It was the fall semester of Kirk Elias’ junior year at the University of Minnesota, where he was studying film and working as an assistant track coach at a local high school, when his life forever changed.
The year was 1975 and Elias was a teaching assistant for an introductory film class. The professor was unable to attend the session, so he put Elias in charge. The students were working on storyboards and Elias was told to walk around the room and provide feedback if he saw any the students getting off track.
“I walked around and the egos in that room were unbelievable,” Elias said.