'Utah Hues' targets movie moguls

Books are often turned into movies, and the Utah Film Commission is hoping its new publication results in more films being shot in the state.

The commission has produced a book titled "Utah Hues" that highlights the state's scenery. The commission plans to ship copies off to movie moguls worldwide.

"This will be part of the entire package that we present to filmmakers all over the world," Marshall Moore, the commission's director, told the Governor's Board of Economic Development at its meeting last week.

The book measures 15-by-9 inches — a sort of wide-screen format — and features photos that highlight five colors.

"This is also a breakaway from what we've done in the past. We're appealing to the more creative side of the filmmaker with this book, by dividing the section into colors," Moore said.

"This is all related to filmmaking and the colors of filmmaking. Directors of photography, production designers, directors that come to the state constantly comment on the beauty of our state, so we took advantage of it and categorized it into color palettes for them. Filmmakers are continually working in color palettes to create a mood and a tone for a particular film, so that's why we chose to go this particular direction."

The book notes the variety of venues in Utah: "Here you can capture Himalayan mountain grandeur, the desolation of the Mojave Desert, urban streetscapes and the surreal terrain of another planet — all in one day," it reads.

Moore said Utah film officials recently presented the books and information about financial incentives and infrastructure to people at several major studios in California, including those at Disney, Warner Bros. and NBC Universal.

Among those seeing the book was James Keach, who produced "Walk the Line" and directed "Blind Dating" in Utah.

"When he looked at the book, he said, 'Man, I want to just go and put this on my coffee table right now. It's so beautiful and so appropriate,' and it fit in with the decor of his office," Moore said Tuesday. "He said, 'Other books, I'm likely to throw away. This one I'm going to keep and display.'

"That was the type of reaction it was getting. It was a keeper, and we designed it with that in mind, that it would have staying power on someone's coffee table."

"Utah Hues" took six months to develop, and Moore said much of the work involved whittling down photos from the 6,000 that were submitted to 105 in the publication.

A total of 7,500 copies were printed. "We'll use them for the next couple of years as part of the package that we send to filmmakers all over the world," Moore said.