Brunswick Islands in the Movies
If NC's Brunswick Islands look familiar, it may be because we've appeared on the big and small screen. Southport has appeared in A-list flicks including "Safe Haven," "Crimes of the Heart," "A Walk to Remember," "I Know What You Did Last Summer," and TV shows including "Under the Dome" and "Sleepy Hollow."
Numerous films and television shows have called on NC's Brunswick Islands for magnificent backdrops and key scenes. International bestselling American novelist and screenwriter, not to mention #1 New York Times best-selling author, Nicholas Sparks fell in love with this area and has not only written about it in his books but brought them to life by filming on location here.
Below is a list of major motion pictures and television productions along with some of their NC's Brunswick Islands' locations. You may recall how major celebrities including Julia Roberts, Diane Keaton, Jessica Lange, Halle Berry, Andy Griffith, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Mariel Hemingway, Brian Dennehy, Sissy Spacek, and more appear in particular scenes.
The Southport Museum and Visitor's Center provides a map (also available online) for a self-guided tour of Safe Haven film locations shot in Downtown Southport. Who knows maybe you will stumble upon a live production or bump into a star on the street.
Take a Nicholas Sparks Tour of North Carolina's Brunswick Islands
Nicholas Sparks has made a name for North Carolina as a place to fall in love. Whether it's with a significant other, or one of his novels or films, you are destined for romance in the Brunswick Islands. Come to...
Major Motion Pictures
"Firestarter" (1984) - Downtown Southport, Orton Plantation
"Crimes of the Heart" (1986) - Northrup House on 229 N. Caswell Avenue, Dosher Memorial Hospital, William Ezzell law office, Fort Caswell, Harrelson's grocery store, N.C. 133 toward Southport, Masonic Lodge, Old Brunswick County Jail, Old Smithville Burying Ground, Amuzu Theater, Orton Plantation
"Lovejoy" (1986) - Bay Street, Old Smithville Burying Ground, Yacht Basin, Orton Plantation
"Weekend at Bernie's" (1989) - Bald Head Island, American Fish Company, Cape Fear River
"Sleeping With the Enemy" (1991) - Bald Head Island
"The Butcher's Wife" (1991) - Bald Head Island
"Spies" (1992) - Dosher Memorial Hospital, 8th Street and Caswell Avenue, Howe Street, Moore Street, Old Brunswick Inn, "Spies House" on Bay Street, waterfront off Bay Street
"Amos and Andrew" (1993) - Bald Head Island ferry landing (Southport side), Dosher Flea Market, Moore Street
"The Inkwell" (1994) - Caswell Beach, Fort Johnston, Franklin Square, Southport Community Building
"Morning Glory, SC" (1996) - Crow's Nest Grill, Franklin Square, Moore Street, Old Brunswick Inn, Old Smithville Burying Ground, Orton Plantation
"A Mother's Instinct" (1996) - Masonic Lodge, Nash Street
"The Perfect Daughter" (1996) - Bay Street, Dosher Memorial Hospital
"A Step Toward Tomorrow (1996) - Old Smithville Burying Ground
"The Stepford Husbands" (1996) - Brunswick County Government Center, Masonic Lodge
"This World, Then the Fireworks" (1997) - Old Smithville Burying Ground, Yacht Basin, Trinity United Methodist Church
"Twilight Man" (1996) - Dosher Memorial Hospital
"Any Place But Home" (1997) - Boiling Spring Lakes, Fort Johnston, Yacht Basin, waterfront off Bay Street, Orton Plantation
"I Know What You Did Last Summer" (1997) - American Fish Company, Cape Fear River, ILA Hall, Yacht Basin, Ollie's Oyster Bar, Port Charlie's Restaurant, River Road, Short Street, Southport Fish Company, Southport-Fort Fisher ferry, Amuzu Theater
"The Jackal" (1997) - Southport-Fort Fisher ferry
"The Night Flier" (1997) - Brunswick County Airport, Winnabow Airport
"The Three Lives of Karen" (1997) - American Fish Company, N.C. 133 toward Southport, Howe Street, Moore Street, Nash Street, Northrop Antique Mall, The Pharmacy, River Oak Motel, Southport Baptist Church, city gym on Atlantic Avenue, Trinity United Methodist Church, Orton Plantation
"Domestic Disturbance" (2001) - Howe Street, River Oaks Motel
