Dashboards and Saddlebags the Destination Magazine™ Issue 013 April 2012 | Page 20
Film Junkies Guide to North Carolina
Randolph County Locations
R
andolph County’s claims
to fame are pottery, exotic
animals, racing, and a handful
of movies.
Four generations of NASCAR’s
first family—the Petty family—
hail from Level Cross, where
Petty Enterprises and the Richard
Petty Museum are based. Since
they are central figures in the
history of stock-car racing, their
stories and talents are sought by
filmmakers. The Petty drivers’
Randolph County film credits
include The Petty Story, based
on Wilmington author Bill
Neely’s book Stand on it, and
the documentary “Beyond the
Glory,” which filmed at the
Richard Petty Museum.
Non-racecar productions have
also been drawn to the rural
charms of Randolph County.
Thanks to the over 90 acclaimed
potteries and the North Carolina
Pottery Center in Seagrove, a
slew of documentaries about
noted potters has emerged in
recent years. Among them is
Crawdad Slip, which features
fifthgeneration potter Sid Luck.
Located just minutes away,
Asheboro is home to the worldclass North Carolina Zoological
Park, which boasts movie credits
including “Healthy Pets, Healthy
People.”
Studio and independent
productions, while few and far
between, include the gangster
movie Killers Three, which
filmed in downtown Ramseur,
Liberty, and Seagrove. The Dick
Clark production stars Clark,
Robert Walker, Jr., and Merle
Haggard, who stayed at the Day’s
Inn (formerly the Holiday Inn)
in Asheboro. Based on a Stephen
King short story, Children of the
Corn II Final Sacrifice made use
of rural locations in Randolph
County, including the eerie
cornfield that became the film’s
centerpiece.
Hous e of C ards, st ar r i ng
Kathleen Turner and Tommy
Lee Jones, found an idyllic
farmhouse and land in Trinity
on which to build its unusual
spiral staircase to the moon.
Ten years later, the surprise
hit horror flick of 2003, Cabin
Fever, filmed at the Terrell Farm
in Trinity. The establishing shots
in Spike Lee’s He Got Game
include aerial footage of rural
Randolph County farms.
20 Dashboards and Saddlebags •The Destination Magazine