Virginia agrees to spend up to $12 million to attract Pharrell biopic filmed in Richmond, Hampton Roads

Trevor Metcalfe, The Virginian-Pilot
·3 min read
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A movie musical based on Virginia Beach native Pharrell Williams’ childhood could earn more than $12 million in state incentives to film in Richmond and Hampton Roads, according to state film office documents obtained by The Virginian-Pilot.

In return, the film’s production could bring a total estimated statewide economic impact of about $84 million, Virginia Film Office Director Andy Edmunds said.

The production will be based in Richmond with some photography in Virginia Beach, according to the project’s application for the incentives. A movie musical based on Williams’ Virginia Beach upbringing in the Atlantis apartment complex was first reported in 2017.

Based on the incentive agreement, Virginia would award the production up to $9 million in grants plus an additional $3.35 million for a promotional advertising campaign, Edmunds said. This Virginia-centric ad campaign would include a two-minute video advertisement featuring Williams and other shorter videos.

The incentive deal is conditional on the production shooting and spending verified money in Virginia. Producers estimated spending more than $42 million in the state in their application.

Virginia competed with longtime film and TV production haven Georgia for the project. Edmunds said Georgia offered the production around $15 million in incentives.

“Fortunately, the filmmakers, especially Pharrell, wanted to help us bring this entire opportunity to Virginia, in spite of possibly a less favorable economic scenario,” Edmunds said in an email.

In the incentive application, producers estimated the project would include 500 crew members, 25 actors and 2,700 extras and planned shooting between May 15 through Aug. 7.

Universal Pictures and a spokesperson for Williams did not respond to requests for comment.

Hampton Roads video production leaders said the movie production could bring major benefits to the region and state.

“Pharrell is a champion for Virginia Beach, the 757 and really the state as a whole,” said Patrick Walsh, president of Metro Productions, a video production company with Richmond and Hampton locations.

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Jon Abrahams, creative director at JPixx video production agency in Virginia Beach, said talented local filmmakers are often lured away to cities with more production work, like Los Angeles, New York and Atlanta. Abrahams helped produce a 2011 short film, “In Captivity,” which won best film at the 48 Hour Film Project’s national awards and was screened at the Cannes Film Festival.

“What excites me the most about the Pharrell production is that he has the potential to single-handedly put film production on the map in this area and draw even more artists into the community,” Abrahams said in an email.

The Governor’s Motion Picture Opportunity Fund, established in 1998, is the state’s grant program and has no minimum spending amount, Edmunds said. Virginia’s film tax credit program was established in 2010 and provides refundable tax credits for productions that spend at least $250,000. The tax credit program was most recently allocated $6.5 million annually, and the grant program was funded at $5 million per year, Edmunds said.

The Pharrell musical will star Kelvin Harrison Jr. in the lead, with Michel Gondry as director and a script by Martin Hynes (“Toy Story 4”) and Steven Levenson (“Tick, Tick…Boom!”), according to an announcement from Gov. Glenn Youngkin earlier this month. Halle Bailey and Da’Vine Joy Randolph, the 2024 Academy Awards’ best supporting actress, are also set to star, according to Variety.

Other films and TV shows shot in Hampton Roads include 2013’s “Captain Phillips,” which was filmed off the coast of Virginia Beach, and 2008’s “John Adams” miniseries, which filmed in Williamsburg and the Richmond area.

Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, trevor.metcalfe@pilotonline.com