By Lewis Loflin
Adriana Trigiani’s *Big Stone Gap: The Movie* (2015) secured $900,000 in Virginia grants and tax credits, sold as a lifeline for Big Stone Gap, a coal town with 22% poverty (2016 Census). Yet, my visits show no progress, and my brother—a resident—calls it “all but emptied” in 2025, with no jobs or tourism from the film. Trigiani, who left for New York decades ago, contributed little beyond her novel and film, despite public funds meant for revival. This echoes the $10,000 marketing grant in Failed Movie Grant and other regional flops, like Abingdon’s $157,000 grant, per Tourism Grants. Southwest Virginia’s funding priorities, seen in BVU Corruption, need scrutiny.
Similar issues in Scott County and Energy Center reveal systemic flaws.
See Southwest Virginia’s $10,000 Grant for a Failed Movie: A 2025 Review.
Born in Big Stone Gap, Trigiani moved to New York after college, as Bill Lohmann wrote: “Though Trigiani has lived in New York for years, Virginia remains home in her heart” (Richmond Times-Dispatch, 2015). Arriving at six, she left at 18 for Saint Mary’s College, returning only briefly, per her biography. Her *Big Stone Gap* novel (2000) and sequels—*Big Cherry Holler*, *Milk Glass Moon*, *Home to Big Stone Gap*—topped The New York Times bestseller list, per USA Today (Oct. 31, 2006). Yet, locals I spoke with report no investment from her success, despite $900,000 in public funds, dwarfing Plant Nursery Grants.
In 2007, Delegate Brian Moran (D-Alexandria) proposed a $3 million budget amendment to lure the film to Big Stone Gap, outbidding South Carolina, per Kingsport Times-News (Jan. 25, 2007). Delegates Bud Phillips (D-Clintwood) and Terry Kilgore (R-Gate City) co-sponsored, with Kilgore’s Virginia Tobacco Commission giving $300,000 and the Virginia Arts Commission adding $300,000 (Bristol Herald Courier, Jan. 17, 2007). In the end, $900,000 in tax credits and grants was awarded via the Virginia Film Office, per Deadline (2015). Budgeted at $3.5 million, the film grossed $4.7 million (Box Office Mojo), but left no jobs, unlike Washington County’s promises.
[](https://heraldcourier.com/news/appalachian-school-of-law-gets-vceda-funds/article_7fa73f42-aa80-5a9b-b611-b5a6045cb71a.html)Like the $17 million Artesen Center in Abingdon, it overpromised and collapsed.
Moran claimed the film would bring “high-paying jobs” and showcase Virginia, urging, “We can’t let this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slip away” (Kingsport Times-News, Jan. 25, 2007). Trigiani’s letter to lawmakers pushed filming in Big Stone Gap for “authenticity,” promising community and student benefits (Kingsport Times-News). Yet, she didn’t attend hearings, and the film’s 1970s fiction didn’t mirror Big Stone Gap’s coal struggles, locals said. Temporary roles (extras, crew) vanished post-2014, and no tourism materialized, undercutting Kilgore’s claims.
The Tobacco Commission’s $300,000 was part of $425 million spent by 2007, with little return, as I questioned at a 2008 Bristol hearing (Richmond Times-Dispatch, Aug. 6, 2013). Kilgore promised better oversight, but results lagged. The Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority (VCEDA), tied to Wise County’s John Peace, backed the film, part of millions lost to tourism ventures like the Ralph Stanley Museum, defaulted to Clintwood for $2 million by 2015 (Coalfield Progress, 2015). VCEDA, serving only coal counties—Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Tazewell, Wise, and Norton—focuses on its region, unlike broader Tobacco Commission grants. These echo TICR’s accountability gaps.
The Heart of Appalachia Tourism Authority, linked to the film’s campaign, collapsed when director Geneva O’Quinn and manager Kathy Roberson were suspended in 2007 for mishandling $162,800 owed to Wise County (2003-2006), per Coalfield Progress (Dec. 21, 2007). Chairman Tim Long’s ouster for ineligibility exposed closed-door deals. Operating from a St. Paul PO box, their push for locals to donate homes and cars—while Storefront Pictures (Michigan) took grants—sparked resentment, as I noted in Tourism Hype.
Offline by 2022, www.bigstonegap.net claimed grassroots support, led by Tabitha Peace, whose husband, John Peace, was a Wise County Supervisor and VCEDA member, per WHOIS and bigstonegap.net (2006). John predicted tourism dollars during and after filming (Oct. 30, 2006), but political ties undermined the “grassroots” label. A Virginia Commonwealth University study, cited by the site, claimed $14 per $1 in film incentives, but I’ve found no data—likely biased, like Artesen’s study.
By 2022, as I wrote, and into 2025, Big Stone Gap saw no film-driven gains, with my brother noting an “all but emptied” town. With 5,600 residents and ~20% poverty, it gained no jobs or visitors, unlike Bristol’s Hard Rock Casino ($182 million revenue, 2024), two counties away with no local impact, per Virginia Lottery (2025). The $900,000 enriched Storefront Pictures (site down, 2022), not locals, mirroring Job Losses (789 regionally, 2016).
In 2008, the Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission rejected a $206,386 Mount Rogers Health Works grant for a mobile medical unit serving 2,500-3,000 workers, calling it “low priority” (TICRC Report, July 2008). Yet, $900,000 for the film flowed freely, ignoring Big Stone Gap’s healthcare gaps, where 20% lack coverage (Census, 2016). This reflects Meth Epidemic’s call for practical aid over publicity stunts.
In 2025, Big Stone Gap languishes—stores shuttered, coal gone—per my brother. The Tobacco Commission, nearly tapped out, faces closure scrutiny, while VCEDA funds coal-county projects like Lawrence Brothers’ $1.315 million loan in Tazewell (VCEDA Report, April 9, 2025). Trigiani’s film, like the Ralph Stanley Museum, justified no infrastructure, leaving taxpayers to prop up failed venues. Southwest Virginia’s tourism push, per Movie Marketing, sidesteps fixes for fading towns.
Trigiani’s film, backed by $900,000, left Big Stone Gap empty-handed, a lesson in misallocated funds. In 2025, Southwest Virginia must prioritize healthcare and jobs, not outsider projects, to revive places like Big Stone Gap.
Acknowledgment: I’d like to thank Grok, an AI by xAI, for helping me draft and refine this article. The final edits and perspective are my own.
