The big-budget, Brad Pitt-produced Amazon series starring Josh Brolin has cancelled its plans to shoot in Alberta.
In an April 8 message sent to local crews obtained by Postmedia, producers confirmed Outer Range would withdraw from Alberta due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No information has been released regarding if the series would shoot elsewhere at a later date.
“With the continuing COVID-19 Pandemic crisis, and formidable unknowns surrounding when production could recommence, and taking into account seasonal weather considerations, cast availability etc, it became untenable to consider otherwise,” the message reads. “We were hopeful that the Pandemic would show significant signs of diminishing over the past few weeks, but it is clear, globally, that travel & work interruptions will continue for some time to come.”
With film and TV productions postponed around the globe, it’s hardly surprising that Outer Range would not be able to begin shooting on its planned start date of April 28.
Nevertheless, news that producers have no plans to return to the province at a later date is devastating to the Alberta film and television industry. Outer Range was the biggest production planned for the province, with some industry insiders suggesting its budget was $6 million per episode. Filming was to continue into September.
When reached by Postmedia on Thursday, local film workers union president Damian Petti confirmed that crews had been told of the cancellation. He said roughly 200 members of IATSE 212 would have been hired for the series.
“This is a crushing blow to the industry,” said Petti, president of IATSE 212. “This project reflects the largest single work prospect available to our fragile industry in the foreseeable future.”
Petti added that Amazon has treated workers “pretty well in terms of severance pay.”
Currently, there are no productions filming in the area due to COVID-19. The fourth season of supernatural western Wynonna Earp paused production in mid-March, as did the second season of the zombie Netflix series Black Summer.
According to Variety, Outer Range was to star Oscar-nominated actor Josh Brolin as Royal Abbott, a “rancher fighting for his territory and family at the edge of Wyoming’s wilderness.”
The production was to be a partnership between Amazon and Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment production company. Brolin was also set to executive produce.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2020
