Detroit — Just four years after graduating from St. Mary’s Preparatory, Orchard Lake, Calvin O’Neal Jr. has reached a milestone of success many in the movie business never attain.



O’Neal shared in the glory of winning an Oscar as first assistant editor of the “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore,” which won for Best Animated Short Film at the 84th Academy Awards ceremony Feb. 26.

The film, from a story by children’s author and illustrator William Joyce, is described as “a story of people who devote their lives to books and books who return the favor.”

Just as bookworm Morris Lessmore’s world is changed by the hurricane that transports him to the land of living books, aspiring filmmaker O’Neal’s world was turned upside-down by the storm that ravaged the economy.

After just one year as a film major at Chicago’s Columbia College following his Orchard Lake St.Mary’s graduation, O’Neal had to drop out for financial reasons.

His family had moved from Farmington Hills to Shreveport, La., and he joined them there.

But Louisiana’s film production industry had relocated to Shreveport from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and O’Neal was able to get an internship with one of the firms there — Moonbot Studios.

That soon led to a job, and O’Neal became a key member of the production team that produced this year’s Oscar winner.

See it To watch the trailer for “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore,” go to morrislessmore.com. The 15-minute animated film is available for download from iTunes for $1.99.

Reached Feb. 28 at the Moonbot Studios, O’Neal said the humility he learned as a St. Mary’s student helped him handle the disappointment of having to leave college early and prepare him for the next steps in his career.

He admitted to not being keen about the discipline of the all-boys OLSM when he first started there. “I was sort of a rambunctious youth, so it was a really big change, but over the years it just warmed my heart and was a humbling experience,” he said.

Part of his initial discomfort, he acknowledged, probably stemmed from being a Protestant going to a Catholic school, but he came to appreciate “the faith and love of Jesus in the people there.”

“Love and faith and understanding can play a major role, and they made me feel like family,” O’Neal said.

As to the turn his career has taken and the success of being part of an Oscar-winning team, he said, “I consider it a huge blessing from God. I’m taking it one day at a time, and so far, so good.”