Theatre
Kings Mountain is home to the Joy Performance Center. Formerly a 1940s era movie theater at 202 South Railroad Avenue, the venue has been restored and repurposed by the King Mountain Little Theatre for theatre productions. The most successful has been Liberty Mountain: The Revolutionary Drama, presented annually. The play was written by Robert Inman and has received many accolades. Read more. . .
Film Production
On November 10, 1973 Earl Owensby started production on his first feature film, Challenge. The following year, Owensby founded EO Studios between Shelby and Boiling Springs. The studio was responsible for the development, production, and distribution of dozens of low-budget action films (distributed mostly to outdoor Drive-in and Grindhouse theaters). Owensby discovered that although his films may have lacked widespread mainstream appeal, international audiences latched on to his brand of filmmaking.
In 1988, Owensby purchased the unfinished, abandoned Cherokee Nuclear Power Plant, just outside Gaffney, South Carolina, with a plan towards turning it into a studio. The studio soon partnered with director James Cameron, who filled one of the plant’s reactors with water to shoot his sci-fi epic The Abyss (1989). It was, at that time, the world’s largest underwater sound stage.
The short documentary below was produced by Noel T. Manning, II in 1993.
Since that time, several other production companies have chosen Cleveland County for filming. It is estimated 50 percent of a production budget is spent in the location filming area, so film making has the ability to boost local economies significantly. Below are some of the movies and TV shows that were filmed in the county.
| films | TV series |
| Death Screams, 1982 | Homeland, 2013 |
| Carnival Magic, 1983 | Banshee, 2022 |
| Blood Done Sign My Name, 2010 | |
| The Hunger Games, 2012 | |
| Buried in Barstow, 2022 |
Film Competition
Each summer, the Cleveland County Arts Council presents the Real to Reel International Film Festival. It is held at the Joy Performance Center in Kings Mountain. Founded in 2000 by Will Eskridge and Noel T. Manning II, the festival provides a forum for independent film, video, and multi-media artists from around the world to showcase their talents and expose the works of these artists to our region.
The 25th Annual Real to Reel International Film Festival was held July 24–27, 2024 and featured a total of 33 films from nine countries and four continents. Read more. . .
Actors and Dancers from Cleveland County
Born in Kings Mountain, Laura Moss graduated from the NC School of the Arts and went on to gain a lead role in the very successful daytime serial, Another World.
Nina Repeta, a native of Shelby, is an actress who has been featured in movies, TV shows and commercials. She has appeared in “Matlock,” “The Originals,” “Dawson’s Creek,” and “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.”
Although not a native of Cleveland County, Maria Beale Fletcher spent a great deal of time in Shelby in the early 1950s. Her parents were Margaret and Beale Fletcher. They operated weekly dance lessons at the old Community Center in Shelby. Maria grew up to win the Miss North Carolina title, followed by the Miss America title in 1962.
Cleveland County History 