that order.
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