HOLLYWOOD EAST\ THE NEIGHBORS IN CASWELL COUNTY MAY TALK, BUT HE'S DETERMINED TO BUILD
BY CHRISTINE TATUM Rockingham Bureau May 29, 1995 Updated Jan 25, 2015 0
Film producer Zale Magder doesn't want his new studios to change the face of Yanceyville.
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Without bothering to remove a lit cigar from his mouth, film producer Zale Magder reaches for the ringing telephone. His greeting is curt and gruff.``Magder.'
The name speaks for itself among certain circles in the film industry. Magder, who gave Canada its first post-production studios nearly 20 years ago, was at one time that country's largest independent motion picture producer.
And now he's spending around $5 million to build film production studios in rural Caswell County - a county that doesn't even have a movie theater.
That beats all, said Caswell native Wilma Carter.
``I hear that man has more money than he knows what to do with,' Carter said, lowering her voice to a polite whisper. ``He must if he'd pick this place to start up such a whopper of a business.'
Around Yanceyville, the county's seat of about 2,000, few people link the Magder name to those four massive warehouse-like buildings that have recently popped up on the fringes of downtown. Many folks just say they're the doings of that wealthy Canadian who hopes his 315-acre estate will attract movie stars and movie makers worldwide.
It very well could. The property's crown jewel is perhaps the town's grandest mansion, an 1838 Greek revival home where Magder intends to put his offices. Pecan trees lining the back yard give way to beautiful rolling hills and deep red soil. And unlike the hustle and bustle surrounding film studios in Los Angeles, New York and even Wilmington, visitors are more apt to hear chirping birds than passing traffic.
Several Caswell residents excitedly tell tales they've heard of a man-made lake on the property and of plans to build tennis courts, shops and condominiums. But many local skeptics say Yanceyville just isn't suited for bright lights and big-city living.
``It all sounds real nice to me,' said town resident Thomas Stevens. ``But I do have to scratch my head in wonder about all this. All we really have to do in the summertime is play recreation-league baseball. I wonder what all those people coming to town are going to think about that.'
Magder, 65, is well aware of the rumors and chuckles surrounding his project, which has been in the works for more than a decade. He gets a little huffy when reminded that he first boasted of ``Hollywood East' in 1984.
``It takes millions of dollars to do something like this, and nobody's going to say to me, 'Hurry up,' ' Magder said, fiddling with the laces on his worn white tennis shoes. ``These plans are better now than they ever were because I've taken the time to think them through.'
Some folks peg the project for success.
``The reason is simple,' said Bill Arnold, director of the N.C. Film Office. ``Zale has been in the business for 30 years. He already has connections in Hollywood, Canada and Europe that count. So he'll have a pipeline in place when his doors open, whereas the (film studios) in High Point, Charlotte and Shelby had to go out and essentially start from scratch in generating a product.'
Though Magder talks an awful lot these days about commercial production and high-tech film editing, he grows impatient with people who think he wants to change the face of Yanceyville.
``I want the exact opposite,' he said, pointing to a nearby clothes line where a patchwork of laundry flapped in the breeze. ``There's no need to cover that up. It's nice here. It's down-to-earth. It's just what I'm looking for.'
Besides, he added, North Carolina is perfect for the film industry. The mountains, beach and hilly Piedmont provide some of the most spectacular scenery anywhere around, he said.
``This state can look like anywhere in the world - Germany, France, Canada, even New England,' Magder said. ``If you go outside in L.A. or Florida, you can't avoid palm trees and a distinct architecture that would say to an audience, 'Hey, they're filming this in L.A. or Florida.' '
Magder envisions a resort-type atmosphere - complete with jogging trails, a golf course, restaurant and fitness center - where people in film production can play while they work. Anyone who understands the business, he said, knows that filming and post production - which includes editing and adding sound, music and special effects - is tedious and can take several months to finish.
``It's all about protecting creative energy,' Magder said. ``I want the people who work here to have a feeling of being out in the country, free from the pressure of the daily grind.'
And free from the pageantry that often goes along with show biz. That's really important to Magder, who has little use for formalities. He prefers to conduct much of his business in blue jeans, rolled-up sleeves and just about any hat that will cover his thinning silvery hair.
``I don't like being in the spotlight,' he said, stroking his salt-and-pepper beard. ``Why would anyone even give a damn about what I think or have done? They don't even know me.'
But Yanceyville is a town where many folks are good at spotting an unfamiliar car or face. So when Magder parks his dingy, ash-filled Mercedes in front of the studio's headquarters, many of the neighbors know his plans are rolling right along.
``I'm embarrassed by all the attention,' he said. ``I don't consider myself in any way worthy of all the crap that goes along with this business.'
The son of Romanians who emigrated to Canada, Magder studied the arts at a very early age.
``I lived in an environment where music and art were what we did for recreation,' said Magder, who has decorated one wall in his Caswell living quarters with a poster of Stravinsky. ``We played the piano or the violin or listened to my mother sing. She had a wonderful voice but never made a career of it - had too many kids to look after.'
Through the creativity encouraged at home, Magder developed a passion for doing things differently. He enjoyed creating new ways to do the same old things and went on to earn a degree in art and industrial design.
He says he got his professional start stuffing bras with foam rubber.
``Someone once told me that to succeed in life you've got to put up a good front,' said Magder, who delights in delivering one-liners with a straight face.
But he left the padding profession for television when the Canadian Broadcasting Co. offered him a job designing special effects in 1956. That position led to directing commercials six years later.
``I had this reputation (on the set) for looking at everything humorously,' he said. ``So when I was upset, screaming and yelling at people, I always remembered that I was enjoying myself.'
Magder ended his career with the CBC in 1977 after building his post-production studios in Toronto. He would go on to produce such movies as ``The Kidnapping of the President' with Ava Gardner, Hal Holbrook and William Shatner; ``Tribute' with Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick; ``The Family Man' with Ed Asner; and ``A Christmas Carol' with Henry Winkler.
``I left the CBC because I had this absolute fear of security,' he said. ``I needed to keep going so I could do different things. I wanted to believe that everything was possible.
``That personal philosophy hasn't changed,' Magder said, kicking his feet up on the table in front of him. ``I've just gotten older, more tired, more cynical and more frustrated.'
But don't let the rough-and-tumble attitude fool you. Not many visitors leave Magder's studios these days without a full bag of pecans that he gathered himself from the trees out back. He even adopted a stray dog that appeared on his doorstep one cold night in February.
``Oh, don't let everyone know that,' Magder said. ``They'll think I'm nice or something.'"
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