Film productions line up for Wilmington as 2021 looks to be action packed

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Our area has been known as “Hollywood East” for years now, and lately the action is bigger than it has been in ages. 

“The interest is just extremely strong right now,” Wilmington Film Commission director Johnny Griffin said.

After several years of decline, the Wilmington film industry is back in a big way. Four movies are currently being shot around the Cape Fear, with more being planned.

“Every production that comes in, more projects find out about it, more people hear about it,” Griffin continued. “Wilmington is in the news more and more, so people start to hear about projects that are taking place here. So then they start to look at us. Right now we don’t see it slowing down anytime soon.”

Production is taking a bit longer on each project due to the COVID precautions. But Griffin says they’ve quickly learned to adapt.

“Earlier this year we started off with several projects in town,” Griffin added. “Then COVID hit, and all our productions shut down. But they were able to figure out how to come back and how to work. So they’ve come back here strong.”

Griffin says the industry has come back so strong they’ve had to adjust on the fly.

“We’re starting to have some issues with the amount of crew that we have, the amount of space that we have,” Griffin said. “But those are good problems for us to have. Good problems for us to work on to solve. So we’re excited about the opportunities and hope to see the business continue in a strong fashion for months to come.”

Griffin isn’t the only local film worker who’s excited to see the filming boom. Cucalorus Film director Dan Brawley is also optimistic for the months to come.

“The film industry’s impact on Wilmington spans more than thirty years,” Brawley stated. “I think every part of life in this community has been touched in some way.”

Brawley feels the projects currently in the Cape Fear are very important in helping the area recover from economic pandemic impacts.

“The film industry is going to play a pivotal role in the recovery process,” Brawley continued. “So if we continue to attract feature film production, and even independent production to Wilmington, that’s going to boost our entire economic recovery over the next several years.”