Indie movie starring Jon Heder to film in Central Va. this summer

Three recent TV projects contributed $120M to state economy

Published June 7, 2021 by Jason Roop

“Tapawingo,” an indie feature film starring Jon Heder and Billy Zane, will film in Hopewell, Petersburg and Richmond this summer, Gov. Ralph Northam announced June 4.

Directed by Dylan K. Narang, it’s described as a coming-of-age comedy centered on “a listless oddball who becomes the unlikely bodyguard for a misfit teenager and finds himself in the crosshairs of the town’s family of bullies.”

The project, from Foggy Bottom Pictures, is the latest in a recent string of television and film productions shot in Virginia, including the TV productions “Swagger,” “The Walking Dead: World Beyond” and “Dopesick,” a Hulu miniseries starring Michael Keaton that’s based on the New York Times bestseller by former Roanoke Times journalist Beth Macy.

Those three projects contributed more than $120 million to the economy in a nine-month period, Secretary of Commerce and Trade Brian Ball said in a statement, noting that the film industry “continues to create high-paying jobs and generate instant revenue for Virginia businesses large and small,” he said.

Virginia Film Office Director Andy Edmunds noted the post-pandemic role of the film sector: “This industry was one of the first to stimulate our hardest-hit sectors like hospitality during the past year’s challenges, and we are thrilled about the continued support these resilient projects provide.”

Richmond’s Bryan Park is being prepped this week as a setting for the post-zombie apocalypse series on AMC, “The Walking Dead: World Beyond.” The series “Swagger,” a sports-themed drama from Brian Grazer and NBA star Kevin Durant, is set to air on Apple TV+.

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