SALT LAKE CITY (June 10, 2021) – Utah Film Commission today announced the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) Board approval of seven new productions for state film incentives, generating an estimated economic impact of $25 million and creating approximately 800 local jobs. These projects were approved for the Motion Picture Incentive Program and showcase the diversity of film production in the state.
PRESS & MEDIA
PRESS RELEASES
JUNE 2021: SEVEN NEW PRODUCTIONS APPROVED TO FILM IN UTAH
MAY 2021: UTAH FILM COMMISSION CELEBRATES 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF 'THELMA & LOUISE'
SALT LAKE CITY (May 20, 2021) – The Utah Film Commission, in partnership with the Moab to Monument Valley Film Commission, is hosting a special screening of the made-in-Utah classic Thelma & Louise in celebration of the 30th Anniversary since its release in 1991. The outdoor screening will take place in Moab, Utah on Friday, May 21st at Swanny City Park and will begin after sundown (approximately 8:30 p.m.).
APRIL 2021: THREE NEW PRODUCTIONS APPROVED TO FILM IN UTAH
SALT LAKE CITY (April 8, 2021) – Utah Film Commission today announced the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) Board approval of three new productions for state film incentives, generating an estimated economic impact of $1.9 million and creating approximately 175 local jobs.
MARCH 2021: FIVE NEW PRODUCTIONS APPROVED TO FILM IN UTAH
SALT LAKE CITY (March 11, 2021) – Utah Film Commission today announced the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) Board approval of five new productions for state film incentives, generating an estimated economic impact of $6.9 million and creating approx. 300 local jobs.
OCTOBER 2020: ‘THE WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW' FILMED IN UTAH TO PREMIERE OCTOBER 9
SALT LAKE CITY (October 8, 2020) – Utah is in the spotlight this week with the premiere of ‘The Wolf of Snow Hollow’ releasing in Megaplex Theatres across the state and on-demand on October 9.
SEPTEMBER 2020: FIVE NEW PRODUCTIONS APPROVED TO FILM IN UTAH
SALT LAKE CITY (September 10, 2020) – Utah Film Commission today announced the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) Board approval of five new productions for state film incentives, generating an estimated economic impact of $6.5 million and creating over 185 local jobs.
AUGUST 2020: TWO NEW PRODUCTIONS APPROVED TO FILM IN UTAH
SALT LAKE CITY (August 13, 2020) – Utah Film Commission today announced the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) Board approval of two new productions for state film incentives, generating an estimated economic impact of $2.1 million and creating over 150 local jobs.
JULY 2020: FIVE NEW PRODUCTIONS APPROVED TO FILM IN UTAH
SALT LAKE CITY (July 9, 2020) – Utah Film Commission today announced the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) Board approval of five new productions for state film incentives, generating an estimated economic impact of $4.2 million and creating approximately 300 local jobs.
JANUARY 2020: FOUR NEW PRODUCTIONS APPROVED TO FILM IN UTAH
SALT LAKE CITY (January 10, 2020) – Utah Film Commission today announced the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) Board approval of four new productions for state film incentives, generating an estimated economic impact of approximately $9.7 million and creating over 275 local jobs.
JANUARY 2020: UTAH FILM COMMISSION'S GUIDE TO THE 2020 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL
SALT LAKE CITY (January 3, 2020) – Beginning January 23rd, filmmakers and film lovers from around the world will flock to Salt Lake City, Park City, and Sundance Mountain Resort for the 10-day Sundance Film Festival. One of Utah Film Commission’s top priorities is to ensure that locals can take advantage of the festival experience that takes place every January in their backyard.
NOVEMBER 2019: FOUR NEW PRODUCTIONS APPROVED TO FILM IN UTAH
SALT LAKE CITY (November 14, 2019) – Utah Film Commission today announced the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) Board approval of four new productions for state film incentives, generating an estimated economic impact of approximately $25.8 million and creating over 280 local jobs.
JULY 2019: FIVE NEW PRODUCTIONS APPROVED TO FILM IN UTAH
SALT LAKE CITY (July 11, 2019) – Utah Film Commission today announced the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) Board approval of five new projects for state film incentives, generating an estimated economic impact of approximately $9.3 million and creating over 300 local jobs.
