CONSTRUCTION of an Old West movie backlot on the edge of Tyndall could go ahead very soon after the RM of Brokenhead passed a zoning variance Tuesday night.
The local council for Brokenhead approved rezoning a 58-acre parcel of mostly agricultural land as industrial land to pave the way for a proposed $40-million, Hollywood-style movie studio with backlots.
The project is spearheaded by local entrepreneur Kent Ulrich and actor Jeff Skinner, who are also guided by an advisory council. Members of the council have not yet been made public.
An agreement for the purchase of the land is already in place and was pending the RM's decision, Ulrich said.
A movie shoot could start on the location by August, he said.
Building an Old West set on the parcel will be the first priority.
"I've heard there are two or three westerns looking to come here," he said. "A producer who wrote The Sting and Sleepless in Seattle is really interested in it."
"All we need is just a little bit of warm weather to get on the land to start construction," he said. The Old West sets will be built from reclaimed lumber as much as possible to give it an authentic look.
Also, a local sawmill owner will cut up into timber trees knocked down in the Brokenhead area by last summer's tornado, Ulrich said.
He said construction of the movie studio might begin later in the year. "I'd like to get it going before fall, but a lot of other variables have to get going," he said.
The land is now to be used exclusively for the movie studio and backlot. If it is not used for that purpose, now or in the future, the land would revert back to agricultural zoning.
The movie studio could create 20 to 30 full-time jobs. Area residents have said the project may inspire them to rename their town Tyndallwood, after Hollywood, or Tyndall Town, as in Tinseltown. Tyndall is 32 kilometres east of Winnipeg and has a population of about 600.
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