With a little help from Chapman’s financial community, he got it.

But Bassett is a big dreamer, university President Jim Doti is fond of saying.

What Bassett wanted for Phase II of his vision was a backlot. Something to give students a chance to film right at home.

With backing from Doti and Chapman friends, he’s getting it.

Just like the big timers at Universal Studios or Warner Brothers. A place where Chapman film students can shoot their pieces without going on so many expensive locations. A backlot that the Big Three --- USC, UCLA, and New York University --- will envy.

And it may come even sooner than Bassett expected.

“There’s a lot of competition,” said President Doti in a recent interview. “USC received a $175 million gift so we need to keep moving forward. That's why we’re already planning Phase Two, which will ultimately become a filmmaker’s village.”

After a successful first year at the $50 million Marion Knott Studios, Chapman University has begun a serious study of plans for a second phase of the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. The backlot will feature a real life set of buildings and backgrounds. There’s no completion date set --- fundraising is always an ongoing issue --- but Doti said he’s firmly committed to the plan.