IN THE NEWS
‘That was filmed in Utah!’: What makes the state so prominent in Hollywood movies and television
Oftentimes, when Virginia Pearce turns on the TV to watch a movie, she finds herself making the same expression Leonardo DiCaprio makes while pointing at the screen in a scene from “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood” that has since become a ubiquitous meme.
‘I know that place!’ is the underlying message in the gesture, Pearce, the director of the Utah Film Commission explains.
Four summer movies — all filmed in Utah — tackle wedding craziness, family grief and decisions before birth
‘Joe Bell,’ ‘Once I Was Engaged,’ ‘Even in Dreams’ and ‘Nine Days’ show many parts of the state.
Sundance Film Festival will return to Utah, in person and online, in 2022
Sundance Institute announces dates for the festival’s return, after holding 2021′s event virtually.
After a COVID delay, ‘High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’ returns with a distinctly Utah flair
Filmed in Salt Lake City and Ogden, Season 2 has the theater kids taking on a classic Disney tale.
Learn More About Movies and TV Shows Filming in Utah
When it comes to film locations, Utah has it all: mountains, deserts, even an island—not a tropical island, but it still counts. It’s no wonder so many production companies choose to film in Utah, with projects ranging from the Christmas classic How The Grinch Stole Christmas to the sci-fi action of Star Trek to the psychological cult thriller Hereditary.
A second season of 'Freelancers' and 2 other projects approved to film in Utah
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Film Commission on Thursday announced the state greenlit three more movie and TV/streaming projects backed by some familiar names and faces for Utah audiences.
In all, the three projects are expected to create about 175 local jobs and generate $1.9 million in economic impact.
A light on a hill: Inside the making of ‘The Chosen’
Dallas Jenkins stood with his arms crossed, facing the sunrise, a swath of orange clouds brushing the blue-gray mountains and yellow sky. Behind him, an ancient city unfurled. Or rather, a simulacrum of an ancient city. It represented Jerusalem of old, a deconstructed, biblical megalopolis, complete with a Styrofoam-stone dome and wooden beams connecting disparate building facades. On this July morning in 2020, the film set was empty. Dirt roads opened into silent, pillared courtyards. Metal-studded doors were left ajar and pretend fire pits went untended. Positioned on 800 acres in Goshen, Utah, some 60 miles south of Salt Lake City, the set itself spans the size of two football fields. It was the perfect place for Jenkins to film Season 2 of his TV series about the life of Jesus, “The Chosen” — if only he could get permission to shoot there.
Five new films to start production in Utah
SALT LAKE CITY — Five new films will start production in Utah after getting approval from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) Board, according to the Utah Film Commission.
Utah-made ‘High School Musical’ series will return in May
After a long delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Season 2 of “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” will premiere May 14 on Disney+ — 16 months after the end of Season 1.
Netflix Sets 'Murder Among the Mormons' Docuseries on 1985 Utah Bombings (Exclusive)
A BBC Studios Production, the three-part documentary explores a tragic and complex episode in the church’s recent history.
Ogden High sets the stage for filming of East High's rival school in 'High School Musical' series
OGDEN — In the second season of “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,” East High School will face off against its fictional rival North High School — the filming location of which was at Ogden High School, 40 miles north of the real East High School in Salt Lake City.
Sundance 2021: Utah film industry weathers pandemic with resilience, resourceful risk taking
In several hopeful signs, given its size, Utah’s film industry has weathered the pandemic with enough resilience to stabilize the shocks resulting from the near-total ground stop that hit the arts and entertainment industries in terms of live performances and in-person theatrical releases.
Lights, Camera, COVID: How the Utah film industry beat the odds amidst the pandemic
Light’s, camera, action, but COVID called “cut.”
Utah’s film and television industry took some hits in 2020 like everywhere else, but thanks to an idea from a local business many turned to Utah for its blueprint.
Utah’s ‘High School Musical’ offers up a holiday special — and works to finish filming Season 2
After a seven-month delay caused by COVID-19, the Salt Lake City-based Disney+ show is back before the cameras.
Two Utahns and their dogs join a race around the world for big bucks in Amazon’s ‘The Pack’
Imagine flying around the world — Central America, Europe, Utah — visiting fabulous locations, taking on challenges and competing for a $500,000 prize. And then imagine doing it with your dog.
