{"id":155597,"date":"2024-11-22T10:05:11","date_gmt":"2024-11-22T15:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=155597"},"modified":"2025-01-24T10:41:55","modified_gmt":"2025-01-24T15:41:55","slug":"wright-states-tom-hanks-center-for-motion-pictures-adds-director-plans-to-grow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2024\/11\/22\/wright-states-tom-hanks-center-for-motion-pictures-adds-director-plans-to-grow\/","title":{"rendered":"Wright State\u2019s Tom Hanks Center for Motion Pictures adds director, plans to grow"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Motion picture production grad Nichol Simmons is the inaugural director of Wright State\u2019s Tom Hanks Center for Motion Pictures. (Photo by Erin Pence)<\/p><\/div>\n

In making a movie, it\u2019s important to have a good story and a good cast. Wright State University\u2019s motion pictures program has had the former, now it\u2019s added to the latter with star power.<\/p>\n

And under the heading of \u201ccoming attractions,\u201d there are new goals, including establishing an endowment in memory of Julia Reichert, professor emeritus of motion pictures at Wright State, who died in 2022.<\/p>\n

Nichol Simmons is the inaugural director of the Tom Hanks Center for Motion Pictures<\/a>, the state-of-the-art facility that houses Wright State’s award-winning motion pictures programs.<\/p>\n

Since earning a bachelor\u2019s degree in motion picture production<\/a> from Wright State in 1999, Simmons has been immersed in the film industry and has mentored fellow Raiders.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an exciting time for the Tom Hanks center,\u201d Simmons said. \u201cOur faculty has come together beautifully. All of them are actively working professionals in their field.\u201d<\/p>\n

She praised Amy Faust, instructor of motion pictures, who, through a professional relationship with Cincinnati company The Camera Department, secured the loan of a professional-level camera for Wright State\u2019s motion picture students. Simmons added that almost all of the faculty in the Tom Hanks Center for Motion Pictures are Wright State alumni.<\/p>\n

Simmons quickly parlayed her Wright State education into a career. After a few years of professional on-set experience, she moved to Los Angeles, where she worked as a freelance writer for the TV show \u201cPolitically Incorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then she landed at the University of Southern California\u2019s School of Cinematic Arts, working in student-industry relations. She provided career counseling for students and helped them submit their films to film festivals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a good first job,\u201d she said. \u201cFreelancing was a difficult life.\u201d<\/p>\n

She then moved on to the American Film Institute, where she ultimately became the director of national workshops. In addition, Simmons founded a nonprofit called Film Camp for Girls, a three-week course focusing on young women in high school interested in film and video production. She also launched a Las Vegas-based post-production company.<\/p>\n

While running her businesses, Simmons began mentoring Wright State motion picture students and recent graduates. She helped scores of students secure their first paid roles in the industry.<\/p>\n

Now, as the director of the Tom Hanks Center for Motion Pictures, Simmons is poised to help even more.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of my goals in this job and for this program is to shift the narrative about the motion picture program,\u201d Simmons said. \u201cPeople think of us only as being an arts program, and there\u2019s artistry in what we do, but there is also science and technology involved. We hit every letter in STEM.\u201d<\/p>\n

She noted that technology and engineering are involved in creating and using the equipment needed for filmmaking.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd mathematics is involved in what we do, especially for the camera department,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Simmons emphasized that it is also an economic development program.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a lot more production happening in Ohio than most people may realize,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

In Ohio, the motion picture and television industry is responsible for more than 18,500 jobs and more than $1.23 billion in wages, while the indirect and induced impact on local vendors and other businesses included more than 51,100 jobs in 2022, according to the Motion Picture Association of America.<\/p>\n

Simmons\u2019s goals include starting a high school summer film camp and bringing back a summer production class for non-motion picture majors.<\/p>\n

Another goal is to build relationships and advocate for the center by collaborating with businesses and fostering connections with alumni.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been laying the groundwork for doing this job for a long time,\u201d Simmons said of her activity on behalf of Wright State over the years. \u201cI\u2019m very passionate about this program.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another passion is a project close to her heart: starting an endowment to honor the memory of Reichert, an Academy Award-winning filmmaker known as the \u201cgodmother of American independent documentaries.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe and I became very close. She was my teacher and my mentor and my friend,\u201d Simmons said. \u201cShe helped me get my first job. I wouldn\u2019t have had the production career that I had if Julia wasn\u2019t there. She also laid the foundation for what I aspire to be as an instructor and a leader.\u201d<\/p>\n

The aim is to raise $2.5 million for professional development, a visiting artists series and modern equipment for students.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis endowment is critical to what I\u2019m trying to do,\u201d Simmons said. \u201cI want to take what worked before that got our students\u2019 films Student Academy Award nominations and Student Emmy and Sundance awards and to train students to be storytellers engaged in the world around them. I want to prepare students to be able to walk into the professional world and feel like they are trained to the highest level for those early positions. But most importantly, we want to help students find their voice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simmons said of the Tom Hanks Center for Motion Pictures: \u201cWe are poised to grow and thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n

To donate to the Julia Reichert Endowment, visit liberal-arts.wright.edu\/alumni-and-giving\/Julia-reichert-endowed-director-of-the-tom-hanks-center-for-motion-pictures<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New director and faculty have big plans for Wright State University\u2019s Tom Hanks Center for Motion Pictures. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":155598,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[722,733,2037,2023,4859,725,747,715],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-155597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-alumni","category-arts-scene","category-faculty","category-fine-and-performing-arts","category-home-news-sidebar","category-liberal-arts","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155597"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155597\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":155614,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155597\/revisions\/155614"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/155598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}