Oregon won recognition over time as a beautiful destination for film production long before filming Twilight and even The Goonies, but it’s only gaining more traction due to the abundance of creators and artists that spend their days bustling through the state. Besides favorite indie films shot in and around Portland such as Wild and Into the Wild, production teams continue to be hard at work behind-the-scenes to keep the film-making spirit alive throughout the region, and we’re about to see many of these new films and TV shows hit their stride. We’d like to share some newly released and up-coming series and films that give Oregon the spotlight it deserves.

With a name like Nicolas Cage you can’t go wrong. Pig was filmed in Oregon and recently released along with some amazing other indie films like Lorelei starring Jena Malone from The Hunger Games, and The Water Man. We are waiting on the release of Somebody I used to Know directed by Dave Franco for Amazon Studios, Significant Other, and the new HBO series The Rehearsal.

Television

Recently filmed in Oregon is Netflix’s Metal Lords, scripted by D.B. Weiss, co-creator of fan-favorite Game of Thrones. This project follows two teen boys obsessed with metal in a world that doesn’t care about heavy metal anymore. It follows the two attempting to win The Battle of the Bands. The series has a vibe that’s reminiscent of 2003’s School of Rock starring Jack Black, and it’ll be interesting to see where it goes.

Peacock’s streaming service saw the release of The Girl in the Woods, and as Oregon’s only special effects makeup school we were excited to see what this thriller had to offer. The series is focused on a girl who escapes her cult-like colony in the woods and settles down in Oregon, only to have to take on her past life as a monster killer after dangerous figures from her past hunt her down.

Indie Films 

The 2022 Cannes Film Festival introduced us to an artist-focused Oregon film from Kelly Reichardt, titled Showing Up which focuses on a sculptor (Michelle Williams) trying to balance her creative life with the chaos that rings in once she’s left the studio. This film encapsulates a life distinctly known to many Portland artists, where creativity and expression bleeds into other facets of life. Tim Grierson, Senior US Critic for Screen International calls the movie “beautifully crafted, a modest gem that grows in impact the more one examines it.”

The Twist on a Classic

Artisans have also gathered together in the outskirts of Northwest Portland to bring Oscar-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro’s new Pinocchio film to life through stop-motion animation. Being the home of a studio for this Oscar-winner is an honor, and we’re ready to see how Del Toro’s spin on the classic fairytale brings it to life in it’s December 2022 debut. Portland is actually considered a world leader for claymation films and tv shows such as Wendell and Wild, Coraline, Paranorman, The Box Trolls and the Oscar winning film Kubo and the Two Strings. It is home to Laika Studios and many other animation production companies. We have seen several of our graduates cross-over between creating figures and costumes for miniature puppets to make-up on film and back again. These 2 career genres seem to run a parallel path in the film industry and can be combined as a free-lance artist. Who says that artists can’t multi-task?

Despite the pandemic and the unrest it’s caused in the past two and a half years, it’s amazing to see our state continue to thrive as a hotspot for artists from film and animation alike. With barely a skip in our step, Oregon film is thriving at full speed ahead. With all of this production happening, makeup artists are in demand. Quality film making requires top-notch skills from every member of the production team including makeup. The Art of Makeup School trains students to become working makeup artists to fill the demand of production needs, and there is a lot of it!