North Carolina is home to production talent, compelling sites for film and infrastructure that frequently fuels industry interest in our state as a film location, said N.C. Commerce Secretary Anthony M. Copeland. With millions in revenue infused in the Wilmington market from these productions, we can undoubtedly call these productions an economic development win for our state.

Swamp Thing is a retelling of the popular DC Comics character this time centering on a young woman reluctantly returning home to the swamp-surrounded town of her youth, and a scientist who is reconstituted as a super-strong extra-human creature made up of environmental elements. The production was filmed in the greater Wilmington area and based out of EUE/Screen Gems Studios. The project, whose pilot also filmed in the state, is eligible for a rebate of up to $12 million through the North Carolina Film and Entertainment Grant. The series is available on the new DC Universe streaming service. DC Universe is a new streaming service by Warner Brothers and DC Entertainment.

Set in 1973, Uncle Frank is an independent feature about an 18-year-old woman and her uncle who road trip to their small, southern hometown for a family funeral. The feature is written and directed by Alan Ball, who returned to North Carolina after previously executive producing the first three seasons of the series Banshee in the state from 2012-2014. Ball is the showrunner for HBOs Six Feet Under and True Blood. The production, shot in Bladen, Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender counties, qualifies for a rebate of up to $1.1 million.

Film inquiries are increasing in North Carolina, and a lot of that has to do with the buzz surrounding these two projects and the continued support and stability of the states grant program, added Guy Gaster, the North Carolina Film Office Director with the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina.

Other productions that have recently had funds awarded include the made-for-television movie When Angels Land, the pilot for a potential streaming series Reprisal, and the feature film Words on Bathroom Walls.

The North Carolina Film and Entertainment Grant provides financial assistance to attract feature film and television productions that will stimulate economic activity and create jobs in the state. Production companies receive no money up front and must meet direct in-state spending requirements to qualify for grant funds. The program is administered by the North Carolina Department of Commerce and promoted by the North Carolina Film Office, part of VisitNC and the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina.