by Savanah Baker
Kevin McMahon, a College of Journalism and Mass Communications alumnus, will work as a location manager and unit production manager for an independent movie being filmed in Fremont, Nebraska, Feb. 1-12.
The film, titled “12 Days of Giving,”is being produced by California-based Expression Entertainment.
“It’s exciting to be setting up a film in Fremont,” McMahon said in an email.“I’ve known the people here and they are hungry for something new and exciting like this. The entire community has responded very well and everyone is very excited.”
McMahon said he got involved in the film as a result of his connections with The Eastern Nebraska Film Office and its commissioner, Stacy Heatherly of Fremont.
Heatherly has been working for three years to bring Hollywood series and features to Fremont. Fremont is the only city in Nebraska that offers tax incentives for filmmakers under a state economic development law.
McMahon said he hopes to bring more films to Nebraska in the coming years.
“I have been back in Fremont looking for investors for a film production company and a slate of three films that I plan on producing here in the state,” McMahon said.“I’m hoping to create a self-sustaining film and TV industry that funds itself and perpetuates itself here in Nebraska.”
The CoJMC helped McMahon prepare for his career in the film industry through its broadcasting program. He emphasized that CoJMC provided a great way to learn all the aspects of video production, editing, filming, writing and producing.
“The constant hands on was crucial in preparing me for the business and was more than other colleagues got out of their universities,” McMahon said.“We were also focused on quality, and the bar was always set very high.”
McMahon’s passion for filmmaking came from seeing “Star Wars” in 1977 when he was 4 years old.
“In the car ride home I proclaimed that I would make movies,” he said. “I saw the power that film had on the imagination and understood what an incredible medium it was even at that young age.”
McMahon is a Fremont native and a 2010 CoJMC alumnus who majored in broadcasting. He also was a part of the men’s swimming and diving team where he was a Big 8 Champion and an NCAA All-American.
