SALT LAKE CITY — Utah is celebrating one hundred years of filmmaking in the state, and still going strong into another century on both the silver screen and your television.
"There’s more platforms and streaming and advertising and products out there than ever before, and we’re still a great place to take a picture," explained Kelly Stowell of the Kane County Film Commission.
Stowell was speaking from a picturesque Kane County location with the scenic Jackson Flat Reservoir behind him.
"There’s no better place to film in my opinion," he said.
Derek Mellus serves as production manager for the Utah Film Commission and is grateful for incentives such as the ones legislators recently passed that benefit rural areas like Kane County.
"A project had to shoot 75 percent of its principal photography off of the Wasatch Front, essentially, to be approved for those specific rural dollars," Mellus said.
"It really helps us with the big projects," added Stowell. "The big film projects have big impacts, and they spend a lot of money and they bring a lot of eyes on Utah and it’s a chance to show off the best of what we have."
The state's sweeping landscapes have been on the silver screen now for a century, with the first film crew coming to southern Utah in 1924.
It's believed the professionalism of local crews, along with the kindness of communities and diverse landscape scenery keeps the productions lining up.
"We have the high mountain forest, all the way to the Badlands of big water to the coral pink sand dunes that look like the Sahara Desert," said Stowell, "so we really get a lot of production value in a small, relatively small space."
Crews just wrapped up a national car commercial yesterday near Kanab.
"They have a big impact and we really appreciate them, even though they aren’t the longer projects that stick around and really spend a lot of time in an area," Stowell said.
Another car commercial was shooting Tuesday at Reservoir Park in the Salt Lake area.
"The strikes that happened kind of slowed things down and pushed production out of the country, and we’re just starting to see things get back going again," said Mellus.
While not incentivized, Mellus says advertising campaigns are welcomed in Utah as they bring dollars and job opportunities to the economy.
Kevin Costner and his team shot the Horizon movie series in recent months down in southern Utah, getting that area back on the big screen.
"We’re hoping for more projects with Kevin Costner or whoever that may be that wants to come in and take advantage of our stunning backdrops," Stowell added.
While the movie industry as a whole is in a bit of a lull, there are some exciting announcements that are expected soon.
