HELP NORMAN STUDIOS WIN $25,000! CAST YOUR VOTE & TELL THE NATIONAL TRUST "THIS PLACE MATTERS"
Just click the image below, register and vote. It only takes a minute to help preserve the Norman Studios' past and secure it's future!
STAGE AURORA DEBUTS
RICHARD & OSCAR: FILMMAKING IN
BLACK AND WHITE
The Norman Studios congratulates the creator, cast and crew of Richard and Oscar: Filmmaking in Blackand White, a stage biopic that examines the relationship and synergies between two pioneers of African American films - Richard Norman and Oscar Micheaux.Written and directed by Broadway veteran Darryl Reuben Hall and starring a local cast, Richard & Oscar premiered as part of the annual Stage Aurora Black Arts Festival in July. An extended version is set to hit the stage February 2011.
HBO WATCHERS - KEEP AN EYE OUT...
Have you seen HBO's new series "Treme?" It's a great new drama that explores life in post-Katrina New Orleans. Keep an eye out for Richard Norman's "The Bull Dogger" film poster hanging on the wall in the background of a scene. HBO production crews spotted the poster hanging on the wall of The Praline Connection, a popular soul food eatery, and loved it! Let us know if you spot it.
BRIEF HISTORY OF NORMAN STUDIOS
A century ago, America's eyes were on Northeast Florida, dubbed the "Winter Film Capital of the World." Before its fateful move west, the motion picture industry chose the Jacksonville, Fla. area as its first "on-location" filming site. A year-round mild climate and varied shooting locales, from beaches to buildings, farms to jungles - everything but mountains - could be found nearby.
For two decades, America's top film professionals, including some of the nation's first African-American performers, called the Jacksonville area home. From a five-building studio complex near the banks of the St. Johns River, Richard Norman broke the industry's color barrier creating films that showcased top black actors in positive, nonstereotypical roles.
By the late 1920s, filmmakers moved westward to California where they found all that Northeast Florida had to offer - plus mountains. Today, Richard Norman's studio complex still stands - the only remaining full silent film-era complex in the nation. And it's preparing for a Hollywood-esque comeback at a silent film museum, community center and birthplace for a whole new generation of filmmakers.
Top Image: Richard Norman. Courtesy Capt. Richard Norman, Jr. & NormanFamily
Next Image: The Bull Dogger poster, courtesy Separate Cinema & Norman Family
Next Image: The Flying Ace poster, courtesy Separate Cinema & Norman Family
Bottom
Image: Artist's rendering of future plans for the Norman Studios,
copyright Kenneth Smith Architects, Inc. and the City of Jacksonville.
