Richard Gray, Carter Boehm, Colin Davis are the founder behind the company who also pushed through the Montana Economic Industry Advancement Act, or MEDIA Act, providing huge tax breaks to productions who hire local Montanans to work on films.
Gray says, “Many stories in film and television ‘set’ in Montana were shot in Canada, Utah, or New Mexico. With the new wave of ‘westerns’, there were enough productions to justify another location option. Now, more filmmakers are looking at Montana as a place to bring their productions, in large part due to the Montana Economic Industry Advancement Act, or MEDIA Act, passed into law last year.”
The new bill helped generate almost $48 million dollars into the state, according to a recent study by the Montana Department of Commerce. The Ranch was completed in June 2020, with a wave of westerns shot there in 2021, including Gray's first western "Murder at Emigrant Gulch," and Nicholas Cage's "The Old Way.”
Located behind the Chico Hot Springs Resort near Livingston, Yellowstone is a passion project for partners Colin Davis, Richard Gray and Carter Boehm due to their love of movies that got them thinking – why aren’t more films being made in Montana? The three partners helped rally support for the passage of the MEDIA Act to not only lure Hollywood to Montana, but to generate money into the local economy. On top of that, Montana has no sales tax.
They designed a ‘film-friendly’ town, with the Chico Hot Springs Resort just a short walk from the set. The western backlot is styled after a late 1800s gold rush town that uses five fully functional interior/exterior sets with some support buildings and façades to create the look of 28 unique structures set amongst rolling hills with a backdrop of glacier mountain peaks. Additional sets include a native camp, farmhouse, and multiple cabins.
At just twenty-two, Richard Gray was runner-up in Project Greenlight Australia and has since become a prolific independent filmmaker, producing features the world over. Richard’s debut feature film, Summer Coda, a romantic drama, starred Rachael Taylor, and Academy Award nominee Jacki Weaver. 2015 saw the release of his crime-thriller, The Lookalike, filmed in New Orleans and starring John Corbett, Gina Gershon, Jerry O’Connell, Gillian Jacobs, and Luis Guzman. In 2016, Gray headed to Seward, Alaska, to direct and produce Sugar Mountain, a crime drama starring Cary Elwes and Jason Momoa. But his most recent three films were shot entirely in Montana.
In April 2020, Robert the Bruce, which Gray produced alongside Carter Boehm, was the number one independent film on iTunes. His latest feature, Murder at Emigrant Gulch, is a western murder mystery to be released on June 24, 2022. It was the first feature shot at Yellowstone Film Ranch. Gray has long been passionate about westerns, and in 2019 he moved his young family to Livingston, Montana, to commence construction on his most meaningful professional feat. The building of Yellowstone Film Ranch.
Founders:
Richard Gray - Independent filmmaker, producer, and director
Carter Boehm - Audio and Visual production; Real Estate and Land Developer; Producer
Colin Davis - Co-founder & Owner, Chico Hot Springs Resort, Montana & Landowner
