As you may have already heard, the movie was pretty not great, and for most of the film’s 132-minute runtime, I could look around the theater to see people yawning, checking their watch or slumping further into their chair while we all waited for the closing credits.

But there was one moment where — and those of you who have seen the movie probably know where I’m going with this — our local Utah audience took notice. As Paul’s character races toward the starting line of the movie’s finale, he finds himself at the Bonneville Salt Flats.

I can’t remember the details concerning why his character was there, but I clearly remember the previously bored attendees sitting up in their seats and cheering as the camera panned the famous landmark.

It may be the only time in my life I’ve seen an audience applaud a movie’s scenery, but it was well deserved. To director Scott Waugh’s credit, locations tripped through the pointless adventure like cameos in a Muppet movie. And that cameo, the one that made random strangers want to turn to the person next to them for an unrehearsed high-five, was just one of many like-moments where Utah’s striking profile made a movie that much better.

Which got us at the KSL Indie Report wondering — what does it take to get Utah ready for its closeup?

To get answers to that question, and to find out more about resources for local filmmakers, we reached out to Utah Film Commission director Virginia Pearce.

Indie Report: Tell us about the Utah Film Commission.

Pearce: “The entertainment industry is integral to the creative fabric of Utah. The Utah Film Commission was established in 1974 to support the rich legacy of filmmaking across the state. We continue to help build Utah as a brand and to seek out innovative ways to showcase everything the state has to offer.

“We promote the use of professional and experienced local crew, talent, support services and locations, marketing Utah as a destination for award-winning content creation. With almost 1,000 films created in state, Utah has an undeniably deep and lasting commitment to the entertainment industry. The film industry’s contribution to Utah’s economy is evident in the jobs created and money spent locally, with 450 companies, over 4,000 employees and $110 million in Utah salaries.

“One of our focus areas is diversity. Just as Utah’s landscape is unique and diverse, we like to encourage the same with our filmmaking. We usually have a range of productions shooting in state at one time from established national networks (the likes of ABC, HBO and Disney) to smaller local, and sometimes first-time filmmakers. We recently launched a Community Film Incentive Program as a strand of the wider Motion Picture Incentive Program, created in 2011. Our intention was to create a focused initiative to nurture lower budget, Utah-based filmmakers and keep them in state. Ultimately, our mission is to welcome and support talent from all angles, create the best possible content and successfully grow Utah’s creative community.”

Indie Report: Should the Utah Film Commission be the first stop for locals interested in the film industry?

Pearce: “We see our office as a key industry resource. We can connect anyone working on a film-related project with the right people and point them in the best direction in terms of next steps. We often receive calls from locals asking about current productions shooting in state and potential casting and production opportunities. We usually recommend checking out our website (film.utah.gov) as there is a ‘production essentials’ tab, which is regularly updated. Locals can also keep up to date by checking out our news section, including our blog and industry newsletter. We have a new ‘spotlight’ blog series, highlighting local talent, which includes helpful advice for others hoping to break into the industry.”

Indie Report: Walk us through a day in the life of the Utah Film Commission staff

Pearce: “We tend to be in and out of the office quite regularly. While at our desks, we are usually helping with location inquiries, permits and connecting our local crew with opportunities. There is a lot of reactive and proactive outreach, and we often work with teams on commercials and small-scale student film content, as well as larger movies and TV series.

“When we’re out of office, we are visiting sets — and this could be anywhere from Salt Lake, Ogden or Park City, to Moab or the Salt Flats. We also regularly host, sponsor and support industry events. From the annual Sundance Film Festival, where we host a ‘living room’ space, to hosting production assistant workshops, our weeks are usually busy and varied.”

Indie Report: What are Utah’s most popular film locations and are some locations more expensive than others?

Pearce: “Our many red rock locations and our iconic Salt Flats are definitely some of our most popular film locations. We’ve seen these locations used as ‘Utah for Utah,’ as well as to create otherworldly settings (‘Westworld’ and ‘Galaxy Quest’). We do also get a lot of generic location requests. Quaint small-town neighborhoods, urban back alleys that could double as Chicago, and eerie cabins in the woods, for example. Utah’s versatility and accessibility are incredibly unique. Mountains, desert and lakes are all within just a couple of hours from the city.

“In terms of location costs, fees are set by the organizations that manage them and we direct people to speak with representatives of those, such as the Forest Service, state parks or Bureau of Land Management. We have a great page on our site that links to many of the key areas.”

Indie Report: Are there current job opportunities with the Utah Film Commission?

Pearce: “We have a small office and are not currently hiring. We do need volunteers for some of our larger events and recommend watching our website and newsletter for updates.”

Indie Report: How can residents help make Utah even more attractive to filmmakers?

Pearce: “Filmmakers always tell us how friendly and welcoming Utah locals are when they are filming here, which really speaks to our reputation as a film-friendly state. Michelle Manning, executive producer of Disney Channel’s ‘Andi Mack,’ said, ‘I have shot all over the world, but Utah is now my favorite place to film. It’s been a case of home-away-from-home for us and we’re eager to return to Salt Lake City.’

Our crews are hard working, professional and enthusiastic, and I love to see that Utah locals are proud of our locations and our heritage.

Conclusion

If you’re interested in finding out even more, check out the Utah Film Commission’s site at https://film.utah.gov, and for the many great photographers throughout the state, definitely check out the Film Commission’s This is Utahphoto contest going on through the month of November.

The post Utah Film Commission brings Hollywood to Utah appeared first on Utah.Film.

The oft-smiley Cuban-American is one of Utah’s favorite pastry chefs, both because of his Salt Lake City shop on Main Street — Fillings & Emulsions — and also because of his frequent cooking segments on local news stations.

In recent years, the charismatic chef has claimed the American Culinary Federation’s (ACF) State, Western Regional, and National Pastry Chef of the Year awards, and this year, Labrada is looking to bring home Food Network’s title of “Best Baker in America.”

After Labrada sailed through last week’s cake competition, we at KSL.com were able to sneak him a few questions before we tune-in to this week’s meringue challenge.

Tell us about yourself.

Labrada: I was born in Cuba and came to the United States when I was 28 in the year 2000. I learned a lot about baking from both my grandmas and continued to learn from various recipe books. I am not professionally trained but have been learning my trade for years. In 2012 I became ACF Pastry Chef of the Year and in 2013 opened my pastry shop Fillings & Emulsions in Salt Lake City.

