BUTTE — The latest installment of the "Yellowstone" television series promises to bring movie magic and movie stars to Butte, but it also will bring jobs and money to the Mining City.
“They’re moving here, they’re setting up shop and they are going to be taking advantage of all of the services that we have in our community, suppliers, vendors,” said Butte Community Development Director Karen Byrnes.
A production crew for the "1923" series is already building sets in the Butte Civic Center and plans to remain in town into next year.
“They’re trying to spend all their money locally for materials and many other things, so it’s a very good shot in the arm for the community,” said Butte Civic Center Director Bill Melvin.
It’s the fifth season of "Yellowstone" and this spinoff takes place in the Roaring 20s, using Butte’s historic Uptown as a backdrop. It’s something that’s brought many filmmakers to Butte.
“Working with folks in the past, they’ve said to me that Butte’s one big soundstage, because it can be so many different things and so many different eras,” said Byrnes.
You don’t have to be a movie star in front of the camera to benefit from "1923" coming to town; in fact, one local lumber company in Butte is already reaping the benefit since this production began.
“Moving product for them daily. I’m over there probably three, four times a week, see if they need anything. They’re calling us on a daily basis. They are so easy to work with, you can tell they’ve done it a few times,” said Builders First Source Sales Rep. Stephan Burns.
He believes other businesses will benefit from this production. Stephan feels a bit like a star himself.
“I’ve had a lot of people ask me about it, they all want to see if I’ve seen Harrison Ford yet, but I haven’t seen him,” said Burns.
The production could bring in up to 500 employees to Butte to work on the show.
