Weekly Edition | April 25th | By: NP-staff
Farmington, NM – Hollywood producers come to New Mexico and Arizona for it's rugged terrains and vast remote locations for up coming movies in the works. Recently, Navajo leaders meant with Actor Johnny Depp while shooting 'The Lone Ranger' in Monument Valley.
New Mexico Film Office said Tuesday that a science fiction film "The Host" is filming in Shiprock, said Don Gray, contractor for the state office.
"If "The Lone Ranger' is a big hit, Farmington, you can exploit that hit," he said. "You can make money off of that for years to come." said Gary while presenting at the San Juan College. The Host, according to the Film Office, "tells the story of a highly secretive government research facility that suffers a containment breach of a genetically engineered new life form. The results are catastrophic ." the Daily Times reported.
Shiprock NM is a small town located on the Navajo Nation, it is very remote and sits near a volcanic rock known by the Dine (Navajo) as a sacred bird that once roamed the area.
Local leaders hope these types of films will sell the area and bring more tourist to explore the southwest. Youtube videos are produced and made by local Film producers, like Fort Lewis Film Production which recently made a short horror film titled 'skin walker' featuring a Navajo couple that picked up a hitch hiker, which happened to be a skin walker.
The film producers said jokingly, 'don't pick up hitchhikers on the reservation- That's what this movie is all about. Especially innocent looking old ladies with purple scarves said the producers.'
Navajo Nation is currently boosting it's economy through tourism and small businesses, recently the AP reported that the reservation brought in more this year then any other. Remote locations like the Navajo reservation is a prime movie set because of it similarities to foreign countries and rugged terrain that don't need any touches.
