Wilmington gets new film, state gets new council

WILMINGTON -- With the local film industry in the midst of its busiest year since 2014, Gov. Roy Cooper is looking to harness the momentum for a new statewide initiative.

On Tuesday afternoon, surrounded by local officials and more than 100 film crew members on the EUE/Screen Gems Studios lot on North 23rd Street, Cooper announced the creation of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Film, Television and Digital Streaming.

The council will advocate for the strengthening of the film industry and advise Cooper on the development of strategies to bring more film/TV production to the state.

“This is so important because we know that film is more than red carpets and celebrities,” he said. “It is about the talented crew members, the studios and the local businesses that are all working together -- the backbone of the industry where the jobs are happening. These are the people who make it happen.”

Susi Hamilton, secretary of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and a former Wilmington state representative, will lead the council, with other members including Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo and EUE/Screen Gems Studios Executive Vice President Bill Vassar.

Cooper invited Hamilton, Saffo and other assembled officials, including N.C. State Secretary Elaine Marshall, to join him in signing the executive order officially establishing the council.

Tuesday’s announcement was held on a sound stage filled with locally constructed sets and equipment for Hulu’s upcoming series “Reprisal,” which is wrapping up production on its first season. Following his remarks, the governor toured more sets for the series.

Cooper said a similar state council on the topic of film production was disbanded under the administration of former Gov. Pat McCrory.

Hamilton, a longtime advocate for the film industry, said she is excited to chair the “reinvigorated” council at a time when streaming services and production demands are changing the film industry.

"North Carolina is uniquely positioned to take advantage of these shifts to welcome new industry voices and be a force of film production into the future,” Hamilton said. “We have what it takes to be an incredible state partner for the film industry.”

Following Hamilton’s remarks, Sabrina Davis, the owner of Port City Signs and Graphics and a member of the Wilmington Regional Film Commission, spoke about the benefits of the local film industry for her business.

“An investment in the film industry is not an investment in the Wilmington area or the Asheville area or any of the other popular shoot locations, it is an investment in North Carolina and the small businesses here,” she said.

In the audience for the announcement was “Dawson’s Creek” creator Kevin Williamson, who is back in town producing a new horror film starring Oscar winner Russell Crowe. The project is shooting under the working title “The Georgetown Project.”

The Governor’s Council comes as Wilmington is enjoying a string of projects in 2019, including features films like the Jamie Lee Curtis-led “Halloween Kills,” and series like the aforementioned “Reprisal” and DC Universe’s “Swamp Thing.”

The film industry has seen the rumblings of a resurgence in recent months as the state shakes off several years of slow business thanks to changes in the state’s grant program and controversial legislation like House Bill 2.

Currently, the state’s film grant program has $31 million in annual funding.

Reporter Hunter Ingram can be reached at 910-343-2327 or Hunter.Ingram@StarNewsOnline.com.