Costner-directed project tops large slate of film incentives approved by Go Utah

Brice Wallace 

It’s not every day that Kevin Costner speaks at a Utah government meeting. But that day came earlier this month, when the Hollywood star spoke from a remote location to the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (Go Utah) board.

The board approved a tax credit incentive for the production of the first two parts of “Horizon: An American Saga,” a Western feature that Costner is directing. It was one of 13 incentives approved by the board during its June meeting, with the productions expected to spend a total of $142.4 million in Utah and generate 4,920 total jobs.

Costner’s project will take place in rural Utah. About 90 percent of the spending from June’s incentivized projects will take place in rural Utah, following the state Legislature’s actions earlier in the year to encourage film production in rural communities.

“I’m going to work as hard as I can, not to make the state look beautiful because it already does, but I’m going to work as hard as I can to make a movie that people will continue to talk about years from now,” Costner said via video from Moab, where he was doing scouting work for the project. “It’s a document of our own heritage, it shows how tough it was, it’s unrelenting. But the people who settled in Utah, I would say, were unrelenting, too.”

Donning a “Greater Zion” baseball cap, Costner, star of the “Yellowstone” series that had portions shot in Utah, said he would be shooting four movies in the state.

Costner explained that “Horizon: An American Saga” originally was not a studio film but rather funded by him and his wife mortgaging some property in California. But Warner Bros. came on board.

“I told them I was committed to Utah,” he said. “They explained that there are better opportunities, more opportunities, economic benefits, as you know, in other places. I said, ‘That’s kind of why I’m funding this myself at this point, because I think this movie plays beautifully in Utah, and that’s where I want to go.’”

Costner added that a film project “changes the trajectory economically” for communities where productions take place. “People pay off mortgages” with the influx of work that results, he said.

“I will say this: I understand that sometimes the money doesn’t spread around to the entire state, but what I know is that the communities that you go into, those communities really benefit,” he said. “It’s almost a shot in the arm. … It does change lives. It does have an impact.”

Horizon Series Inc. is expected to spend nearly $54 million in Utah, including during principal photography set for Aug. 29, 2022, through May 11, 2023, in Emery, Grand, Kane, San Juan and Washington counties. The production is expected to employ 75 cast, 80 crew and 310 extras.

The Go Utah board approved a tax credit of up to $13.48 million for the project, which will recount the experiences of several characters during a 15-year span of pre- and post-Civil War expansion and settlement of the American West.

The producer is Barry Berg.

“With the new targeted rural film tax credit, a ready workforce and a business-friendly climate, Utah will introduce the film industry to new communities while supporting Gov. [Spencer} Cox’s goal of expanding economic opportunities throughout the state,” said Dan Hemmert, Go Utah’s executive director.

“Our film industry has had great success over the years. We’ve seen increased interest for filming in Utah from filmmakers and rural community stakeholders,” said Virginia Pearce, director of the Utah Film Commission, part of Go Utah. “This new rural film incentive allows Utah to attract more film production and remain competitive.”

The Go Utah board also approved:

• A tax credit of no more than $10 million for King Street Productions Inc. for its untitled Taylor Sheridan series that will run on Paramount+. It is expected to spend $40 million in Utah, including during principal photography set for Oct. 10-Dec. 9 in Summit and Wasatch counties. It will have 20 cast, 120 crew and 800 extras.

The series is a true-crime project about the Jon Benet Ramsey case of 1996.

The producer is Alysse Bezahler. The director has yet to be determined. Sheridan created “Yellowstone.”

• A tax credit of up to $2.67 million for Green Beans Productions Inc. for its as-yet-unnamed family series to be on Apple TV+. It is expected to spend $10.7 million in Utah, including during principal photography set for Nov. 1, 2022, through Feb. 15, 2023, at locations to be determined. It will have 18 cast, 100 crew and 50 extras.

The show will feature “a magical land full of music, dance, colorful cartoons and simple life lessons,” according to Go Utah documents.

The producer is Ritamarie Peruggi. The director has not been determined.

• A tax credit of up to $2.57 million for Big Indie Hondo Inc.’s science fiction series “Hondo,” to be distributed on Amazon Prime Video. It is expected to spend $10.27 million in Utah, including during principal shooting scheduled for Sept. 19, 2022, through March 24, 2023, in Tooele County. It is expected to employ 10 cast, 100 crew and 870 extras.

“The world of the series is one where the future envisioned by Americans in the late 1940s explodes upon itself through a nuclear war in 2077” is the summary listed on Go Utah documents.

The producers are Jim Skotchdopole and Lisa Joy. The director is Jonathan Nolan.

