Former Hollywood producer returns to love of music
Anna Nguyen
Issue date: 1/25/07 Section: Life & Style
Fayetteville seemed like an unlikely place for Bob Emenegger, a man who was born in Whitter, Calif., and worked in Hollywood as a director and movie producer. Emenegger said he has lived his whole life in California and wanted "to get away from the earthquakes and riots." He and his wife decided to move to Fayetteville after reading an article that listed the city as one of the top 10 places to live in an issue of Money magazine. Though he said the move "took awhile to adjust to," Emenegger and his wife have been residing in Fayetteville for over a decade.
Before his change of residence, Emenegger graduated from the film department at UCLA. He began work as a director for commercials for products such as Honda, Mattel, Taco Bell, MAX Factor and many more, and said that he tried to make them fun and entertaining. Emenegger said he "has a great love for music" and studied music as his minor degree, and composed his own music for the commercials. He said he started his career in music, and his film studies followed his career.
"I would do a commercial and write music for it," Emenegger said. "I would go to the studio to record it. I had a chance to supervise everything, edit it and made sure [the music] sounded good." He said he remembers that the music for the commercials for MAX Factor was "romantic, lush music." Emenegger eventually expanded his directorial skills into feature films, or "specials" as he calls them.
After experience in directing commercials, he made his first film in the 1960s, after taking a trip to Pompeii where he said he found the city fascinating. The film, titled "The Day Silence Came," is set in 79 A.D., after Pompeii died. Emenegger said he did research about the historical period and that the film is all factual, but he made up a narrative about a girl whose life changed during the event. The film took six months to film, and he also wrote and composed the music for his first film.
Emenegger's other notable works include the 1974 film "UFOs: Past, Present and Future"; 1976's "UFOs: It Has Begun"; and 1975's "Death: The Ultimate Mystery." He said he made these film specials out of curiosity. He the UFO films after being drawn into the subject by a research assignment, and the music he composed for the films are "more serious" and militaristic sounding. The later 1976 film is "the updated one," Emenegger said. "Death: The Ultimate Mystery" is also about the possibility of life after death and hypnosis, where the filmmakers visit a cemetery in Mexico where mummies are buried, travel to Egypt to visit a museum in Cairo, and returns to the United States. The film concludes with a woman who is hypnotized and performs past life regression, Emenegger said.
Before his change of residence, Emenegger graduated from the film department at UCLA. He began work as a director for commercials for products such as Honda, Mattel, Taco Bell, MAX Factor and many more, and said that he tried to make them fun and entertaining. Emenegger said he "has a great love for music" and studied music as his minor degree, and composed his own music for the commercials. He said he started his career in music, and his film studies followed his career.
"I would do a commercial and write music for it," Emenegger said. "I would go to the studio to record it. I had a chance to supervise everything, edit it and made sure [the music] sounded good." He said he remembers that the music for the commercials for MAX Factor was "romantic, lush music." Emenegger eventually expanded his directorial skills into feature films, or "specials" as he calls them.
After experience in directing commercials, he made his first film in the 1960s, after taking a trip to Pompeii where he said he found the city fascinating. The film, titled "The Day Silence Came," is set in 79 A.D., after Pompeii died. Emenegger said he did research about the historical period and that the film is all factual, but he made up a narrative about a girl whose life changed during the event. The film took six months to film, and he also wrote and composed the music for his first film.
Emenegger's other notable works include the 1974 film "UFOs: Past, Present and Future"; 1976's "UFOs: It Has Begun"; and 1975's "Death: The Ultimate Mystery." He said he made these film specials out of curiosity. He the UFO films after being drawn into the subject by a research assignment, and the music he composed for the films are "more serious" and militaristic sounding. The later 1976 film is "the updated one," Emenegger said. "Death: The Ultimate Mystery" is also about the possibility of life after death and hypnosis, where the filmmakers visit a cemetery in Mexico where mummies are buried, travel to Egypt to visit a museum in Cairo, and returns to the United States. The film concludes with a woman who is hypnotized and performs past life regression, Emenegger said.
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