UNC Wilmington has seen its share of famous people by virtue of its location in the middle of “Hollywood East,” but students were afforded a particularly sweet opportunity when Academy Award-winning screenwriters Nat Faxon and Jim Rash came to give a special showing of their unreleased film, “The Way, Way Back.” 

You may have already seen Rash and Faxon during their leading television roles on “Community” and “Ben and Kate,” respectively. They stand out in Hollywood as highly acclaimed actors, writers, comedians and directors. But these stars weren’t completely out of reach for UNCW. 

Kimi Faxon Hemmingway of the English department is Nat Faxon’s sister. 

“I was so excited [for them] to come because Nat had been a legend I’d been telling my colleagues about,” Hemmingway said. “He’s my little brother and he’s doing so well! It’s like he was finally coming to life. It was incredible.”

“We hit a gold mine with Rash and Faxon,” said English professor and Honors College faculty member, Michael Mills. “Students could actually meet experts on all aspects of writing and acting and learn about things from the craft of writing itself to the complex business of Hollywood.”

The duo stayed on campus three days, participating in various Q&A sessions, luncheons and public discussions and taught in five different classrooms across campus. Many students, primarily film studies and creative writing majors, took advantage of Faxon and Rash’s time, consistently staying past the allotted time for further questions in an attempt to learn all they could from the successful men.

“They aren’t just celebrities,” Mills said. “They’re approachable and just real, down to earth, nice guys.”

Students were inspired by Faxon and Rash’s explanation of their own beginnings, which also started with college degrees-Rash’s from close by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Faxon’s from Hamilton College in New York. Upon graduating, they both joined an improv group called “The Groundlingings,” which is where they met and began a screenwriting partnership, before eventually earning an Academy Award for the script for their screen adaptation of Kaui Hart Hemmings’ book, “The Descendants.”

Faxon and Rash gave advice that went far beyond the typical “work hard” and “never give up.” They informed students on how to get their scripts read, how to find good managers and the importance of networking. They explained the difficulties in deciding when to stick to your guns or to keep an open mind about your work, as well as the struggles of falling into creative lulls.

Creative writing student Arnold Estrada found the experience life changing.

“They’re even funnier than I expected them to be,” Estrada said. “Because of them, I’ve decided to just keep writing, not to really form so much of a background plan and to delve straight into the world of writing, really put my all into it.”

The most widely anticipated event of Faxon and Rash’s visit was the first screening of their film “The Way, Way back,” which, prior to the Lumina showing, had only been screened at the Sundance Film Festival.

The movie was sold out and received an overwhelming standing ovation. The writers did a final Q&A immediately afterwards and received multiple praises and thanks from the crowd.

It was also the first time Faxon’s big sister got to see the film.

“It was such a warm response after the film. You could just feel the energy and how everyone was together like a community,” Hemmingway said. “The audience loved it. I felt just verklempt. It was simply a great visit all around.”

“Nothing could have gone better,” Mills said. “Their visit was an absolute triumph.”

“The Way, Way Back” has its official release set for July 5, 2013.