Big-budget productions and independent features have used Utah’s various monumental landscapes as a backdrop for filming for over a century now. “Hollywood in Utah” is a PBS documentary released in 2024 to celebrate the state’s 100 years of film production, which began with “The Covered Wagon” in 1924.
On Feb. 11, the documentary was screened at the Peery’s Egyptian Theater from 6-8 p.m. The screening was followed by a discussion between author and Utah film historian James D’Arc and the documentary’s producer, Nancy Green.
With a runtime of 57 minutes, “Hollywood in Utah” chronicles the films, hardships, legacy and future of filmmaking in Utah. The documentary uses a series of in-depth interviews with actors, stunt performers and industry professionals alongside archival footage spanning back to the 1920s.
D’Arc, the author of “When Hollywood Came to Town,” began researching Utah’s film history 33 years ago. D’Arc was the motion picture archive curator at Brigham Young University’s Harold B. Lee Library for over 40 years.
In his research, D’Arc has noted roughly 1,250 feature films, TV movies and series, all having parts filmed somewhere in Utah. He had previously hoped his book would be adapted but did not expect it to happen.
D’Arc initially pitched the first edition of “When Hollywood Came to Town” as a documentary to BYU TV and KUED TV in 2010 but was turned down because the project was too expensive. Years later, D’Arc got a call from PBS that there was a new interest in adapting the book.
“I was thrilled,” D’Arc said. “I figured this book now has an extended life.”
D’Arc was even more thrilled when PBS let him be the consultant on the project.
“This book is so big, and there are so many directions we could go in…we had discussion sessions to work out a narrative,” D’Arc said.
D’Arc finds the documentary filmmaking process to be both fascinating and difficult. D’Arc said there are three converging forces that need to be considered when making a documentary.
“The balance between the story you would like to tell, the amount of footage you have to illustrate it, and the time frame you have to put it in. Those are the forces that end up creating a movie…you have to formulate them into an opportunity and experience,” D’Arc said.
D’Arc looks forward to future screenings because it is exciting to meet people interested in the subject matter and have stories to tell.
Joshua Ijaika, a digital media student at Weber State, attended the screening and found the experience to be a great opportunity to learn more about the film industry in Utah. Learning more about the filmmaking opportunities in Utah has made Ijaika consider staying in Utah to find a career.
“I love seeing the evolution of Utah’s scenery in different films,” Ijaika said.
James Hall, an Ogden community member and film connoisseur, enjoyed seeing the different locations where his favorite Western films were made, as well as seeing where the future of Utah’s film industry is headed.