Your Chance to Own a Piece of 'Homeland'

Although it's a fictional television show, reality set in last night for many of us Homeland fans who live in Charlotte. The realization that now that the critically acclaimed, award-winning Showtime series has kicked off its fourth season, we will no longer have the pleasure of spotting the Queen City throughout the episodes. As most locals know, since Homeland's inception, the show has largely been filmed in Charlotte, which was used as a stand-in for Washington, D.C. (remember that time "I Sat at the Bar with Carrie and Brody"). We learned in the spring that the series would be moving production out of Charlotte and into Cape Town, South Africa for this season.

Well, after three years of calling Charlotte home, a television production as big as this one surely accumulates a lot of stuff. And now, you can own a piece of Homeland stuff.

A "Homeland Sale" is being held on October 10 and 11, beginning at 7:30 a.m. each day, taking place at a large warehouse located at 6935 Reames Road in Charlotte, which had been converted into a soundstage by Homeland's producers. According to the advertisement, thousands of items from the show's production are for sale, including furniture, housewares, electronics, office supplies, clothing, construction materials, tools, hardware, and more.

Back to the show, last night was a special two-episode premiere that revealed a lot of what we can expect (and the always unexpected) this season from Carrie, Saul, and the gang. And the Twitterverse was fixated on how much Carrie's baby from Brody actually looks like the fictional father.

Two Words: Spitting. Image. #Homeland #brodybaby pic.twitter.com/YjwMlldbjH

— Giana Mucci (@RatedGiana) October 6, 2014

Kudos to @SHO_Homeland for managing to cast a baby to play Brody's daughter who looks like his head photoshopped onto a 5 month old's body.

— Sarah Rowan (@sarah_r0wan) October 6, 2014

Did anyone notice the baby on Homeland looks just like dad Brody (red hair and all)? #Homeland pic.twitter.com/lYvRcl5LOL

— Susan Matthias (@sarpedon16) October 6, 2014

TV BABY POWER RANKING: 1. Holly, Breaking Bad 2. Michelle Tanner, Full House 3. Frannie aka Brody Clone,Homeland 100. Gracie the alien, FNL

— Jessica Goldstein (@jessicagolds) October 6, 2014

My theory for this season's #Homeland. Brody's baby is turned. Working for Abu Nazir.

— Joey (@joeynemati) October 6, 2014

Baby Brody is the best character of the show. The dad's hair and the moms cry. #homeland

— brooke haney (@theBrookeHaney) October 6, 2014

Brody was reincarnated as a baby...what a plot twist! #Homeland

— Beth B. (@bethblabs) October 6, 2014

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Now Filming In Charlotte: 'Ashby,' Starring Mickey Rourke, Nat Wolff, Emma Roberts, and Sarah Silverman

It's time to go on the hunt for celebrity sightings again. A new movie, titled Ashby, began filming in Charlotte last week, packing some star power, with Mickey Rourke, Nat Wolff, Emma Roberts, and Sarah Silverman among the cast. Mickey and Sarah are industry veterans, of course (he's in the long-awaited sequel to Sin City, due out in August; she's one of the funniest--and one of my favorite--comedians of the last 15 years; her We Are Miracles HBO stand-up special last year was awesome). And Nat and Emma are two of Hollywood's hottest young actors (he co-stars in The Fault In Our Stars, which opened a couple of weeks ago to rave reviews and a No. 1 gross at the box office ($48 million opening weekend); you probably know Emma from her early days on Nickelodeon and a handful of movie roles she's had since, before co-starring in last year's blockbuster comedy We're the Millers).

Nat Wolff shared this photo Friday from the set of Ashby. Credit: instagram.com/natandalex

Not many details have been published about Ashby, but it's described as a comedy-drama that follows the paths of a high school student (Nat) and a retired CIA assassin (Mickey) who only has months to live. It's being directed by Tony McNamara.

Emma's character, Eloise, looks very wholesome, and even a little Southern, based on the photo she tweeted yesterday.

Hey everyone. Meet Eloise #AshbyMovie pic.twitter.com/3XtJ3ioH04
— Emma Roberts (@RobertsEmma) June 22, 2014

Nat tweeted a photo from the set a few days ago as well, which I believe is from the practice field of a Charlotte high school.

I'm in NC shooting a movie with my hero Mickey Rourke and my friend the fantastic @RobertsEmma. Learning my routes pic.twitter.com/DbHorg8sF1
— Nat & Alex Wolff (@natandalex) June 20, 2014

And as usual for movies and TV shows that film in Charlotte (Homeland will always be in our hearts), Ashby is casting locally for extras. Tona B. Dahlquist Casting is handling the calls for extras, which you can find listed on the company's Facebook page (you'll also find calls for Charlotte extras for Cinemax's TV series Banshee and an MGM family movie called Max).

