COUNTY News:
Los Alamos County, in cooperation with Pajarito Mountain Ski Area, will facilitate intermittent traffic control on Camp May Road between West Road and Pajarito Mountain to accommodate filming in Los Alamos County beginning at 6 a.m. Tuesday, March 10 through 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 11.
Intermittent traffic control will be conducted by a certified contractor and monitored by the County’s Traffic Division to include a flagging operation to safely guide traffic through the staging area where film vehicles will be parked along Camp May Road. Only short delays are anticipated for those traveling to and from Pajarito Mountain Ski Area, which will be open seven days a week beginning March 6 through March 23.
The film is an independent feature entitled “Hellbent” directed by Tjardus Greidanus, and starring Isabelle Fuhrman (The Hunger Games, Orphan) and Max Martini (Captain Phillips, Pacific Rim, Saving Private Ryan). In the film, a 16-year-old runaway enlists a fugitive drifter to take her on a cross-country journey to meet the father she’s never known. The entire film is being shot in New Mexico but is depicting several states. The area at the top of Camp May Road and the Los Alamos Canyon will depict the Montana/Canada border and the final scene involving launching a car from cliff edge to canyon bottom.
Los Alamos filming locations including Camp May Road and sections of the upper Los Alamos Canyon. Film trucks, trailers, cars and equipment will be staged on the DOE-owned section of the old West Road that extends south from West Road toward Lab property and is blocked by a gate.
The Hellbent production staff are working with the County, DOE, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), the Santa Fe National Forest Service and Pajarito Mountain to secure all the proper use permits and fees and the Los Alamos Police Department and Los Alamos Fire Department are aware of the project and will be monitoring the area and film operation as needed.
No film extras are required for this film. However, film productions generate gross receipts tax and Lodgers’ tax revenue for Los Alamos County. The film talent, staff and crew will spend money at County hotels, hardware stores and gas stations, as well as fees paid for water, power, waste collection and other services provided by the County.
This production also is being made in cooperation with the New Mexico Film Office and the State’s New Mexico Film Incentive designed bring film production back to the United States, to compete with Canada and Eastern Europe countries, which offer very generous incentives to American Film Companies. The New Mexico Film Industry creates Income for New Mexico Businesses and good paying Jobs for New Mexico Residents.
The location managers who brought this film to Los Alamos County have brought and managed feature films here in the past (Brothers, Let Me In and Haywire), and have demonstrated a commitment to preserving and protecting New Mexico film locations and maintaining a friendly working relationship with the community.
On behalf of the Los Alamos Film Office, the New Mexico Film Office and the production staff and crew, thank you for your cooperation and patience during filming to facilitate an efficient and effective shoot—and to strengthen Los Alamos County’s reputation as a film-friendly town that welcomes future business from the film industry.
Alert the County immediately with questions or concerns. Check updates and information on the home page of the County website. Direct queries to Kelly Stewart, Film Liaison, Los Alamos Film Office, kelly.stewart@lacnm.us; 505.412.3410.
