Over the years several movies have portrayed Alaska. Most recently “The Proposal” sees the main characters traveling to Alaska to visit family members who live there, however even though the nature is breathtaking and filled with amazing lakes and green areas, many times the movies portraying Alaska have one major thing in common, while they might be set in Alaska, often the crew never set foot on Alaskan soil.
Over the last couple of years movies set in Alaska has drawn big crowds in the local cinemas in Anchorage, only to find the Alaskans disappointed, the latest movie to be set in the region is “The Fourth Kind” which is set in Nome, Alaska. However, any Alaskan will tell you that the movie has nothing to do with the city. Ryan Majeski, a resident of Anchorage said, “It was placed in October and there was no snow whatsoever and none of them wore any jackets”. This is just one observation that someone in Hollywood hasn’t done their homework. The problem according to State Sen. Johnny Ellis is that “the Alaskan can pick out the fake situation, but a lot of other people are fooled”.
What Alaskans don’t understand is that the nature in Alaska is so beautiful, why not use it? Take “The Proposal,” for instance, was Ryan Reynolds’ character’s hometown was Sitka, Alaska, a beautiful Alaskan city with a rich history, quaint buildings and lovely scenery beautifully depicted in the movie except for the fact that you never see Sitka, Alaska. You will, however, see Massachusetts.
The list of films set in Alaska but not filmed there is unfortunately very long. According to Mike Devlin of Evergreen Films the problem is that, “Costs are a little bit higher here as everybody in Alaska knows, because everything has to be brought up here by barge or on an airplane or whatever,” thus many Hollywood producers never even give Alaska a fair chance. Another problem he sees is the distance “Like every industry there is a center of mass for certain locations around Los Angeles and Hollywood for the film industry and it is just a different environment to come all the way up here, and it may seem a little more primitive to some of those people,” Devlin said.
A light at the end of the tunnel seems to be some tax incentives that were passed in 2008, as well as the recent popularity of Alaska, mainly due to Sarah Palin running for Vice President. So now, hopefully, the rest of America will actually get to see a movie not only set in, but also shot in, Alaska.
