When I entered the coffee shop, I spotted Jack seated at a corner table with a man I recognized as Harvey, a featured columnist for the Wilmawood Gazette.
"Genome, my friend!" Jack greeted me with a boisterous enthusiasm that made me question his sincerity. "I hope you came ready to be impressed."
"Oh, I came ready to impress," I countered with a playful arching of my eyebrows. "I'm sure you know about Jonas Pate's new movie, Driver's Ed, being filmed in town. Jonas recently described it as 'The Breakfast Club in a car.' Captures the imagination, don't you think?"
Jack smirked and exchanged a knowing glance with Harvey, sending a familiar twinge of social anxiety up my spine. I'd need to elevate my game up a few notches to be seen by Harvey as a peer and a colleague.
"The big news," I said, adjusting my sleeves, "is that Pate's latest Prime Video series—The Runarounds, the story of some high school seniors who ditch college plans and start a rock band instead—wrapped its first season and is expected to premier soon." I paused for effect. "But, get this, Amazon has green-lit a second season without waiting for audience response."
"That's rare," said Jack. "Good snooping, Genome."
"Almost unheard of," Harvey said. "And they're keeping the filming local—New Hanover High, The Eagle's Dare, Cinespace Studios. They're keeping the local film community thriving by bringing jobs to Wilmington."
While their reaction was acceptable, it fell short of what I'd hoped for. I marshaled my thoughts to find another way to establish myself as Harvey's equal. I sipped my coffee, wincing slightly at the temperature and wondering if they'd used filtered water.
"It's no wonder," I began, "that Moviemaker magazine named Wilmington one of the best small cities in the country for filmmakers to live and work."
"Tell him, Harvey," Jack said, tilting his head in my direction.
Harvey chuckled. "That's last week's headlines, Genome. The real story is that Jonas and his wife, Jennifer, have started their own production company—and they're planning a series of projects to be filmed here."
"A series?" I asked, my voice rising to a pitch that even I found embarrassing. I cleared my throat and continued more composedly. "They've got plans for more than one project to be filmed here in Wilmington?"
Jack nodded. "That's right. Driver's Ed is just the opening scene. The've hinted about shooting three to five movies a year in Wilmington. It ain't called Hollywood East for nothing."
"What?" I exclaimed, nearly knocking over my coffee before catching it with reflexes that surprised even me. "Three to five movies? That's enough cinematic activity to require a new datebook!"
"Exactly," Harvey confirmed. "And they're sticking with the young-adult theme."
"Yep," Jack said. "According to Jonas, they're taking inspiration from John Hughes' films, quote: ...trying to bring back that timeless magic."
Harvey leaned in, glanced around the room with the air of a conspirator, and with a lowered voice said, "But that's not the real scoop we have for you."
"There's more?" I asked, hardly believing it to be true.
Still leaning in, he waved me closer. "The real scoop is Kildare."
"What's a Kildare?" I asked, now genuinely curious despite my general aversion to leaning into someone's face. I have strict rules about personal space.
"It's a sort of prequel to Outer Banks," Harvey said, savoring the moment. "It'll dive into the origins of the Pogues and Kooks, the class divide, and all that drama—but with a whole new cast. And it'll be filmed right here in the old metropolis."
I sat back, impressed. "So, the Pates are doubling down on Wilmington." I couldn't help adding, "I hope they upgrade the craft services. The last set I visited didn't offer custom coffees. I had to run back and forth from the set to Port City Cafe and back again."
"Did you say, doubling? Tripling is more like it," said Jack. "Keeping Wilmington safely ensconced in the role of Hollywood East."
"Jonas has deep roots here," Harvey added. "He and his brother filmed their indie movie, The Grave, in Wilmington back in the '90s. That movie premiered at Sundance and launched their careers."
I whistled softly. "Yes, I know, but three to five projects are a lot of projects—and a lot of opportunity for the local industry." I cleared my throat; the coffee bean dust seemed to be getting think in the air. Or was I just getting fidgety?
Jack raised his coffee mug. "Here's to the Pates. Keeping Hollywood East on the map, one film at a time."
"To the Pates," Harvey echoed.
"Yes, and to the local film community," I said, raising my cup with a slightly trembling hand. "Opportunities for entertainment writers are just beginning, and there will be plenty more to talk and to write about."
"Speaking of plenty of work," said Jack, "did you get good footage of the first two days of filming Driver's Ed?"
"No," I admitted, my voice suddenly small. "Rained out."
"Rained out?" he said. "Genome, I drove by the South Street location on the first day and saw them working."
"I didn't mean the filming was rained out," I explained, fidgeting with my napkin. "I meant I didn't want to hang out in the rain. The humidity affects my sinuses."
