Actor Josiah Patkotak in a scene from "On the Ice" in Barrow. (AP Photo/Silverwood Films, Sebastian Mlynarski)

From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage –

"On the Ice" is now on the iTunes.

Long before there was a "Big Miracle" or "Frozen Ground," screenwriter Andrew Okpeaha MacLean directed the 2010 thriller in Barrow with an Inupiat cast. While the feature is gone from Alaska theaters, the filmmakers say you can now watch it digitally here.

From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage –

That $10 million psychological thriller Wayfare Entertainment hopes to film in Alaska now has a title, “Villain,” and a director.

David Slade ("The Twilight Saga: Eclipse") will shoot the film, Variety reports.

Written by Josh Zetumer, who also penned the upcoming “Robocop” reboot, the film’s story is set in a remote cabin north of Fairbanks. Producers scouted Alaska in April but have not committed to filming in the state.

Slade comes fresh from the $700 million-grossing Twilight sequel. This won’t be his first movie with a script set in the Last Frontier –- he directed the 2007 vampire flick “30 Days of Night” –- but it could be the first shot on location.

I asked Jeremy Kipp Walker, head of production for Wayfare, if the producers have decided to bring the movie to Alaska. Depends on cast and scheduling, he replied in an email:

Alaska is our first choice for shooting, however, given the fact that the story takes place during the transitional climate of the post-winter months, it seems like we only have two possible shooting windows: October or April. We are still casting the film and aren't sure yet when our actors will be available to shoot. In the event we can make either of those shooting windows work for the talent, we'll be there. In the event they are only available when the exterior temperature and limited daylight would prevent us from shooting, we may need to look elsewhere.

We are trying to avoid this, though, as Alaska has everything we need and we're hoping to be there.

“Villain” centers on a wildfire lookout with a mysterious past who receives a surprise – and apparently not-so-welcome -- visit from his brother.

Slade certainly knows dark, uncomfortable thrillers. Along with “30 Days of Night,” the director’s early films include 2005’s Hard Candy. He’s currently attached to the NBC “Silence of the Lambs” spinoff series, “Hannibal.”

From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --

Remember Lauren Reeves, the Fairbanks and Anchorage news reporter who disappeared for New York City a few years ago?

Her family, among others, stars in the latest Alaska-based reality show, National Geographic Channel’s “Goldfathers.”

Disclosure: Lauren’s an old friend. I asked her to describe the series, which premiered Friday, in a short video:

“We prospected the crap out of my dad’s property. ... This show has been in the works for a long time. For years, so it’s nice to have it finally up and on the air,” Reeves said.

It's not alone. The series follows Discovery's "Gold Rush" and "Bering Sea Gold," all mining Alaska for reality show viewers. Gold-digging, it seems, is the new crab fishing.

The Onion AV Club rated the new show a “C." Anyone in Alaska catch the premiere? What’d you think?

Hank Stepleton speaks with people at Wild West Guns in Anchorage about the pilot episode of a television show that he's producing in the state. Stepleton says he's creating a reality show about guns and hunting in Alaska that will debut later this year. A casting call for the series will be held at the gun shop all day Saturday. (Marc Lester / Anchorage Daily News)

From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --

The producers of yet another new Alaska-based reality show will hold a casting call all day Saturday at Wild West Guns in Anchorage. Their hope: Discovering people with big personalities and quirky characters to showcase on the series.

The casting call is from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the gun shop, 71 Homer Drive. People who can’t make it can email their photo and a description of themselves to alaskacasting2012@gmail.com.

The production company behind the show, Jupiter Entertainment, also produced “Sons of Guns” for Discovery Channel, said co-executive producer Hank Stepleton.

The Alaska show is a “docu-series” centered around Wild West Guns but will feature a variety of Alaska-based activities and locations. Expect a mix of hunting, gold-mining, fishing.

“I would love a crusty gold miner,” he said. “I would love an Alaskan couple who is going to get married this summer that would like to have their wedding featured.”

A middle school or high school girl who plans to go hunting with her father as a rite of passage would also work, Stepleton said. “I would love a female lumberjack.”

The show is expected to air in November on a "major cable network," Stepleton said. He refused to say which one.

The series title is also under wraps. “It will be something with 'Alaska' in it. It will be something with 'guns' in it, but right now it’s untitled," the producer said.

