Frank Capra Jr.

1934-2007

RALEIGH, N.C. — Frank Capra Jr., the son of "It's A Wonderful Life" director Frank Capra who followed his father into the movie business and help build the largest television and movie studio on the East Coast, has died. He was 73.

Capra Jr. died Wednesday night at a hospital in Philadelphia, said Bill Vassar, the executive vice president of Wilmington-based EUE/Screen Gems Studios, of which Capra was president. Vassar said Capra died following a long fight with prostate cancer, which had spread over the past several months.

"With his Hollywood pedigree and extensive experience as a producer, Frank was the perfect ambassador to Hollywood," Chris Cooney, chief operating officer of EUE Screen Gems LTD, said in a statement. "He will be missed as a friend and a colleague."

Under Capra's leadership, EUE/Screen Gems' credits include several major motion pictures, including "28 Days," "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood," "Domestic Disturbance," "Black Knight" and "A Walk to Remember."

He also was at the helm when "Dawson's Creek" - starring a then-unknown Katie Holmes - filmed at the studios, and he kept all nine of the studio's sound stages full in recent years between movies and the filming of another successful teenage soap, "One Tree Hill."

"He brings a certain cachet to the studio that would not be there and wasn't there before he came," said Bill Arnold, the former director of the North Carolina Film Office, said in an interview earlier this year. "When Frank came on, I think it assumed a larger profile just because of Frank's name."

Capra was one of three children of Frank Capra and Lucille Rayburn Warner Capra, who tried to protect her children from the Hollywood life. Still, he could tell stories about dinners with Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, and said he was best friends with Gary Cooper's daughter Maria.

For the past several years, he screened his family's 35mm print of his father's 1946 Christmas favorite at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. In an interview in the summer of 2007, Capra Jr. said his father had no idea he was making the classic film, starring Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore.

"I don't think any filmmaker knows that," he said. "He loved the idea of the story. He fell in love with that idea of the story about a man who could see the world the way it would have been had he never been born."

By Martha Waggoner, Associated Press

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank You, Frank

On behalf of all the members of Eno River Media Productions, I would like to
express our deepest sympathies and warmest regards to the family of Frank Capra, Junior. He leaves behind a vast legacy of accomplishments, ranging across a wide spectrum of the performing arts, and his loss will be felt for many years to come. Hugely instrumental in expanding and strengthening North Carolina’s film and television industry, Frank’s impact was unparalleled in the region, stretching from big-budget productions to the initiation of tax incentives, and he still found time for volunteer-run organizations such as ERMP. His graciousness and leadership will be sorely missed.

 
I would like to propose that the state's highest honor - The North Carolina
Award - be bestowed upon him for his dedication and many achievements within the state. He truly is the Father of North Carolina’s film industry and deserves to be recognized as such. Please check out the Award's site below for more information.
 
http://statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us/ncawards/ncawardsmain.asp
 
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0135581/
 

Anthony Dowling, Founder/Executive Producer ERMP

Here is an update on the movies ERMP produced this summer.

Gods of Society

This was shot two summers ago, but because of technical difficulties with sound and the way the video was loaded onto the editing PC, we have had a very hard time finishing the edit.  Kevin Ashmount has taken on the difficult task of reloading from scratch all the footage and re-editing the movie from the start.  He stated it was progressing well, and we should be able to release it in 2008.  I am personally very interested in this project.  I saw some preliminary edited footage and it was spectacular.  Juan Carlos Guzman under the direction of Adam Tate did a fantastic job and the colors are awesome!!

Shoebox

This movie was originally called Forced to Protect but was renamed to Shoebox.  The movie was also shot two summers ago.  It has been reassigned to Director Eric Barstow with most of the editing accomplished by Kris Bain.  Once the sound and some special effects are done by Kevin Ashmount, it will be ready to release in 2008.

The Rejects

ERMP assisted with the production of this high school anti-heroes finding their superpowers.  The Director is Josh Johnson (not the Time Warner Josh Johnson) and has finished the edit and sent the project to the sound folks.  We hope to see it premiere in early 2008

For the web version, go to  http://www.jnjosh.com/Rejects.html

Forced to Protect

The amazing three part story of a power broker gone awry.  Kris Bain was the Director for this effort.  Lillian Dawson is the editor and has stated that almost all three parts are done with editing and should be released in 2008.

