Brewing growth
Panacea offers kombucha and vegan menu Page 19
October 2 - 15, 2020 Vol. 21, No. 19
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wilmingtonbiz.com
WEB EXCLUSIVE Flying higher
ILM’s numbers still down but improving wilmingtonbiz.com
Hospital sale
NHRMC vote coming up Page 4
Supporting business
DBA helps boost downtown Page 11
PHOTO BY MICHAEL CLINE SPENCER
Index
Festive filming: Crews film the Hallmark movie USS Christmas in downtown Wilmington in September.
Health Care ........................................4-5
REELING THEM IN
The List .................................................. 6 Banking & Finance ................................ 7 Economic Development.......................8-9 In Profile...............................................11 Real Estate .................................... 14-15 Business of Life.............................. 22-23
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CAMERAS ROLLING AS MOVIE, TV PRODUCTIONS PICK THE PORT CITY
BY JENNY CALLISON t was Christmas in September in Wilmington this year, as a production crew dusted several locations with “snow” for the proper seasonal backdrop to a Hallmark movie called USS Christmas. That Christmas-in-September theme played out on a broader scale as well. In addition to the Hallmark movie, down the chimney came announcements from film officials that one feature film and one streaming TV series were setting up on the EUE/Screen Gems lot in preparation for production this fall. Feature film Scream 5, referred to as “Parkside” by its studio, has been setting up at EUE/Screen Gems and has been approved for a state film and entertainment grant rebate of up to $7 million, according to a Sept. 15 announcement from Gov. Roy Cooper. His announcement also stated
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Wilmington will see production of the second season of Hightown, a STARZ series from Lionsgate Television and Jerry Bruckheimer Television. That project, Cooper noted, has been approved for a grant rebate of up to $12 million. Officials are optimistic that more projects will follow – possibly before the end of this year. “We expect to see a steady stream of work here and fully expect to have another production arrive before the end of the year, with others lining up for next year,” said Johnny Griffin, director of the Wilmington Regional Film Commission. Noting that 2019 was a “great year for us” and that 2020 started out strong until COVID-19 concerns shut down film production nationwide, Griffin said that all the elements that make Wilmington an attractive shooting destination are
See REELING, page 10