Lights, camera, action in North Carolina
North Carolina is once again under the Hollywood spotlight with a series of big budget movies and even bigger stars of the silver screen filming in the state. Iron Man 3 will become the largest feature to ever shoot in the state, Colin Firth has recently started filming and the highly anticipated film adaptation of Suzanne Collins' runaway bestselling novel The Hunger Games has wrapped filming. In addition, next year will see the 25th anniversary of Dirty Dancing celebrated with the third annual Dirty Dancing Festival.
Iron Man 3
Marvel Studios chose to film the third installment of their hit franchise in North Carolina as a result of the state’s film tax incentive, strong crew base and infrastructure, and the amazing facilities at EUE/Screen Gems Studios in Wilmington. The motion picture will be made over a 10-month period and is expected to have an estimated economic impact of more than $80 (approx £51) million and create 550 crew jobs and more than 1,000 talent opportunities - making it the largest feature to date to shoot in North Carolina.
Arthur Newman, Golf Pro
Academy Award winner Colin Firth, along with Golden Globe winner Emily Blunt are shooting scenes in Fairmont for an upcoming film, Arthur Newman, Golf Pro. This is the directorial debut of Dante Ariola, who has won a number of accolades for his work directing commercials for Coca-Cola, Nike, ESPN and other high-profile brands. The film follows Wallace Avery (played by Firth), who has ruined his sole shot at living his dream. Afraid to face his failure, he hatches a plan to stage his death so he can re-create himself and take on a new identity. His plans take a turn when he meets a woman (Blunt) who is trying to escape her past as well.
Hunger Games
Principal photography on the bestselling novel The Hunger Games has wrapped filming in North Carolina. Filmed entirely in the state, the locations spanned from a dense forest in which the arena that hosts the games themselves was created to a town that stood in for the lead character Katniss' home, District 12, to a sound stage that was the platform for the fantastical sights and sounds of The Capitol, the futuristic capital city of the nation of Panem. Principal photography on the 84-day production began on May 23rd. Communities in which the feature shot included Asheville, Barnardsville, Black Mountain, Cedar Mountain, Charlotte, Concord, Hildebran and Shelby. The film is set to be released in March 2012.
Dirty Dancing
From a questionable B-grade movie to an overnight, pop-culture phenomenon transcending generations, North Carolina’s stake in Dirty Dancing is enormous, resulting in droves of visitors to Lake Lure’s gorgeous mountain town every year – many of them looking to recreate the famous ‘lift’ scene. 2012 will be the 25th anniversary of the movie and to celebrate, the annual Dirty Dancing Festival will be back for a third year. Exact dates are to be confirmed, but visitors can expect to watch the movie right by the famous lake, take part in dance lessons and even watermelon carrying competitions.
For further information, visit uk.visitnc.com.