What other influences have shaped your cooking?

Labrada: I have had many influences in my cooking, starting with a famous Cuban TV celebrity Nitza Villapol and many other local and national chefs. One of the pastry chefs I admire the most is Chef Diana Fallis from UVU. She shared a lot of her knowledge with me during my tenure there.

You mentioned on your website that a person learns a lot about a culture by the way they celebrate. What did you learn about Utah during your first 4th of July parade in Provo?

Labrada: I was just arriving from Cuba and the difference in the culture was really apparent. The parade was quiet and there was no loud music or people dancing and drinking everywhere. I learned that Utah was a quieter and more modest place than Havana for sure.

You are no stranger to cooking on television. What is different about being on Food Network’s Best Baker in America?

Labrada: This is a competition against eight very seasoned bakers. The stakes are definitely higher.

Sugar has been getting a lot of negative press lately. How do you think that will affect the pastry world in the near future?

Labrada: We will always have pastries. We had the same issues with Atkins, the Gluten Free craze and now sugar. We will find the way to accommodate our product to the market demands. People will always need something sweet. It’s part of who we are, it makes us happy and it brings us together.

What’s the one thing on your menu at Fillings & Emulsions you wish every customer would try?

Labrada: My macaroons, of course! But our meat pies are amazing as well.

This week, Labrada will be facing off against six remaining chefs in both a macaron and baked Alaska challenge. You can check out the episode Wednesday night (Oct. 4) at 8 p.m. and you can also learn more about Labrada on his website.

The post 6 questions for Salt Lake resident competing in Food Network’s ‘Best Baker in America’ appeared first on Utah.Film.

That’s why when Tribeca announced a national short-film competition for aspiring young filmmakers and one of Utah’s best and brightest won the grand prize, we at the KSL Indie Report wanted to find out more.

Logan resident Kyle Ransom’s film “New Frontier” took home first prize for Tribeca’s “The America I Am” youth competition. Ransom’s film, which explores his perspective on the American experience, earned him a $10,000 production award, a mentorship with a professional filmmaker and roundtrip airfare for a red-carpet premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.

We caught up with Ransom recently to ask him about his experience with “The America I Am,” and enjoyed the following Q and A:

Where did you first hear about “The America I Am” and what about the competition motivated you to participate?

< blockquote class=”instagram-media” data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version=”7″ style=” background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% – 2px); width:calc(100% – 2px);”>< div style=”padding:8px;”> < div style=” background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50.0% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;”> < div style=” background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;”>< /div>< /div> < p style=” margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;”> < a href=”https://www.instagram.com/p/BTHA3u3llM9/” style=” color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;” target=”_blank”>Congratulations to Kyle Ransom, whose film New Frontier won our The America I Am film competition! #Tribeca2017 #TAIA2017 @statueellisnps @northeastnps @nationalparkservice #findyourpark< /a>< /p> < p style=” color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;”>A post shared by Tribeca Film Institute (@tribecafilmins) on < time style=” font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;” datetime=”2017-04-20T13:55:02+00:00″>Apr 20, 2017 at 6:55am PDT< /time>< /p>< /div>< /blockquote> < script async defer src=”//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js”>< /script>

Ransom: “My finding out about ‘The ‘America I Am’ contest very nearly did not happen. My brother and I were at the Slamdance Film Festival, the smaller festival that runs the exact dates and location of Sundance, with a short documentary contest. I was standing next to a shelf full of movie posters, business cards and flyers. The small ‘America I Am’ logo on a card caught my eye, but I didn’t read it.

“The last day of the festival my brother picked one of them up and handed it to me. I was surprised because I recognized it, but was shocked that it was a youth contest. The theme couldn’t have been more perfect. Following the intense election season, I had been anxious to do a project related to American identity and current social issues and topics. I had already had several ideas of what direction I would take, and the contest gave me somewhere to channel those ideas. My motivation comes down to just wanting to share my thoughts and experiences on what defines being American.”

Obviously, when you submit to a contest of any kind you hope to win, but were you expecting first place in such a competitive competition?

Ransom: “It is always hard to be on the creating end of a project and try to predict what the results of the judges will be. It can be hard to tell if the intended message or emotional impact comes across since you are so close to the project and so closely tied to its story. What I can say is that I was very confident in the message and the style that I chose to tell it with.

“The period of time between the announcement of the finalists and the premiere at Tribeca, each of us five finalists were assigned a professional filmmaker as a mentor and given $1,000 as a production budget to work on improving our videos for their premiere. What I found is that I couldn’t bring myself to make many major changes. I added some new shots and some nicer visuals and messed around with the music a bit, but for the most part, the video retained its original layout and voiceover, which I think speaks to how sincere the original was.

“Each of the other five finalist’s videos were exceptional, and each captured the theme of the contest in a unique and personal way. So I was genuinely surprised when my name was announced and really felt honored to be selected out of such a great collection of work.”

In the film, you mention several examples of what it is to be American. Can you speak to your message and why it is an important one to you?

Ransom: “I feel very strongly about this topic. In the video, I briefly talk about three of my friends, each with very different American experiences. We have all been in school together since elementary, and in the process of making this video, it was really powerful to look at our pasts, presents and futures, and how our different situations played into the same desire to make a better life for ourselves and those we love.

“I strongly believe that America is built from the collective whole of each of our different experiences, each of them extremely unique and varied. And by embracing a common goal and celebrating each of our unique heritages, we come closer to fulfilling what it means to be an American.”

What has the experience of winning and traveling to New York City been like for you?

Ransom: “This whole experience has been nothing short of incredible. Having never been to New York before, I couldn’t have had a better introduction. The last two weeks here have been highlighted by many people met and friendships made, countless films and screenings, and of course, exploring as much of New York City as possible with my camera in hand. The connections I’ve made and the doors opened to me by the Tribeca Film Institute and ‘The America I Am’ have been truly life changing, and I will always look back on this experience as a pivotal moment in my career.”

Will you be pursuing film in your educational and professional future?

Ransom: “The future is full of more films for me. I will be attending college in Utah, where I will pursue degrees in business and writing, with hopes of benefiting the production and writing sides of my film career. Following college, I plan to seek a career as an independent writer and director of feature films. Eventually, I plan to start an independent film studio with my brother, as well as occasionally exploring documentary work and other forms of film and media. Stay tuned, this is definitely just the beginning.”

