Robert Hoelen is one of many yankee transfers that joined the movie experiment “down south” in Wilmington. His New Jersey dialect echoed within the stages and rang out in the alleys between. Robert is the proverbial class clown - one of many at 1223 North 23rd Street - but his sense of humor was always a bit oversized, affronting some on occasion, but always causing laughter.

The WRAP BEER! poster is derived from one of Robert’s many tomes. On the TV series GOLDEN YEARS, while prepping for an all-nighter on the Fort Fisher Ferry, the crew boarded the ferryboat for an out-and-back test run. On the way out, we saw the usual suspects hauling cable way out into the marsh, shouldering 10K’s and building towers. On the way back, as the sun set over the low lands, Robert struck his Adonis pose, and he held it as the crew on deck lumbered by.

Theme music by Turbo Pro Project.

Long, long ago . . . before pagers, cellular phones and the internet . . . .

It’s 1985, with stages built and electrified - and shops, warehouses and offices up-fitted and occupied - DEG Studios was now capable of hosting numerous motion picture productions simultaneously, and it was doing just that. But to keep the cameras rolling, and productions connected to world beyond, telephones and telephone lines were needed. Hundreds of them.

So Gerald Waller added another course to his already full plate, convincing Dino to invest in a PBX system that would become a new standard for the industry. For those of us who applied our trade at 1223 North 23rd Street - the phones simply worked. Whether you were calling down to the set dressing shop, or to the lumber yard across town, or searching for a vendor in Japan! - “WallerSouth” delivered clear and reliable calling . . . and profits for DEG.

Theme music by Turbo Pro Project.

Theme music by Turbo Pro Project.

The WRAP BEER community is forever thankful for Gerald’s dedication, effort, and success!!!

Theme music by Turbo Pro Project.

If the movie studio at 1223 North 23rd Street is anything - it’s an engineering marvel. Exposing motion picture film requires a significant amount of light, and therefore an enormous number of electrons arriving at the right place at the right time. Six stages that became nine - and then ten - needing studio distribution, house lights and air conditioning for the sub-tropic climate of the Cape Fear. A five-block-long backlot - christened as New York City’s Chinatown - with 400 neon lights. Construction mills and SPFX welding shops among the total of 22 buildings - rising from the swamp - in need of power, office lights, and HVAC.

Gerald Waller, our only Studio Engineer - guided by his training, his instincts and the strict North Carolina Electric Code - figured it out.

The WRAP BEER community is forever thankful for Gerald’s dedication, effort, and success!!!

Theme music by Turbo Pro Project.

It may be said that any great cinematographer is only as good as their gaffer. And many cameramen have enjoyed having Lynn ”LD” Dodson by their side. And whereas the movie industry can often alter one’s personality, either for better or worse, LD may be the very exception to that norm. In a business where every job, every day, and every minute is different . . . LD has managed to remain the same Shelby boy that Jock Brandis recruited back in 1984. Veteran electrician Rusty Edmondson bears witness as Wrap Beer! once again hosts two members of The Tribe - albeit from opposite sides of the track - and this time showing in 3-D!!!

No rubber chickens were harmed in the making of this podcast.

Theme music by Turbo Pro Project. End-credit song, “Chasin’ Down a Dream!” by Mama Said.

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The long roads from Rome, Toronto, and Shelby, North Carolina come to intersect in Wilmington where Jock Brandis has been seen directing traffic. Recruited by Dino himself, Jock arrived on “Cat’s Eye” and began to employ his many talents - wrought with his own particular brand of Canadian persnicketiness. Very few people on this planet can carry the accolade of genius - and most folks on the Cape Fear, and many folks around the globe know - that Jock is one of them. Jock is joined by his partner-in-crime, Rob Hill, who bears witness to a life of wonder and giving - on the road less traveled - that just happens to pass through Wilmington, North Carolina.

Theme music by Turbo Pro Project.

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In the “mouse maze” of offices at DEG Studios, brothers Vick and Johnny Griffin were often mistaken for each other by the sound of their voice. Beyond the studio gate, the Brothers Griffin pioneered the art of Location Management in a town that was reckoning with a new visitor. Movies are made on the studio lot - and even more so - on the streets, neighborhoods, and homes of the host city. And that is where Vick and Johnny ply their craft - as the first handshake and last good bye as the circus moves in, takes over for a spell, and then moves on. Tar Heel born and bred, the Griffins helped pave the way for the film industry’s enduring success, on location - not vacation - on the Cape Fear.

Theme music by Turbo Pro Project.

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From their tobacco-enhanced headquarters at 1223 North 23rd Street, The Telemedia Group offered a myriad of support services - not only to the burgeoning film industry - but to the larger community as well. Mike De Vries Francine DeCoursey and crew served up video production and editing, EPK, and Screening Room Transfer and Projection. Meanwhile, Francine set her own “win win” course for utilizing extras casting as a tool to serve the community and the industry. And the best part is that they have been laughing and giggling the whole darn way.

Theme music by Turbo Pro Project.

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After meeting Tantar on the set of Firestarter, Fred Pickler strolled into the film industry as a savvy supplier of specialized props. In doing so, he wandered into one of the most iconic “badman” performances in cinematic history – the role of Detective Tom Gordon, aka Yellowman - in David Lynch’s Blue Velvet. And such serendipity could not have happened to a nicer guy and one of our finer examples of a Wilmington filmmaker. Fred is joined by his career-long colleague and friend, propman Vernon Harrell as we witness a small portion of Fred’s wonderous life.

Theme music by Turbo Pro Project.

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Grip /ɡrɪp/ noun

1

a: a strong or tenacious grasp had a good grip on the tennis racket

b: strength in gripping

c: manner or style of gripping the balanced grip of an expert golfer

2

a: a firm tenacious hold typically giving control, mastery, or understanding

has the country in his grip

b: mental grasp can't seem to get a grip on 

3          : a part or device for gripping

4          : a part by which something is grasped especially:  HANDLE

5          : SUITCASE

6         

a: a stage worker who handles scenery, properties, or lights: STAGEHAND

b: a technician on a motion-picture or television set who handles and maintains equipment (such as cameras and their dollies and cranes)

7 Jeffrey “Moose” Howery, Bobby Huber, Dennis Zoppe, Scott Davis

Theme music by Turbo Pro Project.

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