40 Productions Filed “Intent to Film” Forms As Sunset Date Approaches

As of the first of July, “film production companies have spent nearly $268 million, and have offered approximately 19,000 industry jobs.  Forty production companies have filed ‘Intent to Film’ forms this past July as the sunset date on the Tarheel State’s film incentive program ends on January 1, 2015”.    

This means that 40 production companies have already filmed their projects, or plan to film their projects in the state.  “The job opportunities that these film companies have provided includes more than 3,000 crew positions for North Carolina’s highly skilled film professionals, 500 well paying talent opportunities, and 15,000 background talent positions.  The reported profit increase into the states revenue is also due to the many projects that were completed in the first six months of this year”.

Many television shows that have called North Carolina home, and have been producing their shows here include Under The Dome, Banshee, and Sleepy Hollow.  The new television show which first aired in Australia, but due to low ratings, was cancelled called Secrets and Lies also began shooting earlier this year.  In an earlier post, I introduced this new series, which was filmed in Wilmington, will air on ABC, in March 2015.

Be on the look out in your favorite theater for some more featured films that were filmed in the first part of the year.  Look for, Max, The Longest Ride, Max Steel, along and an Untitled Armored Car Project, and two Independent films, Ashby, and Union Bound to be on the screens in 2015-2016. 

Television shows and films were not the only projects that were completed earlier this year, and also contributed to the state’s revenue growth and industry jobs.  There were some commercials that were produced in North Carolina for such products as Biomet, Pepsi, Xarelto, and a commercial was also shot for one of HGTV’s lifestyle series, Love It or Leave It.

Author, Nicholas Sparks, has seen several of his romance-drama novels turned into films.  The movie, “The Choice”, which was written in 2007, will be the last of his novels that will be filmed in the state this month.  Some of the other novels he has written, that were turned in to films include “Message in a Bottle” and one of my favorites, “A Walk to Remember”.  Theresa Park, the producer of “The Cloud” feels “it’s a shame that the state is ending the long-standing tax credit program at the end of 2014 in favor of a far smaller grant program, with incentives scaled back due to fervent Tea Party opposition.  The successful initiative that has been responsible for millions of dollars’ worth of job earnings and the growth of a thriving community of film and TV professionals,” she said. “Thousands will be forced to relocate” if incentives end.

This past May, House Bill 1142 was introduced by two Republican, and two Democrat members, that would eliminate the sunset date on the state’s 25% refundable incentive program for production companies.  The bill was introduced before the assembly recessed for the summer. As to date, the House bill still has not been brought to the floor for a vote”. 

Hollywood Loses Two Legends

By Jacqueline Williams

This week the film industry lost two Hollywood legends, actor/comedian, Robin Williams, age 63, on Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, and actress, Lauren Bacall, age 89, on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2014.  I definitely will miss the genius of Robin Williams, who I call my brother from another mother.  I remember when I first learned of his talent when he made a guest appearance on Happy Days.  He was so great, that his one appearance brought him a role on his own show, Mork and Mindy, in 1978.  It became one of my favorite shows.  I became very impressed with his comedic timing, and all of the voices and sounds he would create.  I had heard numerous stories of how he very seldom read the script, but could just adlib his lines.  Many of you may not know this but his first television show was on the final season of the show Laugh-In, in 1977.  After Mork and Mindy, Robin began acting in movies, and starred in more than seventy films”.  At the time of his death, he had completed four films to include a sequel to the 1993 movie, Mrs. Doubtfire.   Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, which just wrapped, will be released on Dec19.  Williams reprises his role as Teddy Roosevelt.

Betty Joan Perske, or you may have known her as Lauren Bacall, was born on September 16, 1924, in New York City.  She began studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City after school, so she could perform in some off-Broadway productions.  Once she graduated from school, she began a modeling career at 19, and appeared on the cover of Harper's Bazaar.  This is when her acting career began. The wife of a famed director saw Lauren’s cover and asked her husband to give her a screen test. She later was given the part of Marie Browning in the 1944 film, To Have and Have Not, to which she starred opposite Humphrey Bogart.  The two fell in love and were married in 1945.  They went on to star in other films”.