Hallmark premieres Christmas film featuring Provo home, areas in Utah County
Duane and Maria Winden have moved out of their home three times while never leaving the same address in the Provo Maeser neighborhood, where they live.
Over the years, their rustic home in this historic part of Provo has caught the eye of movie producers and, most recently, the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel.
Why cast and crew of ‘The Chosen’ love filming in Utah’s version of the Holy Land
For the first time, a production not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is using the Jerusalem set in Goshen, Utah County.
Production on Season 2 of 'The Chosen' begins in Utah
GOSHEN, Utah — An independent, online series about the life of Jesus has a devoted and growing following, and now, “The Chosen” has come to Utah.
Utah couple is giving ‘Dream Home’ makeovers on Netflix
Utahns Shea and Syd McGee have a thriving design business, a growing retail enterprise and, as of Oct. 16, their own TV show — “Dream Home Makeover” — on Netflix.
Park City’s Top Dead Center Films horror projects break into global film festivals
Top Dead Center Films hopes to slay horror-movie fans during the film-festival circuit this month.
In ‘Belly of the Beast,’ Utah filmmaker examines modern ‘eugenics’ in women’s prisons
Some documentaries take longer to come together than others — a lesson Erika Cohn, the Salt Lake City-born filmmaker, learned as it was happening.
For director of ‘Wolf of Snow Hollow,’ filming a werewolf movie in Utah was like ‘winter summer camp’
For Jim Cummings, making a werewolf movie set in a Utah ski town just felt natural.
Review: Utah-made ‘Wolf of Snow Hollow’ mixes horror, comedy and drama to depict a lawman’s breakdown
Monsters come in many forms, and in the sometimes comedic filmed-in-Utah horror thriller “The Wolf of Snow Hollow,” those monsters are both external and internal.
Utah filmmaker will lead online Sundance Institute workshop on making movies outside Hollywood
A Utah filmmaker who filmed a low-budget movie in a small Utah town, then wowed Sundance Film Festival audiences with it, will lead a free online discussion about making movies outside the Los Angeles-New York system.
“Did Mark Wahlberg Just Give Me the Job?”: Reinaldo Marcus Green on Good Joe Bell at TIFF 2020
It’s been seven-and-a-half years since Jadin Bell, a high school student from La Grande, Oregon, committed suicide following a period of intense bullying. Harrased by fellow classmates for being a gay young man in a deeply conservative town, Jadin’s suicide made national news. It also inspired his father, Joe, to set out on a cross-country roadtrip (on foot!), spreading an anti-bullying message to any good samaritan who would listen. On October 6th, 2013, Joe Bell would also tragically lose his life, being hit by a semi-truck while in the midst of his improbable journey.
As Competition Stiffens, Utah Film Commission Invests in a Reboot
The bad news recently, for Utah’s film economy, is that the popular cable-TV series “Yellowstone” has left the state.
The good news is that the state is continuing to announce film and TV projects that are receiving financial aid from Utah’s incentive program.
5 more movies, show series approved to be filmed in Utah
Five production projects, including a pair of TV series and three films, were approved to be filmed in Utah, state officials said Thursday.
The productions approved by the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development Board to film in Utah are:
- “The Chosen“ — Season 2 (VidAngel streaming series)
- “The Outpost“ — Season 4 (The CW TV series)
- “Alien County”
- “Michael McLean’s The Forgotten Carols”
- “Twice Upon a Song”
New Films Set To Shoot In Utah Expected To Boost Economy By $2.1M
A new feature film is showcasing Tooele Valley on the big screen like never before.
“Grandpa’s Crazy?” will be shot entirely in the city, with an all-Utah cast and crew. It has created nearly 50 jobs and was approved to receive $12,000 through the Utah Film Commission’s incentives program.
Film Production In Utah Has Begun To Crawl Back
With big crews and lots of moving parts, it can be hard to maintain social distance on a film set. Because of that, film production has been one of the hardest hit industries during the coronavirus pandemic, and one of the slowest to return. But over the last few months, in Utah, it’s begun to show signs of life.
With Los Angeles and New York shut down, more commercials are filming in Utah
Despite the tourism downturn, one industry is coming to Utah and bringing higher-than-average business: commercials.
Incentives bring five film projects to state
After a bit of a dry spell due primarily to coronavirus impacts, five productions — in the categories of “Hallmark” and “horror” — were approved for state film incentives this month.