While no one can say that Hollywood isn’t a great place to be as a moviemaker, with its star power and extensive history, it’s not necessarily the only place to be. In fact, in the past few decades, the thriving film community of Wilmington, North Carolina has been giving Hollywood a run for its money. There may not be a Grauman’s Chinese Theater or Walk of Fame, yet what Wilmington lacks in legendry it makes up in its hunger for independent moviemaking.

From Friday, June 27th through Sunday, June 29th, the moviemakers of Wilmington will be satiated when the inaugural Wilmington Inside the Film Industry Film Conference brings a chunk of Hollywood to the east coast.

The Commonwealth State has long held a distinctive position in the film industry. Its participation in such movies as D.W. Griffith’s America, Alfred Hitchcock’s Marnie and the Oscar-winning Giant, starring Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor, has been part of the draw that continually brings new and veteran moviemakers alike to join in the brotherhood that is Virginia’s moviemaking community.

Doubling as almost any location in the world, Georgia has become a one-stop-shop for major and independent moviemakers alike. Bill Thompson, division director of the Georgia Film, Video & Music Office, talks about state incentives, beginning production in the state and why moviemaking is just as important as fruit.

It’s the Windy City—home to Oprah and presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama. But to moviemakers big and small, the city of Chicago is so much more says resident Ruth L. Ratny. Ratny also happens to be the editor and publisher of ReelChicago.com, an online magazine dedicated to uncovering the city’s hidden movie world.

E. Annie Proulx's Brokeback Mountain may have been set in Wyoming, but Ang Lee's runaway Academy Award-nominated epic of the same name was actually filmed in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. MM spoke to Beth Thompson, Calgary's film commissioner, about the steady rise of Calgary's moviemaking industry.

Ever since he first came onto the scene in 1998, Ramzi Abed has been pushing the boundaries of moviemaking to their utmost. In his latest film, Black Dahlia, Abed leaps forward technologically, using the digital format to present his take on the gruesome Hollywood murder mystery. Abed speaks with MM about the pros and cons of digital moviemaking.