Dino De Laurentiis

What is happening? Why is there a film studio run by an Italian guy in a tiny coastal city in North Carolina? None of this makes sense.

That Italian guy was Dino De Laurentiis, an Oscar-winning producer who started making films in the 1940s.

Dino moved his company to New York in the 70s, where he produced hits like Three Days of the Condor and John Wayne's last film, The Shootist.

But Dan says it was actually a different Stephen King project that first set Dino's eyes on North Carolina.

I think in terms of where it fits into the folklore of Wilmington's film industry, of North Carolina's film industry, it's been pretty consistent as a memorable moment.

And, you know, along with Firestarter and Blue Velvet sort of establishing Wilmington as a real part of the landscape of American filmmaking.

Dino De Laurentiis' studio closed in 1989, but the momentum his movies started in Wilmington kept on.

Dozens of films were shot there throughout the 90s and 2000s, including major hits like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Crow.

And so, uh, you know, but they saw the horrendous response they got from children and parents about the, uh, about the death of Optimus Prime, and rewrote it, um, and, you know, having, having most of the film done already, they were like, "Well, we can't, like reanimate this."

Uh, not, not a Dino De Laurentiis.

It's, it's a voiceover and a-

Yes

Yeah, I-

Um, and [laughs]

... and it's weird 'cause they also bo- like, o- and maybe it's just not agreed to Dino De Laurentiis, because, uh, My Little Pony also bombed the same year.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

He wanted-- [chuckles] I bought this, uh, old edition of The Key of Solomon that I found at Bodhi Tree Books, like, uh, uh, the Dino De Laurentiis old brown hardcover.

It was stolen with the rest of my books eventually, of course, but I-- it was beautiful and everyone wanted it and I was the one who found it in the used section for like only 40 bucks.

I've seen versions of it like that, but sell-- like now those versions sell for hundreds and hundreds.

And I say these works of art because there were at least four different posters that they put out for this film.

The master behind this art was John Berkey, Which brings me to talk about Dino De Laurentiis, an Italian and an American film producer.

During a time where having your name as the producer of a film bigger than life over the title on the screen was a stamp of approval.

A stamp that this picture was going to be big.

Dino De Laurentiis is the guy who after Jaws became one of the biggest blockbuster successes, strike that, created the term blockbuster.

De Laurentiis, his first question to his crew was, I want to know who or what is the Great White Shark's nemesis? So his staff said, it only has one nemesis, the killer whale, Orca.

Dino De Laurentiis said, then make a film about the Orca.

So when he decided to remake a film, he chose the King of All Monsters, King Kong.

Good movies.

No, man, but I was kind of, part of me was hoping that we would get the 1976 Dino De Laurentiis produced big budget disaster that was King Kong.

Well, we'll have to find another time to revisit that because, you know, I love King Kong.

I love gorillas.

These fucking berries, this pharmaceutical company is using these berries to sell something.

They always want to bring King Kong over for like, I think first he's to become like a sideshow attraction.

I believe in the Dino De Laurentiis one that we're not covering, sadly.

They bring him over for like an advertising campaign.

It is entirely fitting.

The film rights eventually passed to Dino De Laurentiis, who hired David Lynch to direct the 1984 adaptation starring Kyle MacLachlan in Sting.

Which, despite its incredible production design, was a massive, impenetrable box office bomb that Lynch himself famously disowned.

It proved just how difficult Herbert's work was to distill.

That's why I'm calling this episode Soundtracks 3D.

Dino De Laurentiis presents 3D.

Up next is a song called In a Trance by Money Talks, which was a group made up of two Norwegian brothers.

And this song was featured on the soundtrack for The Karate Kid Part 3 in 1989.