"I believe that we're in a time right now when people are very worried about an awful lot of things. I see this all the time. It shows up in our market research. It shows up when I talk to people. Very scary times. What I want to do is make some movies that will give everyone hope, show them the good that's in the world, make them smile, touch their hearts. I think today more than ever before our nation needs this."

Flynn said the state will provide "invaluable re- sources" in the form of actors, crew members, directors, writers, casting directors, agents and others.

"We're very, very thrilled to not only bring to our investors viable film projects that will return their money with an investment, but will also provide employment and bring resources to the state of Utah. . . . I think the impact that this will have on the community will be immense," Flynn said.

Daines said Utah provides a diversity of locations for moviemakers as well as a vast pool of talent, and most of the movies' budgets will be spent in Utah.

"We're not spending $15 million for Julia Roberts to take it someplace else. There's not big stars in this. It will go back into the infrastructure of Utah — painters, costume designers, caterers, casting agents — all of these people are in Utah, and so the money comes back to Utah, and that's very important," Daines said.

"You have no clue how many jobs are created. Hundreds of jobs will be created with each of these films, and when you do 20-plus films, that's quite an economic development story."

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E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com