Oscar successes spell hope for budget films By Layne Christensen Como se2ity Reporter STEPHEN Hegyes is | heartened by the strong showing of independent films at the recent Academy Awards. Vhe Vancower fitm producer was on the North Shore these past two weeks working on Drive, She Said. a romantic come dy by local writer-director Mina Shum. Seymour area residents may have “neticed filming April 1 as crew and cast tenstormed local landmark the Crab Shack. on Dollarton Highway, inte 2 gas sta- tion. Hegyes, who also produced Shum’s debut film, the critically acclaimed Doubir Happiness, says Canadian film-makers face many obstacles. At $2.2 million, the budget for Drive, She Said is more than twice that of Double Happiness. Yer in Hollywood terms, it’s still extreme- Wy low budget, savs Hegyes, 29, who quips “It’s what Tom Cruise’s agent makes on one deal.” Partial finding, for Drive, She Said ttas come from the Canada | Sas amd Cable Production Fund, Teletiim: Canada and B.C. Fiim, Auracung private investors remains a maior challenze, “sophisticated inwestors” West Coast tend to throw Mining. resources money into since on the their rather than investing in “inteHecru- al property, Another ch allenge i is kenerating enough domestic produgion that the industry doesn't lose’ south of the border. dent te “It there's work in an area, peo- ple will stay,” Hegyes insis Hey himself has turned down projects in L.A. in order to stay in Vancouver to work. He has several projects in devel- opment, Bender by Shum, She including AM Nigar Lost. Her Luggaae by Bill Robertson cand Plan B by former West Van resi- dent Mark Sawers. NEW York- based actors Moira and Kelly Josh Hamilton (right) star ink Drive. She . Said, a roman- tic written directed Mina comedy and by Shum and produced by Stephen Heayes (left). NEWS phoio Mike Waketield RON and June Kent have 25 years invested in their furniture retailing and manufacturing company. Kents celebrate the quarter century mark By lan Noble \ News Reporter . TWENTY-five years ago today, Ron and June Kent bought a North Vancouver business. ‘Their purchase of what was then a giftware maker came a year after the thirty-something couple and their three children arrived jobless on the West Coast from Winnipeg. “We didit know what we were going to do,” said Ron. “We wanted a change of occupation, shorter hours.” June acknowledged being a little nervous as the family had never moved before. “Et was a big undertaking for us bur we thought it was now or never,” she said. Before leaving Manitoba, they sold the music instruction business they had run in che chilly city. But the couple quickly determined they couldn't make a living trom gift- ware, so the giftware starn:d to go as Ron started designing the first of the stecl-and-glass tables the couple's Norsman Furniture store still sells today. Ron, whose background i is in music, S calls himself a self-taught table designer. “Pve always had a fair for designing things. Even before | got into this busi- ness it was an interest,” he said. The entrepreneurs started calling on furniture stores and interior designers to sell their tables. Eventually, Norsman wholesaled its tables roa network of more than 45 retailers that stretched from Victoria to Montreal. Earon’s and the Bay were Norsman customers. Bur then the recession started in the east in 1982, and moved westward. To be profitable in wholesale, volumes have to be Jarge, said Jim. So a business change was needed. Norsman shur its) cight-employee wholesale outfit and became the six- employee retailer it is today. With the switch to retail and) cus- tom-built furniture, the — Upper Capilano couple noriced they received quicker feedback front their customers, giving the small company -an edge in coming up with new designs. And they were able co offer better prices because they had lopped off mark-ups. And the switch mean less travelling for Ron and fess stress. Now, June decorates the showroom and does sales work, while Ren contin- ues to design furniture and performs ordering and sales work. The company has a warehouse site NEWS photo Brad Ledwidge its niche on Pemberton, where an average of three cables a day are made. Many are built to customer specifica- tions that include table height, finish, and thickness of glass. (n additien to selling the tables, Norsman alse selis products that com- plement them, such as dining and kitchen chairs. The company also makes wall units, buffets and mirrors, but tables roral 75% to 80% of what they make. Ron said the firm’s longevity is due to customer satisfaction and the unique products. “It’s a product you can’t buy anywhere else and it’s quality work.” Although they came to the furniture business withour prior experience in the industry, June said a business plan and long hours have helped. “If you're hard-working you can learn what it takes to be successful in business and persist through bad times and good,” she said. Still, she said the last couple of years in the Business have been difficult, with many ting furniture stores closing their doors, The competition is stiff and peo- ple. are very Price conscious. “You have to be really on your toes and work harder,” she said. “And you've got to find your niche,” added Ron, her business partner of 45 “That's the hard part.”