New Mexico’s Baldwin Site Filming Plays Key Hollywood Role

The dusty desert landscapes of New Mexico provided the perfect backdrop for Hollywood westerns, but the state has also served as a filming location for everything from the drug-trafficking drama “Breaking Bad” to the science-mystery mystery. fiction “Stranger Things”.

New Mexico’s role in television and film came to light last week when cinematographer Harina Hutchins was gunned down on a western film set shot at Bonanza Creek Ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe. Actor Alec Baldwin has been fired.

Rust is just one of many projects filmed around the state and has become the hub of Hollywood, offering producers a generous 25-35% refund tax credit. Netflix Inc’s NBC Universal and Comcast Corp have set up a production studio in Albuquerque.

A pool of experienced workers helped draw Hollywood to the state, say filmmakers and television executives. According to the New Mexico Film Office, approximately 9,000 people in New Mexico work in the industry, with an average salary of $ 56,000.

Set designer Bill Horn, who has worked on Paramount Pictures projects at Netflix, Sony Corp and Viacom CBS Inc, has grown in recent years.

When he joined Local 480 of the International Alliance of Cinema and Theater Unions (IATSE) over 10 years ago, it had fewer than 600 members. At present, he said he has over 1,500 members.

“It’s getting bigger and bigger,” said Horn, who is currently working on Fox’s drama “The Cleaning Lady”. He said local educational options for professional film productions have broadened and new learnings have been discussed. “We’re pretty desperate for training,” he said.

Other projects underway in the state include the Netflix series “Trigger Warning” and “Dead Forderer,” starring Christoph Waltz, Willem Dafoe and Rachel Brosnahan. According to state statistics, 48 ​​movies and TV shows were produced in New Mexico in September.

Spending on film and television production hit a record high of $ 623 million in the state from July 2020 to July 2021, the Films division said. Some politicians are unhappy with offering tax cuts to Hollywood companies.

The camera keeps rolling

Bonanza Creek Ranch, where filming for “Rust” was interrupted, has been used as a Hollywood scene for decades since Jimmy Stewart’s “The Man from Laramie” in 1955 and “Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid” in 1968. I Came Here .

The vast land includes five different sets, including an old western-style living room, a blacksmith, a train station, 24 towns with barns and free range cows.

Recent work includes Tom Hanks’ film “This Vague” from last year.

The day after the “rust” accident, the camera was rolling to shoot a night scene in the ranch for another project. The site also offers movie-related tours and rental options for private parties and corporate retreats.

Besides the ranch, there are many sound stages in the area. Netflix operates one of the largest after AMC Networks acquired Albuquerque Studios, which filmed “Breaking Bad” in 2018. Two years later, Streaming Giant announced it would expand the facility and pledged to spend $ 1 billion dollars for production in the state.

Since the tragedy of the “rust”, the media have expressed their dissatisfaction with the working conditions of the plateau. People involved in other projects in New Mexico said the set had always adhered to strict safety and security protocols and was amazed at how the shooting took place.

“We have everything in place to prevent this from happening. There is no reason for that, ”said Jesse Cassias, who sets the stage.

Actor Jon Hamm, who is filming in nearby Belem, said he and his “Mad Men” co-star John Slattery attended the alert “to support our community.” I did. Slutary, who is directing the new film, said her crew were close friends of Hutchins.

Others said they felt lost, even though they were not directly related to Hutchins. “It’s a sad day for everyone,” said decorator Horn.