Category Archives: Scene

ABC Moves “Blood & Oil” Into Park City Film Studios!

Photo Courtesy ABC Entertainment

If you’ve ever wondered who the heck would commute to a film studio in Park City, Utah, wonder no more. Park City Film Studios announced today that ABC Entertainment Group will use the 375,000 square-foot facility as its base of operation for the new series “Blood & Oil” (formerly “Oil”, formerly “Boom”). The commercials are already airing on ABC during such popular shows as “The Bachelorette” and “Mistresses,” promising all the fun things that ‘sell’- lust, greed, sexy dudes and fashion. Oh, and Don Johnson.

 

“It’s highly unusual for a brand new studio to be selected for major production,” said Greg Ericksen, owner and developer of Park City Film Studios. “So, you can imagine that we are very excited to be working with ABC on this project.”

 

Park City Film Studios facility is still under construction but when it’s completed it will house three soundstages, production offices, and an array of studio services including a digital motion capture stage and technology and special effects stages. “Blood & Oil” is taking over the entire production facility including three 15,000 square foot production spaces and offices.

 

The Utah Film Commission recently announced the new TV drama is the first network series in 10 years to be filmed on location in Utah. “Granite Flats” doesn’t count as it is produced for KBYUtv, a non-profit, University channel. “Blood & Oil” will air on Sunday nights and premieres on Sept. 27, 2015.

 

The drama series features Don Johnson from “Nash Bridges” and more recently ‘Eastbound and Down” but who most GenXers remember as Sonny Crockett in the iconic 80s series “Miami Vice”. Hunky “Gossip Girl” alum Chace Crawford and Rebecca Rittenhouse from “Red Band Society” also star. But the real leads in this true-to-life oil industry story are Park City and Utah. Our ‘locals’ play the part of North Dakota.

 

Utah’s incentive program encourages out-of-state productions to film here and includes cash back when they spend a certain amount of money and utilize a percentage of local talent and crew. ABC says 300 local cast and crew members will be used and it is predicted to inject $35 million into the local economy.

 

It’s too bad, however, that leads and recurring roles are cast out of Los Angeles, leaving only day parts for our talented local pool. Of course, I’m looking forward to auditioning. Who wouldn’t? I haven’t done a part in a network series since “Promised Land.” I read for a couple of roles in “Everwood” but didn’t make it past the callbacks. Other Utah-filmed series include “Touched By An Angel” and “Extreme” – a short-lived action drama starring “Modern Family’s” Julie Bowen.

 

Park City Film Studios’ site is designed to support all stages of moviemaking, with plans to host a hotel, restaurants and retailers, at 4001 Kearns Boulevard, across from the National Ability Center in Park City.

 

According to ABC, “Blood & Oil” is written by Josh Pate and Rodes Fishburne. Executive producers are Tony Krantz, Josh Pate, Rodes Fishburne, Drew Comins, and Don Johnson; produced by ABC Signature.

 

Uphill Flow

2 comments

I was recently invited to attend Bike Press Camp 2015 where I began my love affair with eBikes. I’m no moped fan and this season’s collection of pedal-assist two-wheelers are far from those devices. One trail ride up behind Deer Valley’s St. Regis hotel and I was hooked.

Just look at what these babies can do. As the Raleigh rep said to me over and over again during our meeting, “You don’t have to kill yourself anymore.”

Park City Summer Cocktail Contest Now Open

Leave a comment

To make sure everyone knows that you can get a drink in Park City the semi-annual PC Cocktails Contest is back. Park City bars (or restaurants) will sign up online to show off their stuff. Two hundred bucks, a marketing campaign and bragging rights are up for grabs in this summer’s semi-annual event.

Mixologists who think they’ve got what it takes to craft the top cocktail of the season will vie for a chance to be crowned Park City’s top bartender, take home a cool $200, and other perks. But visitors get the real treat. Starting July 1, drink enthusiasts will have four weeks to sample and then vote online for their favorite libations, rating each they taste on a 1-to-10 scale judging both flavor and presentation. Online voting will run through July 31 on the PCARA website, www.parkcityrestaurants.com.

Last year, High West Distillery & Saloon’s “Mustang Shandy” took the top prize, beating out more than a dozen other competitors with a combination of High West Son of Bourye, High West Campfire-infused honey syrup, fresh lemon juice and Boulevard Tank & Farmhouse Ale.

“Online voting was a huge success last year,” PCARA executive director Ginger Ries said. “We are very excited to see how the contest unfolds, and we can’t wait to crown the winner.”

Previously, the PCARA’s cocktail contests were held on one night at a venue in downtown Park City where a panel of guest judges picked the winning libation from just 16 participating bars and restaurants. You had to buy a ticket to the event.

Under the online-voting format, everyone gets a chance to participate in mixing or drinking around town and crowning Park City’s summer cocktail champion. “Any PCARA bar and restaurant can enter, and any patron can vote,” Ries said. “We think this approach works out really well for both our members and for all their guests — and we’re especially looking forward to tasting each of the entries.”

