Lights, Camera, Clubhouse
Season 2, Episode 3: Break up scene shot outside of the PNCC clubhouse and pro shop. Photo Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios
Behind the scenes of the film industry’s cinematic partnership with Porters Neck Country Club
Written by J. Morgan McCallum
McConnell Golf, The Magazine: Spring/Summer 2025
From an unexpected hole-in-one to a glamorous tournament reception, we all love a little drama — something the McConnell Golf family shares with the local film industry, as the recent shows and movies shot at Porters Neck Country Club beautifully illustrate. To learn what makes this partnership so perfect, we sat down with Megan Henry, a film and television scout, and Jason Seehafer, VP of Operations at McConnell Golf.
“The Wilmington film community is a true community,” says Henry, who points to a nearly 40-year history of cinema in the area that fueled a booming population of film-industry professionals. The 1984 thriller “Firestarter,” starring a young Drew Barrymore, is widely credited as Wilmington’s first major film production, and the city’s first full-service film studio, EUE/Screen Gems, has also recently expanded to include a 37,500-square-foot soundstage called Dream Stage 10.
“The crew base all know each other and we all try to work cohesively with each other,” adds Henry, who chose the Porters Neck pool and tennis facility for an important scene in the upcoming Amazon MGM Studios movie “Merv,” starring Zooey Deschanel. Additional shots for a montage were filmed throughout the club as well. “The collaboration between the different departments and with the creative team that typically comes in from other places like New York or LA is so integral, but [when you’re] working in locations in particular, the relationships you have within the community at large neighborhoods like Porters Neck are just as important. We want to build relationships based on trust.”
Those connections, and the Amazon Prime Video series “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” are what led Henry to Seehafer and the McConnell Golf community. Another successful recent project, the show features the Porters Neck clubhouse, pro shop, women’s locker room and fairway in episodes of Season Two. Lindsay Fort, the location manager for “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” had such a good experience that word spread to Henry, who followed up “Merv” by bringing another film to Porters Neck, “Capsized,” which finished shooting this past fall.
Season 2, Episode 5: The show’s characters sneak into the local country club and spend the night sleeping on the golf course. Photo Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios
“A huge part of our partnership with the film crews is our ability to be flexible, and accommodate their needs,” says Seehafer. “Their schedule is constantly moving, from day to day, hour to hour. For “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” there were over a hundred supporting cast members here one day, and they created a full prom scene in our ballroom. It is amazing to see how they utilize the spaces.”
The transformation can be a massive effort — such as removing chandeliers and installing their own, building full walls or creating a nighttime rain scene on the course — but the crews always leave the location pristine afterwards.
“[Filming] is profitable for us as a business — which allows us to pass that along to our members through different experiences, or upgrading the golf course or clubhouse — but it is very successful for [the film studios], by allowing them to have the flexibility and the spaces that they need,” reflects Seehafer. “Our member community is very supportive, too. We all feel a sense of pride that these film companies are so appreciative of us, and are excited to film here.”
Delays do happen, of course — but going with the flow is part of the fun for Seehafer. When another club pulled out of a scene from “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” Seehafer was able to accommodate the film crew at Porters Neck on a Wednesday, but the timeline was pushed to Friday, “which is our busiest night in the restaurant,” laughs Seehafer. “We had to close the clubhouse and cancel dinner, so we decided to host a spur-of-the-moment dinner on the tennis courts,” he continues. “It was a feel-good event: We put out communal banquet tables and did a really nice surf and turf…over a hundred members attended. It was something we’ve never done before, but our members thought it was great — they were out dining, watching the filming happening in real time out on the golf course, and that was really fun.”
“We all feel a sense of pride that these film companies are so appreciative of us and are excited to film here.” — Jason Seehafer
Pride of place is one thing, but investing in the place we call home is another — and the Hollywood spotlight is a rising tide that lifts all boats. “The City of Wilmington recently announced end-of-year numbers for film activity, and the film industry in North Carolina brought in 300 million dollars in revenue for the state of North Carolina, including Wilmington,” says Henry. “It’s a viable industry throughout our state, and it benefits not just the people who work directly on productions like these, but the vendors that we work side by side with, and the communities and businesses that we film in and around. There’s a tourism draw, too, for visitors who come to Wilmington to see places where shows like ‘One Tree Hill’ was filmed, or even one day, where ‘Merv’ was filmed. The [industry] has a lasting impact.”
Both Henry and Seehafer look forward to more opportunities to collaborate on exciting film projects that benefit all parties involved, especially as the rise of CGI changes the landscape of movies and television. “It’s getting harder and harder for films to be filmed on location. It is considered an additional expense when you can build these fantastic sets on stage,” says Henry. “It really is an art form, in my opinion — but the work that we do in locations production is only as good as the relationships that we have with the people involved with the actual location, which is why it’s always wonderful to work with Jason and the team at Porters Neck Country Club, who genuinely show an interest in the process.”
Behind the Scenes Shots
