Netflix buys movie filmed in inland Northwest
Movie was adapted from a novel and stars Felicity Jones and Joel Edgerton
SPOKANE — “Train Dreams,” the film shot in Spokane and adapted from a novel set in the Idaho Panhandle, has been purchased by Netflix.
The film is led by Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones, who was recently nominated for an Oscar for her supporting role in “The Brutalist.” The movie also stars William H. Macy, Kerry Condon and Clifton Collins Jr.
WME Independent represented “Train Dreams” filmmakers in the sale, the amount of which has not been disclosed, but sources told Deadline the deal is in the high-teen millions.
“Train Dreams” is based on a 2011 novel of the same name written by Denis Johnson. The book tells the story of an early 20th-century day laborer who works his way through the inland Northwest constructing railroad tracks. The novel abounds in references to places such as Spokane, Sandpoint, Wallace and the Kootenai River. The main character also hails from Bonners Ferry, where Johnson lived at least part of the time before his death in 2017.
Filming began on the movie in mid-April and ended weeks later, according to producer William Janowitz. About 90% of the movie was filmed in eastern Washington, including Metaline Falls, Colville and downtown Spokane.
The major motion picture had made some “interesting requests” involving street lights being turned off, Spokane Development Services Center employee Nicole Riley previously told The Spokesman-Review. Janowitz declined to tell The Spokesman-Review where filming occurred in city limits.
But according to the Black Bear Pictures and Kamala Films producer, filming in the inland Northwest has “always been the north star” for the crew.
“You can’t get more authentic than being in the place that the story actually took place. The Kootenai Tribe plays a hand in our story. It begins just over the border in Bonners Ferry, and there is just a lot of connective tissue to this place,” Janowitz said.
The flick made its debut in the Premieres section of the Sundance Film Festival.
It was directed by Clint Bentley, who helmed 2021’s “Jockey,” and is produced by Black Bear Pictures. Founded in 2011, the studio most recently produced “Immaculate,” starring Spokane native Sydney Sweeney, who can be seen in a Hellman’s mayonnaise ad on Super Bowl Sunday alongside Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal, in a nod to “When Harry Met Sally.”
Janowitz called the film a “cautionary tale” while also being a “love story about American culture.”
