By Krys Estes
Intern
The North Carolina Department of Commerce has awarded a Wilmington-based television production with grant money that state film officials said will help keep the Wilmywood industry thriving.
The grant funding for three productions, including Wilmington-based drama “Good Behavior” produced by the TNT network, come as the North Carolina General Assembly renewed its film grant program for two years.
However, the $1.25 million grant for “Good Behavior” isn’t part of the new funding cycle and was awarded from the $40 million film grant program that expired this year.
In its place is a new $30 million program that Gov. Pat McCrory approved last Friday when he signed the two-year state budget.
The announcement comes as the local Wilmington film industry seeks to recover after the CBS drama “Under the Dome” was cancelled in August, leaving the city with no active film or television productions.
“Anytime a production is here, it is good for the local industry. They will provide jobs and spend money with local small businesses,” said Johnny Griffin, director of the Wilmington Regional Film Commission.
Griffin said the renewal of the film grant program, which will provide $60 million in total film grants over the next two years, will help rejuvenate efforts to draw productions to the region.
“We certainly expect an increase in production over the next two years as a result of this,” Griffin said.
With the final round of funding from the 2015 budget cycle, the commerce department awarded $5 million in grants to help bring three productions to the state, including “Good Behavior.” The others include “Love It or List It” and an untitled project from writer/producer Jody Hill, which are scheduled to film in Raleigh and western North Carolina.
These three projects, along with the recently wrapped “Under the Dome,” combined to have a direct in-state spending of more than $60 million. Last year, Wilmington had $175 million in film-related business, more than one-half of the state’s $300 million film production economy.
“We are excited about these new projects and look forward to providing job opportunities to our state’s film professionals as well as opportunities for talent within the state,” said Guy Gaster, the director of the North Carolina Film Office within the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. “These projects will continue a long tradition of excellence in filmmaking in our state.”
“Good Behavior” is scheduled to air on TNT and will star “Downton Abbey’s” Michelle Dockery. The television series is now hiring crew members to work on the show and casting for extras has not yet been announced.
A news release from the N.C. Film Office states “Good Behavior” is based on author Blake Crouch’s best-selling Letty Dobesh series. Fresh out of prison, Letty [Dockery] is attempting to stay afloat, but when she overhears a hit man being hired to kill a man’s wife, she sets out to derail the job, putting her on a collision course with the killer and entangling them in a dangerous and seductive relationship.
The pilot is schedule to film in the first week of October in locations around Wilmington. While it is produced by the TNT network, it says decisions about whether to air the program haven’t been made.
