CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy — From recent hits like Netflix's "Falling for Christmas" and Hallmark's "Haul Out the Holly," to classics like "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and "High School Musical," Utah is the backdrop for many movies.
If the goal is to attract Hollywood producers, having Olympic venues as filming locations certainly doesn't hurt. Just ask the good people of Cortina.
Here in Cortina, when the curling center isn't being used for curling, it's been used to fight evil hockey players.
"There was a hockey scene right here where the two bad guys tried to punch and fight with Mr. Bond," said Giacomo Colli, a Cortina resident.
Mr. Bond, as in James Bond, 007.
Cortina was featured in the movie "For Your Eyes Only." Today, there's a hall of fame wall with skaters, athletes and Roger Moore.
Other places around Cortina were featured, from the Olympic ski jump to the ski slopes, and the 1956 Olympic bobsled track.
Attracting Hollywood can be an economic boondoggle. Over the past 10 years, productions have brought in over $700 million in Utah, according to the Utah Film Commission.
Though appearing on the silver screen is not always a silver bullet. Just ask the once-lavish Miramonti Hotel where James Bond stayed and wooed Bond girls. Today, it's closed.
When it comes to Utah's 2002 Olympic venues — I searched and couldn't find much of anything having been filmed in them yet. But who knows what the future may hold. After all, James Bond still has evil to fight.
