Film crews descend on Charlotte — what is being filmed on Commonwealth Avenue?
If you were driving by Moxie Mercantile on Commonwealth Avenue on Monday, you probably noticed something a little bit out of the ordinary: film crews.
Naturally, I had to check out the scene. The crew was filming a small, independent romantic comedy set to premier around Valentine’s Day. Most of the crew is from the Charlotte area, location scout Wende Whitus told me.
More productions are looking to shoot in the Charlotte area. Universal studios recently shot in Crowders Mountain for an upcoming project with Ben Marshall, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy from SNL’s “Please Don’t Destroy.”
“Productions continue to be drawn to the states highly skilled film workforce, its well-established infrastructure, quality, and variety of locations, and the 25% rebate offered through the bi-partisan approved North Carolina Film and Entertainment Grant,” the North Carolina Film Office said regarding the increase in film production in North Carolina.
[READ MORE: Lights, camera, Charlotte: Two new film and TV productions are set for the area]
Writer and lead actress Karen Abecrombie is well-known in the Christian movie genre, having written and starred in numerous works like the 2015 film “War Room” and the 2020 movie “Discarded Things.”
Abecrombie will be joined by leading man Leon Pridgeon in the unnamed movie under way in Charlotte. “It’s great to get out of your own bed and not a hotel, and then just come to work,” Pridgeon told me.
The film crews kept the name of the movie under wraps. “It’s a working title right now,” Whitus said.
Along with being set in Charlotte, the film will focus on something rather unconventional in rom-coms: older love. “We don’t see a lot of older couples falling in love again,” Abecrombie said.
This is a growing trend in romantic comedies like the 2019 Netflix rom-com “Always Be My Maybe” and the 2020 film “Supernova.”
The film is working on a small budget under $1 million and a tight schedule of 15 days. The crew plans to film eight to 10 scenes per day, Whitus said. Expect to see more of the crew around the city.
This story was originally published July 19, 2022 at 6:05 AM.
