I just read an article that the new movie Nights in Rodanthe staring Richard Gere and Diane Lane was partially filmed in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. That got me thinking. Since North Carolina is such a beautiful place, what other films have been filmed there. There is actually a book called North Carolina Filmography by Jenny Henderson that covers films shot there between 1905 and 2000. Here is a partial list that I found:

Bull Durham
The Fugitive
Last of the Mohicans
Being There
Forrest Gump
The Abyss
The Hunt for Red October
Junebug
The Color Purple
The Green Mile
True Lies
X-Men
Talladega Nights
Dirty Dancing
Lolita
Shallow Hal
Fried Green Tomatoes
Patch Adams
Hannibal

I thought that maybe J.D. Salinger would no longer be alive, but he still is. J.D. Salinger was born in 1919 and raised in Manhattan, New York. When he was in High School, he began writing short stories. His first novel, The Catcher in the Rye, was a big success. This novel was required reading for my High School English class and I still remember the part where Holden Caulfield was popping his zits and blackheads into his pillow – yuck!

Salinger was noted for constantly changing his religious beliefs. At one time he followed Zen Buddism and changed to varying form of Hinduism from time to time. He was even following Scientology for a while. He also tried various medical and nutritional beliefs including homeopathy, urine therapy, speaking in tongues, fasting and vomiting.

Salinger would publish a few more works, but stopped publishing all together in 1965. He became a recluse but managed to marry several times. He would often send women love letters and latter convince them to come and live with him. He has two children by his second marriage.

Many people who have lived with him have confirmed that he writes every day. I wonder what will happen to all those papers after he is gone.

Firestarter (1984) is a movie based on a Stephen King novel of the same name. It revolves around Charlene “Charlie” McGee (played by Drew Barrymore) who has the ability to start a fire by using her mind. There is, of course, a secret government agency involved in the whole thing who tries to control Charlie and her parents. The house that was incinerated in the finale of the movie was found after looking at Wilmington NC real estate for months. The director loved the house so much, they couldn’t burn it down in the end and instead built a replica on the property to burn instead.

One of my favorite movies growing up was The Incredible Mr. Limpet starring Don Knotts. The movie was made in 1964 and was a live action and animated film. Henry Limpet (Knotts) loves fish and he would rather be a fish than human. He gets his wish when he falls into the ocean. He decides to help they Navy defeat the Nazis by using his special voice talent to disrupt the submarines underwater instruments and weapons. The film is enduring and funny at the same time.

It was once rumored that a remake of the film (all animation) would be made in 2006, starring Jim Carrey as the voice of Henry Limpet. The project was shelved.