As Wilmington awaits its close-up for another world-class movie production, area film officials are bullish on the city’s future in film.

Johnny Griffin, director of the Wilmington Regional Film Commission, Inc., said word is spreading about the Port City’s filming infrastructure, natural beauty and highly-skilled workforce after landing “Iron Man 3,” what some are calling the biggest film catch in the Port City since “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.”

“When we meet with filming executives in [Los Angeles] they all know about Wilmington and the resources our city can provide for their production,” Griffin said.

“I think our filming future looks great.”

Wilmington officials are still star-struck over landing the state’s largest film production ever.

“Iron Man 3” is expected to pump and estimated $80 million-plus into the local economy, and more than $300 million statewide. The movie production will also put more than 500 people to work during the movie’s nine-month filming duration in Wilmington.

“It was a huge validation of the all the work that has been completed to make Wilmington a film destination,” Griffin said of the “Iron Man 3” announcement last month.

“This community has what many productions are looking for in regards to highly trained lighting and sound crews, hair and makeup artists, trained technicians and equipment necessary to complete any kind of filming.”

Location, location, location

Housing one of the nation’s largest television and movie production facilities outside of California is always a major plus.

EUE/Screen Gems Studios — which owns and operates television and movie production studios in Wilmington, New York and Atlanta — recently completed work on “Dream Stage 10,” the facility’s newest sound stage, and the third largest in the U.S. It also houses the largest special-effects water tank in North America.

Griffin said Screen Gems has been pivotal in helping land major film and television series, and expects that trend to continue for years to come because of the company’s investment in Wilmington.

“It’s a unique asset to have in a small community like ours,” Griffin said of Screen Gems.

He added that when a film production comes to town, it recruits businesses that do not directly ­­support the film industry.

He said “Iron Man 3” has the potential to put many people to work.

“Everyone from caterers, hair and makeup artists and lighting and grip equipment crews are going to be used in production,” Griffin said.

“And they have experience from other productions to how to complete any task necessary to make the film, and the production’s experience, positive.”

If also helps to live in a relatively mild climate, with quick access to different landscapes if needed.

“I tell producers that if they need an urban shot, we have downtown,” Griffin said.

“If they need to shoot in the countryside, or on the beach, it’s a 15 to 20 minute drive . . . those are points that many of the producers like to hear . . . it makes Wilmington an easy sell.”

Film incentives

Griffin said while Wilmington’s film workforce and access to a large-scale studio played a major role in landing “Iron Man 3,” North Carolina’s film incentive put in a strong supporting performance.

“It’s competitive,” Griffin said of the incentive. “But do other states do it better, yes.”

North Carolina’s film tax incentive reimburses production companies 25 percent of the total dollars spent on filming in the state, with a cap set at $20 million.

“The beauty of the tax credit is that everybody gets it,” Griffin said. “Our clients said ‘Keep it simple,’ and this is a straightforward tax incentive.”

But other picturesque southern states — Louisiana and Georgia — have revamped their incentives to be more competitive with North Carolina, which has placed the Tar Heel state at somewhat of a disadvantage if productions are looking to recoup more of their costs through incentives.

Georgia and Louisiana each offer a 30 percent tax break on total costs associated with a production, according to their respective film offices. That means a $100 million production shot in the Peach and Bayou states would net a production $30 million in incentive money, versus $20 million in North Carolina.

“Georgia and Louisiana are our biggest competition when it comes to film tax incentives,” Griffin said.

“It really depends on the production company. If they are looking at the incentive, then Georgia or Louisiana becomes more advantageous than North Carolina. If they are looking for an experienced workforce in film, and a studio that can accommodate their needs, then, like “Iron Man 3,” they typicallylook at our state.”

Even before North Carolina legislators began implementing the tax incentive in January, Wilmington has been a hotbed of film production.

Some of Wilmington’s biggest budget feature films were “Virus” (1995), which had an estimated budget of $75 million and “Domestic Disturbance” (2001), which had a budget of about $53 million, according to the Internet Movie Database.

However, the independent feature film, “Bolden!” (2011), also had a large budget. Although it was not affiliated with a studio, it hired several carpenters to build a New Orleans cityscape in the EUE Screen Gems studio soundstages, used hundreds of extras and returned to shoot extra scenes last year.

Griffin said there is not a local push to change North Carolina’s film incentive at this time, especially given the budget climate in Raleigh.

“This was the first year that the incentives were in place, and they were very successful and worked for us,” Griffin said.
“I think we don’t want to get too greedy.”

Eyes on Savannah

Wilmington may call itself the East Coast Hollywood, but another southern port city is looking to challenge that title in the coming years.

Savannah, Ga., officials recently announced they are seriously considering the construction of a large film studio.

Steve Weathers, president and CEO of the Savannah Economic Development Authority, said the city is going after private investors to land a large film studio; however, would not specify which film companies or investors are interested in the project.

It’s unclear whether EUE Screen Gems Studios is considering Savannah; however, Tyler Perry — a well-known playwright and actor who established his own film studio in Atlanta four years ago — has expressed some interest in expanding into Savannah, according to reports.

“This is a long-term goal,” Weathers said.

“The project is being privately driven, but we are taking steps now to make getting a large film studio established in the city sooner rather than much later.”

Savannah shares many similarities with Wilmington.

Both are coastal cities, have quick access to major cities, and are aesthetically and historically charming. But it’s the workforce the two southern port cities possess that make them attractive to film makers.

“One of the interesting things about Savannah is that we have one of the highest concentrations of experienced digital animation engineers in the country,” Weathers said.

“With that said, we had to figure out a way to tap into that workforce, and create more jobs for Savannah . . . constructing a large film studio is what we found is needed for our area.”

‘Open for business’

Griffin said landing “Iron Man 3” doesn’t mean Wilmington cannot sustain additional, large-budget films during the Marvel Comic’s production.

“We want to let people know that we are still open for business,” Griffin said. “There is space at Screen Gems for additional productions, we also have plenty of crews that are skilled and ready to go to work.” Griffin added that the film industry continues to provide stability for many workers here.

“Our community understands the filming industry, and that has helped keep many film production workers employed when films like ‘Iron Man 3’ set up production in our city,” he said.

As long as there is continued vision among business, city and community leaders, Wilmington will see success in the film industry.

“We have a proven record of success,” Griffin said. “I think that alone is going to be a draw for the region.”