The Last Breakfast

This short was under the Direction of Aravind Ragupathi and starred Mario Griego and Juan Carlos Guzman.  A story of father son relations, it is under edit as we speak and should be sent to the music folks in DC in late December 2007 or early January 2008.  Eshan Aman, the music contributor for The Kite Runner movie, has graciously agreed to do the music for this excellent drama.  We look forward to this short and the excellent portrayals by our great actors.

BMW TV Ads

The first tv ad and second are finished and will be available on our youtube.com channel within one month.  The last tv ad will be finished with edit and sound within two months.  Here is a link to see the ads.

www.ZoningMedia.org/portfolio/BMW/video

I would like to thank Steven Matherly for his excellent financial aid in helping
ERMP rent and utilize a brick and mortar site in Durham, NC in 2007.  
ERMP utilized the facility extensively during the summer months.  After
August, Gennaro D'Onofrio's theatre (Parrish Street Studio) took off and the
theatre folks started utilizing almost all the room at the site. It became
obvious that ERMP needed a site for ourselves alone.  So, Gennaro
D'Onofrio has taken over the lease for the site. 
 
ERMP will need to search out and find another site appropriate to our uses. 
Please let me know what area (city) you think would be a better choice.
 
Thanks!!
Antony Dowling, Founder/Executive Producer ERMP ( adowling@fastmail.fm )

Congratulations to Travis Johnson, winner of DVC10, a horror themed DV challenge sponsored by dvestore.com; he won for his short film, “I’m Sorry”.  Travis is one of ERMP’s Directors from Roxboro, NC.

For more info: www.dvinfo.net

____________________________________________________________________

Full Frame boss shifts focus

DURHAM, NC -- Nancy Buirski has stepped down as head of the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in North Carolina after 10 years in order to work on creating a fund to incubate and produce independent docus and fiction films.

Buirski will continue to act as an adviser and ambassador to the Durham-based festival she founded in 1998, which has grown to be one of the top docu festivals in the country.

"It is bittersweet to remove myself from the artistic, day-to-day activity of this organization I love, but I am proud and honored to continue my association with this world-class event," she said. "Knowing that Full Frame is now an institution, I can turn to my other dream, which is to nurture independent film projects."

Buirski is in talks with industry partners to create a fund for indie films and docus. She also works as a consultant to the international film event, Pangea Day.

By Leslie Simmons

Grant honors filmmaker, encourages documentaries with social impact

DURHAM, NC -- Garrett Scott made a distinctive mark in documentary films during his short career. Without any formal training in film, he directed "Cul De Sac: A Suburban War Story", examining the case of a methamphetamine addict who stole a tank from an armory and went on a rampage through the San Diego suburbs. The film prompted Filmmaker Magazine to cite Scott as one of the 25 New Faces of Independent Film. He went on to make "Occupation: Dreamland", co-directed with Ian Olds, about U.S. soldiers in Falluja, Iraq. It won prizes at Full Frame and the Independent Spirit Awards. Both films were broadcast by the Sundance Channel. Scott died in 2005 of a heart attack at age 37.

Scott’s work examined how the forces of state power and economics impact individuals. Stylistically, his films broke convention, giving audiences new perspectives on familiar milieus like suburbia or war torn Iraq. He was a beloved member of film communities from San Francisco to New York City and several points in between.

His friends, family and colleagues established this development grant to help other emerging filmmakers reach their potential. The grant’s selection committee looks especially for filmmakers who somehow fulfill Scott’s example, by bringing a unique vision to the content and style of contemporary documentary making.

The grant funds first-time documentary makers for accommodations and travel to the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, Durham, North Carolina, April 3-6, 2008. For four days, grant recipients will be given access to films, participate in master classes and be mentored by experienced filmmakers. TWO filmmakers will be chosen.

Grant applications must be postmarked by January 28, 2008.

www.fullframefest.org

The Actor's Lab has opened an office in Charlotte, North Carolina. 

