Marilyn Toone: Star Behind the Camera
Feature Article for the Provo Sun Newspaper
Marilyn Toone is involved with rock concerts, Hollywood
celebrities, and extravagant parties. And to think at one time she wanted to work
with police officers.
She’s the director of the Central Utah Film Commission and handles special events for the Visitor’s Bureau. When she’s not scouting locations for upcoming film releases, she’s planning local attractions like the Stadium of Fire or the Utah County Fair. It’s a lot of work that keeps her out of the spotlight, but you can’t hear Huey Lewis and News at Cougar Stadium, watch Jim Carrey’s antics in Dumb and Dumber, or enjoy the yearly festivities of the county fair without her expert director’s experience.
She works for only one department, which is amazing to believe, given its many hats. The department has an economic development, convention, and visitor’s bureaus; the Utah County Visitor’s Center services and the Film Commission. These departments are all located under one roof in Provo, and they all handle Utah’s event needs.
A list of big films she’s helped out with include The Stand, in which she met Stephen King himself; Meet the Deedles, which was shot in Utah on stage; The Town That Turned to Dust; Creator’s Game; and the successful Utah-shot series Touched by an Angel and Promised Land. She mentioned that two more scripts were coming her way soon, adding to the work force of the upcoming county fair in August.
Imagine being in charge of an event at UVSC that boasts different judged exhibits from horticulture to photography, 4H, and a carnival from Home Town Amusements.
Toone gets to meet all kinds of celebrities. And like any job, some of the rewards come as great memories that eventually turn into stories, as when David Hasselhoff was pulled over for speeding in Provo during his early career. The officer looked over hid driver’s license, then stared at him. David Hasselhoff noticed his confused gazes and answered, “Yup, you’ve just pulled over the Knight Rider.”
Another memory includes the last scene of The Stand, shot at Sundance. An avalanche had just happened, but the film crew was brave enough to climb right up on top of the newly fallen snow and finish filming. Toone couldn’t even recognize the areas around her, even though she was told she stood where the parking lot was.
Job hazards also include low budget films, which can create economic struggles, and late-night calls from directors wanting a location for the next day. Film directors can be very demanding, and often times they require a callback from business owners before midnight, hoping for permission to shoot the next day.
“It’s very challenging to help on projects,” Toone says.
One of th things that attracts the big films and directors are locations. Utah is filled with ideal movie locations, from the mountains to the deserts. Toone is also in charge of that.
“It really starts with {directors} seeking the right location, so locations are integral to getting them to come here,” she says.
The film crews also requires support services, hotel rooms, car rentals, and crew bases to stay happy. She also refers casting directors and agents to the directors.
Toone started with the Stadium of Fire about 1985. She was brought on as a secretary but said later that she moved up fast. Back then, Alan Osmond was in charge.
“I was sort of his right hand on it,” she said.
She had just come out of television production, which gave her an edge. She helped produce the event each year until 1990 when Alan Osmond moved to Branson, MO. She then took the job at Utah County and has been writing and directing the Stadium of Fire in Alan’s place. The producers now are John and Sherry Whitaker, and in the past it was been produced by the Children’s Miracle Network and KSL. Then the Freedom Festival took it back, and they’ve been producing it since then.
Some of the big names that have appeared at the July celebration include the Beach Boys, Bob Hope, Mr. T., Wayne Newton, Crystal Gayle, Willard Scott, the Osmonds, Keisha Knight-Pulliam, Rich Little, The Oakridge Boys, Barbara Mandrell, Natalie Cole, and this year’s Huey Lewis and the News.
She also mentioned that David Hasselhoff had his first singing performance in Provo at the Stadium of Fire. He has since then become fairly popular in Europe. Some of the performers are not used to large audiences, and often they get stage fright at seeing Cougar Stadium filled with spectators, bands, and stars.
Toone has a Bachelor degree in sociology from the University of Utah. She is quick to add that she attended BYU for two years for an Associate degree in law enforcement.