From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --

I keep hearing rumors that the big-budget submarine thriller "Hunter Killer" will be filmed outside Alaska.

"That's not true," said Jeff Waxman, a producer on the film. "If it goes, it's coming to Alaska."

That leaves unanswered the larger question of whether the movie will actually be made. Waxman said today that he'll be able to say more in about a month.

The project has pre-qualified for the state film subsidy, though not all movies that pre-qualify make it to production.

When I asked Relativity Media about the project in February they declined to comment.

From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --

In a quiet cabin overlooking the woods north of Fairbanks, a troubled wildfire lookout lives alone with his mysterious past. One day, his estranged brother comes calling.

That’s when things get decidedly Cain and Abel in an untitled, $10 million thriller that an independent production company plans to film in Alaska as early as this fall. Joshua Zetumer, a writer on the upcoming “Robocop” reboot, penned the brother-versus-brother script with Alaska in mind.

“It sounds like there have been a couple big projects that have come through here and had a lot of success,” said Jeremy Kipp Walker, head of production for New York-based
Wayfare Entertainment Ventures.

The company finances independent films designed to appeal to a wide audience. They focus on genres with a built-in fanbase. Think thrillers. Sci-fi.

One of Wayfare's most recent movies, 2011’s “Sanctum,” was shot for $25 million with James Cameron (“Titanic,” “Avatar”) attached as an executive producer. It made $100 million worldwide, Walker said.

This week, Walker and director of physical production Evelynda Rivera are in Alaska, scouting locations in Fairbanks and Southcentral. It’s unclear if they’ll have to build a cabin or can find one that fits the script for their latest project, in which the main character, a “fire watcher,” lives in the isolated frontier.

The narrative is set in 1995, outside of Fairbanks.

“It’s sort of man-versus-man in the middle of nature,” Walker said as the filmmakers sampled a new special called the “Baja Bowl” –- cashew cheese, vegan sour cream -- at Middle Way Café today.

The pair scanned the Anchorage restaurant. They're looking for potential caterers and craft service providers for the film, they said.

“It’s a great menu. It’s definitely very L.A.,” Rivera told Middle Way general manager Jacob Davis.

The visit comes as lawmakers prepare to review a new version of a bill that would reauthorize the state’s expiring film incentive subsidy. A House Finance subcommittee provided Sen. Johnny Ellis, D-Anchorage, with an amended proposal today, said subcommittee chair Rep. Mia Costello, R-Anchorage.

From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --

This today from Discovery:

Discovery Channel’s hit series GOLD RUSH, which follows men who, in a difficult economy, risk everything to strike it rich gold mining, gets the green light for a third season. The renewal announcement comes just days before the season two finale, slated for Friday, February 24th at 9PM E/P. The finale is followed by two behind the scenes specials airing on subsequent Fridays.

GOLD RUSH has been a top performer for Discovery Channel, netting an average of 4.5 million viewers each week since the season two premiere on October 28th, 2011. The series has consistently been #1 in all of television (including broadcast) on Friday nights among Persons 18-49 and Men 25-54/18-49 ratings and delivery during its sophomore run.

Not everybody likes the show. Particularly in Alaska.

The state says the 'Gold Rush' producers did not apply for a state film subsidy.

'THIS ... IS ... WHITTIER!': Leonidas + submarines + Alaska = "Hunter Killer?" The movie is about to be pre-approved for an Alaska tax credit, though Relativity Media says the filmmakers have also considered other locations. (Warner Bros. photo.)

From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --

A big-budget military thriller about an American submarine captain's attempt to rescue the Russian president will soon be pre-approved for filming in Alaska, the state says.

The Relativity Media film, currently called "Hunter Killer," is in the planning stages. Antoine Fuqua (“Training Day,” “Shooter") is expected to direct with Gerard Butler (“300”) in talks to star, Variety reports.

A producer for the film has described the movie as a $50 million to $100 million project. In other words: Two or three times the size of "Big Miracle."

The state film office received the producers' request to pre-qualify "Hunter Killer" for the Alaska film incentive about a month ago, said Wanetta Ayers, director of the state Economic Development Division.

The state will likely approve the application soon, she said. “It would be the largest incentive ever awarded under the program."

"We just approved, or are in the beginning stages of approval, for four or five applications, including two feature films," Ayers said.

A pre-qualification does not mean that the movie will definitely shoot in Alaska. A spokeswoman for Relativity declined to comment for this story. Producers have also applied to film in other locations, according to the company.