NY Film Academy to start unit in Gulf

MUSCAT — There is good news for AGCC citizens and residents who love to make filmmaking a career.

The dream of a career in filmmaking will become more real starting February 2008, thanks to the arrival of the New York Film Academy (NYFA) at Muroor Street, next to Abu Dhabi TV in Abu Dhabi.

A memorandum of understanding was signed between Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) and NYFA in July this year providing a platform to establish an acclaimed school that will be devoted to developing the film industry in the UAE and the region.

NYFA is a unique educational facility, committed to providing the most focused filmmaking, acting, and animation instruction in the world. New York Film Academy Abu Dhabi (NYFA-AD) will play a key role in the burgeoning renaissance of film and culture that the Middle East is currently witnessing. Its vision is to develop the regional film industry and make this creative art accessible to anyone with the drive and ambition for filmmaking.

Filmmaking demands the integration of many kinds of knowledge. It is this integration, which distinguishes NYFA- AD from other film schools in the region. In courses, students learn not only how to operate a camera, light a scene, or edit a film, but also learn how all the aspects of filmmaking relate to, interact with and depend upon each other. Each student writes, produces, directs, and edits each film, then screens it and engages in constructive discussion and critique.

The student applies the experience gained through this process to the next project, and the cycle of learning continues. The academy maintains an unparalleled faculty and one of the largest film school equipment inventories in the world. Class sizes are limited, strengthening individual attention and interaction between students and instructors. Well known personalities from the film fraternity such as Jon Voight, Kevin Kline, Gabriel Byrne and Dennis Hopper are invited regularly as guest speakers to share with students their industry experiences.

“The Abu Dhabi branch will mirror these entrenched values and offerings, and be the only year-round NYFA campus outside of the US and the UK,” NYFA sources told Times of Oman.

Specialised programmes at NYFA-AD will range from one and two years to four, six, and eight weeks in its first operational year, with the flexibility of a twelve-week evening module aimed at working professionals. Fully accredited Bachelors and Masters Degrees which are considered to be the most advanced of their kind, will be made available at the beginning of NYFA-AD’s second academic year. All short and long-term programmes are considered college credits and will be accredited by over 1,500 colleges and universities across the USA, with accreditation being planned for the region.

Courses on offer at NYFA-AD include filmmaking, acting for film, screenwriting, 3D animation, producing, and digital editing. Each programme is highly concentrated and targeted, wherein enrolled students will receive vast training and experience that will provide an excellent head start to their careers.

On the occasion of signing of the MoU, Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, chairman of ADACH, said: “Our nation’s founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed, created a huge momentum in educating and developing our country. Naturally, we want to maintain the momentum by investing in our future generations to provide them with the skills they need to promote the culture.” Mohammed Khalaf Al Mazrouei, director-general of ADACH, added; “Our association with New York Film Academy will help us create an environment conducive to strong cultural and artistic expression.”

(from Times of Oman)

 
Looking for 1 white attractive female actress age 19-25, 1 black female
actress age 19-25, and 1 white male actor age 19-25 to fill roles in a project
slates to start production in jan 2008. All interested applicants should send
resume to professorcool45@hotmail.com or call 704-208-8602. Interviews
would be held for chosen applicants.

Casting Notice - Old Virginia Films:
For 2 Projects (non-union)
 
 PROJECT 1:
"After Hours" (early February) Pilot to be filmed in Shenandoah
Valley. THERE IS PAY
 
Lead Male - (mid 20's - 40's)
Ernest / Mr Bean type hound-dog/sad
sack face, loaded with character. (Barney
Fife look), comedic ability required.
 
PROJECT 2:
"Lilly's Thorn" - Non-union feature for May-June shoot.
THERE IS PAY
 
Supporting Mother (late 50's)
Female, Attractive, SPANISH. Needed for 4 days. Must have acting ability
 
Supporting Upscale Housewife - Late 20's, Pretty,
Country Club type.
 
Supporting School Teacher - Late 20's, Very
attractive, excellent actress needed.
 
Supporting Coach - Male, late 20's - early 30's,
handsome, athletic.
 
Send pictures and resumes to:
Old Virginia Films, LLC
101 Lee Street
Winchester VA 22601
 
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::