PROVO — A dream for something better and a lucky break on some land have given HaleStorm Entertainment the shove it needs to build a full-service film studio right here in Utah County.
"We really want to be in the front row seat of films and what's going on (in the film industry) in Utah," said Dave Hunter, HaleStorm producer.
Hunter presented the floor plans and scope of the new Stone Five Studio during last week's LDS Film Festival in Orem. The studio is in the final stages of construction and is expected to open in early spring. Located in the Riverwoods business park across from the Tahitian Noni headquarters, the 46,000 square foot studio will provide state-of-the-art equipment, a sound stage, recording studio, green wall for animation, editing facilities, offices and more.
HaleStorm is best-known for its LDS-centric films including: "Singles Ward," "The R.M." and "The Home Teachers." Hunter said what they really want to be doing is making a variety of family-friendly films that would be of interest to larger markets.
Referring to the new studio Hunter said, "What we'll make can be distributed around the world." The dream will start coming to fruition this year. Stone Five has private equity funding of $20 million for the next few years to produce five films. Those projects are, for the most part, online as soon as the studio is operational.
To show the difference in pricing and the opportunities new funding holds, Hunter said their first movie, "Singles Ward," had a budget of $400,000. These new films will receive budgets of $2 million. The studio owners are also open to negotiate advances for projects they read and feel warrant a chance.
Hunter said the studio owns several potential scripts at present. The late Ruth Hale, grandmother to many of the principles, gave movie rights to approximately 100 of her original scripts. Hunter said these scripts have the potential for great family movies. The children's animated show "Howdy Town," will also be produced at the studio and is currently seeking national distribution.
HaleStorm will release "Suits on the Loose," Feb. 3, "Church Ball" in March and will begin shooting "Singles Ward II," in two weeks.
E-mail: pugmire@desnews.com