The head of Ponderosa Films, Carter Boehm has been instrumental in envisioning the Yellowstone Film Ranch. Carter Boehm, alongside investment partner and director Richard Gray, established the ranch in historic Paradise Valley, Montana, which has 28 buildings on the 500-acre property.
As the director of “Murder at Yellowstone City,” Gray spoke with the online publication Movieweb about his impetus in developing a dedicated filming location ideal for movies set in the Old West. As he describes it, the Australian native and his family resided in Los Angeles for a decade when they moved to Livingston, Montana, in 2019 to oversee the construction of the movie ranch.
Having already accomplished filming and scouting in Montana for the movies “Robert the Bruce” and “Broken Ghost,” Gray was initially drawn to the grandeur of an area that he found reminiscent of Australia. He describes Livingston, a half-hour drive from the movie ranch, as imbued with a rich history that included Sam Peckinpah residing at a local hotel while writing westerns. At the same time, several Hollywood executives and actors have made the area their home. A final piece to the puzzle, enabling the construction of the Yellowstone Film Ranch to move forward, was a MEDIA tax credit that provides incentives for filming in Montana.
