Moab exhibiting for first time at FOCUS

FOCUS talks to Bega Metzner, Director of the Moab to Monument Valley Film Commission, about the locations and services on offer in this diverse region.

[Headline photo by Maximilian Schmige from Booba’s music video ‘Friday’]

Bega Metzner. Photo by Kaje Jensen

Bega what brings you and the Moab to Monument Valley Film Commission to FOCUS this year?

FOCUS has achieved a reputation in the film commissioner world as a can’t-miss event. It’s a wonderful opportunity to network and reach out to the European market. Here in Southeastern Utah we have a 70-year history of film, TV, and commercial productions, and I felt like it was time to make this event a priority. I want to bring what we have to offer to a wider range of media professionals, and hopefully develop some new connections and share our extraordinary landscape with a new audience.

FOCUS is a wonderful opportunity to network and reach out to the European market.

What are you hoping to get out of the event and what in particular will you be promoting at FOCUS 2018?

The Moab to Monument Valley region is a place with a diversity of dynamic landscapes that work for any number of projects. Our iconic red rocks have been attracting film makers since the days of John Ford and John Wayne, and our film commission dates back to 1949, making us the longest-running film commission in the world. In addition to westerns, our arid deserts have made countless appearances as Mars or other galactic destinations (for example John Carter and 2001: A Space Odyssey), as well as backdrops for adventure sports dramas (127 Hours), high-end fashion shoots, and music videos. Our endless miles of desolate roads have featured prominently in hundreds of movies (Thelma and Louise, Forrest Gump) and commercials. With hundreds of locations both nostalgically familiar and cosmically foreign, this truly is where the Old West meets the Future.

We have worked with the international community on some relatively small projects, and I would really love the opportunity to work with European productions on a wider scale. We have such unique scenery here and I would love to expose new markets to all that Southeastern Utah has to offer. If you can dream it, we can help you make it a reality in our stunning landscape.

Our iconic red rocks have been attracting film makers since the days of John Ford and John Wayne, and our film commission dates back to 1949, making us the longest-running film commission in the world.

What productions have filmed in the past few years in the area?
HBO’s Westworld, directed by Jonathan Nolan, prominently features our surreal scenery as the backdrop for the fictional world of its title. In addition to filming much of the first season in the Moab area, they captured some epic shots that run throughout the series. BBC’s Top Gear recently filmed on one of Moab’s many breathtaking roads. Kia used the famous 4-wheeling trail “Hell’s Revenge” to showcase the capabilities of their “Sorento” model. They filmed the passenger car surmounting red rock challenges designed for off-road vehicles. Nike shot their “Victory” webisode commercials in the area, following Kevin Hart as he runs feral in the desert.  International rapper Booba utilized some of the area’s vast sand dunes for his music video “Friday”

Please tell us briefly what the Moab to Monument Valley Film Commission has to offer as a film location destination?

We have an astounding diversity of locations here in Southeastern Utah. From the iconic red rocks, full of caves, canyons and tunnels, hoodoos and spires to the nearby mountain ranges with alpine lakes, fall foliage, and snowbound yurts, the landscape changes by the month and by the mile. Sand dunes, ghost towns, breathtaking vistas – every cliff and canyon has something new to offer. Our region offers some of the most spectacular roads in the world, ranging from newly paved highways winding through the desolate landscape and alongside the Colorado River, to four-wheeling roads through rugged and difficult canyons, to a world-class trail network for mountain bikes, horses, and off-road vehicles.

Rolls Royce Commercial. Photo by Olivia Kulander

Our 70-year filmmaking heritage translates to a strong crew base and our rural setting means that we work closely with other entities from around the state. Local talent and crew abound, and when they cannot be found in Moab, they can travel from nearby Salt Lake City. Equipment is usually rented from Salt Lake as well, as the city is home to several equipment rental houses and production facilities.

Accommodations in the area were first increased to accommodate the film industry of the 40s and 50s. There is still a motel in town that boasts, “stay where John Wayne stayed!” If motels aren’t a good fit for your production, there are boutique hotels, glamping tents, major chains, and of course, dude ranches. We have daily subsidized flights into and out of Moab’s Canyonlands Airport.

Sand dunes, ghost towns, breathtaking vistas – every cliff and canyon has something new to offer.

Do you offer any filming incentives for producers interested in filming in From Moab to Monument Valley

The Moab to Monument Valley Film Commission is here to help filmmakers and production people find the perfect locations and connect to local resources. We offer free on-the-ground services to help find the perfect spot to shoot, the right hotel for your crew, the correct permitting agency, or the PAs to staff your production. Our goal is to enrich both the experience and final product of the project, as well as our local community, by doing the groundwork to connect people and places. We are working with several of the local hotels who now offer a discount of up to 15% for film crews that work through the film commission.

Utah’s Motion Picture Incentive Program (MPIP) offers a 20-25% tax credit for productions with at least a $500,000 Utah spend (with the bump of 5% for filming in rural Utah) The Community Film Incentive Program (CFIP) fosters new and up and-coming local filmmakers and productions. Projects that will spend up to $500,000 in the state may qualify for a 20% post-performance cash rebate.

More info at www.filmmoab.com

To meet the Moab to Monument Film Commission, register for a FREE FOCUS 2018 delegate badge here.

Bega Metzner
Born and raised in New York City by her director father and photographer mother, Bega Metzner was a child of the industry. She started her formal career on set working as a PA, where she met a costume designer who quickly whisked her away into the world of wardrobe – a world she worked and traveled in for over 20 years. Bega quickly worked her way up from shopper to set costumer to assistant designer, and soon took off on her own as a costume designer and stylist for film, commercials, and print. During this time, she spent her downtime in Moab, Utah, a place she first fell in love with while on a photoshoot in 1989. When Bega decided she wanted to live full-time in Moab, she started working for the Moab to Monument Valley Film Commission as the assistant director the Summer of 2015, taking on the role of Director in December of 2016.