“Under the Dome” resumes filming in Wilmington this week.
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Lauren K. Ohnesorge
Staff Writer- Triangle Business Journal
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Under the Dome, a CBS show in its third season, resumes filming in the Wilmington area this week.
It’s expected to receive up to $5 million of the $10 million allocated for N.C. film projects under the state’s new grant program — though the N.C. Film Commission hasn’t officially released a list of which projects will get the cash.
Grant applications started being doled out in late January, meaning it could still take time for other projects to come on board.
“To have Under the Dome back here again is a great thing,” Wilmington Regional Film Commissioner Johnny Griffin says, adding that the show typically spends between $32 million and $35 million from February pre-production until the August wrap. “It’s a good seven-month run, which is nice to have in this industry.”
Guy Gaster, director of the N.C. Film Office, says it is expected that the show will continue that spending streak this year.
Cindy Brochure, director of tourism and economic development for the city of Southport, where the Under the Dome pilot was filmed, says economic impact is bigger than just production dollars.
“We’re starting to pick up fans of Stephen King and visitors are coming here because of Under the Dome,” she says, noting that an exhibit at the Southport Museum at Fort Johnston even has an exhibit on the show.
While a spokesman within Wilmington’s EUE/Screen Gems Studios — where Under the Dome is produced — says the office is still “fielding questions” from potential projects, nothing new has signed on.
And, though it’s only March, that’s a concern for Griffin. He just returned from a trade show in Los Angeles where he says he was inundated with the “sorries.”
Lauren Ohnesorge covers information technology and entrepreneurship.
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