Woodward was on the set of the Hollywood movie “Dreamin ‘Wild” last Monday, and she spoke with KREM about the impact the film industry could have on the city’s growth.
SPOKANE, Washington – Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward was on the set of the movie “Dreamin ‘Wild” in October and she spoke with KREM 2 about the impact the film industry could have on the city’s growth.
“Dreamin ‘Wild” stars big names in Hollywood, including Zooey Deschanel and Casey Affleck. Filming began on South Spokane Hill in October.
“Dreamin ‘Wild”, a new indie musical drama, presents the true story of musical duo Donnie and Joe Emerson, two brothers from Fruitland, Washington. Photos were appearing on social media from locations in the neighborhood where the filming was taking place.
Woodward said it was a really great experience being a part of the set and being able to see the work involved in every scene.
“They were shooting a doubletree scene that was a wedding scene in which Zooey and Casey’s character played the background music for a wedding, and it was interesting to see how much work is put into a scene,” Woodward said. .
Woodward said what was even better was seeing how many locals were involved in the movie.
“When a project like this comes to town, the economic impact is pretty deep,” said Woodward. “There were dozens and dozens of people who were on the team, a few extras, so when you think of the people locally who are hired for these projects and then how much money the budget allows for salespeople as well, so a lot of these vendors are local businesses and really have an incredible impact on our local economy. ”
Woodward said she was contacted in April by producer, Gonzaga University graduate Bill Pohlad. He lives in Minneapolis but still maintains ties to the community, and they came across the story of the Emerson brothers.
“He really wanted to be able to film it here and the authenticity of being able to film it in Fruitland where the brothers grew up on a farm and in and around Spokane as well, so I’ve been working with Bill since April to make sure the town can. support in any way you can, ”said Woodward.
Woodward said that Spokane was also chosen to shoot the film because of the number of cinematic incentives Washington offers with these types of productions.
“The project didn’t get the incentives in the first round, but it did the second round because they were looking for other places to shoot this movie, but they ended up choosing Spokane because of those incentives,” he said. Woodward said.
She also said a new bill would be introduced in the next legislative session that would increase incentives to bring Hollywood filmmakers to Spokane.
“When you think about the economic impact we had on ‘Z-Nation’ here several years ago, five episodes of this show were filmed in Spokane,” said Woodward. “It was an impact of $ 20 million per season and hundreds of people hired per episode, which really makes a huge difference to where the production is shot.”
Woodward said the more Spokane and the Northwest Interior are exposed with these projects, the more likely the city will be entitled to more projects.
