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Filmmaking In Gaston County

Gaston County has connections to many movies made for theaters and television in recent years.

Tom Hanks’ hit movie "Cast Away" features primitive tools such as an ice-skate ax, a coconut canteen and stone flakes conceived by Steve Watts of Gastonia’s Schiele Museum. Steve, an expert in primitive tools and artifacts, also coached screenwriter Bill Broyles on survival skills which he later incorporated into the "Cast Away" script. Visitors can see samples of the primitive tools Hanks used in a special exhibit at the Schiele.

The former Gastonia Central Elementary School was used for filming the CBS miniseries "Shake, Rattle & Roll" and for "The Last Brickmaker in America" starring Sidney Poitier.

In addition to "Shake, Rattle & Roll" classroom scenes, interiors of the building were made to look like an old office for Sun Records and a music studio. The film follows a high school rock band through the late ‘50’s and early ‘60’s.

For "The Last Brickmaker," 19 of 21 shooting days were in various Gaston County locations. This telefilm for CBS tells the story of a man who still makes bricks by hand.

Other movies filmed wholly or partly in Gaston County in recent years include:

Shallow Hal–This recent 20th Century Fox feature film is a comedy about a shallow man who is hypnotized to see women’s inner instead of outer beauty. The project stars Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black and is directed by Peter and Bobby Farrelly .

Hide, Wide and Handsome-is the tentative title for a new movie with Will Ferrell in a role as a NASCAR driver.  Filming took place at Gaston County locations.  Crews commandeered church buildings and closed one downtown street while drawing fans and onlookers.

Body Count–Filmed in the winter of 1996/1997, this film aired on Showtime in 1998. Starring Ving Rhames, Forrest Whitaker, Linda Fiorentino, David Caruso, and John Leguizamo, the film follows a group of thiefs who travel through the south after a botched robbery.

Saint Maybe–This Hallmark Hall of Fame movie starred Blythe Danner and Edward Hermann and was filmed in 1997. Taken from the Anne Tyler novel, the story tells of a lonely teen (Thomas McCarthy) troubled by a past family tragedy who is suspicious of his sister-in-law (Mary-Louise Parker).

The Rage: Carrie II– The sequel to the horror classic Carrie, The Rage was shot almost entirely at North Gaston High School in 1998. The film starred Emily Bergl, Jason London, and Amy Irving and tells the story of another girl who, unbeknownst to her, has the original Carrie’s psychic powers.

Having Our Say–This movie of the week appeared on CBS. It was filmed the winter of 1998/1999. Stars included Ruby Dee, Diahann Carroll and Amy Madigan. The film told the life story of the Delany sisters, African-American sisters who both lived past the age of 100. One became a teacher and the other a dentist.

Lullaby– Local filmmaker Dorne Pentes shot this film in 1999 about a single mother raising her newborn child. The movie tells the story of a Rane and Diesel, a young southern couple. The film stars Liza Weil, Clea Scott and Sean Bridgers with music by the Backsliders and The Two Dollar Pistols.

Gaston Filmmakers Premier Feature Film,"Whisper" Gaston County was the backdrop for a new independent film, "Whisper," by local filmmakers Brad and Andi Ambrose, premiering November 15, 2002, in Charlotte. The Hitchcockian drama about a married couple on the rocks was made with the help of more than 350 local actors, artists, musicians and other talent. It is the first full-length feature for the Ambroses, who garnered an honorable mention award at the 2000 Hollywood Film Festival for a short film they made.



Movie Theaters - Gastonia

• The Movies at Franklin Square
  3778 E. Franklin Blvd.

  704-824-9556

 
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