As always, plans for filming locations -- and even whether the movie will be made -- could change at any moment.

The "Hunter Killer" script is based on the novel “Firing Point,” by George Wallace and Don Keith, according to Variety:

“(The) story follows an untested submarine captain who must work with a Navy SEAL team to rescue Russia's president, who's taken prisoner during a military coup. The two sides team to stop a rogue Russian general from igniting WWIII."

Butler was in talks to play the commander of the USS Toledo, the trade magazine reported.

A producer on the film, Jeff Waxman, told the Daily News this month that he hoped to make an action-thriller in Alaska. Filming would begin later this year, he said.

Waxman said he toured Whittier and other Alaska locations in January. "They rolled out the red carpet for us,” he said of the isolated, waterside town.

If you wanted a place that looks relatively Russian in Southcentral Alaska, you could do a lot worse than Whittier. (Marc Lester / Anchorage Daily News photo.)

He declined to name the film or talk about the plot at the time, but said the state film incentive, now under debate, was key to the project. “’Big Miracle’ went up there and ‘Frozen Ground,’ but this would be a bigger movie,” he said. “And if we can pull it off, which I think we can, people would want to come back.”

Anchorage production company SprocketHeads is working with the film-makers and will be handling all local questions about the project, said owner Carolyn Robinson. She declined to talk in detail about the film.

“I am elated and proud!” Robinson wrote in an email. “We'll be posting approved Hunter Killer updates on the SprocketHeads Facebook site.”

The makers of 'Big Miracle' reported paying Alaska residents $4.23 million and non-Alaska residents $13.55 million under the state film subsidy. The film paid about 24 percent of subsidized salaries to Alaskans, one of the higher percentages under the 3-year-old incentive program.

From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --

Some of the reality TV shows and movies receiving the most money from the state film subsidy program are also paying the least to Alaska residents, state records show.

Of the more than $1 million in wages and salaries the state will subsidize for the sixth season of “Deadliest Catch,” for example, less than $20,000 was paid to Alaska residents. Alaskans were paid 5 percent of the $6 million in salaries subsidized for the Jon Voight thriller “Beyond.”

The numbers were revealed this month following a public records request by the Daily News to the Alaska Film Office. The figures show, for the first time, how much each subsidized movie and TV show reports paying Alaskan cast and crew.

Already the state film office is beginning refuse subsidy requests from producers with a history of making movies with few Alaska ties -- I'm looking at you, "Young World Sleuths: Baby Geniuses 5" -- but carry big salaries for out-of-state workers.

“Big Miracle,” the Universal Pictures family film that debuted Feb. 3 to warm reviews, is the largest Alaska-based movie to date and paid the most overall to resident actors and workers, the records show. All told, Alaskans made $4.2 million on the movie, according to numbers submitted by the filmmakers.

Non-residents made $13.6 million. The film office on Friday published the previously redacted salary data, along with other spending information, on its website.

Wanetta Ayers, director for the Alaska Division of Economic Development, hopes to see local paychecks continue to grow with subsequent movies.

“As we have people moving through some of the training programs that have been financed by the Legislature in the next few months, I think even higher numbers will be possible,” she said.

Supporters of the film incentive, which is up for reauthorization before the Legislature, say the productions bring a slew of benefits to the state beyond just paychecks. Out-of-state cast and crew sleep at local hotels, eat at local restaurants and buy gifts and gear by the bagful. Images of the Last Frontier lure tourists.

Alaskans will continue to win more and better jobs as in-state workers gain experience on set, they say.

From Kyle Hopkins --

A movie producer whose recent credits include “Immortals” and "The Fighter" says he plans to make his next major action-thriller this year in Alaska.

The film will cost $50 million to $100 million, with pre-production in April and filming sometime in the fall, said Jeff Waxman, an independent, New York-based producer.

An application for the movie has been filed with the Alaska Film Office to pre-qualify for the state film incentive, according to the state.

While plans could change, Waxman said he wants to film in Alaska and that the production would dwarf the size of the previous major motion pictures filmed in the state.

“’Big Miracle’ went up there and ‘Frozen Ground,’ but this would be a bigger movie,” he said. “And if we can pull it off, which I think we can, people would want to come back.”

The production would include about 300 jobs for crew members, Waxman said. He expected about half of those jobs would go to Alaskans.

