Fort Monroe has movie potential, state's film office says

By David Macaulay | 247-7838
6:20 a.m. EDT, June 21, 2011

HAMPTON — When the Army leaves Fort Monroe in September the troops won't
just leave behind a major visitor attraction. They'll leave a vintage film
set that could bring millions of dollars into Hampton Roads.

The Virginia Film Office is already on board with marketing Fort Monroe
as another of the state's attractions to movie makers, although it won't
feature in Steven Spielberg's upcoming film "Lincoln," despite a pitch
from the Hampton Convention & Visitor Bureau. The "Lincoln" film will be
shot in Richmond and Petersburg.

"Fort Monroe is an exceptional film location. The area with historic value
is, of course, the fort. It's certainly one of a kind," said Mary Nelson,
communications manager of the Richmond-based film office.

Nelson said the value of Fort Monroe is the large number of opportunities
it offers film makers as well as its location in Hampton Roads.

"As attractive as the fort is, there are several other locations such as
the barracks. There's a wide variety of architecture and long stretches of
unencumbered beach," Nelson said.

Nelson said some of the white homes at Monroe could easily be used to depict
areas in New England or The Hamptons of New York.

Nelson said the allure of Fort Monroe is compounded by its location in Hampton
Roads, which has a strong film industry. But its past as a military base made
it difficult to use as a film location in previous years.

"There are specific and stringent and understandable rules about filming on a
military base," Nelson said.

Nelson said the filming of a movie alone brings in considerable revenue to an
area. "When you have 150 or so people staying in hotels for three, four or
five months, it has a major economic impact on a locality," Nelson said.

But a movie doesn't need to be filmed in the location it depicts for it to have
an impact. "Cold Mountain," an American Civil War film, was filmed in Romania,
Nelson said. But by highlighting Civil War action it had an impact on tourism
in Virginia where many of the Civil War battles were fought.

Portions were also shot in the Williamsburg and Richmond areas.

The 1987 movie "Dirty Dancing" was filmed chiefly at Mountain Lake Resort near
Roanoke even thought it depicted a camp in the Catskill Mountains of New York.
The hotel markets itself as the "home of Dirty Dancing."

The Virginia Film Office worked with the cities of Richmond and Petersburg to
secure "Lincoln."

The incentive package to land the movie included $1 million from the Governor's
Motion Picture Opportunity Fund, $2.5 million from the Virginia Motion Picture
Tax Credit program and $1.1 million in in-kind contributions.

In April, the film office announced that Great Falls in Fairfax County and the
cities of Alexandria and Arlington were recently used in a major feature film
by director Clint Eastwood with the working title of "J. Edgar" about the life
and legacy of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.

The direct and indirect impact of Virginia's motion picture and video production
industry in 2009 was $346 million, representing 2,700 jobs for the state, according
to the Virginia Film Office.

Andy Edmunds, locations manager with the Virginia Film Office, said Fort Monroe is
already an ideal movie backlot.

"It's like a little town in itself," he said.

The office is already working up advertising containing images of Fort Monroe to
pitch to prospective clients in the movie industry.

Mary Fugere, director of media and community relations for Hampton Convention &
Visitor Bureau, said Fort Monroe offers a "very exciting" prospect for film makers.

"If you look at Fort Monroe with all the historic integrity, it's very easy to
picture the next production there in your mind's eye," she said.

"The presence of the U.S. Army has placed restrictions on the extent to which
the site can be utilized in the past," Fugere said. "With these restrictions
lifting in September, I'm optimistic about the possibilities for increased film
projects in Hampton."


The appeal of Fort Monroe to filmmakers


THE FORT: The stone fort was constructed as part of a coastal defense strategy
developed by the U.S. Army following the War of 1812. It's the largest stone fort
in America.

JEFFERSON DAVIS' CELL – The cell that held Jefferson Davis, the only Confederate
president of the United States, in 1865 is preserved at Fort Monroe in the Casemate
Museum.

OLD QUARTERS ONE - Constructed in 1819, this large white building served as the
Fort Monroe commander's quarters and housed President Abraham Lincoln in 1862
when he planned the capture of Norfolk.

OLD POINT COMFORT LIGHTHOUSE - The lighthouse was built in 1802, and it has
served as a beacon ever since. It is the oldest operating lighthouse on the
Chesapeake Bay.

THE CHAMBERLIN - The second Hotel Chamberlin opened in April 1928.The Vanderbilt
hotel chain was involved and the hotel was known for several years as the
Chamberlin-Vanderbilt Hotel. The imposing building is now an upscale rental
apartments for active adults 55 years and above.