Save the Date: January 18, 2025 Gala Opening of the Rita F. Reagan Set Building All of us at Norman Studios are looking forward to the opening of the Rita F. Reagan Set Building! This space will allow us to have larger events than we can accommodate in the production (museum) building. It also will … [Read more…]
By Barbara Wingo The year 2023 marked the opening of Phase 1 of the Norman Studios Silent Film Museum in the newly renovated first floor of the Norman Studios production building. Our opening exhibition Regeneration: 1923-2023 simultaneously celebrated the regeneration of Norman Studios represented by our new museum space and … [Read more…]
By Barbara Wingo Many of our members and friends have commented on the appearance of a brief glimpse of Richard Norman’s The Flying Ace in the recent motion picture version of The Color Purple. Others have noticed – and noticed the centrality of this reference. Time magazine reviewer Stephanie Zacharek notes that there is “a … [Read more…]
The Jacksonville City Council recently voted unanimously to honor longtime preservationist and Norman Studios Silent Film Museum co-founder Rita Reagan by naming Norman’s set stage building the “Rita F. Reagan Building”. The building is the last of the five original structures in the Norman Studios complex, built during its days as Eagle Film City prior … [Read more…]
Norman Studios is now open for drop-in tours every first and Third Saturday of each month from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. These hours are subject to changed depending upon factors including inclement weather, holidays and insufficient available volunteers. Want to help tell the Norman Story? We’re looking for volunteer docents to assist in greeting … [Read more…]
Jacksonville Film History Released in 1926, The Flying Ace was a classic silent film that featured an all-African-American cast, with principal photography shot right here in Jacksonville. Made in the South during a period that arguably represented the height of “Jim Crow,” it was one of many films by white filmmaker Richard E. Norman that … [Read more…]
In honor of Juneteenth, Film Tampa Bay will screen Richard Norman’s THE FLYING ACE (1926) this Sunday, June 18, 3pm at the Tampa Theatre with live organ accompaniment and a panel discussion featuring noted filmmakers Tamika Lamison and Layon Gray, along with Norman Studios Silent Film Museum representatives Barbara Wingo and Devan Stuart Lesley. Filmed … [Read more…]
The Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens presents “Films and Posters: The Norman Studios Story”, a presentation by Barbara Wingo Tuesday, May 9, 7pm. Wingo, vice president of the Norman Studios Silent Film Museum, will share the fascinating history of Norman Studios located in the Arlington area. In its heyday, Norman Studios created six full … [Read more…]
By Barbara Wingo On April 14 and 15 Barbara Wingo of Norman Studios gave presentations at the Florida Chautauqua Assembly on “The Movie Decade and Norman Studios.” The “movie decade” refers to the theme of the assembly, which was “A Journey into the 1920s: 100 Years Later.” The importance of the motion picture industry in … [Read more…]
Recently opening at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, “Regeneration: Black Cinema, 1898-1971” is an exhibition that highlights the achievements and challenges of black film artists from the beginning of motion pictures to shortly after the 1960s civil rights movement. The exhibition is named after Richard E. Norman’s 1923 motion picture Regeneration. … [Read more…]