Wednesday, March 6, 2024
Film and TV productions love Utah for its scenery, tax incentives and 'real' housewives.
Urban Living
Posted By Babs De Lay on March 6, 2024, 4:00 AM
Movie makers and celebrities love Utah for so many reasons. Our natural beauty is a draw with our Mighty 5 national park vistas. Our workforce is well versed in all things movie and TV making and Utah loves to give out tax incentives for films to be made here.
Just in the past decade, Utah saw $600 million in movie revenue brought to the state, with $300 million going to rural communities. Those in the industry call us "Little Hollywood" and the proof is in the pudding with so many successful films and TV series created here over the years. You can check out the free "100 Years of Utah Film & Television" exhibit on the fourth floor of the Utah Capitol building—wait until after the Legislature ends on March 1 for any chance of parking, or ride the 200 bus—which runs until December 2024 to learn more about our film history.
What are the most famous films and series that were shot here? In recent decades: Napoleon Dynamite; Footloose; The Sandlot; High School Musical; Dumb and Dumber; How the Grinch Stole Christmas; Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; Doctor Who: The Impossible Astronaut; Star Trek (2009); Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End; Legally Blonde 2; Thelma and Louise; Planet of the Apes and Independence Day, to name a few. There have been numerous TV shows filmed here, like Touched By an Angel, Andi Mack, Big Love, Westworld, Grizzly Adams, Yellowstone, and of course The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.
Kevin Costner is in the process of building a film studio in St. George on 500 acres near the new airport, at a cost of $40 million. He loves our Utah scenery and has just shot two episodes of a four-part movie series called Horizon: An American Saga. Apparently, Costner has had issues filming interior scenes in his movies here and will build two sound studios, a production warehouse, offices and even a "Costner-themed" restaurant to further his investment here in the state. Previously, he shot the first three seasons of Yellowstone in the Park City area.
As far as celebrities go, singer Post Malone was rumored to be leaving Utah but said in a recent statement on X, "I'm not moving out of Utah y'all." Rapper NBA YoungBoy Never Broke Again just listed his home in Olympus Cove for $5.5 mil. The almost 9,000-square-foot mansion on 1.46 acres features a five-car garage and a pool with unobstructed views of the Salt Lake Valley.
He had been confined to his home for the past two years by the court while he awaits a federal trial, but is ready to get the hell out of here now. Whitney Rose (The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City) and her husband Justin have sold their $2.1 million home in Daybreak with their hidden "Speakeasy" bar after it being on the market for only a month and have announced they have purchased another home in Utah.
About The Author
Babs De Lay
A full-time broker/owner of Urban Utah Homes and Estates, Babs De Lay serves on the Salt Lake City Historic Landmark Commission. A writer and golfer, you'll find them working as a staff guardian at the Temple at Burning Man each year.
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