by Keith T. Barber and Marimar McNaughton
Frank Capra Jr. was a man “who defined humility and friendship,” said Bill Vassar, executive vice president of EUE/Screen Gems Studios during the Frank Capra Jr. memorial service Tuesday at Thalian Hall. Capra, the man credited with bringing the film industry to Wilmington, had a gift for making new friends, and his ability to reach out to the academic and independent film communities in Wilmington will always serve as an integral part of his legacy.
During Tuesday’s service, Johnny Griffin, director of the Wilmington Film Commission, recalled how Capra asked him one day after taking the reins at EUE/Screen Gems in 1996, how it was possible that Wilmington had a movie studio, but didn’t have a film school.
Staff photo by Joshua Curry
Frank Capra III eulogizes his father during the Frank Capra Jr. memorial service at Thalian Hall Tuesday. |
Shortly thereafter, Capra partnered with UNC Wilmington professor Lou Buttino to help create the UNCW Film Studies Program, where Capra often served as a guest lecturer. Emily Curley was one of Capra’s first students in his “Business of Film” class at UNCW. Curley, now an executive with Twentieth Century Fox, spoke at Tuesday’s service and credited her success to Capra’s wisdom and infinite generosity.
Bo Webb, a camera operator and independent filmmaker, has served as a guest artist in the UNCW Film Studies Program. Webb credits the program with giving birth to a new generation of film production professionals and reinvigorating Wilmington’s greatest asset — its talented crew base.
Kyle Lewis, a UNCW Film Studies graduate, acquired an internship on the CW network series “One Tree Hill” during his undergraduate days. Lewis cited the program as helping him land the internship, which proved to be a turning point in his life.
“It was definitely an eye-opener for me to see what you couldn’t see in a class,” Lewis said.
The valuable experience Lewis gained working on “One Tree Hill” led to work on local independent feature films. Lewis parlayed that experience into the production of his first film, “Dead End Decision” — a 9-minute short Lewis directed in the spring of 2006.
Lewis said the success of the independent film community ultimately hinges on two things: UNCW’s Film Studies Program and more big-budget films, like “The Secret Life of Bees,” currently in production at Screen Gems, coming to
the area.
“The film studies program is growing so quickly,” Lewis said. “There are more students coming out looking to get jobs in the industry, so the more movies that come here, the better off we all are.
Vassar predicts more movies setting up shop at