The post Utah teen brings home top honors from Tribeca Film Festival appeared first on Utah.Film.

Not only have services like Netflix and Amazon Prime started stealing awards from major film and television studios, but audiences now look to places like Vimeo and YouTube for an ever-expanding buffet of bite-sized entertainment.

People are changing the way they consume video. While that terrifies some in the film industry, there are others like those running the Ogden Film Festival who celebrate it. In fact, The Ogden Film Festival, which will be held on June 2 at Peery’s Egyptian Theater, is currently looking for great, local short films to showcase at this year’s event.

We at the KSL Indie Report reached out for more information on the festival and enjoyed the following conversation with the festival’s public relations representative Benjamin Taylor.

What is the Ogden Film Festival, where did you come from and what kind of films are you hoping to attract?

Taylor: “The Ogden Film Festival is in its first year and is part of the Ogden Arts Festival happening that same week. Those of us who’ve organized this event do video production work for a living and we thought it’d be fun to hold an event celebrating the best in local film. There’s a ton of film talent in Utah but not many opportunities to showcase your work, especially if you’re just getting started. So, we thought there was an opportunity to start a tradition for artists to show off their stuff and meet other filmmakers.

“Another fun part about this festival is that it’s held at Peery’s Egyptian Theater, which is probably one of the coolest theaters in the state, if not the Western region. It’s one of the few remaining movie palaces from the early 1900s and has just a ton of history. We think it’s a real treat for any filmmaker to have their work premiered in a place like this.”

Were there other reasons you chose Ogden as the festival’s home?

Taylor: “Ogden is kind of this renaissance city. It used to be this booming railroad town, and when the trains stopped running, the city kind of fell into decay. A lot of the old buildings were boarded and for the past 20-30 years, Ogden has been known for being kind of ghetto. You’re now seeing some life being breathed back into the city with outdoor manufacturers and other companies relocating here.

“A lot of the old buildings are being repurposed for today’s needs, and it’s really cool to see. One story we like to tell is how the founder of Paramount Pictures, William Hodkinson, grew up in Ogden and used the surrounding mountains as his inspiration when he sketched the now famous logo. So we like to think that our festival is a place for the underdogs or undiscovered artists to have a real film festival opportunity and maybe jumpstart their careers.”

What type of local films are you looking for?

Taylor: “We realize we only have one night to feature as many films as we can, so we set a limit at 15 minutes. We figure that’s plenty of time to tell a compelling story without requiring a massive budget and months of production time.”

What is your take on local filmmaking these days?

Taylor: “I think YouTube and Kickstarter are really changing the way films are being distributed, and I don’t think you need to necessarily make a 90-120 minute film to be successful. You’re seeing Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube Redpicking up these shorter films by lesser-known filmmakers, and I think that’s going to be a big part of independent film going forward.

“Take Chris Burkard for example; his film about surfing in the arctic shores of Iceland is only 40 minutes long, but it was funded in a matter of days and is showing to audiences across the country, including ours, all summer long. I think that’s the type of content we’re hoping comes out of the Ogden Film Festival.”

For those hoping to attend the festival this summer, what kind of experience can they expect?

Taylor: “I hope attendees come away with a respect for the amount of local talent that’s in the area. You don’t need to have a million-dollar budget and a big crew to make something cool and powerful these days. I also hope filmmakers will appreciate seeing their film on the big screen in such a cool venue and will have a chance to network and rub shoulders with other artists.”

Where should readers go for more information on the festival?

Taylor: “We’ve tried to put all the important info on our website at ogdenfilmfestival.org. We’re accepting entries until May 15.”

The post Ogden Film Festival looking to showcase local filmmakers appeared first on Utah.Film.

We knew if we ever did create something like the KSL Indie report, reviewing under-the-radar independent films would only be a small part of it. In addition, we’d want to spotlight worthwhile local projects, chat with independent filmmakers and report back on some of the films generating excitement from the film festival circuit.

But there was also one other piece that we wanted to explore: What is the best way to experience film in the state of Utah?

This started us creating a short list of people we wanted to talk to about not only locations of where to see independent films, a topic we’ll address in a coming article, but also the local art house community — the topic that brought us to Elisabeth Nebeker.

Nebeker was named the executive director of the Salt Lake City-based Utah Film Center back in 2014 and she was exactly who we wanted to talk to about the independent movie scene here in Utah. And just like many of you, we wanted to lead with one very important question:

What is the Utah Film Center?

Nebeker: “That would probably be answered best with our mission, which is to engage and really initiate conversation with diverse audiences and to bring communities together, and that’s done through the film exhibition, our education programs and our artist support. So, when we think about those three pillars that we have, the film exhibition, education and artist support, it’s broken down, starting with the exhibition program, which was how the organization was started 15 years ago.”

How did the Utah Film Center get started?

Nebeker: “Geralyn White Dreyfous, who is an Oscar-award winning documentary film producer, won an Oscar for the documentary “Born into Brothels.” And you know, at Sundance, she will hop between five and 10 films every year that’s she’s producing through her company called Impact Partners. But she started this in 2002 with Kathryn Toll and Nicole Guillemet who wanted to carry that Sundance experience on a year-round basis.

“They felt like our community and our film community here really valued these stories and valued the independent film that was here for 10 days in January with the film festival. So it was a way for them to, on a year-round basis, kind of create a festival, and it’s expanded where we do more than 250 free films, and not only in Salt Lake, but now from Ogden down to Moab, including West Jordan and Orem.”

What kind of movies do you bring to Utah?

Nebeker: “The films that we show typically don’t have actual distribution. So, they may either be video-on-demand or they may have played at multiple film festivals, but they just aren’t getting, you know, the theatrical audiences.”

How can the general public see these films?

Nebeker: “So, it’s a one-time screening that we have, and they’re free so it’s, you know, based on availability and we don’t have a set venue. We partner with organizations.

“So, a big part of who we are is really a reflection of our community. So, we partner with the downtown library in Salt Lake, and that’s where we are every Tuesday night at 7 o’clock. We’ll have a film, and we’ll also partner with the Museum of Fine Arts up on the university campus. We work with KUER Radio on a series that we do at the Rose Wagner downtown, and then, you know, in Moab we partner with the county library. In Ogden, we partner with Perry’s Egyptian Theater and Weber State. See they’re all kind of that community connections that we feel are important.

