Former Carpentersville resident surmounts injury, loss to be producer

The story of movie producer Peter Soby Jr.'s life has been so fraught with loss, tragedy, harmonic convergence and goodwill toward men that it would sound unbelievable even in a holiday fantasy film.

Soby grew up in Carpentersville. During his junior year at Barrington High School, his father, Peter Soby Sr., died of heart and liver failure.

Then, in 1987, just before his sophomore year at Harper College in Palatine, Soby broke his spinal chord while diving in a too-shallow South Barrington lake. He became a paraplegic: paralyzed from the waist down with partial use of his arms and no use of his fingers.

He spent most of the year in a hospital bed, unable to move.

When he finally could, Soby returned to Harper in a wheelchair to finish his associate degree before earning a B.A. in speech-communications at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.

Then, the Midwest weather prompted him to make a life-changing decision.

"During the winter, I was trying to push around in snow and ice and wind," Soby said. "It was too much. I had to go some place where it was dry and warm all year round."

That place: Los Angeles, where Soby decided he would take the movie business by proverbial storm.

In the beginning, Soby struggled for a way to get in. He obtained a list of film production companies - no easy task in the pre-Internet era - and called each one. His pitch was simple: "Hi, I just came in from Illinois. Do you have any job openings?"

Most said no. A couple asked him to send a resume.

Then, kismet! Soby called Largo Entertainment on the 20th Century Fox lot.

A secretary thought it endearing that this kid from Illinois would be so bold. She asked him to come in for a job interview. When she found out he used a wheelchair, his story became even more endearing.

But the Largo office hadn't been constructed to be wheelchair accessible.

"No problem," the secretary told him. "Our security guards will get you into the building."

And they did.

He got a job in the story department, one that required him to read scripts, then copy and file them. Except that Soby's fingers couldn't copy or file.

"No problem," the secretary said. "We will find a way to make this work."

And she did.

Then, on his first day of employment, Soby had trouble moving his wheelchair across some thick carpet.

"Suddenly, someone comes up behind me and says, 'Can I give you a push?' I said sure. So we start moving and I turn around and it's Kevin Costner! So that was a pretty exciting way to start my first day."

It turns out that Soby's favorite movie of all time is "Field of Dreams," so his encounter with Costner held extra meaning. Then, Soby discovered that his boss. Larry Gordon, produced "Field of Dreams."

"I had no idea," Soby said.

In short order, Soby became Largo's assistant finance director. Then he went to work for Shoreline Entertainment for three years. Frustrated by the company's inability to push productions along, Soby announced he would go out on his own.

"They kind of laughed at me," Soby recalled. "But six months later, I had my first movie in production. 'Wes Craven Presents Carnival of Souls,'" a remake of the strange 1961 cult classic.

Since then, Soby had produced feature films, music videos, film shorts, theater shows and commercials. He also writes and directs. He now owns all the rights to "Carnival of Souls."

In October, Soby became one of several Harper alums to receive the school's Distinguished Alumnus Award for his accomplishments.

"It was such a heartwarming place," Soby said. "And the teachers. To this day I will never forget them, They have good teachers at the University of Illinois, but I swear to you that I can't tell you a single name of any professor there. Harper was my academic inspiration.

"I'm not just saying this because they gave me an award. I have such fond memories of Harper College. The teachers there were so influential in my life. They were just incredible."

After his accident, Soby's friends and community stepped up to raise money for his customized van and to help with medical bills.

"I feel really loved," he said. "I feel that I am loved by so many people, and I don't mean that in an egotistic way. When I came back to Harper, I got to see people I hadn't seen in 20 years, and the pouring out of love was just incredible."

We asked Soby, now 46, how he avoided dipping into despair and resentment while recovering in a hospital bed, unable to move for months.

"No matter what happens, you can't look back with anger," he said. "You can't look back with depression. You can't look back and keep saying, 'What if?'

"Always know where you want to be in five years. I always drive toward that. There is no room to be depressed. No room to be angry.

"I've had bad days like everyone. I didn't just bottle up the depression and anger. I didn't let those feelings dominate me. I didn't want to be a victim."

- Dann Gire

• Dann Gire and Jamie Sotonoff are looking for suburbanites making their marks in show business. If you know of any, contact them at dgire@dailyherald.com and jsotonoff@dailyherald.com.

Barrington High, Harper grad thanks mentors

Carpentersville native Peter Soby Jr. credits many mentors for helping him become a Hollywood film producer.

"At Barrington High School, I would have to say that Jeffrey Dionesotes was a huge mentor for me on so many levels," Soby said of the former teacher and yearbook adviser. "He was kind of like a father figure for me when my dad died during my junior year. We're still friends to this day."

As for Harper College, Soby cited speech teacher John Muchmore as "an incredible influence" and acting instructor Mary Jo Willis as "a tough critic."

"She's no pushover," he said. "I did a monologue from the show 'Hurley Burley.' She just sat, staring at me the whole time.

"Then she spoke, and I thought, 'Oh, no, here it comes.' She said, 'Dear, I saw William Hurt do that scene on Broadway. You were this close!' I thought, 'Oh my God! I really have to work on this!'"

Also at Harper, Soby credited English and philosophy professors Leroy Mottla and Harley Chapman for co-teaching a Friday class that required students to read a book every week.

"I learned so much about English and philosophy," Soby said. "How could I not?"

- Dann Gire