Ashby is scheduled to film in Charlotte for about five weeks, and will hit movie theaters some time in 2015. You can check for updates on its IMDB page.

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My First Time: Fourth Ward Bread Co. In Uptown

My experience on Tuesday was (actually) my second time visiting Fourth Ward Bread Co.--my first time was in December when I met a friend there for coffee. I expect to now make this my go-to bakery/cafe/coffee shop when I'm in Uptown.

Simply put, Fourth Ward Bread Co. is awesome. Open since September, it's located on North Graham Street, just off the intersection of Graham and Sixth streets (across from CVS). The layout is inviting, the decor charming: high ceilings, exposed brick walls, tall windows, and cool furniture, like a table propped up by an antique bike.

Photos by Jarvis Holliday.

The food is the star, though--this is, after all, a bakery. On my first visit I had the egg and cheese croissant; on Tuesday I ate lunch there, ordering the turkey bianca (sandwich) with the soup of the day, which was clam chowder. It's hard to convey how good the food here is. It's served fresh, hot, and flavorful--everything you would want from a bakery. I can't wait to try other items on the menu, particularly the sweets like the cinnamon bun, cookies, and cannoli. The coffee is decent; I'd say there's room for improvement with it.

Because I'm someone who often finds myself needing a space to do a couple of hours of work on my laptop in between meetings or interviews for stories, I love that this spot has plenty of tables and seating. And there's free WiFi, of course. Fourth Ward Bread Co. is family-owned, so that's another reason I look forward to being a repeat customer.

Another cool fact: the cafe was used in a scene in Homeland last season. Remember when Saul's wife was having that affair?

Photo credit: Facebook

Fourth Ward Bread Co., 312 N. Graham St., fourthwardbreadco.com, facebook.com/fourthwardbreadco.

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'Homeland' Season 3 Begins September 29

The cast and crew of the hit Showtime television series Homeland have been spotted around Charlotte a lot over the last couple of months--Uptown, SouthPark, Plaza Midwood--filming scenes for the upcoming season. Now we know when we'll get to see the highly anticipated season three: it premieres Sunday, September 29, 9 p.m. Showtime released this 30-second tease video, "Signals," today, and although it doesn't show any scenes, it's enough to get hardcore fans like me excited.

I'll certainly be among the millions of viewers tuning in to Showtime exactly two months from today to see what's going to happen with Brody, Carrie, Saul, and 'em, particularly after that explosive end to season two (literally). ShowBiz411 has revealed the titles of the first seven episodes of season three, and reports that episode nine is still being cast. The latter appears to align with the calls for extras in Charlotte on the Homeland Casting Facebook page, and since each season of Homeland features 12 episodes, I'm assuming the show is still in production on a handful of episodes.

The working relationship/friendship between Carrie (Claire Danes) and Saul (Mandy Patinkin) is expected to be one of season three's most pivotal storylines.
Credit: facebook.com/homelandonshowtime 

Visit the multi-Emmy-winning show's website at www.sho.com/homeland.

UPDATE: 8-09-13
The official Homeland Season 3 trailer was released today. It's a little more than three minutes long and is full of riveting snapshots.

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Gastonia (and N.C. BBQ) Featured on HBO's 'Veep'

If you were watching last night's episode of Veep on HBO, then you surely noticed that Gastonia played a large role in the comedy starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus. It was episode 10 of the show (season two, episode two), and Julia's character, Selina Meyer, the first female vice president of the United States, received orders from POTUS to attend a North Carolina pig-pickin' as part of their new Listen to Rural America Program, "U.S. Hey!" The pig-pickin' was in Gastonia.

Around these parts, we love for our cities and towns to get TV time, even if in fictional shows (Showtime's Homeland and Cinemax's Banshee, for example), but I'm not sure how Gastonian's feel about their portrayal in Veep. In one scene, while aboard Air Force Two on her way to Gastonia, the fictional vice president says she doesn't want to get "stuck talking pig sh*t with people who use hay as furniture." You had to laugh at that.

Another portrayal the show embarks on is the long-running, heated debate on North Carolina barbecue, by choosing a pig roast in Gastonia to attend. N.C. BBQ got thrust into the national spotlight when the real First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, announced that Charlotte had been awarded the 2012 Democratic National Convention, saying that: "Charlotte is a city marked by its southern charm, warm hospitality, and an "up by the bootstraps" mentality that has propelled the city forward as one of the fastest-growing in the South. Vibrant, diverse, and full of opportunity, the Queen City is home to innovative, hardworking folks with big hearts and open minds. And of course, great barbecue."

