For the quaint and scenic port city of Wilmington in North Carolina, The CW’s One Tree Hill provides one of the most lucrative sources of income for the community. Not only are many of the show’s crew members from the area, but several businesses have experienced a boom for the services they offer to the series.
With the uncertainty brought about by the ongoing writers’ strike, One Tree Hill could be forced to shut down production once scripts run out, which would mean a significant loss to Wilmington’s economy.
Wilmington has played host and backdrop to several film and television projects that have brought in millions of dollars to the city located in the southeastern corner of North Carolina. At present, One Tree Hill is the largest project being shot there. According to Screen Gems Studios in North Carolina, The CW’s once-teen drama spends over a million dollars on goods and services provided by local businesses just for one episode.
At the moment, One Tree Hill reportedly still has enough material to sustain its filming schedule till December. However, in the event the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers fail to find a prompt resolution to their standoff, its current season could end up 10 installments short.
Aside from the possibility of a prematurely concluded year, a lengthy strike could deal quite a heavy blow to both the personal finances of locals on the One Tree Hill payroll, as well as to the establishments that service the various needs of the show.
According to Bill Vassar, executive vice president of Screen Gems Studios, as many as 125 crew members, many of whom are Wilmington folk, stand to lose their jobs and incomes.
“The people who do the catering for the show, the people who do craft services for the show, right down to the grocery store that provides the snacks in the offices, that money won’t get spent,” Vassar pointed out.
-Rosario Santiago, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: www.wwaytv3.com
(Image Courtesy of www.bmwmoa.org)
Staff Columnist, BuddyTV
