Drumheller has been the backdrop for multiple Hollywood film productions over the years, and last week some residents may have noticed some activity in the community as filming took place on a new production.
On Thursday evening, May 11, downtown Drumheller was closed to traffic for filming, and although the Town is remaining tight lipped about the production, word quickly spread on social media that actors Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult had been spotted locally-and some local residents even got to have an up close and personal encounter with Jude Law.
“(Beckham) was excited to meet Jude Law as he is going to be in an upcoming Star Wars spin off (Star Wars: Skeleton Crew) as a Jedi,” Beckham’s mom, Heather Jensen tells the Mail.
Although Beckham hasn’t watched too many Jude Law films, he was really excited to meet the actor because of his love for Star Wars, and was really excited to get to meet a Jedi. Heather adds Jude Law was very nice when they met him.
She says she and her family watched crews begin setting up in Wayne on Tuesday, May 9, and then got to watch as cameras began rolling on Friday. Heather even got an opportunity to speak with some of the production crew about the film.
According to the International Movie Database (IMDb) the movie, called The Order, is directed by Justin Kurzel and is based on the 1989 Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt non-fiction book, “The Silent Brotherhood.”
The story is based on the true story of a lone FBI agent in Idaho, played by Jude Law, who begins to unravel a pattern in a string of recent violent bank robberies, armoured car heists, and counterfeiting operations in the Pacific Northwest in the 1980s, and sets out to prove these crimes are by a radical group with a charismatic leader, played by Nicholas Hoult.
Drumheller is just one of the Alberta towns which will be featured in the final production, which is set to be released on Amazon Prime Video, though no official release date has been set yet.
In recent years, the Town has been the backdrop for some big blockbuster films, including the Kevin Costner and Diane Lane 2020 film Let Him Go, which transformed parts of the community into 1963 Montana and North Dakota.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife was filmed locally in Drumheller and surrounding areas, including Horsethief Canyon and the Dorothy grain elevators and bridge in 2019 and saw the Town transformed into Summerville, Oklahoma.
It is estimated Ghostbusters: Afterlife brought some $1 million in economic benefits to the community.

It was a strong year for Westview Co-op posting a record year for sales.
Westview Co-op held its Annual General Meeting on May 9 at the Hanna Legion. It was a good year for the Westview Co-op posting over $156,000,000 in sales.
“We had a record year in sales. Part of it was due to inflation, but part of it was real growth on our energy side, it was real growth in our litres sold,” said general manager Mike Isaak.
He notes that the home centres didn’t meet the same level of sales as the previous year, although Isaak says this was expected, as renovations boomed in the years during COVID when many took on home projects.
He adds that food sales held their own.
“Our bottom line was very similar to what it was last year. We didn’t have any wage subsidy as we did in the previous year from the government, so when we compare without that factored into our bottom line was a little bit better this year,” said Isaak.
The Co-op’s equity in 2022 was about $1.8 million and just over $740,000 was paid back in cash to members.
There were several other activities in the previous year at Westview Co-op. Locally, the gas bar received a refresh and the former Greentree Mall was demolished.
Last year Federated Co-op acquired 171 Husky retail fuel sites. Westview Co-op purchased the former Husky retail fuel dealership in Hanna. The deal was completed in September, and in February of his year, they held its grand opening.
It also acquired Grass Lumber and Sales, expanding into Didsbury, and completed a large renovation to the Olds food store.
There was one new board member appointed at the AGM. Kurt Ratzlaff of Linden was brought on as director.