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
Revolution Comes to the Cape Fear
Althea: Queen of the Court
The House Built on Wilmington's First Jail
WASPs, Warships and Wartime Wilmington
Burial Grounds of the Cape Fear
Panic and Plague: The 1918 Spanish Influenza
Wilmington's Trailblazing Women
Highland Charge: Scots in the Cape Fear
BONUS EPISODE: The Fort Anderson Flag
The Bombardment of Fort Anderson
Wrightsville Beach and the Dread God of Fire
The Fateful Fall of Fort Fisher
The Cape Fear Indians
If Ghosts Should Walk in Thalian Hall
The Ghost of General Whiting
Season of the Witch
Ghost on the Water
The Spirits of Poplar Grove
Moonshiners, Bootleggers and the Devil's Brew
The Life and Liberty of Cornelius Harnett
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Irish Songs with Ken Murray
History Obscura
Historycal: Words that Shaped the World
The Rest Is History
Lore