• A tax credit of nearly $2.5 million for New Games Production Inc. for its as-yet-unnamed family feature to be distributed on Nickelodeon. It is expected to spend nearly $10 million in Utah, including during principal photography scheduled for Oct. 31-Dec. 2 at locations to be determined. It is expected to have 17 cast, 100 crew and 800 extras.

The film will be a musical about best friends stuck in a time loop on the first day of summer break.

The producer is Adam Abel. The director has yet to be determined.

• A tax credit of up to $2 million for Kingdom Story Co. LLC for its feature comedy “Joy to the World.” The production is expected to spend $8.3 million in Utah, including during principal photography set for Oct. 3-Nov. 18 at locations to be determined. The production is expected to have 60 cast and 120 crew.

The film will tell the story of Joy, an angel that welcomes the recently deceased to the afterlife and, while extremely good at her job, wants to become a guardian angel so she can help Chad, a lost soul.

The producers are Andrew Erwin, Jon Erwin and Jerilyn Esquibel. The director is Jerusha Hess, co-writer of “Napoleon Dynamite.”

• A tax credit of up to $1 million for Rebel 22 Films for the thriller feature “Dark Highway.” It is expected to spend about $4 million in Utah, including during principal photography scheduled for Sept. 7-Nov. 21 in Emery, Juab and San Juan counties. It is expected to employ 20 cast, 60 crew and 62 extras.

“Dark Highway,” set for streaming service distribution, is about four friends who go on a ghost town adventure to record and “get famous” on social media but things go terribly wrong.

The producers are Rocco DeVilliers and Doug Plasse. DeVilliers is the director.

• A tax credit of up to $351,980 for Minim Productions Inc. for the first season of its drama series “Retreat,” set for distribution on FX and Hulu. It is expected to spend $1.4 million in Utah, including during principal shooting set for Aug. 8-18 in Emery, Grand and Tooele counties. It is expected to employ four cast, 80 crew and 103 extras.

The series will tell the story of Gen Z amateur sleuth Darby Hart, who is invited by a reclusive billionaire to participate in a retreat at a remote location, but must solve a guest’s murder before the killer takes another life.

The producers are Andrea Sperling and Deb Dyer. The directors are Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij.

• A cash rebate of up to $280,065 for The Chosen Texas LLC for the third season of “The Chosen,” a drama series about the life of Jesus. It is expected to spend $1.4 million in Utah, including during principal photography set for July 11-20 in Utah County. The production is expected to employ 10 cast, 15 crew and 100 extras.

The producers are Chad Gundersen and Chris Juen. The director is Dallas Jenkins.

• A cash rebate of up to $276,779 for Wolf Club LLC for its production of the feature comedy “Cub Scout.” The production is expected to spend roughly $1.1 million in Utah, including during principal photography set for Aug. 15-Sept. 9 in Sanpete County. The film will employ 17 cast, 56 crew and 20 extras.

The film will tell the story of a orphan hiding in the Utah mountains, struggling to adjust to his solitary life as a werewolf but becoming an unlikely ally with a college student “after she escapes his claws,” according to Go Utah documents.

The producer is David Liddell Thorpe. The director is Matt Heder.

• A cash rebate of up to $175,822 for 1939 LLC for its family feature film “Alma Richards: Raising the Bar.” The production is expected to spend $879,108 in Utah, including during principal shooting taking place Sept. 6-30 in Utah County. The production is expected to employ 49 cast, 64 crew and 50 extras.

The film will tell the story of a Utahn who gets inspired after dropping out of school and goes on to compete in in track and field in the 1912 Stockholm Olympics.

The producers are T.C. Christensen and Ron Tanner.

• A cash rebate of up to $65,657 for Starship 1 LLC for its feature romantic comedy “Recipe for Love.” It is expected to spend $328,268 in Utah, including during principal photography set for July 8-29 in Salt Lake and Utah counties. The production is expected to have 19 cast, 24 crew and five extras.

“Work-driven, big-city chef Bree opens a fine dining establishment in a small town,” is how Go Utah documents describe the plot. “To get much needed publicity, she reluctantly enters a social media competition hosted by a famous Internet food critic and falls in love with her rival: the diner owner across the street.”

The producers are Ali Durham, Jessica Champneys, Crystal Myler and Tom Durham. Durham also directs.

• A cash rebate of up to $36,700 for Baseball Movie LLC for its feature documentary “The Streak.” It is expected to spend $182,500 in Utah, including during principal photography set for June 11-Nov. 30 in Salt Lake and Weber counties. It will employ 12 crew members.

The documentary will recount the 29-game winning streak by the Salt Lake Trappers baseball team in 1987.

The producers are Kelyn Ikegami, Jared Jakins and Hunter Phillips. Ikegami is the director.