Diane Lane, Richard Gere to pair again in N.C. film
The Associated Press
Diane Lane and Richard Gere, who appeared as a husband and wayward wife in 2002's "Unfaithful," will approach marriage from another angle in the Outer Banks.
The two are due on the coast in May to make a film version of "Nights in Rodanthe," one of several North Carolina-themed novels by New Bern resident Nicholas Sparks. The film tells the story of a man and woman struggling with collapse of their respective marriages, who meet at a coastal inn and begin a doomed love affair.
Production will take place in Wilmington and on the Outer Banks, Gov. Mike Easley announced Friday. The Warner Brothers Pictures-DiNovi Productions project is to be directed by George C. Wolfe and produced by Denise Di Novi.
"This is the second major motion picture to announce plans to shoot in our state in recent months, which shows that North Carolina remains one of the top filming locations in the nation," Easley said.
Universal Pictures' romantic comedy "Leatherheads" is to begin filming in the Charlotte and Greensboro areas this month. George Clooney is due to direct and star with Renee Zellweger.
Easley's office said the filmmakers chose North Carolina for "Rodanthe" in part because of the existing film industry in Wilmington, where the television series "One Tree Hill" is in its fourth year of production, and the scenic setting of the barrier islands.
The choice also helps salve the state film industry's wounded pride, which took a hit several years ago when the mountains of Romania were used in place of western North Carolina for the Civil War epic "Cold Mountain."
State officials cited a film tax incentive program, which took effect Jan. 1, that allows production companies that spend at least $250,000 in the state to receive a tax credit equal to 15 percent for all the goods, services and labor purchased here.
"Nights in Rodanthe" is among several Sparks novels based in North Carolina that include "Message in a Bottle," "The Notebook," and "A Walk to Remember."
