Before I wax poetic about filmmaking in the great state of North Carolina, let me share a little bit about my own experiences in the movie business. I graduated from a small liberal arts college with a creative writing degree in 1991 and returned home to make my fortune in the worlds of film and fiction. I was going to be a novelist, a screenwriter, and a first-rate raconteur. I pitched my tent in my old hometown with an eye on Hollywood success.