University Of Iowa Denies Request By HBO's 'Girls' To Film On Campus (UPDATE)

University Will Keep HBO's 'Girls' Off Campus (UPDATE)
Lena Dunham arrives at The Television Academy presents An Evening with "Girls" on Thursday, March 13, 2014 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)
Lena Dunham arrives at The Television Academy presents An Evening with "Girls" on Thursday, March 13, 2014 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

Hannah Horvath may have gotten into the Iowa Writers' Workshop, but at this point, she'll never get to be on campus.

The University of Iowa denied a request by HBO to film "Girls," created by and starring Lena Dunham, on the public school's campus, the Iowa City Press-Citizen reports.

In the season three finale, Dunham's character, Hannah, is accepted to the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the university. The show shares another connection, in that staff writer Sarah Heyward is an alumna of the prestigious MFA program.

"While we are pleased that the Iowa Writers' Workshop is receiving national attention and that our graduate is doing well in her career, our general practice is to not allow filming, due to potential disruption to campus," UI spokesman Tom Moore told the Press-Citizen.

Maybe New York University students wouldn't think much of HBO filming a scene with Soshanna in their buildings. Iowa, however, thinks it would be too much of a disruption.

Apparently, the Iowa plot line was written into "Girls" before anyone at the school knew about it.

“It was a complete surprise to me that we would be part of the season cliffhanger," Samantha Chang, Workshop director, told the Press-Citizen earlier this week.

The Workshop is the first creative writing degree program in the country and a prestigious one today. It boasts several U.S. Poet Laureates and Pulitzer Prize winners as alumni.

UPDATE, March 28 -- University of Iowa Vice President of Strategic Communication Joe Brennan told the Des Moines Register the school turned down "Girls" to protect its reputation.

“After reviewing the script, I felt the storyline placed the city and university in an unfavorable light, and considering the potential for disruption, I made the decision to deny the request,” Brennan said. “I won't share details as I don’t think it fair to reveal the plot in advance. I understand this is a popular show, but it’s my job to safeguard the reputation of the university.”

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