"The boys at Barbary Coast Bar are going to be disappointed to hear it," Jack sighed. "They think you can put something readable together even though you have nothing but crumbs from the shoot to write about."
I'm sure you can imagine how I felt after that. The silence became awkward.
"I'll text you the night before the next scheduled shoot," Jack said. Harvey only smiled.
Harvey chuckled. "That's last week's headlines, Genome. The real story is that Jonas and his wife, Jennifer, have started their own production company—and they're planning a series of projects to be filmed here."
"A series?" I asked, my voice rising to a pitch that even I found embarrassing. I cleared my throat and continued more composedly. "They've got plans for more than one project to be filmed here in Wilmington?"
Jack nodded. "That's right. Driver's Ed is just the opening scene. The've hinted about shooting three to five movies a year in Wilmington. It ain't called Hollywood East for nothing."
"What?" I exclaimed, nearly knocking over my coffee before catching it with reflexes that surprised even me. "Three to five movies? That's enough cinematic activity to require a new datebook!"
"Exactly," Harvey confirmed. "And they're sticking with the young-adult theme."
"Yep," Jack said. "According to Jonas, they're taking inspiration from John Hughes' films, quote: ...trying to bring back that timeless magic."
Harvey leaned in, glanced around the room with the air of a conspirator, and with a lowered voice said, "But that's not the real scoop we have for you."
"There's more?" I asked, hardly believing it to be true.
Still leaning in, he waved me closer. "The real scoop is Kildare."
"What's a Kildare?" I asked, now genuinely curious despite my general aversion to leaning into someone's face. I have strict rules about personal space.
"It's a sort of prequel to Outer Banks," Harvey said, savoring the moment. "It'll dive into the origins of the Pogues and Kooks, the class divide, and all that drama—but with a whole new cast. And it'll be filmed right here in the old metropolis."
I sat back, impressed. "So, the Pates are doubling down on Wilmington." I couldn't help adding, "I hope they upgrade the craft services. The last set I visited didn't offer custom coffees. I had to run back and forth from the set to Port City Cafe and back again."
"Did you say, doubling? Tripling is more like it," said Jack. "Keeping Wilmington safely ensconced in the role of Hollywood East."
"Jonas has deep roots here," Harvey added. "He and his brother filmed their indie movie, The Grave, in Wilmington back in the '90s. That movie premiered at Sundance and launched their careers."
I whistled softly. "Yes, I know, but three to five projects are a lot of projects—and a lot of opportunity for the local industry." I cleared my throat; the coffee bean dust seemed to be getting think in the air. Or was I just getting fidgety?
Jack raised his coffee mug. "Here's to the Pates. Keeping Hollywood East on the map, one film at a time."
"To the Pates," Harvey echoed.
"Yes, and to the local film community," I said, raising my cup with a slightly trembling hand. "Opportunities for entertainment writers are just beginning, and there will be plenty more to talk and to write about."
"Speaking of plenty of work," said Jack, "did you get good footage of the first two days of filming Driver's Ed?"
"No," I admitted, my voice suddenly small. "Rained out."
"Rained out?" he said. "Genome, I drove by the South Street location on the first day and saw them working."
"I didn't mean the filming was rained out," I explained, fidgeting with my napkin. "I meant I didn't want to hang out in the rain. The humidity affects my sinuses."
"But you got some good stuff on the second day, right? It seemed like an easy find for you, especially since you were at Circular Journey Café every day.”
“I'm not there every day,” I protested, feeling my face flush. “And no, I missed that too—I thought filming was scheduled for the following week. I recently started using a color-coded calendar system, and I’m still getting the hang of it.”
"The boys at Barbary Coast Bar are going to be disappointed to hear it," Jack sighed. "They think you can put something readable together even though you have nothing but crumbs from the shoot to write about."
I'm sure you can imagine how I felt after that. The silence became awkward.
"I'll text you the night before the next scheduled shoot," Jack said. Harvey only smiled.
"Oh, almost forgot," I said suddenly perking up and feeling like the gods had bestowed a last-minute gift. "You're aware, I'm sure, that the Wilmington Regional Film Commission recently announced a new initiative providing training workshops for aspiring filmmakers. That should go a long way to further solidifying the city's commitment to ensuring the sustainability of its thriving film industry."
Silence followed my announcement. The two of them looked like Republicans who just realized the man they voted for had taken away their Social Security check.
"Why didn't you know about this?" Harvey demanded of Jack.
"Me?" said Jack. "You should have known before me."
Their argument escalated to the point that they were unaware of my leaving. I'm not proud of the fact, but I left the cafe with a smiling. Some days, life comes hard and fast. That's why God created music, coffee, and individually wrapped sanitizing wipes.
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