Italian professor Massimo Ciavolella and the late Italian author Umberto Eco were good acquaintances. Ciavolella invited Eco to lecture during the professor’s classes at UCLA. Eco made Ciavolella a character in his book “Il nome della rosa,” or “The Name of the Rose.” The novel details a series of murders that take place at a Benedictine monastery in 1327. Read more...

Photo: Italian and comparative literature professor Massimo Ciavolella inspired a character in Umberto Eco’s book. The 1986 movie adaptation of the book will be screened at UCLA. (Courtesy of Brett Landenberger)

Tamara Hunter casts characters who are capable of extraordinary feats. She’s worked in the casting department on such films as “The Avengers” and “Guardians of the Galaxy.” But for “Hidden Figures” she assembled a cast to play the mathematicians behind the task that was once considered impossible – sending a man into space. Read more...

Photo: Tamara Hunter worked on the casting of Golden Globe-nominated film “Hidden Figures,” a story about three mathematicians who defied race and gender boundaries. (Courtesy of Tamara Hunter)