Actor Liam Neeson was in Fernie shooting the movie HARD POWDER. The filming of Hard Powder took place on April 10 and 11th. Mayor Mary Giuliano was onsite to rub elbows with Neeson!
Based on the 2014 Norwegian film In Order of Disappearance staring Stellan Skarsgård, Hard Powder is the english version staring Liam Neeson. Directed by Norwegian Hans Petter Moland, the film also stars Emmy Rossum and Laura Dern.
Neeson plays a snowplow driver in a Colorado ski town, whose son is murdered. He seeks revenge and takes out the local drug cartel and its kingpin who are responsible, ultimately sparking a turf war.
The film is produced by Michael Shamberg (Django Unchained, Pulp Fiction) for StudioCanal, the European studio who previously made Neeson’s hit actioner Non-Stop. Hard Powder was written by Frank Baldwin (the upcoming The Warriors TV series).
The filming in Fernie was originally to take place in Banff but due to concerns from Parks Canada about the plot featuring an Indigenous gang boss, Banff was no longer a location. Read CBC news story here. Fernie was quickly decided upon as one of the new locations. Fernie fits the plots since it’s a classic ski town located in the Rocky Mountains, and has a welcoming community for the film industry.
The filming on April 10 took place at Fernie Alpine Resort on the White Pass chair, and on April 11th in Historic Downtown Fernie.
The Norwegian version of the film is available on Netflix. Hard Powder is due to be released in 2018.
