Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A • S U M M E R 2 0 1 8 50 In the more than 120 years since, Montana's romance with the movies has deepened considerably. e invention of the Western, and its cousin the outdoor survival film, has made Montana a popular destination for filmmakers who demand frontier authentic- ity in their shooting locations. But not every movie shot wholly or in part in Montana are Westerns. Montana stood in for Heaven, after all, in the Robin Williams vehicle WHAT DREAMS MAY COME, and a Hutterite colony in the Big Sky State made for an amusing backdrop for the screwball comedy HOLY MATRIMONY, directed by Mr. Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy. And even as you read this, a crew is shooting YELLOWSTONE, a television series starring Kevin Costner about modern-day ranchers resisting the encroachment of outsiders, at Chief Joseph Ranch outside of Darby, MT. It is easy to imagine locations scouts going gaga at Montana's natural wonders. But filming in Montana isn't just about scenery, it's also good business sense. Just ask the Montana Film Commission. e MFC is an arm of the Montana Department of Commerce, and since their formation in 1974 the Commission has worked to put Montana's name up in lights. eir goal is manifold: to get productions to come to Montana, to help those productions select the right locations, and to foster the careers of Montana filmmak- ers and crew members. MONTANA'S FILM BUSINESS Angus Macfadyn in Robert the Bruce, filmed in Livingston, Montana, and Scotland I N 1897, A CREW OF CAMERAMEN DESCENDED ON MONTANA UNDER ORDERS FROM THEIR BOSS, THOMAS EDISON, TO PRODUCE SOME SHORT FILMS DEMONSTRATING HIS NEW INVENTION, THE KINETISCOPE. Some 50 feet of film resulted, no more than a snippet really, entitled "Tourist Train Leaving Livingston, Mont." e movie depicted well-wishers and locals waving goodbye to a passenger train setting out for Yellowstone National Park. You couldn't call it an epic, and yet it was the cinema's first glimpse of the Treasure State. It would certainly not be the last. by JOSEPH SHELTON

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