How a Wilmington production company shot a documentary with comic and actor Kevin Hart

Since forming back in 2004, Wilmington production company Lighthouse Films has been involved with some pretty big projects, from commercials for such brands as Re/Max, Michelin and Chrysler to a music video by indie pop stars Future Islands.

Last month, however, what might be Lighthouse's most high-profile, and potentially most impactful, project to date dropped when the documentary "Hart Of It All," starring the the stand-up comic and actor Kevin Hart, premiered on the Peacock streaming service.

Along with Chase Bank, Promethean Pictures out of Los Angeles and Hart's own HartBeat Productions, Lighthouse Films is a co-producer of the film. Lighthouse founder Brad Walker co-directed the movie with Julian Gooden, and Walker also served as co-cinematographer with Ryan Travis.

Hart, of course, is known for his comedy specials and for starring in such films as "Ride Along" and the "Jumanji" movies. But "Hart Of It All" shows a different side of Hart, who rose from hardscrabble beginnings in North Philadelphia to become one of the most popular entertainers in the country.

The goal of the film is to impart lessons about financial literacy and generational wealth to communities of color, lessons, Hart says in the documentary, he never learned growing up.

"The whole thing was very serendipitous how it came about," Walker said recently during an interview at Lighthouse Films' headquarters in a beautifully renovated 19th century building on North Fourth Street in Wilmington.

Lighthouse has worked with Chase Bank doing commercial and corporate content since 2014, Walker said. Hart also has a relationship with Chase and has done commercials for the bank.

"This initially was going to just be a video for Chase on their corporate website. It escalated," Walker said. "It turned into something that (Hart) wanted to affiliate his production company, HartBeat Studios, with."

Tyler Zibaie, account manager with Lighthouse Films and lead producer of "Hart Of It All," said that "what led to the full buy-in from Kevin" was a "sizzle reel," or short promotional video, that Walker shot and showed to Hart and his team. "It was pretty cool. I think that (Hart) went into it thinking it was it was one thing and then it evolved."

And so, what started as a short video turned into a two-year, multi-city, Chase-sponsored project with the goal of being "a life-changing piece of video content that can impact families around the country," Walker said.

In "Hart Of It All," the always-entertaining Hart is joined by various experts to talk about how teaching financial literacy and building generational wealth can improve the fortunes of communities of color. Hart also makes the case for financial literacy to be taught in schools, as early as elementary.

In the documentary, Hart talks about his own financial journey, including his failures, like immediately maxxing out his first credit card because he saw it as "free money" and continuing to be "broke" even after he got famous because he was spending money as quickly as he got it.

Zibaie said he and the Lighthouse crew witnessed Hart's generosity first hand, like when he gave an impromptu donation to a group featured in the film, or funded a scholarship for a student who asked a really good question at a school event.

"You see Kevin as this amazing comedian, you know, both in film and stand up, and you see him as an amazing entrepreneur," Zibaie said. "But seeing him in that light, he really just shows you that (he is) this person who really actually cares. He's not just, you know, playing it."

Walker said he wanted the film to spring from "an authentic approach to Kevin Hart's life. Because he's living proof of financial literacy in action. You know, he learned through his mistakes. That was a real opportunity to get visibility in the Black and brown communities."

Equally important, Walker said, was that the film be made in partnership with people of color.

"I mean, look, I'm a white boy from Durham," he said. "For us to tell the story correctly, we needed to surround ourselves with people that knew more than we do in terms of in terms of financial literacy in Black and brown communities."

In Wilmington, Lighthouse Films and its 10-person staff are somewhat insulated from the ups and downs of the wider film and TV industry, although they do rent equipment to various productions, shows like "Welcome to Flatch" and "Reprisal."

A big part of their business is doing stock footage for Getty Images, and they also do commercials for both local and national clients.

In the coming year, Walker said, Lighthouse is looking to start a line of short, "inspirational" videos "that we're hoping to align with a brand that we work with."

They're also marketing a comedy special with Wilmington comic Cliff Cash that Lighthouse shot at Thalian Hall last year.

"When the world sees it, it's gonna be different than any special they've ever seen," Zibaie said of the comedy special. "I have full faith that it's going to happen."

These projects are very different from "Hart Of It All," but they follow the same basic philosophy, which is, "Shoot what you love and the money will come," Walker said. "We take a risk, because we never know if it's going to generate income or not. But what's the worst case scenario? That we do what we love to do."

“Hart Of It All,” sponsored by Chase, is streaming now on Peacock.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington's Lighthouse Films, Kevin Hart make Hart of It All doc