BECKLEY, W.Va. — At the end of Sara Colangelo’s movie “Little Accidents” five words stood out among the rolling credits: Filmed entirely in West Virginia.
The words “filmed in West Virginia” are becoming a more common sight to movie and television viewers as Hollywood — from directors to bean counters — discover what the Mountain State has to offer.
Within the last few years several films and miniseries were filmed in West Virginia, allowing the state to showcase its ability to double as another place in a different era.
West Virginia has doubled as turn-of-the-last-century New York City as well as modern-day Mexico, Russia and Germany, said Pam Haynes, director of the West Virginia Film Office.
She said the architecture, industrial look and landscapes draw filmmakers to West Virginia. In the Eastern Panhandle there is still an industrial look to towns like Martinsburg and Charles Town; the same goes for Wheeling and Weirton in the Northern Panhandle.
In southern West Virginia the small coal mining towns and mountains are what attract filmmakers, she said.
Location, location, location
If West Virginia has a Hollywood, it’s the Eastern Panhandle…