I wrote extensively about the DNC for a year, so I saw how often N.C. barbecue was brought into political circles and conversations. Veep does a good job of mimicking things politicians actually do, but with more of a hilarious exaggeration. Like, politicians really do go campaigning at North Carolina barbecue events: read my past DNC blog post, which includes a recap of the annual Mallard Creek Barbecue; and last June I begged national media to stop talking about N.C. BBQ; and even more fitting, in October 2010, a New York Times reporter visited a Pig Pickin’ and Politickin’ rally in Huntersville, hosted by a Republican women’s club.

At a recent Levine Museum of the New South event, the Uptown museum featured an Eastern vs. Western North Carolina barbecue tasting and competition.

We take our barbecue seriously around here. Veep got that much right.

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Casting Company Seeking Extras for Charlotte-Area Based TV Shows: 'Sleepy Hollow' Pilot, 'Banshee' Season 2, 'Homeland' Season 3

It's a great time to be an aspiring actor in Charlotte. The Tona B. Dahlquist Casting Company, which handles local casting for the Showtime hit television series Homeland and the new Cinemax series Banshee, is opening its call for extras for the next seasons of both of those shows as well as a new one: Sleepy Hollow, the TV pilot adaptation of famed short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" being attempted by FOX. The story is perhaps most known to audiences today from the 1999 box-office hit that starred Johnny Depp.

Producers of Sleepy Hollow (TV), reportedly, have cast Orlando Jones, Katia Winter, and Nicole Beharie in lead roles so far. Locations in Salisbury have been confirmed for filming, potentially as early as next week.

Actress Katia Winter recently starred in season 7 of Dexter on Showtime. Credit: IMDB.com

As for Banshee, a show that I've watched each week since it debuted in January, the season finale airs tonight on Skinemax, I mean Cinemax. Tona B. Dahlquist Casting is seeking submissions for extras for season two. The company has also stated that it will be announcing local casting needs for Homeland season 3 soon.

You can keep up with the latest by visiting the Tona B. Dahlquist Casting Facebook page, as well the Charlotte Regional Film Commission's website, particularly the film news section.

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'Banshee' Premieres Friday on Cinemax, Look for Charlotte

I added Cinemax to my premium cable TV lineup last week, so for the last several days I've seen previews for the network's new series Banshee, which premieres this Friday, January 11 at 10 p.m. The show is described as: "From the creator of True Blood, Banshee stars Antony Starr as Lucas Hood, an ex-con and master thief who assumes the identity of the sheriff of Banshee, Pennsylvania, where he continues his criminal activities, even as he’s hunted by the shadowy gangsters he betrayed years earlier." The series also stars Ivana Milicevic, Ben Cross, Frankie Faison, Ulrich Thomsen, and Lili Simmons.

Sometimes these action-crime dramas become television hits, and sometimes they only last one season. But I'm tuning in each week specifically to see if and when I spot scenes of Charlotte, and hopefully I become a fan of the show in the process. That's one of the things I enjoy about watching Homeland, in addition to it being one of the best shows on TV. Banshee began production in the Charlotte area last spring and, according to its local casting Facebook page, looks like filming continued here throughout the summer. Similar to Homeland where Charlotte plays the role of Washington, D.C., in Banshee the Charlotte area plays the fictional small town of Banshee, Pennsylvania.

In the trailer for Banshee, I spotted the Levine Avenue of the Arts in Uptown at the 1:24 mark. It's a quick snippet of a police shootout scene, and you can see the Mint Museum sign on the right and the historic St. Peter's Catholic Church across the street.

Screenshot.

For more details on Banshee, visit www.cinemax.com/banshee, and also check out the cool Gif Shop.

UPDATE
Small towns in the Charlotte area are more prominently used than the Queen City itself in this season of Banshee. "Five towns make Banshee: Monroe, Mooresville, Lincolnton, Gastonia, and Waxhaw," Banshee directing show runner Greg Yaitanes told The Charlotte Observer. "No one town captured everything that Banshee was, but everything existed in that area, and it allowed us to go to a lot of different places and make that town." Additionally, a local watering hole on Old Statesville Road in north Charlotte is used, and sets for select interiors were built on a sound stage in warehouses along Reames Road in Charlotte.

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'Homeland' Is Living Life Like It's Golden

Homeland, the Showtime series that debuted in the fall and was filmed largely throughout the Charlotte area, won two awards last night at the Golden Globes. It won the award for Best Television Series - Drama and its star, Claire Danes, won Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama.

Executive Producer Howard Gordon and the cast of Homeland accept their award.

