Incentives OKed for 7 film projects coming to Utah

By Brice Wallace

Seven movie, TV and streaming-services productions were approved for state incentives earlier this month, with a total estimated economic impact of $25.3 million and creating an estimated 773 jobs.

The Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) board approved the incentives at its June meeting. The productions are to be shot throughout Utah, from Cache to Washington counties.

“2021 will be a busy summer for film production in Utah,” said Virginia Pearce, director of the Utah Film Commission. “We are thrilled to be working with Miramax, Netflix, 20th Television and others to highlight Utah’s cinematic locations and professional crew. Productions filmed in the state have both a creative and an economic impact, particularly those filmed in rural communities, which supports our mission to encourage production and grow our film industry.”

The largest incentive is for Highsail Productions LLC for its production of “Highsail,” a streaming comedy based on a popular children’s book series. It was approved for a tax credit of up to $2.5 million, to be split over three fiscal years, based on in-state spending of $10 million.

“Highsail” will have principal photography July 26-Sept. 20 in Salt Lake County and will employ an estimated 20 cast, 90 crew and 500 extras. The director is Bonnie Hunt, an actress, comedian, director, producer, writer and television host with “Rain Man,” two “Beethoven” movies, “Jumanji,” “Jerry Maguire,” “The Green Mile” and two “Cheaper by the Dozen” movies on her resume. The producers are Audrey Velichka and Gary L. Stephenson.

“Highsail” is a coming-of-age dramedy about a 12-year-old girl’s journey through the complexities of life.

The GOED board approved a tax credit of up to $1.43 million for Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. for the pilot episode of “The Last Police.” It is expected to spend more than $5.7 million in Utah, including during principal shooting Aug. 3-27 in Cache County.

The production is expected to employ 14 cast, 125 crew and 714 extras. The director and producer are yet to be determined.

“The Last Police” tells the story of Utah polic officer refusing to give up her day job as she believes she may be able to stop a world-ending asteroid from colliding with Earth.

Electric Knife Productions LLC was approved for a cash rebate of up to $1 million for the “Sick,” a feature thriller from Miramax that is expected to spend $4 million in Utah. Principal photography is scheduled through July 2 in Weber County. The production is expected to involve seven cast, 90 crew and 59 extras.

GOED documents describe the plot this way: “When the country locks down due to the pandemic, college student Parker and her best friend Miri quarantine at the family lake house alone, or so they think.”

The director is John Hyams. The producers are Bill Block and Kevin Williamson.

Two productions were approved for cash rebates of up to $400,000 each, based on spending of $1.6 million in Utah. They are the streaming feature “The Real Housewives of the North Pole” and the feature comedy “Untitled DNA Project.”

Housewives Productions Inc. LLC is the production company for “The Real Housewives of the North Pole,” to be distributed by Netflix. It will shoot July 21-Aug. 13 and involve 38 cast, 100 crew and 410 extras. The director is Ron Oliver. The producer is David Wulf.

The production tells the story of next-door neighbors obsessed with the holidays, trying to outdo each other and losing the spirit of Christmas while their children are falling in love.

Electric Entertainment Inc. is the production company for “Untitled DNA Project” expected to employ 28 cast, 68 crew and 400 extras. Principal photography is scheduled for Aug. 30-Oct. 1 in Salt Lake and Utah counties. The director is Barclay DeVeau. The producer is Lisa Brenner.

The plot involves the journey of a woman with her mother to discover who she really is after a DNA test puts her identity in question.

The GOED board approved a ash rebate of up to $320,000 for 3486 Inc. for “Love on the Pecan Farm,” a family feature for the Hallmark Channel. It is expected to spend $1.6 million in Utah, including during principal shooting through July 2 in Washington, Wasatch and Salt Lake counties.

The production is expected to employ 34 cast, 88 crew and 280 extras. The producer is David Wulf. The director is to be determined.

The show will tell the story of a woman that must work with her ex-high school boyfriend to sell her favorite aunt’s pecan farm.

California King Inc. was approved for a cash rebate of up to $154,140 for “California King,” a feature comedy expected to employ 19 cast, 52 crew and 152 extras. Spending in Utah is estimated at $770,699, including during shooting July 10-Aug. 9 in Utah County. The director is Eli Stern. Producers are Matt Miller and Dan Kagan.

The plot of “California King” focuses on the manager of a mattress store who hatches a plan to impress the girl of his dreams. However, it begins to go off the rails when the planned “fake” kidnapping of her brother gets more complicated than he expected.