Ken Feinberg - Curry College

The First LandingIt was the social media marketplaceCraigslist that helped Nolet land his firstrole after graduating from Curry - a threemonth public relations apprenticeship withPlymouth Rock Studios.“Watching the news, Plymouth RockStudios was the buzz around town –everyone wanted to be a part of it, and noone was too sure what it was. But it wasexciting because it was Hollywood, it wasflashy, and it was coming to Massachusetts.It was going to be huge, and the best partwas it was going to be in our back yard,here in Plymouth.”The studio proposal, conceived in 2007,included sound stages, back lots, amultipurpose theater, a hotel and offices.The original proposed location for thestudio complex in South Plymouth, nearthe town lines of Bourne and Wareham,was rejected because of faulty land titles,and the focus for the site became theWaverly Oaks Golf Club. The project wasdubbed “Hollywood East.”When Nolet saw the posting on Craigslist,he’d already done three marketing and PRinternships while at Curry, a sophomoreyear on-campus internship, a summerinternship at Brockton Hospital, and arecently completed agency internship atShift Communications in Boston. He hadn’tyet had any experience with a start-upcompany, so he thought, ‘why not try that?’“I applied and I was the last person that theybrought in to interview for the apprenticeship.It was probably the most nervous I had everbeen for anything. I had gone on plenty ofinterviews, but I wanted this so bad.”Nolet heard back two days later and wasoffered the role.He knew that the job market in 2008 wasthe worst in recent memory and gladlyaccepted the apprenticeship, knowing thatgetting his foot in the door was the bestthing he could do.“The biggest hurdle I had at Plymouth RockStudios that I learned was to overcomepeople’s perceptions about me. I was justout of college and I looked young. I hadto show people quickly that I did have theskills that I needed and I was trained; theclasses and the internships I did at Curryhad prepared me.”Nolet made his mark, and when theapprenticeship concluded, he was offeredthe role of Director of Communications.“It was a whirlwind. After I was hired for mynew position, the next thing I knew I wason a plane to L.A. going to the Producer’sGuild of America awards. I was on a redcarpet. I had private tours of Hollywoodstudios. It almost seemed surreal.”Nolet found himself with a tremendousamount of responsibility, including dealingwith the news media, sitting across thetable from folks from the Boston Globe andworking with Fox 25 and other broadcaststations covering the project.“The responsibilities I was given, thesituations I was put in, and what was askedof me was amazing for someone that wasright out of school,” says Nolet. “I wasthrown into situations that I really hadn’texperienced before on such a level. I grewso much as a person, and was growinginto that professional that I wanted to be.It seemed like it was happening awfullyquick.”What didn’t happen quick enough wasthe project’s funding and the construction.The studio had hoped to start constructionin July 2009. In September it announcedthat it had received financing from aFlorida based lender. But the funding fellthrough in November just weeks before theplanned groundbreaking, and constructionwas delayed indefinitely leaving the projectlooking for new investors. The financialbacking was never secured, and the projectnever materialized.“It was devastating. We had put our heartand soul into it, everyone that workedthere. We were almost like a family; wewould all have dinners together, go outtogether. We were all working for the samegoal, to bring Hollywood here and to buildthis film studio, and make it the best filmstudio in the world.“It’s really hard to explain to people. Somepeople think ‘oh it was just a job.’ Well, itwasn’t. I have lifelong friends that I madefrom there, because we were there nightand day, Saturdays and Sundays. We dideverything we could, because we believedin the project.“So to see it come to an end like it did… itwas devastating for all. It’s just unfortunatethat with the economy at the time, thefunding never came through. Because ifit had, we would have a huge film studioright now, ten minutes down the streetfrom where we are, and it would really besomething.”Between a Rockand a Hard PlaceAs the venture unraveled and PlymouthRock Studios closed down, Nolet was oneof the last people who left the project. Hewas dedicated and his superiors knew hewas in it until the very end.“The last thing you want to do is throw inthe towel if you see hard times coming.SUMMER 2013 CURRY COLLEGE MAGAZINE | 15