• End of Year Projections Show Production In-State Spending to Top $200M, over 26,000 jobs
• NC-filmed Homeland Receiving Award Show Nominations
• Final Two Projects Wrap Successful 2011
• Piedmont Triad Film Commission Intros New Promotional Video
• Major NC-filmed Motion Pictures Unveil New Trailers
• Three State Film Festivals Receive National Grants
• Greetings of the Season from the NCFO
• Quick Cuts & Did You Know

End of Year Projections Show Production In-State Spending to Top $220M, 28,000 jobs

2011 will go down as the most successful year for North Carolina in its history within the film industry. Final estimates show that a total of 38 productions registered with the NC Film Office, creating 3,300 crew positions and in excess of 25,500 talent and background extra opportunities in the state. While 2011 has indeed been a banner year, 2012 is shaping up to exceed the milestones reached in 2011. To read more about this years productions and their impact, click here.

NC-filmed Homeland Receives Award Nomincations, Honors

Showtimes freshman series Homeland is wasting no time gaining notoriety among viewers and critics alike. The show recorded the most viewers for a series debut on the network in eight years and has maintained viewership of over one million for each of its episodes. The past two weeks have shown that the critics also are big fans of the Charlotte-filmed series as it was named one of the ten best television series in 2011 by the American Film Institute and received three Writers Guild of America nominations. Most recently, the series received three Golden Globe nominationsbest series-drama as well as best actor and actress in a series. Click here to read more about the nominations and the impact the series is making in the state.

Final Two Projects To Wrap Successful 2011

The final two projects of 2011 are close to wrapping. The TNT made-for-TV movie Hornets Nest, which has provided an estimated 150 crew positions, 400 talent and background extra opportunities and a direct spend of over $3.8 million, is scheduled to finish shooting in Wilmington on the 24th. The made-for-TV movie is scheduled to air in the Spring as part of the networks new Mystery Movie Night. Meanwhile in the Charlotte Region, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition just finished filming their 2012 Christmas special in Lincolnton as the move that bus ceremony took place on Saturday the 17th. The episode will air next December and has had an estimated direct spend of $850,000. To read more about Hornets Nest, click here, and for more on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, click here.

Piedmont Triad Film Commission Intros New Promotional Video

Last month the Piedmont Triad Film Commission unveiled their new promotional video that will be shown to producers, directors and location scouts in an effort to bring projects to the region. The video is the culmination of a contest held by the film commission in which local filmmakers were encouraged to submit shorts to help showcase the region. The contest, which awarded a $5,000 contract to produce the 3-minute promotional video, was made possible by an economic development grant from the DataMax Foundation of Winston-Salem. Filmmakers Clay and Tiffany Hassler of Winston-Salem won the contest and produced the video, which can be seen by clicking here.

Major NC-filmed Motion Pictures Unveil New Trailers

The holiday season is a popular time to hit the theatres and two major motion pictures that filmed in North Carolina will have new trailers playing for audiences this season. Click here to see the preview for JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND, which filmed at the start of this year in the Wilmington Region (as well as Hawaii) and stars Dwayne Johnson, Josh Hutcherson, Vanessa Hudgens and Michael Caine. The feature will be in theatres in February. Hutcherson is also featured in the other preview, along with Jennifer Hudson and Liam Hemsworth as the three leading characters for the highly anticipated feature THE HUNGER GAMES. Filmed in the Western NC and Charlotte Regions, the preview, which can be seen by clicking here, showcases the states vast variety of locations as well as the all-star cast who join the leading characters. The feature hits theatres in March.

Three State Film Festivals Receive National Grants

Wilmingtons Cucalorus, Winston-Salems RiverRun International and Durhams Full Frame Documentary film festivals all recently received word that they have been awarded grants by both the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) as well as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. Total, the three film festivals received $100,000 combined from the two organizations for their annual festivals, events, and outreach. In addition to the film festival, The Light Factory in Charlotte also received a $10,000 grant from the NEA.

Greetings of the Season from the NCFO

As is evident by the first story in this edition of 180, 2011 has been a very good year for the film industry in North Carolina. This would not be possible without the help of so many individualsfrom our states elected officials to our talented crew base, the regional film offices and local CVBs to the numerous supporters of the industry. The North Carolina Film Office would like to once again say thank you for helping make this year so successful. As we gather with our families for the holidays, we wish you and yours a safe, happy, and in keeping with our marketing campaign-RELAXING holiday season. Thanks again for all of your support and heres to an even more success in 2012!

Quick cuts.

The 9th and final season of the Wilmington Region-filmed television series One Tree Hill premieres January 5 on the CW NetworkUNCSA recently hosted Academy Award winning actress Estelle Parsons (BONNIE & CLYDE, RACHEL, RACHEL, Roseanne), who met with drama and filmmaking students at the schoolthe History Channels hit show, American Pickers, recently visited Brunswick County.Raleigh native Evan Rachel Wood received her second Golden Globe nomination, this time for Best Supporting Actress in a Mini-Series for her role in Mildred PierceWilmingtons Rob Hill of Common Sense Films received a regional Emmy nomination for his work on the documentary Battleship North Carolina: The Showboat Legacy

Did You Know.

There are 150 crew listings within the GRIP categories in the NC FilmOffice Resource Directorywonder what some of their holiday lights look like.