Going Hawleywood: Truman grad realizing dream of being filmmaker

By the age of 10, Matt Hawley knew what he was meant to do with his life.

Hawley wanted to tell stories and make art, all through film. Also, in a family of entrepreneurs (perhaps you’ve heard of the Steamboat Arabia Museum), Hawley also knew starting his own business would be in the works someday.

Tonight, the premiere of Hawley’s first full-length documentary “Leedy: The Documentary” will take place in Kansas City’s Crossroads Arts District, and no matter where the finished project takes him, the Independence native and current resident wants one point made clear: Despite the name of his business and its tie-in with his name, Hawley isn’t planning to move to Tinseltown any time soon.

THE BEGINNING
A 2002 graduate of Truman High School, Hawley jumped on an opportunity his sophomore year when he was part of the first class to go through the three-year broadcasting program. Hawley eventually became an executive producer for KTSN, and he credits his teacher Cheryl Pratt for her encouragement.

“She was the first non-family member that noticed a skill that I have,” Hawley says. “I had always made home movies with friends and family, but she was the first person outside of my close circle who took notice of my ability and really encouraged me to keep going with it.”

After graduating from Truman, Hawley briefly attended Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa, but left during his sophomore year, feeling he could gain more experience and expertise in the “real world” rather than inside a classroom.

In the winter of 2004, Hawley started as an intern Wide Awake Films. He later was hired full-time, and Hawley described his work at Wide Awake as “his film school.” He learned the nuts and bolts of making good film as he edited material and shot video. Wide Awake’s portfolio ranges from high-end corporate projects to Civil War documentaries.

The location of Wide Awake Films in the River Market district in Kansas City also served as motivation for Hawley: It was close to the Steamboat Arabia Museum that his family owned and operated.

“You could throw a rock and hit the building,” Hawley says, smiling.

Because of the Hawley family’s entrepreneurial spirit – Matt’s father, David; uncle, the late Greg Hawley; and grandfather, Bob Hawley; were among those who excavated the Steamboat Arabia in 1988 and 1989 – the bar was set high, Matt says. The museum opened its doors in November 1991.

“They made their own path and made their own income based on what they wanted to do, not what an employer paid them,” he says. “So, I’ve always kind of looked at that as a very strong motivation to think, ‘OK, I can top that,’ which I’ll try to.”

In 2006, Kansas City artist Kevin McGraw approached Wide Awake about making a documentary on Jim Leedy. Referred to as “the Father of the Crossroads Arts District,” Leedy’s artwork, in a variety of media, have appeared in major exhibitions across the United States and the world.

“I had never heard of him,” Hawley says of his prior knowledge about Leedy and his accomplishments across Kansas City and beyond.

But the documentary idea was different than anything Hawley had worked on up to that point, and that led to excitement, he says. He knew the project would lead to more creative freedom that he wasn’t always afforded in his everyday job.

“It was one of the projects that I actually looked forward to being able to work on,” Hawley says. “I was getting kind of burned out at the time with just the standard commercial work that I was doing, and this seemed like an artistic and different kind of thing. ... I really thought of it as a chance for me to step out and do something really creative for a change.”

Hawley, along with writer/producer Kevin Worley and other Wide Awake staff, created a short about Leedy to introduce the concept to fundraisers. And, Hawley says, he soon learned about Leedy and his contributions to Kansas City’s art scene.

“Jim is one of those guys who you can’t help but be inspired by him,” Hawley says. “He’s a natural instructor and teacher. It doesn’t matter whether you’re in the classroom with him or just out in the street on First Friday – if you get close enough that you can start to hear what he’s saying, you get sucked in a little bit, and you can’t help but just be … what’s the right word? Maybe moved, but you feel inspired after visiting with him. You want to go and make something.”

INTERMISSION
Good intentions toward the project stalled when Hawley and Worley both left Wide Awake.

Hawley created his own company, Hawleywood Films, but as he made a pros and cons list before leaving Wide Awake, one of the biggest components in the “pros” column was the Leedy project.

Several years passed. Hawleywood Films kept Hawley busy with wedding videos in the summer months and corporate/commercial work the rest of the year. He had started the company as a means for paying the bills, while still pursuing more creative projects on the side.

Then, in early 2011, Kevin Worley came calling again. Kevin McGraw had secured the rights to the footage already shot for the Leedy project. McGraw called Worley, who then called Hawley, asking to rejoin the effort as the editor.

Hawley and Worley shot more footage of Leedy and conducted interviews, but Worley soon found himself busy with graduate school and work. He dropped out, and Hawley took to finishing the project while receiving no payment for the work.

He even took out a loan to purchase a new computer since his existing equipment wasn’t powerful enough for the project.

And then there was the challenge of a film score. Purchasing the rights for a 3-minute song can cost between $150 and $300, Hawley says, and that was money he simply didn’t have to spend.

Hawley turned to an old friend, Independence native Tyler Banks, who had produced pop, hip hop and R&B music at home and for friends. Instead of making a film and then having to sort through dozens of tracks for the right music, Hawley wanted to do things the way professionals do in Hollywood: He wanted to make a film, send a cut of it to a composer, and then have music written to fit the tone of the documentary.

So Banks did about 12 tracks, receiving no compensation except for a software program Hawley bought for him to use.

“It’s something I had never done. I had a lot of fun doing it,” Banks says. “To work with Matt, we’ve known each other forever and we’ve always done these small projects, but we’d never collaborated on a larger scale.”

FINAL CUT
Matt Hawley says he hates the phrase of “going to Hollywood.”

While he recognizes that some editing work needs to take place in California, Hawley says he would prefer remaining in Kansas City to make his feature-length films.

“Kansas City is my home, and I want to stay here,” says the 28-year-old. “Technology has allowed us to make films anywhere, so there’s no reason why I can’t have a nice career of making films here.”

Meanwhile, a fundraising drive aimed at collecting at least $25,000 for “Leedy: The Documentary” is currently taking place on Kickstarter, the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects. While the public has its chance to view the documentary tonight, Banks says he saw a final cut Monday evening – and he was impressed.

“Going into it, I knew nothing about Jim Leedy or about what he was about,” Banks says. “But after watching it and working on it and learning everything he had done for Kansas City and the arts scene, I have a lot of respect for him. I think this project was something that needed to be done.”