“So, Patrick Hubley who is our director of programming for the exhibition, you know, he carefully thinks of who our community is, what conversations need to be happening, what’s a quality film that we can share with our audiences. We bring about 25,000 people to these films and each year, and we still just kind of focus on the core of where the film center started.

“And in addition to the free programming we have, we have two film festivals.”

Tell us about the family-friendly, Tumbleweed Film Festival

Nebeker: “Yes, that is a festival that has had its sixth year, and it is for children and families.

“So these are international films that you can bring your family to and your parents to, and give them that festival experience. Not only do they come to the film, they get a lanyard like you have at Sundance and there are activities between the films. You can go downstairs and local organizations will be doing some hands-on interactive activities for the kids.

“So between the films, we have workshops around like digital media or animation, and even some educator workshops. So you can sign up for that over the weekend, and it’s really just a great space for families to come together and see films from all over the world.

“And you know, we’re so fortunate to live in a place that exposes people to different cultures and countries through the LDS missionary program, so families that served in China or Kenya, if we have a film around those topics or from that country, for them to come and see a film and bring their family is pretty special and unique.”

Tell us about the LGBTQ festival, Damn these Heels?

Nebeker: “Our LGBTQ Film Festival, which is called “Damn These Heels,” which is a weekend-long film festival in July that takes place at the Rose Wagner Theater, is now in its 14th year. As you can imagine the conversations that have evolved around, you know, that community, as well as the allies have really expanded here in Salt Lake and in Utah. So, it’s been a good safe place to have conversations, to see films, to share films about topics that may resonate, or you know, expose people to new ideas or new places. So, that film festival is like the only LGBT in this region.”

How are you doing almost one year after the 2016 fire

Nebeker: “It will be a year actually, from March 29, so we are not celebrating but kind of looking back and reflecting. We had our office right on Main Street, so 122 S. Main, and we had a great Main Street level space. As part of our support, we had been given a free lease and we woke to a devastating 4-alarm fire on a Tuesday morning and pretty much lost everything that we had in that office. So, from people’s personal space, to all the computers, to our DVD library to, you know, files, marketing collateral.

“It was challenging on many levels, for staff, and our team to get around and rally, and we are now, as of just after Labor Day, our office is at 50 W. Broadway. So that’s Broadway Media office on the 11th floor, and it feels great to be settled. We are fortunate to have raised about $250,000 in our fire recovery to help with our personal and business losses.

“We have a great community of members, of supporters and donors, you know. That devastating day kind of changed us in many ways, but it was also a huge reinforcement of why we matter, why we’re important to the community, and if we weren’t here, that we would be missed. That came out from people offering support, to acknowledging what we’re doing and why we’re important, to offers of furniture, to temporary office space. It really was the gesture of our community that we heard from, a pretty wide community, of our impact.”

Conclusion

If you would like to know more about the Utah Film Center, free movies, Nebeker, or any of the other great events they’re hosting, check them out at http://www.utahfilmcenter.org/ or on their Facebook or Twitter.

Note: I should say, in full disclosure, the interview was longer than what you see here and I’ve used the question headings as formatting headers, but they were not the actual questions I asked Nebeker.

The post What’s the best way to see independent film for free in Utah? appeared first on Utah.Film.

Not only do we movie geeks get our first look at some of the year’s most promising projects, but for 10 gloriously chilly days in January we celebrate the talent, ideas and technology that bring our favorite stories to a flickering screen in a darkened theater.

Few people know this better than Levi Elder, Director of Programming and Digital Initiatives at the Salt Lake Film Society (SLFS). Elder has been personally following the festival for 20-plus years, and as part of the SLFS team, he actively coordinates screenings and events for the Sundance Film Festival in Salt Lake City.

I recently reached out to Elder to chat about how we locals can best experience all things Sundance 2017. Here are some of the tips he offered:

Poppleton: First of all, how cool is the Sundance Film Festival? I’ve had an unhealthy crush on film my whole life, and I remember the first time someone gave me a ticket to some midnight-thirty screening of that Jimmy Fallon, Lucy Liu movie, “The Year of Getting to Know Us.” It was, to put it kindly, a lesser-Sundance movie, but I couldn’t stop geeking out about the fact that I was actually at Sundance! What was your first experience with the festival?

Elder: Holy smokes, when I was in my early 20s, we’re talking mid-90s, my friend’s parents had a condo in Park City and we’d all fly in after weeks of pouring over the schedule and making our own schedules and spreadsheets and what was getting buzz, what we were dying to see and how we were going to fit it all in. Then getting together and spending hours looking at each other’s schedules and trying to verify who had hard tickets for what and how to station ourselves in various waitlist lines for maximum efficiency. And then finally the films.

“One of the best years I remember was ’98 or ’99, the year ‘Pi’ won. I think it was the year with ‘High Art,’ ‘Buffalo 66’ and ‘Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss,’ which all kind of titled film expectations in their own ways. I also ended up working for the festival for a handful of years.

Poppleton: Fellow Utah movie lovers may not know the best way to find their first Sundance experience. What are some of ways for locals to experience the festival?

Elder: I think there’s a preconception that it’s super exclusive and you have to know somebody to get tickets. But really you can just go to any of their box offices and get tickets. Or if you’re feeling spontaneous and lucky you can always waitlist — which is essentially a kind of a last-minute lottery for tickets of sold-out shows. You used to actually have to stand in line, but they have an app now. Which is great, I guess, but I still kind of think you should have to stand outside in line until your fingers are about to fall off. Call it paying your dues. Art always seems better if you have to work or suffer for it. Joking…mostly.

Poppleton: When I first started covering Sundance, it was all about Park City. These days, I spend most of my time hitting as many screenings and events in Salt Lake to avoid the crowds. Where do you prefer to be during the festival and do you think it’s possible to have a complete Sundance experience without driving into Park City?

Elder: When I was young, I had to be in Park City. I really thrived when I was part of the scene. Ten days where you eat, sleep, breathe, poop, and talk film is glorious. And being in Park City, you kind of have a captive audience, right? Like, people are probably not going to Park City on accident during that time. Everybody is there because they love the art form and become revitalized in that kind of electric environment. But now I’m older and curmudgeonly. The fewer people I can be jostled by, the better.

