Wilmington- Most people know Wilmington’s official nickname as the Port City, but there’s another term that is frequently used. We like to call our town Hollywood East.
That phrase comes from the city’s rich history of being the location for several film and television productions. Major motion pictures like Tammy, Iron Man 3, We’re the Millers, The Hudsucker Proxy, Billy Bathgate and Steven King’s Fire Starter have been completely or partially shot here. Television shows like Dawson’s Creek, One Tree Hill, George and Tammy and Under the Dome have also called Wilmington home shooting at familiar locations around town and at the Screen Gems Studios on 23rd Street.
And now what started in Wilmington is spreading all over North Carolina.
According to numbers released last month by NC Department of Commerce office, the entertainment industry brought in more than $258 million from a total of 74 productions that filmed throughout the Tar Heel state in 2022. That number has steadily increased since the state started offering incentives to support the film industry in the early part of this century.
“North Carolina continues to attract great film, television, and streaming projects that bring good jobs to our state,” said Governor Roy Cooper.”Last year, these projects helped create 16,000 job opportunities, including 3,000 crew and talent positions for our state’s highly skilled production workforce.”
While that is huge news for the state’s economy, it’s also a boom for real estate investors who own short term rental properties. Simply put, only a portion of the crews who are hired live in this area. Many others are brought in from California, New York as well as other areas. And when they come to North Carolina, to Wilmington specifically, they need a place to stay.
“If you’ve lived here for any length of time you know someone who is cashing in on this boom,” said Scott Saxton of Just For Buyers Realty. “I have a friend who decided to convert a portion of their home near downtown to a short term rental. It’s helped pay the mortgage.”
And the news may be getting even brighter.
Under the current state statues productions that qualify for a financial rebate must spend an average of at least $500,000 per episode for a television series, while a feature-length film must spend at least $1.5 million. But a new bill that has been introduced in the state legislature would drastically reduce the amount for movies, and significantly increase the rebates for television shows in the hopes of attracting even more business.
House bill 301 would require feature films to only spend $500,000 on productions in the state. While television shows, that can now get a rebate on 25% of all money spent in North Carolina, would qualify for a 35% rebate if the legislation passes.
“The money that came in last year is hardly a wrap,” said Saxton. “The entertainment industry loves Wilmington and is falling more and more in love with the entire state. This is creating opportunities for small businesses and real estate investors. It is no longer the case that short term rental properties have to be at the beach. There’s a lot of action in other areas including downtown Wilmington and throughout the Cape Fear region.”