‘Willing to give back’: Nebraskans remember two Hollywood entertainers

By Alex McLoon

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    OMAHA, Nebraska (KETV) — You may not recognize their faces, but Lew Hunter and Mike Hill’s names have reached the heights of Hollywood.

Nebraska Broadcast Hall-of-Famer Lew Hunter was a writer, producer, executive — and one of the premier screenwriters in the industry. Mike Hill was a film editor who won an Oscar for film editing with “Apollo 13.”

“You can’t really get your head around it,” Omaha Film Festival director Marc Longbrake said. “Maybe next week you will feel different.”

Longbrake says he’s one of the many Nebraskans seeing and sharing the news through social media.

Hill suffered from cryptogenic organizing pneumonia, according to Deadline. He was 73. Lew Hunter was 87 when he died on Friday.

“Lew Hunter’s Screenwriting 434” book launched Fremont-native Kevin McMahon from UNO to the big time.

“I started reading it, and there was all this Nebraska stuff in there,” McMahon said. “And I’m thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, this guy’s from Nebraska!'”

Years later, McMahon says he met Hunter at the Nebraska Coast Connection, which is a group of Hollywood professionals that meets every month.

“There’s a reason why there’s a group of Nebraskans in Hollywood that’s been meeting for every month for 30 years,” McMahon said.

“Even though you’re in the Hollywood system and you’re at the top of the game, in the movie-making world, they still have those core values of being a Midwesterner,” Longbrake said. “And they’re willing to give back and help.”

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