Dane: Virginia Film Office identifies city as 'film-friendly community'

HOPEWELL - After months of filming Imperium, the City of Hopewell came together and celebrated the film’s release in Hollywood fashion: by rolling out the red carpet. Women in ball gowns and men in three-piece suits lined up to see the finished movie at Beacon Theatre last week.

One of the questions to arise following the exclusive screening is whether this is the end or the beginning of Hopewell playing host to Hollywood.

The filming of Imperium was big money for both the State of Virginia and the City of Hopewell. The movie made a financial impact of over $6 million for the state. The expenditures for the movie, which was calculated by the Bennett-Trasher Firm in Georgia, totaled over $2.7 million; of that $2.7 million, $848,284 went directly to paying residents of Virginia, and Hopewell was paid almost $90,000 for police services, fire services, public works, rental of the Beacon Theatre and the cost to close streets and various locations around the city.

Ninety percent of the movie was filmed in and around Hopwell, with locations including K&L Barbecue, Quick Lunch, Appomattox River Peanut Company, the Anchor Room, and an apartment above Lisa’s Cafe. For the duration of filming, the cast and crew stayed at the Hyatt Place in Chester.

The film served as an economic boon to the locality, and Assistant City Manager Charles E. Dane remains confident that Imperium will be only the first of many movies to be filmed in Hopewell.

“We were so honored to be chosen as the location for this film, and prouder still to see it embraced by our businesses and our citizens,” said Dane. “We’re talking to the Virginia Film Office regularly, and they’ve identified Hopewell as a film-friendly community, with Imperium serving as proof of what can be done here, which will give momentum to other projects looking to film here.”

Hopewell Mayor Brenda S. Pelham is proud of how Imperium, if only for a little bit, got the world to see the same Hopewell she sees every day.

“All I want is for the world to see Hopewell as the jewel that it is,” said Pelham. “We’re a strong community, and there is so much here in Hopewell, so we’re proud to share it with the world.”

If Imperium has made an impression on the City of Hopewell, it in turn made an impression on director Daniel Ragussis, who praised local hospitality.

“The community in Hopewell was just so incredibly welcoming to us, the residents were incredibly supportive and enthusiastic, so we wanted to give back and let them see it first,” said Ragussis. “It’s always a hard thing to spend time away from home on set, but every step of the way, the people of Hopewell have done what they could to make us feel at home.”

That was a feeling shared by much of Imperium’s cast and crew. Lead actor Daniel Radcliffe, best known for playing the title character in the Harry Potter film series, delivered a brief statement to the screening, talked about how his time in Hopewell touched him.

“I just want to give a huge thank you to everyone for making us feel so welcome in Hopewell,” said Radcliffe. “It was just an extraordinary thing to be able to go into a town, and feel supported by the whole community as we made this film.”

-Sean CW Korsgaard may be reached at skorsgaard@progress-index.com or 804-722-5172.