North Carolina will pump $15 million into building a 37,500-square-foot soundstage, falling short of Filmport’s 45,900-square-foot cavern. The EUE/Screen Gems Studios in Wilmington, already the largest North American studio complex outside of Los Angeles, will open its 10th soundstage this spring.

The proposed Dream Stage 10 will feature a 60 x 60-foot special effects water tank. EUE/Screen Gems’ recent credits include the Richard Gere/Diane Lane romance Nights in Rodanthe and The Secret Lives of Bees.

EUE/Screen Gems executives, led by co-principal Chris Cooney, last month made the rounds of Hollywood studios to steer movie and TV projects to North Carolina that are expected to materialize after the current SAG/studio standoff ends. North Carolina offers a 15% tax credit to visiting location shoots. As a marketing ploy, EUE/Screen Gems Studios created a webcam to enable studio executives to monitor progress on the construction of Dream Stage 10 from their desks in L.A.