It’s been almost a year and a half since Jennifer Lopez and the crew of the Netflix production The Mother, packed up all their gear and headed south to splice the action/thriller together.
Now, the film is scheduled for release on Netflix May 12, but before that happens, a select group of Smithereens will have an opportunity to view it in advance.
Tourism Smithers executive director Gladys Atrill said the offer for a screening was not something that was asked for, but came out of the blue.
“It was a nice call to receive, a surprise,” she said.
“After years of hiding out in the Alaskan wilderness, a deadly assassin returns to rescue the daughter she loved from afar,” reads the Netflix description of the film.
The film stars Lopez, Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in Love, The Handmaid’s Tale) and breakout star Lucy Paez along with Omari Hardwick (Kick-Ass), Gael Garcia Bernal (Mozart in the Jungle), Paul Raci (Sound of Metal), Jesse Garcia (The Avengers), and Yvonne Senat Jones (Sneakerella).
It was directed by Niki Caro (Mulan, Whale Rider).
Filming locations around the Smithers area, including Opal Mine (between 10 and 11 kilometre markers on McDonell Lake Road), Microwave Ridge (off the Telkwa River Forest Road) and The Prairie (atop Hudson Bay Mountain), were a stand-in for the Alaskan wilderness.
An invitation-only event has been scheduled for the evening of May 11, at the Roi Theatre, but Smithers Tourism is giving everybody a chance to get on the VIP list.
Follow @smitherstourism on Facebook and share the post about the premiere with the hashtags #smithersonnetflix and #northernbcfilm. The Facebook post also contains other details such as entrants must be 17 years of age or over because the film is rated R.
People can also enter to win tickets at the Northwest Trade Expo on May 5 and 6 by visiting the Smithers District Chamber of Commerce booth and putting their name in for a raffle.
The rest of the tickets will be distributed to local people who were associated in various ways with the production, but Atrill said that guest list has not been finalized.
READ MORE: Tenure application reveals filming details of Netflix Production The Mother
Thom Barker
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