Winning the award for best TV drama, obviously, is a big deal for the show, and it beat out two other great series that were nominated that I'm a fan of: Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire, both on HBO. American Horror Story (FX) and Boss (Starz) were also nominated in that category, but I've never seen either of those shows. And, I'm ashamed to admit, that I haven't watched Homeland yet either. I recorded the series on my DVR and, week to week, I was never able to make time to watch the hour-long episodes--I feel like I watch too much TV as it is. But I plan to watch Homeland soon, whose season finale aired about a month ago. I'll probably do like I've done with new series in the past after a full season has aired--watch all 12 episodes over the span of a lazy, indoor weekend. I'm sure many other people will get caught up on the show now that it's won the coveted award.

In this video below, the Homeland cast discuss their Golden Globe win with Access Hollywood.

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Osama's Death Makes 'Homeland' More Intriguing

Being the news junkie I am, I've been glued to the television and online news reports about the U.S. combat mission into Pakistan that killed Osama bin Laden. All the talk of stealth helicopters, secret Navy SEALs teams, special operatives, a CIA safehouse, and all the other details that have been reported this week really do sound like something out of Hollywood. And then it occurred to me: it sounds like something out of Charlotte, as in the new Homeland TV series whose pilot episode was filmed here. Last month, Showtime ordered a full season, 12 episodes, of the show and it's likely to debut either around the end of this year or early next year. According to reports, the show will continue to be filmed in Charlotte and surrounding areas, which is used to look like the Virginia/D.C. area.

Claire Danes and Mandy Patinkin star in Homeland.

Our new fixation with combat stories and secret military missions can only increase the interest in Homeland, which is described by Showtime as: "A taut psychological thriller about a volatile CIA officer (Emmy-winner Claire Danes) who becomes convinced that a recently rescued American POW may be connected to an al Qaeda plot to be carried out on U.S. soil. Mandy Patinkin and Damian Lewis also star." Below is a video of the series trailer. The first 30 seconds are particularly interesting as the scene is eerily similar to the photo the White House released of President Obama and his national security team in the Situation Room observing the raid on bin Laden's compound.

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Have You Spotted 'Homeland'?

I think I might have to drive around Charlotte a little bit this week to see if I can "accidentally" make my way onto the set of a television production. I blogged last month about Homeland when it was holding casting calls, and now the Showtime pilot has been filming for about two weeks in Charlotte and surrounding areas.

Homeland is a TV drama in the works about U.S. Marine Sgt. Scott Brody, played by actor Damian Lewis, who spent eight years as a prisoner of war in Baghdad and was presumed dead. Recently rescued, Brody has returned home. But CIA agent Carrie Anderson, played by Emmy award-winning actress Claire Danes, suspects that he's plotting an attack on America.

Charlotte is reportedly being used to replicate the Virginia/D.C. area, which, you know, is home to top government and military operations and officials. Filming locations include the Mountainbrook neighborhood in south Charlotte, the Ritz-Carlton in Uptown, Carolinas Aviation Museum at the airport, and the now-closed Philip Morris USA plant in Concord. The Philip Morris plant is a cool idea because it's being used as the CIA headquarters during filming. (And you might recall news from a couple of months ago in which an entertainment company proposed turning the vacant plant site into a music and movie studio complex.)

The Homeland Casting Facebook page is a great way to keep up with the progress the film crews have been making. It's also a place to find out about last-minute casting needs if you're wanting to be an extra. Below are some recent photos from Facebook.

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Casting Call this Friday for 'Homeland,' New Showtime Pilot Starring Claire Danes

UPDATE: A second casting call for Homeland has been added, scheduled for Tuesday, December 14, 4-7 p.m. at Carolina Mall in Concord. Click here for details.

There's a casting call being held locally this Friday for a new Showtime pilot called Homeland, the Charlotte Regional Film Commission announced yesterday. The casting call is scheduled for 4-7 p.m. at Plaza Fiesta Carolinas in Fort Mill, which is near the Charlotte border. Last month, Showtime announced that Claire Danes had signed on to play the lead in the one-hour drama.

Claire Danes.

In addition to Emmy Award-winner Danes, there's plenty of star power behind the scenes with this pilot. Homeland is being produced and co-written by Howard Gordon, former 24 and The X-Files executive producer and writer, while Dexter director Michael Cuesta is directing. Gideon Raff, Homeland’s creator, based the show on his Israeli TV series Prisoners of War.

The casting call is part of the pre-production work 20th Century Fox Television is currently in town doing. According to the Charlotte Regional Film Commission, the studio is planning to begin shooting the pilot in the area at the beginning of the year and if it's picked up as a series by Showtime, there's a possibility it could continue shooting here.

Click here for more details on the casting call, including a link to a downloadable PDF of a talent profile that's suggested you fill out if you're planning to audition.

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