Poppleton: For those who won’t be able to attend any events throughout the festival’s 10-day run, will there be opportunities throughout the year to experience some of the Sundance highlights?

Elder: Many films have theatrical lives after the festival and many of them play at the Broadway or the Tower. You can always check in with us to see if something you missed is upcoming or if you want to bring your friends to one of your favorites.

Poppleton: The Salt Lake Film Society is, without question, my favorite way to experience independent film here in Utah. In fact, seeing “Nosferatu” at the Tower with The Invincible Czars doing live music was probably my favorite movie moment of 2016. What events should Salt Lake residents be on the lookout for in 2017?

Elder: Tons of stuff. Here’s what we have coming up through June. First in April, we have our Czech Film Tour which seems to be getting stronger every year. In May, we have the Mexican Film Tour. The Invincible Czars will be back this season with a new score for the classic “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” The theme for our annual series, The Greatest, will be musicals, and that will be a month of classic musicals at the Broadway, from the ’20s through today. Last but not least, (we have) our Summer Late Night series of cult films that runs through August. (These are) in addition to all of our regularly scheduled screenings.

For more information about the movies playing at Sundance, check out the online digital program, and for more information on SLFS’ coming events, visit their website.

The post Where I talk with SLFS about the Sundance Film Festival 2017 appeared first on Utah.Film.

Currently sitting at an impressive 99 percent on RottenTomatoes.com and, having earned a great review here at KSL.com, the film is being hailed as one of the studio’s best computer generated offerings to date.

We got the chance to sit down with the directors of the film, Byron Howard and Rich Moore, to talk “Zootopia” and the creative process at Disney animation.

ZOOTOPIA. ©2016 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

The interview:

Travis Poppleton: Most movies, you start with one director who’s, you know, necessarily tyrannical. (laughter)

Rich Moore: Now you have two that are tyrannical.

Poppleton: Exactly, so, my first question is: Are you still friends?

Moore: No (laughing).

Poppleton: How do you do that? How do you divide and conquer?

Byron Howard: Oh yeah. I actually think these movies are great because I’ve made two other movies at Disney with directing partners, and I knew Rich socially before we made this movie together. We are both part of the Story Trust, which is a group of directors and heads of stories, but we hadn’t really worked together.

Rich was very kind too, he dropped what he was doing about a year and a half before this film had to be done and he came on to direct this film with me. What’s nice about working with other directors on these films is you become much closer as friends. We spend more time with each other than we do our own families, and we get to learn more about what makes each other tick. It’s a great way to have someone else who, through every situation, is there for you to kind of bounce ideas off of, and so we can do gut checks with each other. I think we know much more about each other than we ever did before.

Moore: Yeah. I think that too.

Byron Howard: From the beginning we were of the same mind of what the movie was wanting to be and where we wanted to take it, and we never had anything where-

Moore: No. Like, “No it’s got to be this way.” (laughing).

Howard: I think because we in general at Disney, nowadays, since John and Ed kind of came in and reset the whole place in a very, very good way. We’re very cooperative, and it’s not like auteur filmmaking at all.

Moore: That’s the thing.

Howard: It’s teams of people.

Moore: It’s not — there really aren’t any tyrants or dictators in animation.

Howard: No, we got rid of those guys (laughing).

Moore: It’s so collaborative; if you can’t work with people then I don’t know how someone would survive. If they were just always bossing people around.

I mean it’s just way too many decisions. I like to be surprised. I like putting something before an artist and say, this is the vision for this and then having that person add their layer of what they do well. Stepping back and thinking, oh my God, I would not have thought of that.

It’s not exactly what I was thinking, but that is so cool.

Howard: Yeah.

Moore: I probably would not have thought of that right off the cuff, but I like those kinds of moments.

Howard: Yeah. We were talking about this earlier too. The one thing a director in animation can do that is the worst possible thing, is to be so tunnel vision and single-minded about what he or she thinks the answer is.

Anytime you do that, you shut down this information that’s coming from outside, these ideas coming inside. That’s a sure way to fail I think.

Moore: Yeah, that’s that kind of bunker mentality of, no I don’t want to hear anyone else you know, I know what it is.

I’ve seen a lot of people that kind of go down in flames thinking that way.

Poppleton: It seems like on every level of the process you’re working with people who are so creative.

Moore: Right. Look I’ve never worked in live-action, and you hear stories of people that are like that.

I don’t know what it is about the two different mediums that would allow someone to be able to be like that and still work with people, but I think we have to work with so many people, intimately, that if we’re to act like a dictator then the movie’s going to suffer.

NATURAL ENEMIES — Zootopia’s first bunny officer Judy Hopps finds herself face to face with a fast-talking, scam-artist fox in Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Zootopia.” Featuring the voices of Ginnifer Goodwin as Judy and Jason Bateman as Nick, “Zootopia” opens in theaters on March 4, 2016. ©2016 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

Poppleton: When do you come in on the story? How far is the story along when the two of you start tackling a project like “Zootopia”? Is it already written?

Howard: Oh no, it begins with us. That’s the cool thing about being an animation director is that you do get to start when it’s this notion. A little spark of something that people are lighting up to, and then you get to watch it grow along the way. I think that getting back to that sort of collaboration idea, whereas it usually starts with one or two people, maybe a writer and a director or a head of story and then the team grows over a period of years to where maybe a couple years into it then you’re actually diving into script and production and once you get sort of the green light to go ahead, then it really gets legs under it and it really goes.

That’s the cool thing; again I don’t know that a lot of live-action directors have that luxury to see something grow from the beginning. Even the two previous films that I did. I came in after the films had sort of blown up, in both cases, and I was coming on with a new crew of people. The films had sort of existed in some form before, so this is the first one for me where I sort of got to see it through from the beginning.

Moore: It’s different from live-action, it doesn’t start with a producer buying a property or working with a writer to create a script and then the director comes in. The stories do begin with the directors at our studio.

Poppleton: I’m glad you said that, because I went into this movie having a very definite idea of what it was.

Howard: Oh yeah.

Poppleton: But what it turned out to be was a story that deals with complicated and really kind of charged themes, and themes people are talking a lot about today. And it made me wonder, do you start with that theme and you’re saying to yourself we’ve got to get in on this conversation, or does a movie like this being with the story and at some point you say, oh you know what theme would work with this?

