CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The upcoming movie “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” an adaptation of the best-selling and beloved by generations novel by Judy Blume, dropped its first trailer Thursday ahead of hitting the silver screen this spring.
Last week, Lionsgate released the trailer for the film adaptation of the iconic coming-of-age book from 1970. The trailer shows sixth-grader Margaret praying for help as she navigates puberty and tries to fit in with new friends in a new town after leaving her big-city home.
The trailer and movie also put the spotlight on Charlotte. Much of the movie was filmed in the Charlotte area for several months in spring and summer of 2021.
That’s when its star-studded cast descended on Charlotte, including Academy Award nominee Rachel McAdams as Margaret’s mother, Oscar-winning actress Kathy Bates as Margaret’s grandmother. Abby Ryder Fortson plays the title role. She had portrayed Cassie Lang, the daughter to the title hero in Marvel’s “Ant-Man” films.
“Margaret” was written for the screen and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig, who also directed the film “The Edge of Seventeen.”
Set to the upbeat music of George Harrison’s “What Is Life,” the trailer rolls through scenes of students learning about their changing bodies in a school auditorium, the awkwardness of buying feminine products from a male cashier and anxiety of peer pressure to fit in “the club” by wearing a bra. And then there’s the famous line: “We must. We must. We must increase our bust.”
Margaret desperately prays: “Just let me be normal and regular like everybody else.”
This is the first time that Blume has consented to have one of her books adapted into a movie.
By Friday morning, the trailer had over 1 million views on YouTube, with comments like “I read this book SO many times in my teens. ... It kept me sane during the weirdest point in my life!!” and “FINALLY!! THE book that defined my teen years and the author who started me on my love of reading.”
The film opens in theaters April 28.
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Filming in Charlotte
The Charlotte region has been the backdrop for many movies and television shows. That includes TV shows like “Homeland” and “Banshee,” and movies like “Hunger Games,” “American Animals,” “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” and “Leatherheads.”
Other recent notable films and TV shows with Charlotte scenes are:
— “Delilah,” both filmed and set in Charlotte. The TV show airs on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN TV network starring Maahra Hill of “Black-ish” and “How To Get Away With Murder” and Jill Marie Jones of “Girlfriends.” York County, S.C., native Charles Randolph-Wright produced the show with Winfrey.
— “A Nashville Christmas Carol,” a made-for-TV movie.
— The guys behind the “Please Don’t Destroy” skits on “Saturday Night Live” filmed a comedy for Universal Studios. Ben Marshall, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy were seen roller skating at North Davidson and 36th streets, CharlotteFive reported. Conan O’Brien also is in the movie.
— In August, crews began filming a rom-com in the Commonwealth/Plaza Midwood area, featuring writer and actress Karen Abecrombie, known for Christian genre movies like “War Room” and “Discarded Things.”
— Indie film “Mother Couch!” also will be filmed in Charlotte. It’s a story of how three estranged children are brought together trying to figure out why their mother sits on a green couch inside a local furniture store and refuses to leave.
North Carolina offers a 25% rebate on expenses and purchases and has a recurring $31 million per fiscal year for industry productions since 2018, according to the N.C. Film Office.
The Lionsgate project for Blume’s book was approved for a grant up to $7 million, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.
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