Los Alamos County film liaison Kelly Stewart speaking July 12 at the Kiwanis Club. Courtesy/Kiwanis

By BROOKE DAVIS
Kiwanis Club of Los Alamos

In a presentation on July 12, Kelly Stewart, film liaison for Los Alamos County, provided Kiwanis with an insider’s viewpoint on locally made films.

Stewart said that she loves movies and has been working as a liaison with film crews since 2007. She said that New Mexico is attractive to film companies because the state offers a 20 percent rebate to movie-makers, and added that Los Alamos is a beautiful and historically interesting location that can stand in for many other places.

We have a lot of westerns because of New Mexico’s look and production companies are familiar with the state’s assets, she said.

The process of filming here begins with the New Mexico Film Office, which issues the necessary approvals. Once these are in hand, the movie people begin working with Stewart. The Film Office then refers the film company to an appropriate locale. Then location scouts look over the area. If Los Alamos is chosen, the County then makes sure that its own legal agreement assures health, safety and protection of the environment.

“It has been a positive experience for me,” Stewart said. “The film companies want to be welcomed back and always try to leave the sites better than they were when their crews arrived.”

Stewart said that about eight films (both TV and big screen) have used the Los Alamos area in recent years. She mentioned, “The Lone Ranger,” “Haywire,” “Let Me In,” “The Missing’” “Only the Brave,” “Longmire,” ‘Hostiles,” and the Oppenheimer movie, among others.