Moore: The process is different from movie to movie. I have found that if you try to start with a theme and be too slavish to it that that can really make building the story difficult. You know?

I know our colleagues up at Pixar are kind of the same way; that it’s good to start with a theme but then be open to maybe allowing it to move a little bit. But you don’t want it to move so much that it’s not even what inspired you to begin pitching the story.

It is really like the old plate-spinning act from vaudeville. OK, we’ve got a theme going, we’ve got a world going, we have these characters and how each one is informing one another. Being too slavish to one might prevent the movie from really becoming something big and powerful.

Poppleton: Well, I love that it seems so simple. My 7-year-old daughter attended the screening with me, and I don’t think she was readily aware of the themes. But as an adult, the whole time my mind was making connections, and I think you balanced your audience and executed this so well.

Howard: Oh thank you, and you know it’s funny because all the stuff about stereotype and these two different groups didn’t come along, it came from research. We did a lot of research into the mammal world, especially we found that mammals, it’s true we say it in the movie, that 90 percent of them are prey animals and 10 percent are predators. Automatically we had this great fact about reality, where you have these two imbalanced groups that don’t always see eye to eye. Really juicy.

You uncover these nuggets of gold.

We didn’t really commit to that. We said, well that’s a difficult thing to talk about but how can we do it through the characters and how can we do it right. None of us like preachy movies, or movies that tell you what to think. We thought, OK we can tell the story in a sensitive way through the journey of the characters.

Especially with Judy, because she seems like a typical Disney character when you first meet her. She seems like, I’m driven, I’m going to go live my dream, very bright-eyed and wide-eyed, then it’s only as you see how she handles herself through this very difficult situation. Even looking at herself and realizing I’m flawed I have a blind spot that I didn’t think was there, I thought this was an issue with my parents, but I have it too. The fact that she actually steps up and, as an adult, owns it is a pretty mature choice for a character.

That’s why Ginnifer was so great. She sounds like the Disney ideal heroine, but there’s that fire and that commitment to becoming a better person that really submits her into a very layered character.

Poppleton: On that topic, and I’ll try to word this in a way where I don’t spoil this, but the place that I think was most powerful to me and seems to fit in with what you’re saying, is what you do with the bully at the beginning of the movie. I, of course, had my expectations of where the character was headed but when I saw what you did with him, I got a bit choked up. I think it was just such a great decision.

Moore: To have him come back in the story and see that he’s a changed person, that he’s not the same person he was as a child and that he had changed. As we were doing it that’s when I knew, OK we’re digging in deep here. We’re getting away from the clichés and that was always our goal. We don’t want this to just be kind of morality-town and Judy’s a really perfect person who teaches everyone it’s not nice to put people in boxes. We wanted her to really be the one that realized like, oh my God, I’m just like everyone else.

Howard: I think all of us had experiences with bullies when we were growing up and one of the things that ultimately made me feel better about what I was experiencing, I remember thinking this as a child, one of the kids who was beating me up, I became aware that in his own home he was being beat up. He had a very bad parental situation, and I think that made me feel like I understood where this kid, Eric, was coming from and I had, all of a sudden, great compassion.

Where I was afraid and angry at this kid, all of a sudden, my heart kind of went out to him because I had a good home. I had parents who loved me, and I think that’s the complexity that is sometimes lost when you don’t know how to deal with that kind of thing. Bullies are complex and sort of people putting you in boxes and misjudging you, it’s a complex issue because there are many, many things that are working on people that you don’t really realize are there until you get to know them.

That’s when Judy and Hopps really connect. There’s something that’s very similar about them, their upbringing. Nick had this hope to be like Judy and make a difference to the world when he was a kid, but through that experience those hopes were crushed and he said I’m going to protect myself and he shut down.

Howard: Exactly. The fact that he now opens up because of this rabbit, who is the complete opposite of anyone he’d want to hang out with, in the beginning of the movie. Now they’ve bonded over this very, very important thing.

We talk a lot, you can tell, we do this exactly like we’re doing it with you in the story room.

(laughter)

We talk about our experiences. We open up and it’s like a therapy session for a couple years, so we get to know each other very well. That’s where a lot of these layers come from.

Poppleton: Just one last question. The design was gorgeous, just a beautiful, beautiful film to look at, and I noticed a lot of classic Disney designs.

I don’t know if you’re pulling from like Br’er Fox and Thumper, but they had that classic Disney –

Howard: Oh yeah, that was very intentional. We looked back. We have to credit our art director Dave Getz and Matthias Lechner who designed the city, and Cory Loftis who did all the character work on the film. We have an amazing legacy of Disney animal films, all Disney animation’s classic, but we have this great tradition of Disney character design that has such appeal to it. Cory, I’ve got to say, did a great job and looking back at what makes Disney animals specifically. Amazing. So he looked back at the peak of that, which is “Robin Hood” and “Bed knobs and Broomsticks.” Or he even liked the stuff from “Mary Poppins,” those animated segments, and brought that into the 3-D world. Now that fact that we can actually put distinct fur on six single different species of characters and dress them in clothes and make color variants and populate the world with 100,000 characters, where 2 years ago we couldn’t have made this movie.

Moore: Yeah, it would’ve been impossible.

Howard: It’s very intentional, but we work with the best artists in the world. That’s no joke. That’s not hyperbole. We’re really proud of the people we work with, and we couldn’t be more proud of them.

Poppleton: Well, I loved it. I know that you couldn’t have done this in 2-D, but I have to say I do miss 2-D.

Howard: I know, we do. It would’ve been a different movie. There will be a film where that comes in, I think.

Conclusion:

There was one last question we snuck in at the end, which because it spoils a small part of the movie we decided not to include. We’ll sum up the answer here by noting, Howard and Moore didn’t take any decision about their story lightly, even when it was about something as seemingly simple as the color blue.

If it wasn’t already obvious, both men were super nice and seemed genuinely happy to be talking about their creation, even though we were probably their 120th interview for the day.

If you’re looking for something to do with the family this weekend, “Zootopia” is a pretty fantastic option, and is rated PG for some thematic elements, rude humor and action.

Originally published KSL.com

The post Interview: Disney directors talk ‘Zootopia’ appeared first on Utah.Film.