Both of these actors have a connection to the Tarheel State. They both filmed movies in the 1990’s.  Ms. Bacall’s movie was called The Portrait, and also starred Gregory Peck. This movie was shot in our capital city, in Raleigh. Robin Williams starred in Patch Adams, in 1998, and was shot on the campus of UNC- Chapel Hill.  

These two legends will be truly missed.

ABC’s Newest Series, Secrets and Lies, Returns to Wilmington to Begin Production

By Jacqueline Williams

     In the previous blog entitled, The Tarheel State Is Doing It Again!, I mentioned some of the production projects that were about to start filming in the area.  Secrets and Lies, is one of the shows mentioned and primarily was an Australian show, which was televised on “March 5^th of this year”, and aired six episodes, on the TEN network.  The series’ debut showed very low viewership, with a little over 404,000 people watching.  The following week, the viewership for the second installment of the show had fallen from 404,000 to 366,000. These poor ratings became very discouraging news for the suffering network.  Many thought this new mystery drama would become a success. “The Executives at ABC decided to pick up the series with a 10-episode commitment, after the pilot was shot this past February, in Wilmington.  The crew began shooting in July (Brothers), and should complete the project right before Thanksgiving“.  Secrets and Lies will debut in March 2015, at 10 p.m.

     The show “tells a single, unfolding story, episode by episode, after the peaceful veneer of a suburban street is shattered by the death of a four-year-old boy”.  The lead character Ben, played by Australian actor Martin Henderson, will star Ryan Phillippe, in the American version as the prime suspect in the murder of a young neighborhood boy.  Ryan’s character Ben, finds the child’s body in the woods while he is out jogging.  As news of the tragedy spreads, the neighborhood's secrets are brought to the surface.  Leading Detective Cornell, played by Juliette Lewis, tries to zero in on Ben as the prime suspect.  Desperate to clear his name and save his already shaky relationship with his wife, played by Kadee Strickland and his two daughters, Ben vows to find the real killer himself.  "Indiana Evans”, "Natalie Martinez, Indiana Evans, Bella Shouse and Gregory Alan Williams are also members of the cast”.

     The program will be very unique because it’s an anthology.  It will be a show like American Horror Story or True Detective.  ABC president, Paul Lee said, “the central mystery would be resolved by season's end, and any subsequent seasons would feature a new cast and a new crime.  Detective Cornell, Juliette Lewis’ character, will maintain a consistent presence from season to season“.

The Tar Heel State Is Doing It Again!

By Jacqueline Williams

North Carolina is once again seeing profits according to the NC Film Office.  Last year at this time, the office reported a remarkable $250 million had been spent in the first six months.  Once again, in the first six months of 2014, the state has surpassed last years’ numbers, and is reporting, “$268 million has been spent thus far”.  Last year a reported “35 productions had filed “intent to film" forms, whereas “40 productions had filed “intent to film” forms indicating that they have filmed or will film in the Tar Heel State, this year.  So far this year, there have been over 3,000 crew jobs available, 500 rewarding talent positions, and more than 15,000 offers’ for background talent.

Some of the production companies that continued there production here despite the looming of the state’s sunset clause are the television series Under The Dome on CBS, Banshee on Cinemax, and Sleepy Hollow on FOX”.  Soon a series called Secrets & Lies, which is adaptation from an Australian television series, and stars Ryan Phillippe, will air on ABC”. There are some more upcoming films shooting in our state to include Max, The Longest Ride, Max Steel and the Untitled Armored Car project.  Some film productions have already wrapped up in the past six months such as Ashby and Union Bound, along with commercials for Biomet, Pepsi, and Xarelto. 

House Bill 1142 entitled the Modify Film/Historic Rehab Tax Credits was introduced in the North Carolina House on May 20, 2014 before they recessed.  This bill was “introduced by Ted Davis (R-New Hanover County), Frank Iler (R-Brunswick County), Susi Hamilton (D-New Hanover County), and Becky Carney (D-Mecklenburg County) and has also gathered multiple co-sponsors.  As introduced, the bill would effectively eliminate the current sunset date of January 1, 2015 of the state’s 25% refundable tax credit for productions and would raise the minimum direct in-state spend to $300,000.  The current minimum on the existing bill is $250,00”.  Hopefully the North Carolina General Assembly will vote on this bill soon, so we can keep this industry alive in our state.