Lights, camera, Charlotte: Two new film and TV productions are set for the area
Five new films and TV series will begin production in North Carolina this year, Gov. Roy Cooper announced Thursday, including two in the Charlotte area.
The projects are receiving grants from the state to encourage production in North Carolina.
Among the productions are a Hallmark TV movie, “To Her With Love,” which was awarded $975,000 from the North Carolina Film and Entertainment Grant to film in Mecklenburg and Rowan counties, according to the governor’s office.
“To Her With Love” focuses on a teacher who is hired to direct her former high school’s arts program.
The teacher hopes to win a grant for a teaching position in London, but her students “win her over” and her plans change after she learns the school board may cut the arts programs’ funding.
Filming for “To Her With Love” took place in downtown Salisbury last week, according to the city’s website. An air date is not yet known.
“AGB and Her Monster,” a feature-length film approved for a $600,000 rebate, will film across the greater Charlotte area.
“AGB and Her Monster” is a modern story inspired by Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” in which a Black teenager creates a monster to fight injustices in her neighborhood, according to the state.
Other films and TV shows in NC
Projects receiving rebates to film in other parts of the state this year include the Amazon Prime Video series “The Summer I Turned Pretty” and the Starz series “Hightown” filming in southeastern North Carolina, and independent film “Providence” filming in Brunswick and New Hannover counties.
About 4,900 temporary jobs will be created statewide thanks to the productions, according to a news release from the governor’s office, and the projects will generate around $107 million in in-state spending.
Guy Gaster, director of the North Carolina Film Office, said in the news release that the new projects will help the state follow up on its work from last year, which saw productions spend over $416 million in North Carolina.
Among those productions was the Lionsgate film “Are You There God? It’s me, Margaret,” starring Oscar winner Kathy Bates and Rachel McAdams, in the Charlotte area.
The film marked a return to North Carolina for Lionsgate, which also filmed “The Hunger Games” in the Charlotte area in 2011 to take advantage of state incentives available at the time.
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Incentives also helped keep productions in North Carolina even amid the COVID pandemic, with several TV and film projects approved to film in-state near the end of 2020.
“We are excited to see the momentum continue with these projects in 2022,” Gaster said. “Our industry continues to grow and we expect 2022 to be another successful year.”
