Myrtle Beach SC to be site of new film. Here’s where cameras will begin rolling in June

Luke Lowder walks among the rows of RVs and permanent houses at Apache Family Campground and Pier, sharing memories of the Myrtle Beach spot where he spent his summers during his teenage years.

The writer and director has made the campground the center of his new movie, which will be filmed in Myrtle Beach beginning in June.

“It’s a huge opportunity,” the 27-year-old Albemarle, North Carolina, resident said. “I’ve always wanted to make something of the Grand Strand area.”

The film is a classic coming-of-age story with a summer romance. “You gotta have that in there,” Lowder said.

“The Grand Strand” follows the story of 14-year-old Levi, who is being raised by his elderly grandfather on their sprawling North Carolina chicken farm. When Levi’s grandfather succumbs to a heart condition, Levi must choose between going into foster care, or living with his aunt and uncle while they spend the summer in Myrtle Beach.

Lowder came to Myrtle Beach from the ages of 14 to 18 years old with his friend, staying at his parents’ campground home. They still have a spot at the campground, Lowder said.

The film is based on “bits and pieces” of what happened during Lowder’s summers at the campground, but all the places are real, he said. The story itself is fictional.

“It was a way to dramatically tie all these stories together instead of watching me hang out all summer,” Lowder said.

Writer was ready to sell car to get his film made

Lowder had been living in Los Angeles and working as a video music editor, while he was still tinkering away on scripts. He has been working on “The Grand Strand” script for a few years, beginning in 2019.

He had submitted it to a lot of competitions, but had never won and it never seemed like the right fit for what people were looking for.

Then COVID-19 happened, and it seemed that many of the scripts that were being selected were consumer-based, metaphorical or literal, he said. His script didn’t fit that at all. “It’s like a summer movie,” Lowder said. “Not the right time to make that movie at all.”

He even had “crazy thoughts about trying to make this movie on my own,” including selling his car to fund the film, Lowder said.

A friend notified Lowder about the open submission for Local Cinema Studios, which works with universities and communities to connect students to real film production opportunities.

The script was eventually selected by Local Cinema Studios for its next project, according to Dustin Whitehead, co-founder and creative director.

The project was funded by the South Carolina Film Commission.

This is second film project being shot in South Carolina

Whitehead teaches acting and filmmaking at the University of South Carolina. He approached the film commission last year with a proposal of doing a feature film project with students and asked for help in funding it.

The commission gave $100,000 toward the project, and Whitehead was able to hire film professionals to work with students.

The film, “Hero,” was shot in Columbia last year and is now playing film festivals this year.

This year the commission awarded $150,000 toward the filming of “The Grand Strand,” the second project selected by “Get on Set,” a yearly initiative to shoot a feature film in South Carolina with a crew of students working alongside industry professionals.

Whitehead also has partnered with other colleges, including Coastal Carolina University and Horry-Georgetown Technical College.

Local talent was cast and shooting will begin June 5, Whitehead said. It will continue for four weeks.

Filming in Myrtle Beach during summer poses challenges

Whitehead’s first thoughts about filming in Myrtle Beach was, “Oooo, Myrtle Beach in the summer,” he said. “We know there are going to be challenges” because of business, traffic and hotels.

“It’s a unique part of the country that hasn’t featured much in cinema,” Whitehead said of Myrtle Beach.

The primary shooting will happen at Myrtle Beach State Park and Apache Campground.

“It’s very unique and has been in the same (place) for the past 30 years,” Whitehead said of the private, oceanfront campground. “It has some elements that I’ve never seen.”

That includes rows and rows of trailers that have front yards and porches, he said. Some homes even have crow nests with heights that offer spectacular views of the ocean.

The campground also has an arcade, pool, a basketball court and a trading post - all locations Lowder and his friend frequented during their summers.

Lowder wrote for that location, writing and imagining it, Whitehead said.

Myrtle Beach a place where ‘people can be themselves’

There will be six students involved in the filming and professionals coming from L.A., Atlanta, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Once the film is finished, the hope is to put the movie in film festivals, including Sundance and South by Southwest, Whitehead said. Plans also include working to get it streamed online.

Whitehead, an actor and filmmaker from Chicago who can be seen in numerous independent films, as well as such TV shows as “Chicago PD” and “Chicago Fire,” is hoping to help Lowder launch his career as a young filmmaker.

It’s helping students, and people like Lowder, that got him started with the statewide film project.

“I feel positive about where film is going within the state,” Whitehead said. “South Carolina is sort of a hidden gem because people have seen a lot of films here, so they are excited to see them.”

The state also has a lot of different scenes, such as mountains and beaches.

And Myrtle Beach offers a perfect location.

“I feel like everything about any summer, or memories that stick out the most ... a lot of them take place at Myrtle Beach,” Lowder said of his vacations. “It’s like this place where people come with no plans, and people can be themselves.”