Filming for an indie movie starring an Oscar winner gets underway in Charlotte
The Charlotte area will be the backdrop for another feature film, and production already is underway.
The North Carolina Department of Commerce awarded a $1.75 million grant for “Mother Couch!,” an independent feature film, according to a news release from the agency. It’s the latest film production grants awarded to film in the Charlotte region.
In July, five films, including two in the Charlotte area, were awarded about $15 million in grants, which was followed in August with three more projects awarded millions in grants to film in Charlotte, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.
In August, performers who appeared in “Please Don’t Destroy” skits on “Saturday Night Live” filmed a comedy for Universal Studios. CharlotteFive reported Ben Marshall, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy were seen roller skating at North Davidson and 36th streets.
Also in August, crews began filming a rom-com in the Commonwealth/Plaza Midwood area, featuring writer and lead actress Karen Abecrombie, known for Christian genre movies like “War Room” and “Discarded Things.”
The productions provide job opportunities to North Carolina’s film crew workers, and contributes spending in local communities, state Commerce Secretary Machelle Baker Sanders said in a statement.
Along with “Mother Couch!,” $5.75 million was awarded to “The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat” being filmed in New Hanover County. It’s a feature movie adaption of the novel by Edward Kelsey Moore about three friends weathering life’s storms together.
Combined, “Mother Couch!” and “The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat” are expected to generate in-state spending of $30 million and create more than 1,500 temporary jobs, the Department of Commerce said.
About the indie film
“Mother Couch!” is a story of how three estranged children are brought together trying to figure out why their mother sits on a green couch inside a local furniture store and refuses to leave.
Filming on the production is underway for the dark comedy in the Charlotte region through Nov. 22, according to the Southern Casting Call website, which posted a notice for people interested in working as extras in the film.
Starring in the film being directed by Niclas Larsson and produced by Scooter Braun are Taylor Russell, Ewan McGregor and Oscar winner Ellen Burstyn, according to the Above The Line entertainment website.
Burstyn won an Oscar in 1974 for best actress in Martin Scorsese’s “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.” And McGregor has played Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars movies and on the Disney+ TV series.
No other details about the film were available Monday.
Film and TV projects in NC
There have been several other North Carolina productions this year.
That list includes: “A Little Prayer” and “A Song for Imogene,” several national commercials, local projects, and reality series such as “Love is Blind,” according to the Department of Commerce.
Charlotte also set the stage for “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” which Jessica Chastain won the Best Actress Oscar role for in March.
The story, which is based on the rise and fall of televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, creators of the largest religious broadcasting network (The PTL Club) of the 1970s and ‘80s.
TV and streaming projects announced last year in North Carolina include: “George and Tammy,” “Hightown” Season 3, “Welcome To Flatch” Season 2, and “The Summer I Turned Pretty” Season 2; the made for TV movie “To Her With Love;” and the feature-length films “Something Here,” “The Other Zoey,” ”Providence,” “ABG and Her Monster,” “Site,” the “Untitled Please Don’t Destroy” project, and “Eric Larue.”
Altogether, film-related production spending in North Carolina adds up to more than $241 million and creates more than 13,000 temporary jobs this year, according to the Department of Commerce.
This story was originally published October 25, 2022 at 5:40 AM with the headline "Filming for an indie movie starring an Oscar winner gets underway in Charlotte."