Thursday, October 1, 2026
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Gaston County, NC (WNN)—The just-released movie Roofman has ties to Gaston County and the Charlotte area. Paramount Pictures' Roofman was released on October 10th, 2025, and stars Channing Tatum in the lead role. In the movie, Tatum plays Jeffrey Manchester, a former Army Ranger who becomes a professional thief to provide for his family. Manchester, who claims he robbed over 40 fast food establishments from California to North Carolina by cutting holes in the roof, was arrested after robbing the McDonald's in Gastonia and Belmont the same day in May 2000. McDonald's employees state that he was very polite during the robberies and even allowed them to wear their jackets as they were locked in the cooler during the theft.
He was sentenced to prison for the Gaston County robberies, but he escaped in 2004. After escaping, he entered a Toys R Us and an empty Circuit City store on East Independence Blvd in Charlotte, where he lived for approximately six months. He lived on baby food, candies, and whatever he could find in the store. He also obtained cash by pawning Toys R Us video games at a nearby pawnshop. While residing at the operating Toys R Us undetected, he befriended local Charlotte resident Leigh Wainscott. Manchester, under the alias name "John Zorn," attended Crossroads Presbyterian Church on Monroe Road, where he met Wainscott. Manchester even donated stolen toys for the church toy drive, winning the congregation over. The movie was filmed in Gastonia and Charlotte, NC. One local vacant building was even turned into a movie set, "Toys R Us", where passers-by even thought it was a real store. The light-hearted movie has received an 85% score on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and moviegoers. Without giving more of the movie away, I'll leave Roofman as a movie based on real local events and bad decisions.
Cast: Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst, Ben Mendelsohn, LaKeith Stanfield, Juno Temple, Melonie Diaz, Uzo Aduba, Lily Collias, Jimmy O. Yang, Peter Dinklage
Rating: R Crime/Drama
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