The highly anticipated HBO series The Last of Us, the biggest production in Alberta’s history, debuts on Jan. 15.
Shot in several locations across Alberta over the last two years, the post-apocalyptic show is a monumental achievement for the province’s film industry.
Many in the local film industry hope that the success of this and other prominent productions will attract more interest from Hollywood.
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) 212 represents southern Alberta’s stage, motion picture and scenic artists and technicians across 23 departments, including grips and special effects.
According to the president of IATSE 212, Damian Petti, more than 900 crew members worked on the production of The Last of Us over 17 months, not including the crew from the Teamsters, the Directors Guild of Canada, or the performers.
Petti states, “Those 900 people worked close to one million hours on this project. So the size and growth of the industry that comes from this one project are huge.”
The Last of Us stars Game of Thrones actors Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey.
The premiere of the show took place in Los Angeles last week, where Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek, Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi and other representatives from Alberta were in attendance.
Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek expressed her amazement about the production, stating that she was “blown away” by the show.
Additionally, she mentioned that the producers of the show expressed their gratitude to the province for being “so welcoming.”
Gondek also said, “We’ve all been pulling together to make sure people understand how film and TV friendly we are, and it’s paying off,” in a statement to reporters on Thursday.
The Last of Us is a series based on the critically acclaimed video game.
It tells the story of a smuggler named Joel, who is assigned to escort a teenage girl named Ellie out of a quarantine zone and across post-apocalyptic America.
During filming, streets in downtown Edmonton and Calgary were transformed into urban battlefields and structures such as the Alberta legislature were covered in vines and decay to match the post-apocalyptic setting of the series.
However, The Last of Us is one of much recent television production to feature local landmarks.
The FX miniseries Under the Banner of Heaven premiered on Disney+ in Canada last spring after shooting in and around Calgary and across southern Alberta.
The true-crime drama, which is based on Jon Krakauer’s non-fiction book Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith, follows the history of the Mormon religion and has an ensemble cast that includes Andrew Garfield, Daisy Edgar-Jones, and Gil Birmingham.
Calgary native Emily James landed a role in the FX miniseries Under the Banner of Heaven as the daughter of actor Sam Worthington’s character.
She told Global News, “I was very excited, it was my first time on a big set.”
The show tells the story of the 1984 brutal murders of Brenda Lafferty and her infant daughter Erica, juxtaposed with the origin and evolution of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and extremist fundamentalist offshoots of the religion.
James said, “Because it’s such a heart-wrenching story and it is a true story, I was excited to be a part of something so big and getting the chance to be a part of that story.”
She splits her time between Calgary and Los Angeles and plans to move to California soon to continue pursuing her acting career.
James said, “I was very excited to see that bigger productions are making their way to Alberta. I definitely think there is a chance for more to come to Calgary.”
‘A Perfect Storm’
Keep Alberta Rolling Ltd. is a non-profit organization that aims to promote the benefits and potential of Alberta’s screen industry.
According to the head of advocacy, Brock Skretting, Alberta’s success in producing a large-scale production like The Last of Us is expected to attract more Hollywood blockbusters to the province.
Skretting said, “The crew are known for handling any logistical problems, never complaining about the difficulty of it — in fact, embracing the difficulty of hard shows: we do the biggest, and we do the best.”
One of the challenges that the local film industry has faced is having a consistent base of trained and experienced crew members.
However, IATSE 212 President Damian Petti stated that thanks to recent productions in the province, growth in IATSE 212 are up 35%. There are now 500 more Albertans trained in the industry and ready to work.
Petti said, “To grow an industry, you do need a steady and stable supply of work. We can grow the crew base with no problem if there’s a steady supply of work.”
Alberta has hosted several notable productions in the past, including 2016’s The Revenant starring Leonardo Dicaprio, the 2005 American neo-Western romantic drama Brokeback Mountain, and Ghostbusters: Afterlife in 2019.
Brad Pitt also spent time in Edmonton in 2005 while filming The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford at Fort Edmonton Park.
The province also hosted the fifth season of the FX series Fargo, which was inspired by the 1996 Coen Brothers film of the same name, which was relocated from Chicago to Alberta.
Currently, Alberta is ranked fourth among Canadian production jurisdictions.
While it may take some time to catch up to other provinces, such as British Columbia and Ontario, which have had a competitive advantage for longer, industry experts hope that the growing interest in The Last of Us will help Alberta climb those standings.
“It’s just economic development through and through,” said Keep Alberta Rolling Ltd’s head of advocacy Brock Skretting.
“To have millions of dollars spent on the projects, putting hundreds of people to work and then on the back end, everybody gets to see the projects market the province around the world. So we’re really excited for the year coming up.”
The Last of Us series contains nine episodes and will air weekly on Sunday nights through the Crave streaming app.
The Last of Us is a monumental achievement for Alberta’s film industry and is expected to attract more Hollywood productions to the province.
The success of the show can be attributed to a combination of factors such as a change to the province’s film and television tax credit, expanding production infrastructure like the Calgary Film Centre and an increase in the number of trained workers.
The local film industry is also expected to grow, with more productions eyeing shoots in Alberta this year.
This show’s and others’ economic impact is significant, putting hundreds of people to work and boosting the local economy.
The Last of Us is a great example of how a successful film production can positively impact the community and the province as a whole.