To know Lew Hunter was to know a force of nature. (The same can be said for his wife, Pamela!) I first learned this in 2007 or 2008 when I saw them at an event put on by the Omaha Film Festival. (I re-learned that lesson every time I was lucky enough to be around them.)

We were in a classroom at UNO. Around the desk and whiteboard, Lew had placed a slew of “storytellers,” toys and figurines that could inspire a story. After we learned a bit of the writing craft, we each had to submit three ideas for possible screenplays and Lew would help us develop our initial idea a little more by as...