HOPEWELL, Va. (WRIC) — The City of Hopewell announced on Friday that a feature film titled “Tapawingo” will be filmed in Central Virginia this summer. This will be the eighth movie or tv show filmed in Hopewell over the last six years.
The film will star Jon Heder, who played Napoleon Dynamite in 2004, and Billy Zane, who played Rose’s fiancé in the “Titanic” in 1997. Other notable actors include “The Bold and the Beautiful” acctress Kim Matula, “Married…With Children” actress Amanda Bearse and “Home Improvement” actor Blake Clarke.
According to a release, the film is about a “listless oddball who becomes the unlikely bodyguard for a misfit teenager and finds himself in the crosshairs of the town’s family of bullies.”
Filming will also take place in the cities of Richmond and Petersburg.
“We are pleased to welcome Tapawingo to Virginia and look forward to the economic benefits that productions have on each locality they touch,” said Virginia Film Office Director Andy Edmunds. “This industry was one of the first to stimulate our hardest hit sectors like hospitality during the past year’s challenges, and we are thrilled about the continued support these resilient projects provide.”
The film will be able to receive a Virginia film tax credit or grant but the amount will be determined later based on how much money is spent on Virginia goods and services as well as how many Virginians are hired.
