Governor stole spotlight on new movie announcement

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Gov. Bev Perdue’s office first announced last night “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” will film in Wilmington. We wanted to know why the local film commission did not step in and make the announcement before the Governor.

Wilmington Regional Film Commission director Johnny Griffin said the state and the film commission were both working closely with the producers of the film, but it just happened that the Governor’s office found out first that the deal was final.

“The Governor’s office, it’s kind of a little bit easier for them to get the attention of the studio when it’s the governor who’s wanting to make an announcement and put pressure on them to try and get that information,” Griffin said.

Griffin said the film commission found out about the final decision around 5:30 p.m. Monday. That’s about a half hour after the Governor’s office sent out a news release.