Film industry lands first movie of 2018
'Words on Bathroom Walls' starts filming in April
![EUE/Screen Gems Studios will host the feature film "Words on Bathroom Walls" this spring, the first production to sign on to film in Wilmington in 2018. [STARNEWS FILE PHOTO]](/gcdn/authoring/2018/02/15/NSTN/ghows-NC-6542a84d-8b3a-54a8-e053-0100007fdccb-97281ed3.jpeg?width=660&height=495&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
WILMINGTON – The local film industry has secured its first movie production of the year.
Bill Vassar, executive vice president of EUE/Screen Gems Studios, confirmed Thursday the film adaptation of Julia Walton’s young adult novel “Words on Bathroom Walls” will open offices at the studio next week.
The project, which counts locally based film producer Allison Semenza among its creative team, is tentatively set to start shooting in early April.
The film will be directed by Thor Freudenthal, who also helmed young-adult adaptations like "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" and "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters." It is produced by LD Entertainment, which also produced the 2014 locally shot horror movie “The Devil’s Hand.”
“We are very excited about ‘Words on Bathroom Walls,” Vassar said. “This very unique independent film has decided the best place to be is Wilmington. It is great to have a project like this on the lot and we look forward to LD Entertainment possibly bringing other productions this way.”
The novel, which was released in July 2017, tells the story of Adam, who has just been diagnosed with schizophrenia and sees people who aren’t actually there, including a beautiful girl and a mob boss.
When Adam begins a drug trial to help ignore the visions, he meets a girl named Maya and begins to believe anything is possible -- even love.
The film does not currently have a cast attached, but the genre -- young love stories involving teenagers overcoming illness -- has been popular in recent years thanks to similar hits like “The Fault in Our Stars” and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.”
The production is an important one for the local film industry, which has been without a project on the studio lot since last summer when TNT wrapped filming on the second season of “Good Behavior.” The Michelle Dockery-led series, which has not yet been renewed, was the area’s only major production in 2017.
LD Entertainment’s other recent productions include “Megan Leavey,” “The Zookeeper’s Wife,” and "Jackie,” for which Natalie Portman was nominated for an Academy Award. In 1997, it also shot "Traveller" starring Bill Paxton, Mark Wahlberg and Julianna Margulies in Wilmington.
Reporter Hunter Ingram can be reached at 910-343-2327 or Hunter.Ingram@StarNewsOnline.com.