Dashboards and Saddlebags the Destination Magazine™ Issue 022 January 2013 | Page 24

Film Junkies Guide to North Carolina
Iredell County Locations
Mooresville
Mooresville is just off I-77 north of Charlotte
To contact the Mooresville Convention and
Visitors Bureau, call 877-661-1234 or www.
racecityusa.org. Another website of interest is
www.downtownmooresville.com.

M

ooresville’s nickname, “Race
City USA,” belies the town’s
historical significance. Long
before the days of NASCAR,
John Franklin Moore brought
the Atlantic, Tennessee and Ohio
Railroad to town and built a depot
for cotton exports. Incorporated
in 1873, Mooresville began as
an agricultural community and
expanded into textiles. Now,
it’s also noted for health care,
motorsports, tourism, and, yes,
film production.
Downtown Mooresville retains
many of its original mid 1800’s
buildings. A stroll along Main
and Broad streets will bring film
junkies up close and personal
with locations used in “A Stoning
in Fulham County,” starring
then-unknown Brad Pitt and
veteran actors Ken Olin, Jill
Eickenberry, and Ron Perlman.
In one buggy scene, a horse
rears excitedly along Main Street
as it passes through town. In
contrast, when the downtown
area stands in for Hattiesburg,
Mississippi, in “Shake, Rattle and
Roll: An American Love Story,” a
violent civil-rights scene erupts
in front of the 1899 D. E. Turner

Hardware Store at 111-15 North
Main Street.
Movies have also been shot
outside downtown, among them
“Vestige of Honor,” which filmed
its Vietnam scenes in a densely
wooded area. “The Lookalike,”
starring Melissa Gilbert, Cheryl
Ladd, and Diane Ladd, filmed at
an old barn along N.C. 150. And
scenic Lake Norman has had its
share of credits.
Mooresville’s Lakeside Business
Park is the base for over 60 racing

“The most comprehensive way to learn
where movies were made in North Carolina.”

--Lawrence Toppman, Charlotte Observer

The 160-plus entries in this travel
guide are arranged geographically
and include information about what
movies and television series were
filmed at each site.
Available through
Amazon
barnes & noble
Google Books

www.FilmJunkiesGuide.com

24 Dashboards and Saddlebags The Destination Magazine™