 | wnc business & community directory |
|
This is an archived page that may contain outdated or incorrect information. Please visit www.Asheville.com for the latest news, events, and more.
Nearly nine months of intense pre-strike production activity is yielding a bumper crop of big-budget November studio releases filmed in North Carolina. On the slate for pre-Thanksgiving release are the Farrelly Bros. "Shallow Hal," with Gwyneth Paltrow, and the Martin Lawrence medieval comedy, "The Black Knight," both from 20th Century Fox. Paramount's John Travolta thriller "Domestic Disturbance" (seen in top photo) rounds out the field of North Carolina-hosted holiday offerings from Hollywood.North Carolina attracted near record levels of production in the months before anticipated strikes by the Writers and Screen Actors Guilds threatened to virtually shut down the industry. Despite a nationwide production slowdown in the wake of the averted strikes, North Carolina Film Commission Director Bill Arnold predicts the state will see a return to pre-strike levels of filming activity in the near future. North Carolina, the Number 3-ranked filmmaking state in the country, remains "one of the most popular and cost efficient places to shoot in the nation," said Arnold.
Blue Ridge Motion Pictures, Asheville's latest addition to an already booming local film industry, is set to open its doors for business in January 2002. When completed, Blue Ridge Motion Pictures will offer the largest soundstage on the East Coast, with a 176,000-square-foot building and 40 acres surrounding it. In addition to the huge soundstage, the Asheville facility will provide full production services, including a 40-foot New York backlot, editorial facilities, grip and lighting rentals, animation studio, and facilities to accommodate set design, wardrobe, and other necessities of the film industry. (Bottom photo provided by Blue Ridge Motion Pictures.)
|
Other much anticipated North Carolina-based studio productions set for release early next year include Warner Bros. "A Walk to Remember," from the Nicholas Sparks novel, and "The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood," starring Ellen Burstyn, Ashley Judd, Maggie Smith and James Garner.