PORTLAND, Ore. - Three new feature movies are scheduled to be filmed in Oregon, according to the governor's office. One movie, "Into the Wild," directed by Sean Penn, has already begun filming in the Astoria area. The movies are expected to have an overall economic impact of $26 million and bring hundreds of jobs for the production crews and casts, along with revenue for many Oregon vendors who support film production. Gov. Ted Kulongoski announced the three movies Friday as part of "Greenlight Oregon," an Oregon Production Investment Fund project he started three years ago with a bipartisan group of legislators to provide the movie industry financial incentives to film in Oregon. "Oregon has worked aggressively to attract film production to Oregon through the provision of financial incentives and labor rebates," Kulongoski said. After location work on the Oregon Coast, "Into the Wild" will film in the Cascade Range and several other Oregon locations this summer and in early fall. The film stars Emile Hirsch ("Lords of Dogtown," "Imaginary Heroes"), Catherine Keener ("Friends with Money," "Capote") and Vince Vaughn ("The Breakup," "Wedding Crashers"). "Into The Wild" is based on the bestseller by Jon Krakauer about a young man who abandons city life the Alaskan wilderness. The second film, "Feast of Love," has opened a production office in Portland and is being produced by Lakeshore Entertainment. Principal photography will take place from early August through late September. The film, directed by Robert Benton ("Places in the Heart," "Kramer vs. Kramer"), stars Morgan Freeman ("Lucky Number Slevin," "Million Dollar Baby," "Shawshank Redemption") and Greg Kinnear ("Little Miss Sunshine," "The Matador," "As Good As It Gets"). "Feast of Love" is described as a meditation on love and its various incarnations, set within a community of friends in Oregon. Filming has also begun in Southern Oregon for "My Name is Bruce" with about 150 local cast and crew scheduled to wrap in mid-August. In this feature, Bruce Campbell ("The Woods," "The Evil Dead," "Bubba Ho-tep"), is mistaken for his character "Ash" from the Evil Dead trilogy and forced to fight a real monster in a small town in Oregon.
