Distinguished Guest to Attend Private Screening of Iron Man 3 in Wilmington!

         There’s excitement in the air as the waves come crashing in on the shores of Wilmington, North Carolina. What you may ask, is the big ado?  Distinguished “guests are expected to attend a private, invitation-only cast and crew screening, on April 28, of Marvel’s Iron Man 3”.  The movie, which was filmed at EUE/Screen Gems Studio, in Wilmington, will be in theaters on May 3, 2013.  

    

     When Marvel Studios first announced in June 2012, that production had begun, it was slated to be the largest production ever shot in North Carolina.  Former Governor Bev Perdue disclosed last October, that the project would last over a 10-month period. This would include pre-production, principal photography and wrap-up.  It would have an estimated economic impact of over $80 million, while creating 550 crew jobs and over 1,000 talent opportunities, for the state.  Governor Perdue “signed into law House Bill 1973 and House Bill713”, in 2010, and it went into effect January 1, 2011.  These two bills “offer a 25% refundable tax credit. The 25% film incentive is in effect for a single production, who report their qualified expenses on their tax return”.   “Companies must spend a minimum of $ 250,000 on production costs in the state to be eligible for the tax credit Governor Perdue said, “this legislation is vital to the growth of the state's motion picture industry and will preserve thousands of jobs for North Carolina residents”.

     Marvel’s famous comic strip, Iron Man was first released in 1963.  Robert Downing, Jr., reprises his role as Tony Stark aka “Iron Man”, along with Gwyneth Paltrow as “Pepper Potts”, Don Cheadle as “James "Rhodey" Rhodes”, and Jon Favreau as “Happy Hogan”.  No action packed featured movie would not be complete without a few antagonist stirring up trouble in the universe. British actor, Sir Ben Kingsley plays Iron Man’s number one enemy, “Mandarin”, who plays a quieter sidekick to the main culprit, Aldrich Killian played by Guy Pearce.  The two come together to design a specially trained armed militia through nanotechnology.  I guess we’ll have to buy a ticket to the movie to find out about this new technology, and watch Iron Man rid the world of evil. Sounds like the theaters might want to be prepared, for this could be a blockbuster weekend. Check out the trailer and you decide! ENJOY!

North Carolina Film Industry Sees Boost

        The film industry in North Carolina continues to boom in the first quarter of this year as “over 20 productions have indicated they intend to film, or have already begun filming, in North Carolina (2013).  So far this quarter, statewide could see as much as $138 in revenue with more than “13,000 job opportunities, including 2,100 well-paying crew positions for the state’s highly skilled film professionals”, according to the North Carolina Film Office (2013).

     The state has become quite busy over the last few months.  For instance, in the Wilmington area, two television series, NBC’s “Revolution” and CBS’s “Under the Dome”, along with two independent films, “The Remaining” and “Frat Brothers” have already begun filming.  In the Charlotte area there also seems to be a spike in productions. On the Fox network, they began production on a pilot called “Sleepy Hollow”, while Cinemax is back with their series “Banshee”, and three independent films, “An Evergreen Christmas”, “Shuffleton’s Barbershop”, and “Careful What You Wish For”. Now in the western part of the state in the Asheville area, there are some more independent films underway.  “The World Made Straight”, is a film based on the novel by a North Carolina author named Ron Rash. I could imagine that this must be an exciting time and a treat for this author. How often does an author have a chance to experience having your novel produced into a movie, and it filmed in your own state? The second independent film is called, The Honeymoon”.  Also scheduled to shoot in the area will be a photo spread for an outdoor clothing magazine.  Western North Carolina is the perfect setting for this type of photo shoot because this is where the Appalachians Mountains are located, and the scenery there is very beautiful and picturesque.  In the area where I attended college, the Triad Piedmont area, production just finished up on an independent film, called “The Ultimate Life”.  Now travelling back to the Durham/Research Triangle Park area near where I live, NBC’s hit show, “Revolution” was around town shooting scenes, along with two more independent films, “Live Evil”, and “A Dog Named Suki.” (2013)

     All in all, I must say the state of North Carolina has been very busy over the first three months of this year.  This definitely delivers a boost to the economy with plenty of employment opportunities.  This could prove to be a banner year for the “Tar heel State”.