OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Seeing lights, cameras, and all the action brought by a movie production is not a common sight in downtown Overland Park.
"It's not something you see every day, like a film being shot in your area," said Kate Wieners, owner of Monstera's Books.
A local production company recently finished a Lifetime Original film shot in multiple locations across the Kansas City area, including Monstera’s Books.
Wieners said the commotion got the store some attention.
"We got a lot of foot traffic the next couple of days with people just wondering like, 'What was going on?'" said Wieners.
The movie is called "Girl in the Garage."
It’s based on the true story of Laura Cowan, a California woman whose experience with domestic abuse led her to advocate for women who've been victim's of abuse.
Kansas City-based production company AGA Productions worked on the movie.
Corey McCartney is a producer at company.
"You might recognize few locations in Westport, you may see a couple of things that you recognize in Overland Park or an area near Swope Park," McCartney said.
The movie is set in Los Angeles and Ohio, but McCartney says Kansas City's landscape can work for both locations.
"The good thing about Kansas City is that it is like a very diverse landscape, and depending on what part of town, we actually have locations that can represent a lot of different places," McCartney said.
The area's landscape is just one factor which makes the area a desirable place to shoot a movie.
A 2023 law passed in Missouri has the potential to draw even more movie crews. It’s called the Show MO Act, and it offers a 20% tax credit to filmmakers.
"That's very attractive to buyers or just producers coming in," McCartney said.
Kansas doesn’t have a film tax incentive, but McCartney would like to see that change.
"So we can actually take advantage of incentives on both sides of the state," McCartney said.
Even with the takeover of her store during filming, Wieners welcomes the idea of more movies being filmed in the area.
“It's just like fun to see what you see every day on TV,” Wieners said.
The list of movies filmed in this area is longer than you might think.
It includes the Chiefs-themed movie from Hallmark that comes out on Nov. 30.
"Girl in the Garage" premieres on Lifetime on Jan. 18.
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KSHB 41 reporter Olivia Acree covers portions of Johnson County, Kansas. Share your story idea with Olivia.
