What they experienced during their 10-day trip two years ago was a microcosm of the Bull City. They met Duke students. Blues singers. Retired tobacco workers. Mexican immigrants. Mayor Bill Bell. A woman who ran a fast food spot near the old Durham Bulls ballpark.

"By the end of that time he was already writing a screenplay," said Mount, producer of "Bull Durham," on Thursday from Los Angeles. "What inspired him was that we drove down Main Street on a Saturday afternoon and we were the only car on Main Street."

That scene reminded Foote of the small Texas town he grew up in, Mount said. It inspired him to write a movie about a city fallen on hard times and the residents who "summoned the bravery to face the future."

"Main Street," the script Foote wrote, will begin shooting in or near downtown Durham March 16. It will be the 26th feature movie shot in Durham.

Mount, known for becoming the head of Universal Pictures at 26 and then a successful independent producer, will be one of the movie's producers. Foote, 93, won Oscars for adapting "To Kill a Mockingbird" into a 1962 movie and for writing the screenplay for the 1983 Robert Duvall hit "Tender Mercies."

Landing a movie is a big deal for Durham -- and not just for the notoriety it brings.

A film production is like four or five conventions being held here, said Reyn Bowman, president and CEO of the Durham Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"It gives us credibility for future film productions," he said. "It also exposes the community's unique sense of place. Often in movies we play Boston or New York or other places, but it will still be widely known where the film was shot.

"And that's what we call a billboard effect. It will go on for years, just like it did in 'Bull Durham.'"

Bowman estimates up to $10 million will be spent in the city, from food to lodging to enlisting local help. That spending can provide up to 300 temporary jobs, said Aaron Syrett, director of the North Carolina Film Office.

Statewide, some 16,000 people worked on movie and television productions between 2007 and 2008, Syrett said. More than 30 films and television shows were shot in 28 counties during that time, adding up to more than $162 million in spending. On average, about 12 films and television shows are shot in North Carolina every year, Syrett said.

The state film office tries to lure productions to North Carolina by offering them a 15 percent tax credit. Film companies have saved about $15.4 million in taxes over the past three years, but for every dollar saved in taxes, $10.56 was put back into local economies, Syrett said. He expects this year to be a slower one because of strikes and labor disputes in Hollywood and competition. Georgia has a 30 percent tax credit, Louisiana has a 25 percent credit and South Carolina's is between 20 and 30 percent, Syrett said.

Mount, who sits on the state film commission, hopes lawmakers will increase the state's tax credit to 20 percent.

But the current rate hasn't stopped movie makers and television shows from coming to North Carolina. Popular shooting locations include Charlotte, Asheville, Wilmington and downtown Durham, Syrett said.

"Producers love North Carolina because they appreciate the diversity of the locations," he said.