To be defined as a rural production, it must be state-approved and filmed primarily in third-, fourth-, fifth- or sixth-class counties, which would exclude Salt Lake, Utah, Davis, Weber, Washington and Cache counties.
This led Paramount and "Yellowstone" lead actor Kevin Costner to move operations north to Montana for seasons three and four of the popular Western drama, ending three years of production that dumped nearly $80 million into Heber City, Oakley, Kamas, Grantsville and Logan.to film his long-anticipated Western epic "Horizon."SB49 aims to raise the tax incentive cap for film productions in rural Utah, a move that some say would help stimulate the economies of these areas.
The Western cinematic universe Costner envisions would be made up of five movies and would supplement whatever rural economy Costner chooses to film in, to the tune of $50 million. "Destined at Christmas 2" is a "homegrown" sequel to the holiday film of the same name that premiered in 2022. The sequel is currently being filmed in Utah County and will be distributed through the Great American Family cable television network. Production is estimated to pump $447,517 into Utah County.