Small Western North Carolina towns in spotlight during first week of filming on Galifianakis movie

Share
Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

  • 1

swannanoa_zach_movie_2014Small mountain towns across Western North Carolina are playing a big role in the new Hollywood movie being filmed around Asheville this summer during the first week of on-location shoots. The movie stars Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson, Kristen Wiig and several other stars. The movie, about an armored car heist by an inept gang of thieves is known as the Loomis Fargo flick, and also by its in-progress code name, “unnamed armored car” project. The movie is based on the real-life robbery in 1997 of an armored car company in Charlotte.

On Monday, the movie crew set up in downtown Swannanoa for a day of shooting (Swannanoa is a community in eastern Buncombe County, for the uninitiated). Wilson was on set, according to Twitter reports.

On Thursday, the twitterati reporting that the movie was filming in Franklin, out in Macon County. One report said the crew was filming scenes inside a trailer, which seems fitting for the redneck crew of robbers.

And on Friday, the movie is set to film a big scene in Old Fort, reports the McDowell County News. A snippet:

A spokesperson close to the movie told The McDowell News they will be shooting inside and outside at a warehouse in Old Fort. The warehouse is located on Commerce Street in the old Ethan Allen building behind the police department. Film crews have been seen cleaning up the area in preparation for the film, including putting up a barbed wire fence around the warehouse. Commerce Street will be closed for traffic on Friday from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m., according to Police Chief Melvin Lytle.

The spokesperson also said crews will return to Old Fort several times to shoot different scenes. It is rumored the movie will be using the finishing plant and the Gateway Museum cabins as locations. He said there are roughly 120 people as part of the cast and crew, but not all of them will be on set Friday.

One local business owner said he was told Friday’s shoot will feature an armored car crashing through the fence and travelling across the road into a ditch. He said the movie has rented his property for dates in August, too.

Click over to read the full story.

Tags::
Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

  • 1

You Might also Like

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Stories