Wilmington Economic Profile
The Film Industry
The Wilmington Regional Film Commission, located on the EUE/Screen Gems Studios lot, facilitates on-location filmmaking in the Cape Fear region. With the largest film studio facility outside of Los Angeles, Wilmington consistently ranks as one of the top filmmaking locations in the nation. Adding to its viability for film projects, the studio has two special effect water tank sound stages. In fact, Stage 10 of the studios is the third largest stage in North America and is home to a 283,000-gallon water tank, up to 20 feet deep with a width that can extend to 75 x 75.
Since the industry's beginning in 1983, filmmaking activities in the Port City include more than 300 feature film, television series, movie-of-the-week and mini-series productions. Nine television series - Matlock, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, The Road Home, American Gothic, Dawson's Creek, One Tree Hill, Surface, Little Britain USA, and Eastbound and Down - have filmed here, and numerous music videos, television commercials, and still photography shoots have utilized the area's amenities. Filmmakers have access to a broad base of local talent and professional film crews along with the facilities at Screen Gems Studios and, of course, fabulous natural scenery.
Feature films and television movies made in the Wilmington area include Lolita, Billy Bathgate, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Domestic Disturbance, The Hudsucker Proxy, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Betsy's Wedding, The Runaway, 28 Days, Black Knight, Muppets From Space, Rambling Rose, Year of the Dragon, Elmo In Grouchland, The Jackal, Maximum Overdrive, Silver Bullet, Blue Velvet, Firestarter, Sleeping With the Enemy and Weekend at Bernie's. Several recent movies were filmed in the Wilmington area, including The Secret Lives of Bees,Nights in Rodanthe and Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever. Current productions include Safe Haven and the latest installment of the Iron Man series.
Commercials filmed here include local, regional, and national companies such as SunCom, Nautica, American Express, National Geographic, Mattel, Smithfield Farms, the New York Ballet, J. Crew, Kodak, Harley Davidson, Rolling Stone magazine, McDonald's, RJ Reynolds, and Wachovia Bank.
EUE/Screen Gems Studios offers many amenities to film and television production companies. The studio's lot features 10 stages, post-production services, more than 20,000 square feet of production office space, a 40-seat screening room, editing suites, sound transfer services, lighting and grip equipment rental, set construction shops and much more. In addition to the studios, production companies discover a wealth of experienced film crew professionals here. Wilmington Regional Film Commission Director Johnny Griffin estimates that number at 650 in the greater Wilmington region.