Few moments in the Cape Fear's history can claim to be as influential as the arrival of "Firestarter," the feature film adaptation of Stephen King's novel that launched the local film industry.
Released on May 11, 1984, the film starring Drew Barrymore turns 35 this year. To celebrate, Cape Fear Unearthed revisits the production's history, explores why Hollywood producer Dino De Laurentiis came to Wilmington the first place and how it led to what would become a transformative industry.
Joining the episode is special guest Martha De Laurentiis, the associate producer of "Firestarter" and influential figure in the establishment of film's presence in North Carolina. She is now the president of The De Laurentiis Company.
Cape Fear Unearthed is written, edited and hosted by Hunter Ingram.
Additional editing by Adam Fish. Recorded at WHQR in downtown Wilmington.
A StarNews Media Production. This season is sponsored by Northchase Family Dentistry.
Sources:
"Wilm on Film," by Ben Steelman and Amy Hotz
Various Wilmington StarNews editions, August-November 1983
New Hanover County Library archive records and photos
"Dino: The Life and Films of Dino De Laurentiis," by Tullio Zekich and Alessandra Levantesi
Christmas shopping in the downtown Wilmington of yesteryear
Film documentary 'McKinley's Guns' digs into 1898 coup
'Race, Place and Memory': Wilmington's troubled racial history
When Shell Island was an island, and a Black beach resort
Revisiting The Barn: a legendary Wilmington jazz club and dance hall
A brief history of Eagles Island and Wilmington's 'west bank'
Wilmington corner stores, gone but not forgotten
Roots of the GOAT: Michael Jordan's history in Wilmington
Train tracking: The lost Wilmington, Brunswick & Southern Railroad
Losing, and preserving, Black historic sites in Wilmington
Photographic memories: Wilmington's history in photos
Wilmington's Temple of Israel: storied past, building a future
The curious case of the Christmas flounder
Preserving history, one window and door at a time
Commemorating 1898, and the search for descendants
The bridges of New Hanover County
Ideal location: Wilmington film history and the Ideal Cement factory
Century club: Wilmington's 100-year-old businesses
Wilmington goes to the movies: bygone theaters and drive-ins
Historic Wilmington Foundation takes the past into the future
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