Derek Mellus, Production Manager for the Utah Film Commission, made a stop in Green River on Wednesday to present 100 Years of Film in Utah to the Emery County Business Chamber (ECBC) during their monthly lunch and learn.
Mellus started 17 and a half years ago and stated that he knows about 1/6th of the history of 100 years of film. In the last 10 years, over six billion dollars have been spent in Utah for the film industry and 2024 marks 100 years. Mellus explained that in the early 1920s, Cedar City had a new railroad line and monument.
The Perry brothers began their work in tourism, hotels and businesses such as taking visitors to historic places around Utah like Bryce Canyon. The Perry brothers saw the allure and made trips to Los Angeles to draw stars to Utah.
Mellus went over other film pioneers for Utah in the early 1900s, such as director John Ford, who gave young John Wayne a breakthrough role in Utah. Ford would go on to film 11 westerns in Utah. The state became synonymous with the idea of the American west and very many would take place there.
He explained that Kanab eventually became known as little Hollywood, with Frank Sinatra installing a pool at one of the hotels. Over the last century, the landscapes of Utah have sparked some of the greatest stories in the world, such as Forrest Gump’s famous run scene. Other famous films of Utah include Indiana Jones, Gravity, Con Air, Independence Day, The Sandlot, Thelma and Louise and more.
From there, Mellus showed a short film on the 100 year history of Utah and movies before taking time to chat with the crowd on all things film. Before concluding, he gave a brief history on the Utah Film Commission, which was formed in 1974 under the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity and directly under the Office of Tourism.
There are 2,000 plus filming locations in the state of Utah, 44% of which are urban and 56% of which are rural.