Where Hollywood Meets the Sagebrush

It’s not every day that Northern Nevada gets mistaken for a Hollywood backlot, but here we are—snowflakes fallin’ like stage props while a pack of film folks set up shop in Carson City and Washoe Valley. The movie, a Warner Brothers-backed picture, has been described as a “Yellowstone”-esque tale and the age-old question–Are we destined to trip over the same rake our parents did, or can we finally learn to step around it?

Juan Pablo Arias Muñoz, the film’s director, said, “It’s a film about family. It’s a film about tradition.”

With the snow fallin’ thick as a politician’s promise, the media got invited behind the scenes of a sequel to a five-part Amazon Prime series of the same name, Casa Grande. The production company, ESX Entertainment, started shooting in Northern California but decided Nevada had a certain untamed charm.

“When we landed here, we were like, ‘Wow, it looks like a postcard,’” said Ali Afshar, President of ESX Entertainment. “The snow looks so perfect, it almost seems fake.”

One might argue that Nevada winters need no Hollywood magic—it’s been trickin’ folks for free since the Pony Express.

The filmmakers have been good at using the region’s diverse scenery, from farmland to mountain peaks to small-town charm. One day, they were holed up in a house shootin’ some scenes and choreographing a fight—presumably not over who gets the last cup of coffee.

Now, as with most grand adventures, the weather’s been both a help and a hindrance.

“It’s so cool looking with the snow and whatnot, but then cars are getting stuck in the mud,” Afshar admitted. “We’re parking in this field, and we have to tow them out. Also, I went to Scheels and spent a ton of money—we don’t even have Scheels in California!”

There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned snowstorm to turn a filmmaker into a local shopper.

Aiding this cinematic endeavor are some up-and-comers from Nevada’s Future Filmmakers Foundation, a program out of the Cordillera Film Festival.

“They’re really prepared,” Muñoz said. “They show up and already know what they’re doing.”

A rare and remarkable thing, indeed.

Once Casa Grande wraps, ESX Entertainment will take its cameras south to Las Vegas for another film. Afshar hopes Nevada will open its doors wider to the industry so productions don’t have to keep running off to Georgia or parts unknown.

Filming will conclude in Carson City’s prison—though one hopes the actors are only there temporarily. Casa Grande will hit theaters by late 2025 or early 2026, giving audiences a taste of Nevada’s cinematic potential.

And who knows? If Hollywood keeps sniffin’ around the Silver State, we may see Nevada become more than a backdrop for car commercials and cowboy movies—it might just turn into the next great stage for storytelling, snowstorms, and all.