Chances are, if you have lived in Wilmington, or even thought of living in Wilmington, you are already aware of the many attributes it holds. Beautiful white sandy beaches, adorable riverfront, and close proximity to practically anything your heart could desire, Wilmington is the perfect small town with everything! What you may not know is that Wilmington is the 2nd largest film studio in North America (next to California!).
EUE Screengems is located in the heart of Wilmington and is home to one of the largest underwater filming tanks! Most people know by now that Wilmington is the home to the infamous “Dawson’s Creek” and “One Tree Hill”, but many are unaware of some of the big name films Wilmington has held a part in. Ever heard of a little movie called Sleeping with the Enemy, starring Julia Roberts? I personally remember driving to the North end of Wrightsville beach past Shell Island and watching them build the big glass house that the couple lived in at the beginning of the movie. That was actually long before the inlet was there of course! They built it and tore it down just as fast as it went up. Quite a remarkable sight!
What about the newly released Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, starring none other than Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. I was told by a crew member, the movie was filmed entirely in Wilmington minus a handful of scenes. Pretty crazy when you think the entire thing was filmed on some tropical island, but I learned it all came from “green screen” magic.
There are a whole slew of films that Wilmington has played a part in. Silver Bullet, Firestarter, Maximum Overdrive, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Lemony Snicket’s a Series of Unfortunate Events, Message in a Bottle, Weekend at Bernie’s, just to name a few. And if you ask most residents, they probably all have their “star struck” moments where they met a celebrity or got to see a film crew somewhere. I personally saw James Van Der Beek in Port City Chop House while having dinner! Not to mention one of my more exciting run-ins was with Kelly McGillis (you know, from Top Gun) at the Blue Water Grill at Wrightsville Beach. Oh! And my favorite was when Alec Baldwin and Kim Bassinger were still married; they were a few doors down from my Mother’s home in Bayshore Estates having dinner with a childhood friend! Now THAT is big!
I have to admit, I was thrilled to learn that Iron Man 3 was coming to Wilmington. There have already been tons of celebrity citings of Robert Downy Jr. I am hoping to be one of those people. And word has it that Gwyneth Paltrow will be in and out of town as well. The film is set to release in May 2013 and has employed many Wilmington Residents as “extras”.
So all of this to say…Wilmington has loads of small town charm, but with a twist of Big City Attributes! If you want to know more of why I LOVE living in Wilmington or if you are interested in living here, feel free to email me at Tonya@BlueCoastRealEstate.com.