Camera crews will continue to pop up around Charlotte aplenty after the state recently awarded three projects currently shooting in the area film grants for helping North Carolina’s economy and job market, Gov. Roy Cooper announced last month.
The untitled Please Don’t Destroy project created by the Saturday Night Live comedy team previously reported on; “Site” featuring “True Story” and “Luke Cage” actor Theo Rossi, and the made-for-TV movie “Second Time Around” were named recipients of the North Carolina Film and Entertainment Grant, state Department of Commerce officials said in a news release. “We are excited to have more cameras rolling across our state,” Cooper said in the release.
“Having North Carolina communities as the backdrop for independent and studio-supported projects is a positive multiplier for our talented workforce, our small businesses, and our economy.” The three movies — along with two other projects, the “Welcome to Flatch” TV series in New Hanover, Duplin and Pender counties, and “Eric Larue” in Wilmington — are expected to generate $61 million of in-state spending and more than 2,400 jobs, according to the release. “We are excited to have more and more productions creating economic development opportunities in our state,” North Carolina Film Office director Guy Gaster said in the release.
Altogether, the projects bring film-related production spending in North Carolina to more than $241 million and creates more than 13,000 jobs in 2022, the release said. This is the second time projects being filmed in Charlotte received grants to encourage production in North Carolina. Hallmark TV movie, “To Her With Love,” and a feature-length film, “AGB and Her Monster,” received rebates last month, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.
Projects filming in North Carolina
As previously reported from The Charlotte Observer, “Please Don’t Destroy” creators Ben Marshall, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy have been shooting in Charlotte and the surrounding area. The film, which is shot in Mecklenburg, Gaston and Burke counties, was awarded the maximum amount for a feature-length film — a $7 million rebate grant.
“Site” is a film about a small town family man who encounters something “terrifying” at an abandoned government test site and begins “seeing haunting visions of a past that threatens to destroy his present,” according to IMDB. The project was approved for a film rebate of $937,500.
“Second Time Around” focuses on a pastor whose “chance encounter may turn out to be a true gift from heaven,” the state’s release said. The streaming movie recently wrapped up filming in Mecklenburg and Cabarrus counties, and it will receive an award of up to $156,250.
“Eric Larue” follows Janice, the mother of a 17-year-old who shot and killed three of his classmates, IMDB said. The project has been approved for a grant of up to $589,105.
The “Welcome to Flatch” TV series is about a small town of primarily young adults being filmed for a documentary, according to IMDB (Internet Movie Data Base). The Fox series will get a rebate grant award of $6.5 million.
This story appears courtesy of our media partner The Charlotte Observer.