Monster Trucks cameras roll in Kamloops; could it be the next ‘Transformers’ franchise?

By MIKE YOUDS/

ARTS/ ENTERTAINMENT — Monster Trucks may not have the celebrity of Hollywood productions shot here in the past, but Paramount Animation is hoping the action/adventure film will drop the hammer and go the distance.

Two production units are in Kamloops to shoot the CGI/live action production based on the popular line of Tonka toys. Shooting began over the weekend at locations around the airport and is expected to continue for another couple of weeks.

TNRD film commissioner Vicci Weller said she has signed a confidentiality agreement – not uncommon with major Hollywood productions – and cannot disclose details on the production.

“We’ve been working with them for five months,” she said. “The cast includes up-and-coming talent.”

Online sources indicate that young actors Jane Levy (Evil Dead) and possibly Lucas Till (Jack Cash, Johnny’s older brother in Walk the Line) fill the main roles. Seasoned talent Danny Glover and Barry Pepper are also on cast. Pepper, who hails from the Island, has worked on films (The Snow Walker) in the region in the past.

The buzz from film-industry pundits suggests that Paramount, in partnership with Descriptive Entertainment on this production, hopes Monster Trucks will launch a franchise in the manner of the Transformers series. They’re taking their cues from the success of the Warner Bros. film The Lego Movie, a current box-office hit.

Monster Trucks is slated for release next year.

Weller said the outlook for regional film and TV shoots is improving over last year’s pace, yet the industry remains in a state of flux due to shifting trends in entertainment. Two productions are scouting the TNRD for possible locations. As well, a U.S. feature film is building a set in preparation for filming later this season near Cache Creek.

“There’s just so much coming at you, so to get eyes on a film, it’s a struggle,” she said. “Theatres are changing like everything else.

“B.C. still has the cutting edge on animation and technology, which is a key factor here,” Weller said. “What really sells for us is when scripts need a variety of locations.”

Last year would have been the worst on record in terms of production shooting in the region had the film commission not expanded its operations into regional videos. Working with Mastermind Studios and Joy Factor Films, two local companies, the TNRD oversaw production of several tourism promotions.