St. George • Despite the lackluster performance of “Horizon: An American Saga” at the box office thus far, actor Kevin Costner is determined that the show and construction of a $100 million film studio in St. George will go on.
That assurance comes from Brett Burgess, president of Development Solutions Group, Inc., a year after announcing that he was partnering with Costner to build Territory Film Studios near the St. George Regional Airport.
“We are still moving forward,” Burgess said. “There’s a lot of infrastructure – roads, water lines and off-site power – work we need to do at the site. We are currently focusing on that, trying to get the ground ready [for the buildings].”
Borne out of Costner’s inability to find a warehouse in St. George to shoot some interior scenes for the “Horizon” series, Territory Studios is aimed at filling that void and helping the film industry establish a greater foothold in southern Utah by luring more movie productions to the area.
Chapter one in the “Horizon” franchise cost roughly $100 million to make and debuted last June. The movie has been panned by many critics, and the movie grossed a paltry $38.7 million worldwide, just $700,000 more than the $38 million Costner invested of his own money in the film.
The series’s second installment premieres Friday at the 40th Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
Barn and more in store
As part of the project’s first phase, workers are erecting a 39,000-square-foot multipurpose warehouse on a lower portion of the 45-acre site. Dubbed “the Barn,” the building will be used to store and build sets. Costner has already used the building as a makeshift soundstage and done some filming nearby for the third installment of the series, according to Burgess.
This spring, construction should begin on the remainder of the project’s first phase – an adjacent building that will combine a 20,000-square-foot soundstage with 10,000 square feet of office space. Work on the first phase is expected to wrap up next fall.
Phase two of the Territory project calls for erecting another building on the upper part of the property that will contain another two 20,000-square-foot soundstages and between 15,000 and 20,000 square feet of office space. The final phase would involve the construction of a third building to house a Costner-themed restaurant.
Exact dates for construction on the final two phases have not yet been determined. Burgess said he and Costner want to see how much film business they can lure to southern Utah with the completion of the first phase before proceeding with the balance of the project.
Burgess estimates Territory Studios’ total cost will run about $100 million. Upon completion, he added, the studio could employ up to 30 full-time workers but could balloon to several times that amount if major film companies book the facilities.
For Washington County tourism officials, Costner’s “Horizon” series–portions of which were filmed locally – and Territory Studios are central to their hopes of reestablishing Washington County as a magnet for movie-makers.
‘Film industry is in our blood’
James. V. D’Arc, Utah’s foremost movie historian and a retired Brigham Young University film archivist, said Washington County saw a surge in moviemaking starting with the 1956 Dick Powell film “The Conqueror,” starring John Wayne and Susan Hayward.
The county’s landscapes would go on to serve as a backdrop for a score of big-budget Hollywood westerns in the 1960s and 1970s starring actor Robert Redford, including “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “The Electric Horseman” and “Jeremiah Johnson.”
But Hollywood’s affinity for the region tailed off by the mid 80s, Utah Tech University College Arts Dean Jeff Jarvis recently told The Tribune.
Joyce Kelly, sales manager for the Greater Zion Convention and Tourism Office who helped Costner scout locations for “Horizon,” believes the actor’s epic series, studio and love for Utah is sparking a moviemaking renaissance in southwest Utah.
Aside from its scenic landscapes and Territory Studios, Kelly added, the St. George area’s hotels, shops, workforce and film school at Utah Tech University add to its allure for filmmakers and is turning the movie business into a major economic driver for the local economy.
Tourism officials estimate Costner and his production company, Territory Pictures, have pumped about $90 million into the county and surrounding areas thus far to film “Horizon,” which depicts the settlement of the West during a 15-year period spanning before and after the Civil War.
When it comes to “putting heads in bed,” Kelly said the movie industry fills hotels. She said it also triggers more business at local stores and restaurants. Moreover, the industry helps create jobs that local students can fill upon graduation instead of having to move elsewhere. Finally, she added, the industry is an integral part of southern Utah’s history.
“The film industry is in our blood,” she said. “We need to keep it here.”
