When the fourth season of Warner Bros.' hit television show Dawson's Creek ended this May, fans were left with one burning question: Where does the show go from here?
Apparently, the answer is Duke.
Beginning July 23, the Gothic Wonderland will serve as a stand-in for the fictional Worthington College, where the character of Joey Potter, portrayed by actress Katie Holmes, will start her freshman year.
"I think it will be a lot of fun," said John Burness, Duke's senior vice president for public affairs and government relations. "We're excited to have the program come to Duke."
Both West and East Campuses will be used extensively in the shooting, as will the Sarah P. Duke Gardens, now in full summer bloom. Filming will begin next week and continue about twice a month during the school year.
"Duke's campus is absolutely gorgeous," said Dawson's casting director Lisa Fincannon. "A lot of people have told us that if they could shoot on any campus in the country, they'd choose Duke. We're very pleased."
Most interior scenes will still be filmed at the show's studios in Wilmington, N.C. For the past four years, the small coastal town has served as the fictional setting of Capeside, Mass.--Dawson and crew's hometown.
Only several days after the news was announced, a casting call was made for extras July 14 and 15 at South Square Mall in Durham. Over four thousand ambitious Durham residents--including many summer Duke students--arrived early, armed with Polaroid headshots and aspirations of appearing on the small screen.
"A lot of my friends watch it," said junior Kim Hammersmith, who waited in line for almost an hour. "I
Many students and administrators have been discussing what the implications of such a Hollywood invasion might be. University officials are confident the effect will only be positive.
"The most important thing in our decision was that [the show's producers] were eager to support and involve our students educationally in the process of doing the show," Burness said. "There will be internships available to students, paid positions for student extras, and seminars will be held.
"They've also agreed to involve students at the Durham School of the Arts, and hopefully, the actors will speak at other local public schools, because they really are role models."
This is not the first time that Hollywood has come to Duke.
Cabell Smith, radio and television services manager for Duke News Service, said the University typically receives 10 to 12 proposals per year.
The 1997 film I Know What You Did Last Summer, which was written by Dawson's Creek creator Kevin Williamson, was filmed in the Duke Forest, as was Kiss the Girls. Smaller independent films have also been set on campus.
When The Program was shot here, midterms were interrupted by film crews, leaving administrators questioning whether such extensive shooting should be allowed in the future.
Burness said he did not feel similar incidents would happen again.
"They are going to be here on a continuing basis," he said, "whereas film crews are usually only here for a short period, and they steamroll in and out. We will be able to work with them and arrange appropriate times for shooting."
Burness added that the television show will try to use fall break and spring break as shooting times, and that the emphasis will be on residential quads, rather than academic quads.
Local Dawson's fans are now trying to figure out how the campus will play into the plot of the fifth season.
Some students questioned whether the University's two campuses might serve as two unique schools, since East's neo-Georgian style and West's Gothic architecture could be difficult to explain to most viewers as being parts of the same school.
Worthington could, for example, be set on West, and Boston Bay College, Jen (Michelle Williams) and Jack's (Kerr Smith) school of choice, could be set on East. It remains to be seen whether other Dawson's regulars will journey to Durham. Dawson (James Van Der Beek), Andie (Meredith Monroe) and Pacey (Josh Jackson) are committed to the University of Southern California, Harvard University, and to working on a boat in the Caribbean, respectively.
"At this point, there certainly is [the duel-campus] option," Smith said. "One of the things that attracted them to Duke was the two architectural styles. Exterior shooting is not yet planned for East Campus, but I certainly wouldn't rule it out."
The University charges $3,000 for each day of filming on campus, plus the cost of any additional expenses incurred.
Burness said a significant portion of the money will go to academic programs, especially the Program in Film and Video.
"For the film and video program, this is like ODuke in Los Angeles' comes to Durham," said Jane Gaines, the program's director.
"Dawson's Creek" airs locally at 8 p.m. Wednesdays on WB22.
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