The film about the Granite Mountain Hotshots is set to begin production on Monday, and will attempt to tell the story of the 20-person crew of wildland firefighters that were all killed on the Yarnell Hill Fire in 2013 except for one survivor, Brendan McDonough.
Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura has hired a very impressive cast including Josh Brolin, Jeff Bridges, Andie MacDowell, Jennifer Connelly, and Taylor Kitsch. (IMDB has a full list of the cast.)
Below is an excerpt from an AP article:
The producers behind a movie about the elite firefighting team that lost 19 members in a 2013 Arizona wildfire assure the story focuses on the firefighters’ dedication, not the way in which they died.
The movie will be filming in Santa Fe, Los Alamos and several other cities in New Mexico through early September. It is slated to open in theaters in September 2017.
Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura said the plot will focus on Eric Marsh, who led the crew, and Brendan McDonough, the only surviving hotshot crew member. He said it will not focus on tragedy or the exact details of the fire.
“This movie is about the lives of these people and what they were trying to put on the line, and what it meant to them to do what they were doing and what it meant to the community to have them doing it,” he said.
Brolin will play Marsh, who was superintendent of the Granite Mountain Hotshot crew, with Connolly playing his wife, Amanda Marsh.
The movie will be released in September 22, 2017.
Joy wrote to let us know that Josh Brolin’s Instagram page has some photos that appear to be related to the filming of the movie. I looked at the Instagram pages for several other actors and didn’t see any similar photos.
You can find a few more pictures on James Badge Dale Instagram account @JimmyBobbyDale, amazing underrated actor who’s newest film release is 13 hours secret soldiers of Bengazhi, he plays Tyrone Woods. If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out.
Andie Macdowell is a former resident of Missoula.
New Mexico rather than Arizona, I suppose, because New Mexico offers better tax breaks for filmmakers.
I read a few weeks ago that the summer heat in Arizona was a factor in the decision about locations for filming.
Better restaurants in Santa Fe than Prescott — an important consideration for Hollywood types. 😉