Film firm coming to Liberty Lake

The family that owns Liberty Lake-based cabinetmaker Huntwood Industries is launching a “family-friendly” movie and TV show production company, the corporation’s general manager said Thursday.

Hunt Entertainment Group LLC will look to make feature films for theatrical release, and its owners have pledged as much as 36,000 square feet of a Liberty Lake building for soundstage and office facilities, said Craig Binkley, vice president of acquisition and development for Hunt Entertainment.

“They’ll have a slight Christian flavor to them, but not the type of show that would be hitting you over the head with a baseball bat, because those type of shows … don’t really do well,” Binkley said.

Tim Hunt, who owns Huntwood with his wife, Resa, said his extended family owns the new production company. It’s been in the works for years, he said.

“We believe that all of us have responsibility on Earth to help better the surrounding that we’re in,” Tim Hunt said, adding the company wants to be involved in exciting projects with positive messages.

“We don’t like a lot of the filth that’s being produced by Hollywood.”

Hunt Entertainment has purchased the option to make as many as three of the 40-part Trailblazer Books series of children’s Christian novels, according to the company. Written by Illinois authors Dave and Neta Jackson, the series has sold more than 1.7 million copies, according to Hunt Entertainment.

The company still is reviewing which books to adapt, Binkley said, but it’s looking strongly at a feature film of “Kidnapped by River Rats,” a story about the founding of the Salvation Army.

Binkley worked in the Los Angeles movie and TV industries, serving as prop master for “Star Trek: Enterprise” and other well-known shows. He also worked part time for Spokane film production company North by Northwest Productions, said President Rich Cowan.

Current plans for the building, 1611 N. Molter Road, call for an open stage area, a mill for set building, a special red-light and sound system to alert people to filming, and editing facilities, Binkley said. The building’s main tenant is Lamination Technology Industries Inc., Binkley said.

“The potential that a new soundstage brings is that there will be new potential to expand the production pool, the crew base in this area, and we will see more people getting trained,” said Jeanna Hofmeister, vice president and director of destination marketing for the Spokane Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau. “It’s a little like the chicken and egg.”

Hofmeister said it’s difficult to estimate the full effect of the facility until it’s completed.

The company would look to rent equipment and bring in directors in some cases, Binkley said. As much as possible, he said, crews would come from Washington, Idaho and Oregon.

On an annual basis, the company might employ about five – a number that could grow to dozens during production, Binkley said.

The company will seek to capitalize on Washington state film incentives, Binkley said. On Thursday, an Idaho group that plans to push for incentives in Idaho is expected to tour the facility.

The company will have budgets of about $2.5 million to $5 million per project for the first year or two, using internal financing, Binkley said.

Binkley contended Hunt Entertainment won’t really compete with other area production companies, which are more focused on commercial projects.

“We are a complete production company, meaning that we’re going to finance our own films,” he said. “So we will actually complement the community.”

Cowan agreed.

“I see it as very synergistic,” Cowan said, adding the two companies could work together. “I think it’s great. I’m very encouraged by it.”

While there “isn’t a big enough crew base in Spokane at this time to shoot two movies at the same time,” Cowan said, many crew people come from outside the area or only work a portion of the year for North by Northwest, which makes about four films a year.

Binkley said he’d like to establish a technical film training program through local community colleges or private business.

“We hope to bring more movie production to Spokane and to better the economy,” Binkley said.