Recently, we had the opportunity to shoot in Wilmington, North Carolina. Michael Jordan is from Wilmington. They shoot movies and TV shows there. It is a friendly town, filled with college kids from UNC Wilmington and Cape Fear Community College. The Cape Fear River winds through downtown and between swamps and under bridges like it has no where to go and is in no hurry to get there. From Front Street to the docks on Water Street, over cobblestones and narrow alleys nudged by palm fronds and eclectic shops, film crews run cables past restaurants, bars and businesses. Like them, we came to shoot. Unlike us, the Marines came to celebrate the 234th anniversary of the Corps. Then another visitor showed up. Like us and the Marines, tropical storm Ida stayed for six days and nights and worked as hard as any of us.
The sky dropped like a liquid metal blanket. It rained horizontal for two straight days. Water Street earned its name. Winds topped out near fifty mph. It deterred neither the Marines nor us from doing what we came to do.
The recently renovated Hilton downtown, its bunker-like fortress bathed in purple light, its thick walls hugging the Cape Fear, was home to our small crew and the larger force of Marines most of the week. The management and staff of the hotel seamlessly accommodated every request and were so helpful to our shoot, not even Los Angeles could have matched their understanding of shooting schedules and the sometimes extreme customer service required. The same can be said of Wilmington in general. No one looks oddly at you when you pull out a camera and start cranking shots. They smile at you. Perhaps it’s because 11% of their economy is fueled by film. Or just maybe it’s their wonderful attitude that fueled the film business to begin with.
The reflections of window lights, lamp posts and neon glowing across water-sluiced streets interrupted by hurrying patrons dipping in and out of the businesses leave a holiday-like memory that stays longer than the soaking grayness of the weather. Some rain is an intrusion. Some, however, we wear like a coat that embraces us, and while it doesn’t keep us warm, we desire its company.