The film, which follows lawyer turned international hostage negotiator James B. Donovan (Tom Hanks), has been receiving critical accolades since its release in October and now waits to go head-to-head for Best Picture at the Academy Awards on Feb. 28.

KSL.com got a chance to chat with one of the writers of the film, Matt Charman, who told us he didn’t need an official nomination to make this project any more meaningful.

“I can’t help but feeling like I got so lucky,” Charman said. “To have a story that resonated with Stephen Spielberg, then to have a character Tom Hanks wanted to play, and then a script the Coens wanted to work on, it was like the best film school ever.”

Charman, who started his career as a playwright with Westminster’s Soho Theater, explained his fascination with Donovan started while reading Robert Dallek’s “An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917–1963.”

“I’ve always been really fascinated by the Kennedy administration and the Cold War period — stakes were so high politically, and with the competing ideologies of Russia and the U.S. at the time, it all created this sort of fascinating chess match.”

Charman noticed a short blurb, while reading, about the exchange of Soviet spy Rudolph Able and American U-2 pilot Gary Powers. Able had been captured by the FBI during an investigation that would later be known as the Hollow Nickel Case, and was assigned Donovan as his defense counsel. Though only discussed briefly in the book, Charman found Donovan’s involvement to be especially interesting. “I had a weird moment while reading that section, and I was like who is this guy, first he’s a lawyer and then he’s negotiating a hostage exchange?”

Charman started searching for more information about Donovan by looking for anything he could find in the New York Times and Presidential Library before eventually sitting down for conversations with Donovan’s son. Charman described his research experience as if James B. Donovan had taken him by hand and walked him through the story.

“I felt a connection with him,” Charman said. “If I don’t feel a connection with the central protagonist I can’t tell the story, but once I had that even the setting could’ve been different. Donovan had become a central compelling figure — the things he was willing to do really inspired me.”

We asked Charman about a scene or theme he’d most like audiences to pay attention to, and he mentioned how impressed he was with Spielberg’s depiction of the building of the Berlin Wall. “This would be the first time people of our generation will see that on screen,” he said. “To see it depicted on screen felt very important and special to me.

Charman believes he found his next compelling protagonist somewhere in the events of the Boston Marathon bombing of 2013. Charman’s next film, “Patriot’s Day,” focuses on Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis and is currently in preproduction.

“Bridge of Spies” is currently available on Blu-ray, DVD and VOD.

Originally published KSL.com

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Whether it’s a two instrument harmony stepping through the dialogue or a big symphonic theme painting in a new location, directors use composers as emotional tour guides for their stories. But just like their contributions, composers are often overlooked when it comes to a film’s celebration.

So for 2015, we wanted to get to know about some of the music behind the festival.

On a wooden bench near the top of Park City’s historic Main Street, we caught up with Zack Ryan, composer of one of this year’s entries, “I Smile Back.”

“I love Park City,” Ryan told Utah.Film on a brisk Monday morning. “I’ve never skied in my life. I’ve spent no time in any ski resort town. It’s beautiful. I love it. I think it’s got such a great vibe.”

Ryan’s thick, disheveled hair and casual dark hoodie suggested he’d awoken only a few minutes before the interview, but his demeanor said otherwise. He was gracious, quick to smile and excited to talk about his involvement with director Adam Salky’s latest project.

“I was brought on board by the two producers, Brian Koppelman and David Levien. I had worked with them on an ESPN ’30 for 30’ documentary they’d directed about a year-and-a-half ago. I was introduced to them by a mutual friend, and they brought me on board, introduced me to Adam Salky, the director, and we had a good conversation about the project.”

“I Smile Back,” based on Amy Koppelman’s novel of the same name, explores the darker, inner-musings of a suburban housewife, and represents comedian Sarah Silverman’s first work as a dramatic actress. Because of several of the film’s themes, Salky required a unique sound for his story, and met with Ryan early on to discuss his vision.

“He came over because it’s not a traditional score. It’s not violins and flutes, or a lot of recognizable sound sources. We developed a lot of the sounds together, finally settling on using a heavily processed version of a celeste, which is this childlike-sounding, music-box type of keyboard.

“It might sound like an overly intellectualized approach,” Ryan continued, “but there are themes throughout that deal with the way her childhood affected who she is as an adult. In that way, using the celeste seemed appropriate. It was gentle enough, where we weren’t being overbearing emotionally. It’s a very delicate movie in that way.”

While Ryan had access to an almost completed film through most of his process, occasionally Salky would need to add dialogue to a scene, so Tamara Meem, the film’s editor, or Salky would call Ryan and read lines over the phone in place of the actors.

It wasn’t until Sunday’s premiere that he was able to see the movie with the completed sound edit in place.

“I finally got to see it with all the correct voices, with all the sound effects. That in an almost subconscious way immerses you more into the movie.You hear the car horn when you’re supposed to. You hear the door shut when you’re supposed to. Everything’s in place.

“It was surprising that I was able to sit back and just watch it and enjoy it. I was very happy with how it all came out, and I think the audience was, too.”

On the topic of advice for aspiring composers, Ryan, a Berklee alumnus, explained that technology has changed music and film in a dramatic way and that going a traditional route, like he did, may not be the best way for everyone.

“I think it’s like Malcolm Gladwell said, ten thousand hours to master anything.

“If you’re a musician, I would say, wherever there is a film school, go throw flyers up saying you’re available to write original music for student projects. You’ll learn so much working on short films. Being stylistically versatile is incredibly important to becoming a working composer. Anything you can do to get experience in different genres, different styles of music, is going to be hugely beneficial.

If you’re not near a film school. You can still be working on stuff that can be seen all over the world.You can work totally remotely now, especially now with people who make web series, they make YouTube videos, and do stuff in the new media world. I think it’s a great opportunity for younger, aspiring composers to jump on board, because you can now take geography out of the equation.”

Ryan’s work-hard-wherever-you-are philosophy became evident when after our interview, he confessed he was heading back to work. Even the ski slopes of Park City couldn’t keep him from his music.

The post Sundance: Chatting the music of ‘I Smile Back’ with composer Zack Ryan appeared first on Utah.Film.

It’s also around this time we begin looking over Hollywood’s coming Christmas offerings, and on this year’s list, mixed in with a raunchy comedy and Christmas horror movie, we found the seemingly sweet and traditionally themed, “Christmas Eve” — written and directed by “The Other Side of Heaven” director, Mitch Davis.

