This reflective essay tells the story of the transition of a Hollywood director to the professoriate. Jack Sholder's name may be familiar to those who are film buffs. As a filmmaker in Hollywood, he directed such films as "Alone in the Dark," "Nightmare on Elm Street 2," and "The Hidden." In addition, he won an Emmy for his editing on the acclaimed PBS series "3-2-1 Contact" and has had three of his screenplays turned into feature films. It has been nine years since he made his last film, however, and today he serves as program director of Motion Picture & Television Production in the School of Stage & Screen at Western Carolina University, a medium-sized regional comprehensive university located in the rural mountains of western North Carolina. The story of his transition from the Hollywood Hills to the halls of academia, told in his own words and through scenes as if in film, provides a modern parable for the challenges and opportunities inherent in moving from professional to professor.