The winning cocktail and its creator will be featured in a marketing campaign following the contest leading into PCARA’s popular Fall “Dine About” event. He or she will also walk away with a cash prize and some serious bragging rights. You can bet there will be some ‘stiff’ competition. J

Savor the Summit Serves Up Main

Leave a comment

 

There was a ginormous dinner party last Saturday in Park City, Utah, and I had a seat at the table for the first time ever. I can’t believe that the Savor the Summit has been going on annually for eight years and I’m just now joining the party. But like any good guest can attest, better late than never.


Local Park City restaurants host some 2500 guests and until you sit at that mile-long Grande Table it’s hard to imagine how something like this can operate. For one thing, Main Street is steep. It’s the spot for the annual Running of the Balls. My lipstick took a trip two tables down the minute I laid it on its side. For another, it’s not cheap. At an average $200 per head (including wine and gratuity) Savor the Summit is not an event for working-class locals. And yet it regularly sells out.


Some 24 Main Street restaurants join together to create linking sections from the top of Main’s asphalt spine to the movable “spirit” garden and large concert stage (open to the public) near the Kimball Art Center at the bottom of the street. You don’t buy a ticket. The hubbub on Main is free. But you do need reservations to dine front and center.


Each restaurant creates their own unique menu so by knowing the type of food you like you can choose which restaurant to book with. Each section then winds up with its own personality. Shabu’s section seemed more like a neighborhood party than an elegant dinner while the rich savory smells of High West Distillery made it all the way up to where we sat mid-station by the Post Office.


I was part of the Park City Culinary Institute’s table. While it’s an actual culinary school with classes at the Deer Valley Club, the food was all Chef Adam Kreisel (former executive chef of Sundance Resort).


We had retirees from Florida to our right and commuters from Bountiful across from us. Both couples had sat at other restaurants’ tables in the past. We compared thoughts on the carefully prepared dishes- like the delicate Pacific marlin tartare and the braised Angus short rib over quinoa – and savored every delicious bite. It was hard, however, not to wonder what was being served at the other tables. Everywhere you looked- up and down- the crowd was in pure celebratory mode.

 


By the third glass of wine we too were all old friends. The Savor the Summit began with just six restaurants the first year and now it’s a true collaborative effort. There are a few restaurants that opt out but there are plenty of others to step in and fill any gaps.

If communal dining isn’t your thing you can always opt for a table on the decks of nearby restaurants next year and get a contact high from the sidelines. You’ll have a regular menu instead of a once-in-forever creation but you’ll still have a blast.

Take The Park City Food and Wine Classic Stroll

Leave a comment

I’m not built for 300 bottles of wine. But if I must make an effort, so be it. It’s been 11 whole years since the first Park City Food and Wine Classic Stroll debuted on Main Street and the support its gotten is impressive. It started as a down-home, locally organized shindig to drum up some numbers for Park City pre-August but the event has actually earned the respect of more established wine events.

Filled with an unusual collection of seminars and tastings like the SUP and Suds (standup paddleboarding and drinking), Hike and Hops, Phat Tires and Phat Wines, and Veuve and Vinyasa, the Classic does an effective job of melding what Park City’s known for (outdoor adventure) with what most people don’t expect (drinking alcohol).

I barely scratched the surface of the vineyards decorating Main Street for the Stroll of Park City last year. I was the rare bird, bee-lining for the food before the wine. I’m a total lightweight. After just my first three mini glasses things were starting to taste alike. It would be more of a wobble than a stroll without food in my system.

The ticket prices for the Park City Food and Wine Classic Stroll are hefty ($95) and there’s a time limit (3 – 7 p.m.). I had to move quickly. I picked up my pass at the Kimball Art Center, busted over to Zoom, where I enjoyed the Irony red and the mushroom puffs, then decked the deck at Butchers Chophouse sipping a fruity Bacardi mixture along with my wine tastings. At High West distillery, I popped a fried popper and dragged on a whiskey lemonade and Pinot Noir, etc. The “epicurean extravaganza” was definitely more of an oenophile extravaganza with at least three wine stations at each of the nine restaurant stops. By the time I made it to upper Main Street, 350 Main and Gallery MAR had run out of food and more than a few guests were complaining. Personally, I had filled up on bacon-wrapped steak at Butcher’s Chophouse, chips at The Mustang, melon gazpacho at Riverhorse and – my favorite – beef panang curry from Bangkok Thai. park city food wine classic

Chicken skewers at Zoom.

The three-day Classic brings in master winemakers, culinary greats and distinguished guests from Baltimore to San Diego; giving them an excuse to vacation in Park City in July. It culminates with a Grand Tasting event but if you ask me the Stroll is way more fun!

park city food wine classicpark city food wine classicPark City Food and Wine Classic Strollpark city food wine classic stroll

The “spittoon”

Park City Food and Wine Classic Stroll

 


1 … 27 28 29 30 31 … 62