Latest on Will Ferrell's NASCAR movie: Wacky comedian Will Ferrell is roaring toward Charlotte to film a NASCAR comedy here this fall. Now, you might automatically imagine Ferrell exploring how fast he can go through a fast-food drive-through, and there will be plenty of Ferrell's silly screen antics. But experts say the movie represents something significant: This will be the first major studio project made in the state [North Carolina] in three years. The reason? The state is poised to get back in the race for film projects by offering more competitive funding incentives for filmmakers. According to sources close to the Columbia Studios project, Ferrell will be here from about September to December, filming at a Charlotte studio and at racetracks and nearby towns. The project was formerly titled "Talladega Nights," but that name has been dropped. It is now being referred to as "The Untitled Will Ferrell NASCAR Comedy." (Expect that to change.) Sources close to the project could not say where the film is set, or if that issue has been decided. The NASCAR comedy is slated for release sometime next year. "That film was set for Alabama," Frank Capra Jr., president of Wilmington's ScreenGem Studios, says of the Ferrell comedy. "The incentives -- or the promise of the incentives -- are what brought it to Charlotte." Some Carolinians might get into the act, too. At least some actors will be needed, and perhaps plenty of extras to fill racing grandstands.(Charlotte Observer)(7-14-2005)