Set to be released on Dec. 4, “Christmas Eve” takes a look inside six stuck New York elevators on the night before Christmas. If IMDB is to be believed, “hilarity, romance, and transcendence prevail.”

Wanting to know more about the project, we reached out to Davis, who graciously took time out of his busy schedule to chat with us. And while we’ve made a few edits for formatting and length purposes, the following is an overview of that conversation. We summed up our questions into category headings and left his responses largely in place and like always, a full transcript is available upon request.

On the subject of making a Christmas movie

This movie was not originally written as a Christmas film. It was a spec script called “Stuck” that came to me from a first-time writer named Tyler McKellar. It was one of the most moving, hilarious scripts I had ever read, so I bought it from Tyler and we worked on a number of rewrites together. It wasn’t until a few weeks before going into production that I hatched the idea of rewriting the script one more time and setting it on Christmas Eve.

The movie tells the story of six different groups of people who get stuck overnight in elevators in New York City. As you can imagine, remarkable, entertaining things happen inside those elevators as the night wears on. Some of them are funny, some of them romantic, some of them sort of spiritual. And I just realized that Christmastime would be the perfect time for all those sorts of transformative things to be taking place inside these elevators. Setting the movie on Christmas Eve — and now calling the movie “Christmas Eve” — puts a little extra spin on the ball.

Not only is Christmas Eve the most hectic night of the year with everyone wanting to get home and be with family, it is a time when we think about things we might not think about the rest of the year. We interact with people in ways we might not the rest of the year. We spend hours just gazing at beautiful lights and cherishing our loved ones. All of that was a perfect addition to the thoughtful, emotional, hilarious script Tyler had already written.

On assembling the cast

Never in a million years would I have expected to assemble such a great, eclectic cast. Jon Heder was the first guy in and Patrick Stewart was the last. But every casting choice in between was a joyful, magical experience — sort of like opening Christmas presents, not sure exactly what’s inside. Cheryl Hines was an absolute delight, fresh off her TV series, “Suburgatory” and “The Larry David Show.” In fact, she got engaged to Bobby Kennedy her third day of shooting with us in Bulgaria. Our family are big fans of the TV show, “Psych,” so we were thrilled when James Roday came aboard, and he brought Julianna Guill with him, who was fabulous. Then Gary Cole from “Office Space” and “Talladega Nights” and now “Veep.” What a riot! Max Casella came to us fresh off of the Coen brothers movie, “Inside Llewyn Davis,” and he hit it out of the park.

A lot of people have asked me how I attracted such a great cast, and I have to say it was a function of having a great script. Actors want to make money but they also want to depict characters who matter, characters who are real and memorable. We had a casting director named Jory Weitz who worked really, really hard for us, but his job was made easier by the script he was able to send around.

Patrick didn’t actually join us until we were half way through shooting our film. We had purposely put his scenes at the very end of our shooting schedule so we could have more time to fill his role, and I didn’t get the phone call until halfway through week three of a five-week shoot. I’ll never forget it. I was having a Nutella crepe with my wife and son in the studio commissary when my cell phone rang. And there was Sir Patrick, agreeing to come aboard and take the lead role in our film. My son was sitting across the table from me and started to cry, he was so happy for me.

And it’s not just our U.S. cast that is amazing in this movie. About two-thirds of our cast came from the U.K. and they were absolutely amazing. Some of them are very big deals over there. David Bamber from “The King’s Speech,” Steven John Shepherd from “East Enders,” Juliet Aubrey from “The Constant Gardener.” All of these great actors just showed up and delivered with everything they had.

One of the best finds of our movie was a first-timer named Roxanne Cook. She is the daughter of an old friend of mine, Dick Cook, who was the Chairman and CEO of Disney for several years. Dick and I worked together at Disney back when I was there and have stayed in touch. I told him I was making this movie and he told me about his daughter, a comedian, who had just graduated drama school.

I put Roxanne on tape and she was hilarious! Absolutely charming and effervescent and hysterically funny! So I cast her as this kind of ditzy girl who is besties with a supermodel from the U.K. named Margaret Clunie, and they absolutely nailed it.

I just heard that Roxanne has been admitted into the famous comedy troupe, The Groundlings, and is doing stand-up at the Comedy Store in Hollywood. This is not the last we are going to see of Roxanne Cook.

Location, location, location

Although the movie is set entirely in New York, we shot the entire movie on location in Sofia, Bulgaria. There is a great studio facility there, left over from the Communist era. It is a very inexpensive place to shoot a movie and is very convenient for actors coming from the U.K. In fact, Patrick Stewart has a house in the U.K. and flew to our movie from London.

But since much of our movie takes place inside elevator boxes, we realized we could build those sets just about anywhere and the audience would think we were in New York. I think we pulled it off.

The Bulgarian crew were all coming off an action film that was shot there called “Expendables 4” with Sylvester Stallone and all those guys. I think it was quite a shock for them, going from that hard action film to our sweet Christmas movie. But they were fabulous to work with. It was the most stress-free set I’ve ever been on because whenever things started to get stressful, they all started talking in Bulgarian so I didn’t have any idea what they were saying.

Chatting favorite holiday movies

I will never forget the first time I saw “It’s a Wonderful Life.” I was a freshman at Brigham Young University and Charles Metten showed it to us in a Film Appreciation class. Like a lot of college freshmen, I was trying to figure out my life, trying to define and direct it. Then here came this movie about a guy named George Bailey who consistently made the selfless choice and who changed the world as a result. That movie just blew me away. For three days I walked around the BYU campus, picking up trash, opening doors for people, just trying to do the right thing for the right reason. As a piece of film and as a Christmas sermon, there is nothing that compares to “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

Besides “It’s a Wonderful Life,” our family loves to watch a movie called “The Family Stone” every year. It’s a big-hearted movie about a dysfunctional family coming together at Christmas and coping with the news that their mother, the family’s matriarch, is dying of cancer. It’s a comedy with a big heart that reminds me that every family is dysfunctional in one way or another, but we can all get through whatever life throws at us with a little humor and a lot of love.

On what makes a perfect Christmas

Family and a foot of fresh powder at Deer Valley.

Seriously, though, family is where it’s at. If the only real purpose for a Christmas tree was to give my family an excuse to gather around it, that would be purpose enough.

Originally published KSL.com

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