Rachel McAdams as Barbara Dimon and Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret Simon in "Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret." Photo: Dana Hawley
A trailer for the North Carolina-filmed “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” is out, and we already recognize some local spots on camera.
Driving the news: The film adaptation of Judy Blume’s beloved coming-of-age novel will premiere in theaters on April 28.
The story is set in the New Jersey suburbs, but the movie was filmed in and around Charlotte in 2021. Cameras also rolled in Cabarrus, Gaston and Union counties, including downtown Monroe and Concord.
- The family’s 1960s neighborhood was brought to life in Foxcroft, Southern Living reported. The McCelvey Center in York, South Carolina, was used as Margaret’s school.
- In one shot, you may also notice the familiar red awning of Tryon House, a 1920s multi-residential building in Uptown.
Why it matters: The movie brought star power — Rachel McAdams and Kathy Bates — to Charlotte during a hot year for film productions.
- North Carolina’s film industry was recovering from House Bill 2, the “bathroom bill” that sent companies and industries packing.
- The state awarded “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” a grant rebate of up to $7 million to incentivize it to film here. Last year, productions spent $55.5 million in the greater Charlotte area, NC Film Office director Guy Gaster told Axios’ news partners WBTV.
Details: Lionsgate Studios produced the film. In the movie, McAdams plays Margaret’s mother, and Bates is her grandmother. Abby Ryder Fortson plays Margaret, a sixth-grade girl “going through the tumultuous throes of puberty with new friends in a new school,” per the synopsis.