"Summer Catch" (2001) - Howe Street, Taylor Field off Nash Street, Brunswick Inn, Cool Dogs & Crazy Cats
"A Walk to Remember" (2002) - Cape Fear Restaurant, Trinity United Methodist Church, Old Smithville Burying Ground, Salt Marsh Boardwalk gazebo, Orton Plantation
"The Lost Cause" (2004) - Boiling Spring Lakes
"Pirate Kids: Blackbeard's Lost Treasure" (2004) - Caswell Beach, Southport
"Pirate Kids II: The Search for the Silver Skull" (2006) - Bald Head Island, Caswell Beach, Southport
"The Water is Wide" (2006) - Yacht Basin Provision Company, Orton Plantation
"Nights in Rodanthe" (2008) - Clarendon Avenue house
"The Secret Life of Bees" (2008) - Amuzu Theater, Moore Street house
"Arthur Newman" (2012) - Brunswick Community Hospital
"Iron Man 3" (2013) - Oak Island
"Safe Haven" (2013) - Southport Marina, West Moore and Bay Streets, Southport Fort-Fisher Ferry, Old American Fish Company, Southport Community Building, Ports of Call Bistro, Wildlife Restaurant & Grill
"We're the Millers" (2013) - Brunswick Forest
"Tammy" (2013) - Boiling Spring Lakes, The Grille Restaurant on Main Street in Shallotte
"The Longest Ride" (2015) - Caswell Beach
“Greedy People” (2024) – Downtown Southport, Southport Hot Dog Company, Riverside Motel, Southport riverfront, Yacht Basin, Potter’s Seafood, Edgewater 122, Southport-Fort Fisher ferry
Television Productions
"Matlock" (ABC, 1993-1995) - Brown Street, Brunswick Cove nursing home, Cape Fear River, Caswell Avenue, Dosher Flea Market, Masonic Lodge, "Matlock's house" on Lord Street, Moore Street, Nash Street, Old Smithville Burying Ground, Sea Captain Restaurant, Southport Marina, waterfront off Bay Street, Orton Plantation
"The Birds II: Land's End" (Showtime, 1994) - Cape Fear River, Yacht Basin
"Sweet Justice" (NBC, 1994) - Franklin Square
"American Gothic" (CBS, 1995) - Franklin Square
"The Crying Child" (USA, 1996) - Franklin Square, Howe Street, Old Smithville Burying Ground, Yacht Basin, Port Charlie's Restaurant, Southport-Fort Fisher Ferry, Orton Plantation
"Buried Alive" (USA, 1997) - Old Smithville Burying Ground
"Dawson's Creek" (The WB, 1998-2003) - Bay Street, Boiling Spring Lakes, Carousel Consignment Shop, Franklin Square, ILA Hall, Moore Street, Yacht Basin, the current Fishy Fishy Cafe, City Pier, Southport-Fort Fisher ferry, Southport Video, Orton Plantation
"Oprah Winfrey Presents...The Wedding" (ABC, 1998) - Bay Street, East Bay Street and Atlantic Avenue, Keziah Park, Old Brunswick Inn, City Pier
"Spies" (Disney Channel, 1992) - Bay Street
"Holy Joe" (CBS, 1999) - Franklin Square, Moore Street, Old Smithville Burying Ground, Prince of Brunswick on Moore Street, Southport Fire Department
"Hart of Dixie" (CW, 2011) - Franklin Square, Moore Street
"Revenge" (ABC, 2011) - Pebble Shore Lane, Fishy Fishy Cafe, Oak Island
"Mary and Martha" (HBO, 2013) - East Bay Street and Trinity United Methodist Church in Downtown Southport
"Under the Dome" (CBS, 2013) - Trinity United Methodist Church, Pilot's Tower, 100 Block East Bay Street, Atlantic Avenue, Old Smithville Burying Ground Rhett Street, US Post Office Nash Street
"Sleepy Hollow" (FOX, 2013) - Brunswick Town, Dosher Hospital
"Secrets and Lies" (ABC, 2015) - Trinity United Methodist Church, Southport
"Good Behavior" (TNT, 2016) - Boiling Spring Lakes Mini Mart
"One Summer" (Hallmark, 2021) - Oak Island; Nash Street, Moore Street, 203 East Bay Street in Southport; Bald Head Island Lighthouse in Bald Head Island
"Our Kind of People" (FOX, 2021) - Trinity Church
"Along for the Ride" (Netflix, 2022) - Oak Island Lighthouse in Caswell Beach
"Echoes" (Netflix, 2022) - Caviness Park, the lawn of the Old Town Hall, Maritime Museum, Southport Market, St. Phillips Church
"George & Tammy" (Showtime, 2022) - Dosher Hospital
"The Summer I Turned Pretty" (Amazon Prime Video, 2022) - Season 1 Episode 1: Bay Street in Southport; Season 2 Episode 2: East Moore Street
(Sources: The State Port Pilot, "Film Junkie's Guide to North Carolina" by Connie Nelson and Floyd Harris, TheCinemaholic.com, CityofSouthport.com)