WILMINGTON — An industry trade publication has listed a shoot date for a popular Amazon series that is now going to become a feature film. If all goes according to plan, “The Summer I Turned Pretty” will be back in town this year.
The Feb. 5 edition of Production Weekly reports the feature is to pick up April 27, with offices at Cinespace Studios; filming is anticipated through June 26. Port City Daily reached out to Amazon/MGM Studios to confirm the news but didn’t hear back by press.
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The popular series ran for three seasons on Amazon, with soaring ratings. Season three alone racked up 70 million viewers in its first 70 days, Deadline reported.
The show is set in Cousins Beach, shot locally from Carolina Beach to downtown Wilmington. In previous seasons, “The Summer I Turned Pretty” filmed at St. James Episcopal Church, Cape Fear Country Club, Goody Goody Omelet House, Cotton Exchange, Carolina Beach Boardwalk and Little Loaf Bakery. It also set up production on UNC Chapel Hill‘s campus to become Finch College.
According to the North Carolina Film Commission, season three of the production received $15 million as part of the state’s film incentive program. This means its spending for that season alone topped out at $60 million or more (a series can receive up to a 25% rebate, with a $15 million cap, on qualifying purchases for production).
Permits have yet to be submitted to the City of Wilmington, New Hanover County or Carolina Beach for the film, according to government spokespeople who handle the requests.
Though the plot line hasn’t been revealed, the film is expected to include a turning point for Belly (Lola Tung), who’s been entangled in a love triangle with Conrad (Christopher Briney) and his brother, Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno).
The coming-of-age romantic drama first was a trilogy of books — “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” “It’s Not Summer Without You” and “We’ll Always Have Summer” — penned by Jenny Han from 2009 to 2011. All became a series a decade later, with the season three finale airing last September.
It also premiered in Paris — where some characters end up in the series — and on the same day the finale streamed on Amazon Prime the company announced the storyline would continue by greenlighting the film. It will be directed by Han, who also wrote the script with Sarah Kuckserka. The two women were showrunners for the season three series, which also welcomed Han’s directorial debut.
“There is another big milestone left in Belly’s journey, and I thought only a movie could give it its proper due,” Han said to Deadline upon the film’s announcement.
In addition to Han and Kuckserka, executive producers of the project consist of Karen Rosenfelt, and Paul Lee, Hope Hartman, and Mads Hansen of Wiip production company.
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