Thousands turn out for 'Iron Man 3' casting call in Raleigh

People lined up as early as 5 a.m. and waited hours for the chance to see themselves on on the silver screen. 

The "Iron Man" sequel will be filmed in Wilmington over a 10-month period starting in May. Gov. Bev Perdue said in October that the film would create hundreds of jobs in the Wilmington area and generate more than $80 million for North Carolina.

The movie's production is expected to create about 550 crew jobs and more than 1,000 talent opportunities. A release date is expected sometime in 2013.

EUE/Screen Gems Studio says motion picture executives at Marvel considered locations in Los Angeles, Michigan and New Mexico before deciding Wilmington had the right mix of space, talent and taxpayer incentives.

Since 2010, North Carolina has offered a 25 percent tax credit as an incentive for production companies that spend a minimum of $250,000 in the state.

"Iron Man 3" is just the latest production to take advantage of that. "The Hunger Games," the movie based on a best-selling book trilogy, was filmed in North Carolina and featured Krystie Phannareth in an extra role. 

"It was long hours and a lot of waiting time," she said. "Because North Carolina is non-union, the pay is minimum wage." Still, she enjoyed the experience so much that she lined up on Saturday for the chance to do it all again.

So far this year, 29 productions have set up offices throughout the state and have spent more than $200 million while creating more than 3,000 crew, 500 talent and 21,000 background talent jobs.

There will be another casting call in Wilmington at Independence Mall from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 21.

If you can't make it to either casting, you can apply online. Just send a copy of a current snapshot and your information (name, age, height, weight, city and state you reside in and phone number) to cagedheatextras@gmail.com.