“The movie I’m talking about, I have 100 speaking roles. So any local actors, I’m going to grab up, and then we bring people in,” he said.

The producer, and state officials, declined to talk about the script. Unlike “Big Miracle” and “Frozen Ground,” it would not be based on a true story, Waxman said.

From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --

‘Big Miracle’ will cost the state of Alaska $9.6 million in government subsidies, according to paperwork filed with the Alaska Film Office.

The Universal Pictures film, starring Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski, opened today in theaters and was one of the first major films to take advantage of Alaska’s fledging film incentive program.

From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --

'Big Miracle' is landing solid reviews from many national movie critics, with a 68 percent "fresh" rating on RottenTomatoes.com and a 63 percent rating on Metacritic.

Professional movie-watchers, in other words, are giving it three out of five stars.

Michelle Sparck of Bethel was a high school freshman when the rescue of three gray whales near Barrow became a worldwide spectacle. Now her home state, not to mention several friends, are appearing in the Hollywood retelling of that story.

Sparck was among the first to see "Big Miracle" at a test screening Tuesday in New York. So how was it?

This is her review:

By MICHELLE SPARCK

In the interest of full disclosure, I’d like to preface this review by admitting that as a resources specialist with an Alaska Native organization that exists primarily to protect Native subsistence rights, I have butted heads and been at odds with national and international environmental groups.

I had a very reputable group’s staffer whom I was working with nicely say to his boss -- right in front of me -- “We’ve got our Native!” in such a way that I almost walked off before a press conference where we were, for once, united in a cause. I also think that the state should be doing a lot more to diversify our economy rather than depend on an industry that is responsible for over 85 percent of the State’s revenues.

However, I am also a huge movie buff. I’ve loved Drew Barrymore since “E.T.” and almost every vehicle she’s been in. I loved “Cheers,” so I’d enjoy Ted Danson (himself a rather active oceans environmentalist.) Tim Blake Nelson from “Oh Brother Where Art Thou?” Dermot Mulrony in anything, and so on. It is a rather impressive cast and it was exciting to follow the casting and production process of what was then “Everybody Loves Whales” through my friends in-the-know on Facebook. The movie centers on the international spectacle that unfolded in October 1988, when a family of gray whales were iced-in near Barrow before their migration to their wintering waters of California.

My friend Tara Sweeney’s son, Ahmaogak, plays Nathan. The character is actor John Krasinski’s side-kick and the grandson of Malik, the whaling captain. The captain, longtime performer John Pingayak, is from my mother’s Qissunamiut Tribe of Chevak. My buddy John Chase plays a whaling leader named Roy. It is really neat to say there are too many more to name, as many locals were hired for every facet of the project.

From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --

Our Sean Cockerham is in D.C. tonight, where he'll get one of the first looks at "Big Miracle." Look for that coverage soon.

But first, the early reviews are in for another major release that tells a snowy Alaskan tale. Except in this case, the producers opted to film in Canada instead.

Bonnie Carroll, president and founder of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, known as TAPS, poses in her office in Washington. Carroll and her late husband Tom are prominent characters in the upcoming “Big Miracle,” a film about the rescue of a family of gray whales trapped by rapidly forming ice in the Arctic Circle. The film, which stars Drew Barrymore and Ted Danson, opens Feb. 3. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Guests are being asked to dress "Alaska casual" for a K Street screening of "Big Miracle" tomorrow in Washington D.C. The fund-raising gala is a premiere of sorts for the first major movie to film entirely in Alaska under the state's new subsidy program. It opens nationwide, including in Anchorage, on Feb. 3.

Look for our coverage this week.

The invitation-only screening benefits a non-profit launched by former Reagan aide Bonnie Carroll to benefit the bereaved families of military members. Carroll's marriage to Alaska National Guard Brig. Gen. Tom Carroll following the rescue was one of the many stories-behind-the-story, as The Associated Press reports:

-- Kyle Hopkins

Vets' advocate has key role in whale rescue film

By ERIC TUCKER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Bonnie Carroll is well-known in veterans' circles as the founder of a vast organization that provides grief counseling and help for thousands of families of fallen military members. But it was her involvement nearly 25 years ago in a high-seas effort to rescue three gray whales stranded off Alaska that is now receiving Hollywood treatment.

