Must-see Spokane-produced films
We asked two local film buffs: What movies made in Spokane should all Spokanites watch? Here are their responses.
Leonard Oakland, a Whitworth University English professor who teaches film, said people absolutely should not miss:
- Benny and Joon (1993)
- Norman (2011)
- Smoke Signals (1998)
- Vision Quest (1985)
- Why Would I Lie? (1980)
Adam Boyd, chairman of the Spokane Arts Commission, said people should see the following movies made in Spokane:
- The Big Bang (2010). Directed by Tony Krantz and starring Antonio Banderas. It’s a quirky neo-noir film all mixed up with quantum physics. Shot entirely in Spokane and the surrounding area, the end climax shows most of Sprague, Wash., collapsing inward on itself.
- Dog Gone (2008). Directed by Mark Stouffee and starring French Stewart. A fun family film that harkens back to some early Disney adventure films, and even a little Home Alone. Mostly shot in Riverside State Park, some folks might recognize the streets of Downtown Cheney in the end sequence where the villains ride a row boat on a trailer through the city.
- Falling Up (2009). Directed by David Rosenthal and starring Joseph Cross, Sarah Roemer and Snoop Dogg. It’s a mediocre romantic comedy, but what is really interesting in this film is that 90 percent of the principal photography was done in Spokane, but shot as New York City.
- Give ‘Em Hell, Malone (2009). Directed by Russell Mulchay and starring Thomas Jane. A gritty gangster film a little in the vein of Dick Tracy, the opening action/shoot out sequence has the Otis Hotel on First Avenue getting destroyed by special FX bullets and some hefty stunt work.
- Home of the Brave (2006). Directed by Irwin Winkler and starring Samuel L. Jackson and Jessica Biel. Sam Jackson aside, Spokanites should watch this film just to see the Dutch Bros. downtown heavily featured and surrounded by helicopters and police.