The Town of Drumheller has been a little star-struck for the past couple months.
Since the big-budget Hollywood movie The Seventh Son wrapped up filming in Horsethief Canyon earlier this summer, Mayor Yemen has hoped to bring more movies to the Drumheller area.
At the most recent meeting of the Drumheller Town Council on August 13, direction was given for the Town’s Economic Development Officer, Bob Cromwell, to do some research into the incentives other provinces are offering.
“A lot of the other provinces have incentives for the movie industry that make it more attractive and lucrative to film there,” said Mayor Yemen. “I’ve asked them to look into it and see what other provinces are offering.”
Mayor Yemen was inspired to begin research into the topic after witnessing the economic impact on Drumheller during the brief few days of filming for The Seventh Son.
A crew of 80 to 100 people worked, slept, and ate in Drumheller for nearly a week.
“When the last one was here, all they did was the opening shot and it was like a little city up there at Horsethief Canyon. There was certainly an economical growth surge when they were in town. That was just for the opening shot. Imagine if we had a major motion picture doing the whole thing in and around the area,” said Mayor Yemen.
Prior to The Seventh Son, the most recent Hollywood backed motion picture to be filmed here was in 2004. Prior to that, Drumheller had seen movies such as Unforgiven, Shanghai Noon, and Superman filmed in the area.
According to Yemen, Alberta has lagged behind other parts of Canada when it comes to encouraging movies to film here.
“About 25 years ago, the average movie budget in Alberta was about $200 million and the same in B.C. Currently, it hasn’t changed in Alberta, but B.C. is seeing $2 billion,” said Yemen. “Drumheller has certainly been showcased in a lot of different movies, but it wouldn’t hurt at all, economically, to have some more.”
The lack of incentives in Alberta, when compared to B.C. is contributing to movies overlooking the Drumheller area.
“It’s a shame we’re being circumvented when we have so much right here. It [The Seventh Son] was a major production and when we talked to the producers and directors, we found out three of them were academy award winners. They all said the same thing, Alberta isn’t doing enough to entice them to come to Alberta. That shot they did was between Drumheller and China. They’re not scared to spend money to find the right location,” said Yemen.
For the time being, the Town will continue to research how other provinces are encouraging the film industry. After that is done, Yemen hopes to get the Alberta government listening.
“When we get that information, I’ll start lobbying. I’ve talked to some of our neighbours about it and we all agree. We’re going to start lobbying the provincial government to make Alberta as attractive as the other provinces,” said Yemen. “We can push at a local level, but ultimately we have to push provincially.”