From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --

I'm off this week but stopped by the office today to find a burlap sack sitting on my desk. Inside: A collection of publicity swag from the Sportsman Channel -- Which apparently exists -- highlighting yet another pair of Alaska-related reality shows.

The first, "Dropped (Project: Alaska)" is an 11-episode series that premiered Wednesday and features a pair of brothers hunting in the Brooks Range.

The other, "MeatEater," premieres Sunday. It stars author and "The Wild Within" host Steven Rinella hunting and eating critters across the country. Four of the 11 episodes were shot in Alaska, including the premiere, which features Rinella making "rock-tenderized venison loin" from blacktail deer in Southeast, according to the Sportsman Channel.

The Sportsman Channel is channel 306 on GCI cable.

We're awash in new Alaska reality TV this winter. Premiering tonight are the TLC show "Hook, Line & Sisters," and "Alaska: The Last Frontier," the new Discovery series about the Kilcher family -- sans Jewel.

Meantime, if anyone wants a Sportsman Channel canteen in a handsome burlap sack, stop by the newsroom.

About once a month, a box of this kind of stuff arrives in the mail. I usually leave it by the coffee pot.

The simply titled “Alaska: The Last Frontier," which premiers 9 p.m. Thursday on Discovery, is the latest in the ever-expanding list of reality TV shows set in Alaska. This time the Kilcher family takes center stage, though not the family’s most famous member – multiplatinum-selling singer/songwriter Jewel.

Originally announced in March with the working title “Mountain Men of Alaska,” the series focuses on patriarch Atz, Jewel’s father. He and the rest of the clan live on a 600-acre homestead outside of Homer that was originally settled 80 years ago by Jewel’s grandfather, Yule Kilcher. That plot of land is now home to three generations, and the show’s first episode follows the Kilchers as they prepare for winter, highlighting their off-the-grid lifestyle.

From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --

The producer of "Sarah Palin's Alaska" says he's in talks for a second season of that series and is not pursuing a show about Todd's snowmachine exploits, according to the New York Post.

“The plan would be to shoot this in the summer of 2012,” Mark Burnett told the Post:

New episodes of the outdoorsy reality series — which shows the former vice-presidential candidate fishing, hunting and dogsledding with her family — would not air until after the November presidential election.

“By the time we edit it, the election will be over,” Burnett says. “But I am sure the election would be mentioned [in the show].”

The first season of the Palin series received a larger state subsidy, $1.2 million, than single seasons of any other Alaska reality show to date.

Alaska lawmakers are considering reducing subsidies for reality TV projects, which generally create fewer jobs than movies but are eligible for some of the most generous such public subsidies in the country.

Under the latest version of a proposal to reauthorize the subsidy program, the state would pay up to 34 percent of the bill for nonfiction TV projects like Palin's show or "Deadliest Catch." Currently, all film and TV productions can get up to 44 percent of their spending reimbursed.

From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --

This is worth watching. Check out the latest Facebook post from SprocketHeads, the Anchorage-based production services company that has worked with producers on the bigger films to come to Alaska:

"Attention Alaska-based feature film crew: Resumes needed immediately from all qualified personnel for major production (new project) critically close to making decision to shoot in Alaska. Be sure we have your latest info on file."

The company is calling for people to send resumes to production@sprocketheads.com.

All SprocketHeads owner Carolyn Robinson is saying is that the movie would be an "explosive action thriller" with a crew size bigger than both "Big Miracle" and "Frozen Ground."

Todd Palin of Wasilla, foreground, and Scott Davis of Soldotna, back left, re-pack their gear following a visit by tech inspectors at the Tesoro Iron Dog safety inspection Saturday morning January 31, 2009, at the Wasilla Sports Complex. (ERIK HILL / Anchorage Daily News)

From Kyle Hopkins in Anchorage --

This today from the Hollywood Reporter:

"Palin and (producer Mark Burnett) are pitching another reality series, this one more focused on Palin’s husband Todd and his career as a championship snowmobile racer. But for now, TLC owner Discovery Communications has passed, say sources. And A&E Networks, which entered into a bidding war with Discovery for Sarah Palin's Alaska, also is not interested.

One problem? Palin and Burnett -- the reality TV Yoda behind "Survivor," "The Apprentice" and Palin's own TLC series -- may be asking too high a price for the new series, the website says.

Davis, left, and Palin, right, shown during the start of the 2010 Iron Dog on the ice at Big Lake. (BILL ROTH / Anchorage Daily News)