New Films Set To Shoot In Utah Expected To Boost Economy By $2.1M

TOOELE, Utah – A new feature film is showcasing Tooele Valley on the big screen like never before.

“Grandpa’s Crazy?” will be shot entirely in the city, with an all-Utah cast and crew. It has created nearly 50 jobs and was approved to receive $12,000 through the Utah Film Commission’s incentives program.

“This is a Utah film,” said writer and producer Dave Bresnahan. “That was the whole goal of this project — to show that there can be a homegrown, Utah project that doesn’t need Hollywood’s help. We have used the city hall, we have used Tooele High School, we used the cemetery (and) we used the skate park.”

In the film, set to be released by the end of the year, “Grandpa” pretends to get lost to get some attention from his family. The plan backfires, and his children try to have him declared incompetent. However, kids from the skate park come to his rescue.

“The point of the film is that it resonates with a really wide audience. Family relations to the max, you basically have every relatable character you can think of in this,” said cast member Eric Osmond.

Tonight at 10:00 on @KSL5TV…
What the mask mandate extension means for your family. Plus, we're on set of one of two Utah films expected to bring a big boost to the economy. pic.twitter.com/OsxKyvT35u

— Ashley Moser (@AshleyMoser) August 20, 2020

The cast said their project was not immune to the impact of the pandemic. Even though this film was written months ago, they have had to meet online to prepare. But they were glad to finally get to work again.

“For a while there it was just like nothing and then boom everything happened all at once,” said cast member Walter Platz.

Platz said getting a project like this up and running is encouraging for the talent in Utah.

“The more people we can get employed the better we are going to be,” he said.

The group hopes to have “Grandpa’s Crazy?” out in theaters by Christmas, but it depends on if theaters are open by then.