GOED board approves three incentives for film productions

Three film productions — a documentary, a stop-motion animation picture and a thriller — will shoot in Utah in the next few months.

The productions were approved for cash rebate incentives awarded during the December meeting of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) board.{mprestriction ids="1,3"}

The largest incentive, a rebate of up to $203,222, was approved for Werewolf Film LLC for its production titled “The Werewolf.” The feature thriller will be shot in northern Utah Feb. 5-March 7. The company is expected to spend more than $1 million in Utah, including hiring 30 cast, 30 crew members and 90 extras.

The film’s director is Jimmy Cummings. Producers are Matt Miller and Natalie Metzger.

The film tells the story of a police officer who spends three months trying to catch a serial killer who strikes during the full moon. Losing sleep, raising his teenage daughter and fighting a custody battle, he struggles to remind himself that there’s no such thing as werewolves.

The GOED board approved a rebate of up to $128,000 for Saurus City LLC for “Saurus City,” a stop-motion animation family feature. The production, with six cast and 30 crew members, is expected to spend $640,000 in Utah, including during principal photography scheduled to take place through April of 2020.

The film will depict an outcast knight as he escorts two commoners and a baby identified as the royal heir through a fantastical land inhabited by dinosaurs.

The main voice actors are Ron Perlman (“Beauty and the Beast,” “Hellboy” and “Sons of Anarchy”) and Emma Roberts (“Blow,” “Unfabulous” and “Nancy Drew”). The director is Nathan W. Smith. The producer is Bradford Johnson.

Navajo Mountain Movie LLC was approved for a rebate of up to $28,000 for its documentary “Navajo Mountain High.” It will focus on the San Juan County high school, the most remote high school in the U.S. — 90 miles from the nearest town — and its competitive robotics team.

The production is expected to employ 10 crew members, shoot through May 31 and spend $140,000 in Utah. The director is Jared Jakins. The producer is Hunter Phillips.

“I love this lineup,” GOED board member Margaret “Margo” Jacobs told Virginia Pearce, director of the Utah Film Commission. “I think it’s just such an interesting, diverse group of films that you come up with.”

“It’s not only diversity in the subject matter and the filmmakers, but also in the size, which I think is super-important,” Pearce replied. “We’re always looking for that pipeline.”{/mprestriction}