Legacy of a Firestarter

The late Frank Capra Jr.’s tenure as president of EUE Screen Gems Studios in Wilmington helped forge a lasting link with Hollywood that continues to pay dividends.

The studio thrives in troubled economic times, and the promise of big-money productions locating in Wilmington should soon be realized with the completion of a massive new sound stage that includes one of the largest indoor water tanks in the world.

The son of legendary director Frank Capra first came to Wilmington in 1983 as producer of the film Firestarter. By the time he became associated with the studio in 1997, the local moviemaking business had fallen on hard times. Attempts by two previous owners to keep the studio afloat failed before Capra was hired to run the studio by George Cooney, whose son Chris is now president of EUE Screen Gems.

Capra, who died on Dec. 19, 2007, helped shape the local filmmaking culture with his can-do attitude, knowledge of the movie business and skillful use of his many contacts in the industry, said Bill Vassar, EUE Screen Gems executive vice president.

Face of the Studio

“He was definitely the face of this studio for the Cooney family. He was able to use his connections and establish this place and make it a major production facility,” Vassar said.
“Frank, for lack of a better word, put the Hollywood face on this place. He brought the cache and who he was and his experience to the studio.”

A year after his passing, Capra’s office at the studio complex on North 23rd Street remains sealed.

“We’re in the process of drawing up plans to renovate the main management suite up front,” Vassar said.

Other changes are in store with the completion of Stage 10, which will be ready to host major productions in 2009. The sound stage encompasses 37,500 square feet, including the 50- by 50-foot water tank, which is more than 10-1/2 feet deep and designed for filming underwater scenes. 

While the possibility of a Screen Actors Guild strike puts a temporary hold on commitments for major projects industry-wide, the television series One Tree Hill continues to film in Wilmington, along with other more modest projects.

“We’ve had some inquiries from smaller productions and we’ve got One Tree Hill, and our equipment business is doing pretty well,” Vassar said.

He and other EUE Screen Gems executives remain confident about the long-term outlook.

“The big thing is this investment in this huge stage and the attraction of new business here,” Vassar said. “The whole thing is all about bringing larger productions here and adding to the foundation established by Frank and the Cooneys. I know we’re in good shape.”

People will continue to go to see movies despite stunning technological advances in recent years, Vassar believes.

“The media industry is changing so graphically. Who would have thought five years ago kids would be watching movies on their phones? That and computers and gaming is a very big part of the competition for peoples’ entertainment (dollars),” he said. “I think people enjoy the experience of watching a movie with other people.”

Studios will step up to produce entertaining fare, but another factor also in play will help keep the film industry competitive, Vassar said.

“It’s not just (the) studios, it’s the exhibitors who own the theaters. They will continue to improve the product,” he said.
Vassar said one example of a technology that the public will experience soon in theaters is vastly improved 3D films.

Planning for the future

In a sense, Vassar said, planning for the studio’s future is part of Capra’s legacy. His death last year from prostate cancer at age 73 shocked many involved in the local filmmaking industry.

“The saddest thing about this is how quickly his demise was. There was no set plan for moving on,” Vassar said. “But he was not the kind of person who held on to information. We all worked as a team.”

Vassar is thankful he spent eight years at the studio with Capra.

“He was wonderful. I learned something from him every day from working with him,” Vassar said.

One of Capra’s fondest youthful memories was being allowed by his director father onto the set of the movie It’s A Wonderful Life. The 1946 holiday favorite starring Jimmy Stewart is a tradition every year at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where it is shown at Kenan Auditorium. The film was screened this year on Dec. 19.

“It’s such a positive, warm movie and it’s so good for the community,” said UNCW Film Studies Department assistant professor Chip Hackler, who taught a college course on great directors with Capra.

“He was a very warm person. When I think of Frank Capra, I think of him with a smile on his face. He always had an open door at the studio and you could always get in to see him,” Hackler said. “He encouraged students and helped them try to get on their feet in Los Angeles if they wanted.”

Capra, he said, “had a neat breadth of knowledge about Hollywood and could speak quite eloquently at length without notes.”

His upbringing gave him a unique perspective on a golden age of filmmaking, Hackler said.

“Clark Gable, John Ford, Jimmy Stewart – these people he really saw as friends. They were just people dropping by the house.”

Two hours in the dark

Frank Capra Sr., of course, was one of the directors studied at UNCW. Hackler read Capra’s autobiography and did further research, and was ultimately inspired to make his own movie about a pivotal episode in the director’s life.

The 40-minute “featurette” is called Two Hours in the Dark and was filmed this summer in Wilmington. It centers on a dark period in Frank Capra Sr.’s life after he achieved widespread recognition for directing the 1934 romantic comedy It Happened One Night, which starred Gable and Claudette Colbert.

With the runaway success of the film, Capra was under relentless pressure from Columbia Pictures studio head Harry Cohn to generate more hits.

“He got nervous about what to do for a follow-up so he got sick and just went to bed. One day a friend brought over an anonymous stranger who chewed him out. He said, ‘You’ve got God-given talent’ and he went on to make movies like It’s a Wonderful Life,” Hackler said.

Capra recounted the speech the man gave in his autobiography. He never found out the identity of the unknown stranger who provided the much-needed boost.

“In Capra’s movies after this, these little mysterious men started popping up and delivering an inspiring message,” Hackler said. The character of Clarence the angel in It’s a Wonderful Life is one such example, he said.

People might think of Frank Capra Sr. as a happy-go-lucky person after watching his films “and my research showed he went through some struggles,” Hackler said.

The choice of Two Hours in the Dark as a title for Hackler’s film has dual significance.

“The primary meaning is the little man told him that you’ve got people for two hours in the dark and there’s a lot you can do to communicate with people, but it also refers to the dark period he went through,” Hackler said.

Hackler hopes to have the film ready for release by springtime. An uncut version of the movie was shown as part of the “Work-In-Progress” segment of the recent Cucalorus Film Festival. When editing is complete, Hackler said Two Hours in the Dark will make the circuit of major film festivals. He hopes the subject matter will attract enough attention for the movie to eventually be seen on venues like public television.

“Periodically, they release Capra’s videos on DVD. I’m hoping we can get this attached as a bonus,” Hackler said.
The movie features a mix of California-based and regional actors.

“We shot it here in Wilmington. The trick was we had to make it look like it was 1935,” Hackler said.

Hackler continues fundraising for post-production costs. Donations are tax-deductible. Hackler can be reached via email at hacklerc@uncw.edu

An 'eternal optimist' 

Frank Capra Jr. was just a 1-year-old when his father met the mysterious man who helped shape his attitude toward life and moviemaking. Frank Capra Sr.’s experience may have rubbed off in significant ways on his son.

“I think Frank Capra Jr. was the eternal optimist, much like his dad. He was always looking for ways to say, ‘How can I do this,’” Hackler said.

Which brings the legacy of Frank Capra Jr. and his tenure with EUE Screen Gems in Wilmington full circle, not to mention his efforts in helping cement a future for the studio and those who work there. People like Vassar and Johnny Griffin of the Wilmington Regional Film Commission continue to further Capra’s work.

But Frank Capra Jr. and his role in helping EUE Screen Gems Studios to be recognized in the movie industry as a first-rate production facility won’t be forgotten.

“There will never be another Frank Capra. The Cooneys had the vision to put their business model in place and had the vision to hire Frank. He was the missing cog who brought the recognition to this place,” Vassar said. “People are going to take the phone call of Frank Capra Jr. That’s the clout that he had and that’s the doors he was able to open.”