• Mid-year Figures Show 2012 Already Surpassed 2011’s Record-setting Spending By Productions
• Legislature/Governor Extend Incentive Sunset Date
• NC-filmed Homeland Receives Nine Emmy Nominations
• Writers Selected for Prestigious Toronto International Film Festival
• Full Frame Documentary Film Festival Makes Economic Impact on Durham
• Filming On Two New Television Series Underway
• “You Are Here” Makes Big Impact in Piedmont Triad Region
• Quick Cuts & Did You Know

 

Mid-year Figures Show 2012 Already Surpassed 2011’s Record-setting Spending By Productions

2011’s recording breaking year has already been surpassed in 2012 with regards to productions’ direct in-state spending. Earlier this month the Governor reported that over 35 productions have or are taking place in the state and their estimated in-state spend will exceed $300 million. These productions account for more than 15,000 job opportunities, including 3,000+ well-paying crew positions for the state’s highly-skilled film professionals. 2011 saw 38 productions shoot in NC, providing an estimated direct in-state spend of more than $220 million while creating 25,000+ job opportunities including 3,300 crew positions. To read more about this year’s productions and their impact, click here.

 

Legislature/Governor Extend Incentive Sunset Date

The state legislature recently added a one year extension to the state’s film incentive, pushing the official sunset date out to January 1, 2015. The extension, part of Senate Bill 847, was approved by the Governor on July 17. The extension of the highly successful incentive program will hopefully help in attracting long-term studio projects as well as additional television productions who budget well in advance. Read more about the extension by clicking here.

 

NC-filmed Homeland Receives Nine Emmy Nominations

Homeland, Showtime’s CIA/national security thriller that films in the Charlotte Region, recently garnered nine Emmy nominations for its first season. The series was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series and had both of its lead actors, Claire Danes and Damien Lewis, nominated as well as noms for Directing, Writing, Casting, Single Camera Editing, Theme Music and Sound Editing. Three of NC’s crew members--Craig Fincannon and Lisa Mae Fincannon for Casting and Larry Long for Sound Mixing—were part of the series nominations. Click here to see all of the 64th Primetime Emmy nominations.

 

WRITERS Selected for Prestigious Toronto International Film Festival

The Toronto International Film Festival announced their 2012 line-up for Galas, Opening Nights and Special Features and for the 2nd year in a row, a North Carolina filmed production was included. WRITERS, which filmed in March in the Wilmington Region, is part of the 100 films set to run from September 6-16. Writers stars Jennifer Connelly, Greg Kinnear, Lily Collins, Liana Liberato and Kristen Bell and was written and directed by Josh Boone. The production had an estimated direct in-state spend of $3.5 million and created approximately 400 job opportunities. Last year, the NC-filmed feature HICK was selected for the festival.  Read more about the film and its selection by clicking here.

 

Full Frame Documentary Film Festival Makes Economic Impact on Durham

April’s Full Frame Documentary Film Festival yielded $2.1 million dollars for the local economy while seeing overall increases in attendance with over 32,000 patrons attending the 4-day festival in Durham. This year’s event generated $73,000 in tax revenue according to the Durham Convention and Visitors Bureau. The festival is a program of the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. To read more about this year’s festival and its impact, click here.

 

Filming On Two New Television Series Underway

Two new television series are joining Homeland in having their productions lensed in North Carolina. Banshee, which will air on the pay-channel Cinemax, began shooting this spring throughout the Charlotte Region. It is from Alan Ball, whose credits include the hit HBO series True Blood. Warner Brothers has brought another series to NC as filming for the highly anticipated NBC series Revolution just got underway in the Wilmington Region. To read more on Banshee, click here, and for more on Revolution, click here.

 

YOU ARE HERE Makes Big Impact in Piedmont Triad Region

YOU ARE HERE, the feature film directorial debut from Matt Weiner, the creator of the hit AMC television series Mad Men, recently wrapped up its principal photography in the Piedmont Triad Region. The feature shot in several of the region’s communities including Winston-Salem, Madison, Siloam, Booneville, Yadkinville, Greensboro, Jamestown, Walkertown, and Stokesville as well as shooting a few days in Charlotte. This was the second major production to shoot in the Piedmont Triad Region, with the first being a Hallmark Channel made-for-TV movie, Beverly Lewis’ The Confession . Click here to read more about You Are Here and here to see a news report on the impact of the feature.

 

Quick cuts….

The first installment of THE HUNGER GAMES, which filmed exclusively in North Carolina, has eclipsed $640 million worldwide and is set to be released on DVD August 18….the UNC School of the Arts has announced that Jordan Kerner has stepped down as dean of the School of Filmmaking….On June 4, Marvel Studios officially announced that production on Iron Man 3—the largest production to ever shoot in NC—was officially underway….an NC State student film, The Strong One, recently received Best Picture and Best Director honors at the international student filmmaker competition Campus MovieFest Hollywood…. Four of network television’s top reality competitions—American Idol, The X Factor, America’s Got Talent, and The Biggest Loser—have all hosted tryouts/casting calls in NC in 2012…the feature films WE'RE THE MILLERS and SAFE HAVEN are currently underway in the Wilmington Region…the NC Film Office and representatives from the Wilmington, Piedmont Triad, and Charlotte Regional Film Commissions recently returned from Los Angeles where they participated in the AFCI Locations Tradeshow which was attended by more than 2,500 film executive; while in Los Angeles, NCFO director Aaron Syrett also attended the PGA’s Produced By Conference; state officials have also had a presence at the 2012 Sundance and South By Southwest Film Festivals…Two actors with NC ties also received Emmy nominations as Raleigh’s Michael C. Hall (Dexter) and Fayetteville’s Julianne Moore (as Sarah Palin in Game Change) received Outstanding Lead noms /em>

Did You Know….

While the late Andy Griffith was well known for his iconic TV roles on The Andy Griffith Show and Matlock, which filmed in the state, did you know his last TV role was on another NC-filmed series—Dawson’s Creek—in which he played an old friend of one of the lead character’s mentors.