RALEIGH, N.C. – The feature film “Nights in Rodanthe” based on the best-selling book by Nicholas Sparks will be filmed in North Carolina.

Sparks lives in New Bern.

Warner Brothers Pictures and DiNovi productions picked North Carolina for the filming, Gov. Mike Easley announced on Friday. Shooting will take place in the Outer Banks and in Wilmington.

North Carolina used recently passed tax incentives to help secure the film’s shooting.

“Making movies is big business and North Carolina continues to play a leading role,” Easley said in a statement.

The movie will feature Richard Gere and Diane Lane. It will be directed by George Wolfe, who also directed “Lackawanna Blues,” and produced by Denise Di Novi. Filming will start in May.

New tax incentives for film production went into effect Jan. 1. If a production company spends at least $250,000 in the state it will receive a tax credit equal to 15 percent for goods services and labor it purchases in the state.

The N.C. Department of Commerce’s Film office worked with the Wilmington Regional Film Commission to negotiate the deal.