Someone pulling a gun on another in downtown Kennewick isn’t something you see every day. But then, neither is seeing a film crew recording the entire scene.

Spotters kept vehicles from driving down the easternmost block of Kennewick Avenue during the filming of “Fate Gambit: First Move” on a quiet Sunday morning in April in front of the former Washington Hardware building. But a few passersby stopped to watch the scene, which involved three actors, a vintage sports car and the aforementioned firearm.

Local filmmaker Bryan McGlothin said he’d always planned to shoot his movie in the Tri-Cities but also wanted some shots in Seattle. Delays meant the crew had to shift the whole production to the Mid-Columbia, but McGlothin isn’t sweating it.

“It doesn’t matter where the story takes place, it’s the story itself,” he told the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.

Arts and business advocates are hoping McGlothin’s project is just an opening scene for the film and television industry in the Tri-Cities, positioning the area as a viable destination alongside cities such as Spokane and Walla Walla for production companies and advertising agencies.

“Efforts like this align closely with what we are working toward through (South Columbia Creative District), positioning the Creative District as a film-friendly destination and building momentum,” said Stephanie Button, executive director of the Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership.

Local backdrops

Using the Tri-Cities and Eastern Washington as a backdrop for TV and movie production isn’t new.

The drama comedy “Hello, My Name is Frank” was shot in the Tri-Cities in 2013. “Aftermath,” a science-fiction drama TV series that lasted only one season, had some of its opening scenes shot in Pasco.

“I Am Road Comic,” a 2014 documentary about stand-up comedians, heavily features Jack Didley’s, a bar that formerly operated in downtown Kennewick.

The Spokane area has served as a filming location for movies and shows for decades. Its locales were in notable productions such as “Vision Quest” in 1985, “Benny & Joon” in 1993, and “Z Nation,” which aired for five seasons from 2014-18, according to the Spokane Journal of Business.

The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the industry nationwide as productions were put on hold. That meant lost wages for cast, crew and other creative folk but also lost spending on lodging, meals and other goods in communities where productions are shot on location.

Local economies benefit

But productions have ramped back up in the years since the pandemic, often injecting money from outside into the economies of shooting locations and the state overall.

Production space Studio A, located in Airway Heights outside Spokane, has most recently been involved with projects such as “Train Dreams,” “213 Bones,” and “Room for a Miracle,” the latter of which is currently in production with a $1 million budget, producer Casey Cowan told Spokane’s Journal of Business.

Walla Walla welcomed Motion State Productions of Seattle earlier this year, which brought 75 cast and crew to town to film a national ad campaign for Firestone Tires.

“This is economic development in real time,” said Arlene Alen, president and CEO of the Walla Walla Valley Chamber of Commerce and director of Film WWV, its TV and movie economic development initiative, in a statement. “When a production comes to town, it does not operate in isolation. It books hotel rooms, hires local support, buys supplies, feeds crews, uses venues, showcases our community, and introduces decision-makers to Walla Walla as a place where professional production can happen successfully.”

State incentives

However, the industry isn’t just relying on the state’s scenic beauty being the only thing to draw productions to Washington. Nonprofit Washington Filmworks has actively worked to financially support movie and TV projects via $15 million worth of incentives each year, such as cash rebates of up to 45% on qualified in-state spending, the Spokane Journal reported.

The nonprofit works with local organizations to promote their locales. It was through Washington Filmworks’ 2024 Film Familiarization Tour that brought production professionals to Walla Walla to assess its location, infrastructure and community support.

It is also on communities to set themselves up for success, though. The Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership established SOCO, which encompasses downtown as well as much of Columbia Drive and Clover Island, in 2021 to highlight and support its creative businesses and act as a conduit and resource.

And that work is crucial. Button said she supported “Fate Gambit” by helping the production crew identify the most suitable filming locations in downtown, connected them with property owners and businesses and assisted them with obtaining the necessary permits from the city of Kennewick. She also got to cameo in the film.

“It was really fun ‘sidequesting’ as an extra in two of the scenes,” Button said.

Setting the stage

“Fate Gambit” is still in production. McGlothin plans to shoot pickup shots this fall before the film is finished and released, tentatively in 2027.

He makes no airs that his movie is a massive economic engine; his production budget is $100,000 and many working on the film have agreed to defer payment.

But he thinks he’s the first Mid-Columbia production in years that will pay its cast and crew for their work. And they’ve already spent some money in the community, paying for food for the cast and crew on site and renting a house for a week.

“I’m sure it makes a difference for someone,” McGlothin said.

What he’s hoping for, though, is that he can set the stage for bigger productions to come after, be it through making enough to set up his own production warehouse or entice other creatives to take a chance.

“If we can knock this out of the park, we will get something here,” McGlothin said.