Johnston County has great connections to Hollywood...being home to screen legend, Ava Gardner, MGM star of the 40s and 50s. Smithfield honors her life and career with the Ava Gardner Museum in the downtown area that draws fans from all over the world to her hometown!· And each October, the town hosts the Ava Gardner Independent Film Festival with more than 80 entries including shorts, animated and full documentaries.
Several independent films have been produced in the county, both in the Town of Clayton and the Town of Smithfield where cinematographers have discovered our rural charm and small town streetscapes are easy to film.
Today, we aspire to attract film projects small and large to our rural landscapes, farms, small town streetscapes and antebellum homes.·For more information on filming in the county and North Carolina film incentives, click on any of our town websites.