“I wanted to go into criminology, but I got sidetracked by show-biz, so I never made it,” she stated. “{BYU} didn’t have a (four-year) criminology (degree), so I went up to the U to finish.”
She said the sociology degree is part of getting a criminology degree. She started to work at Channel 7 on University of Utah’s campus and just stayed in production, “in one form or the other for the rest of my days, up ‘till now.”
Does she prefer the film industry over criminology? “Yeah, you know, at this point, sure. It’s much more interesting, much more energetic for me, much more variety. You’re learning something different all the time because your projects are so diverse,” she said.
She leads a full life, one that some of us only dream of. Anyone interested in information on how to become part of a filming crew can reach her at 370-8390.
“If they want to get into film production, I would recommend that they volunteer to be a runner for a production assistant, any production that might be around. That’s a good way to start,” she said.
She says people work their way up quickly in the business if they do a good job. “Film people are very careful who they work with. You can’t just assume you’re going to walk in as a production coordinator or something, be it wardrobe if that’s what you want to do. You’ve got to start at the very bottom and show your interest and show what you can do.”
“My basic goal is to develop programs or events that will attract visitor-ship to Utah County,” Toone says. “What we really want to do is create kind of a tourism market, and since we aren’t a national park we want to create things that are really unique, like the Freedom Festival, for instance, very unique that draws people to Utah County on the Forth of July.”
And when she’s in charge of projects like these, perhaps she could find her way on stage to display some of her law enforcement tactics. They might come in handy yet.
She’s the director of the Central Utah Film Commission and handles special events for the Visitor’s Bureau. When she’s not scouting locations for upcoming film releases, she’s planning local attractions like the Stadium of Fire or the Utah County Fair. It’s a lot of work that keeps her out of the spotlight, but you can’t hear Huey Lewis and News at Cougar Stadium, watch Jim Carrey’s antics in Dumb and Dumber, or enjoy the yearly festivities of the county fair without her expert director’s experience.
She works for only one department, which is amazing to believe, given its many hats. The department has an economic development, convention, and visitor’s bureaus; the Utah County Visitor’s Center services and the Film Commission. These departments are all located under one roof in Provo, and they all handle Utah’s event needs.
A list of big films she’s helped out with include The Stand, in which she met Stephen King himself; Meet the Deedles, which was shot in Utah on stage; The Town That Turned to Dust; Creator’s Game; and the successful Utah-shot series Touched by an Angel and Promised Land. She mentioned that two more scripts were coming her way soon, adding to the work force of the upcoming county fair in August.
Imagine being in charge of an event at UVSC that boasts different judged exhibits from horticulture to photography, 4H, and a carnival from Home Town Amusements.
Toone gets to meet all kinds of celebrities. And like any job, some of the rewards come as great memories that eventually turn into stories, as when David Hasselhoff was pulled over for speeding in Provo during his early career. The officer looked over hid driver’s license, then stared at him. David Hasselhoff noticed his confused gazes and answered, “Yup, you’ve just pulled over the Knight Rider.”
Another memory includes the last scene of The Stand, shot at Sundance. An avalanche had just happened, but the film crew was brave enough to climb right up on top of the newly fallen snow and finish filming. Toone couldn’t even recognize the areas around her, even though she was told she stood where the parking lot was.
Job hazards also include low budget films, which can create economic struggles, and late-night calls from directors wanting a location for the next day. Film directors can be very demanding, and often times they require a callback from business owners before midnight, hoping for permission to shoot the next day.
“It’s very challenging to help on projects,” Toone says.
One of th things that attracts the big films and directors are locations. Utah is filled with ideal movie locations, from the mountains to the deserts. Toone is also in charge of that.
“It really starts with {directors} seeking the right location, so locations are integral to getting them to come here,” she says.
The film crews also requires support services, hotel rooms, car rentals, and crew bases to stay happy. She also refers casting directors and agents to the directors.
Toone started with the Stadium of Fire about 1985. She was brought on as a secretary but said later that she moved up fast. Back then, Alan Osmond was in charge.
“I was sort of his right hand on it,” she said.
She had just come out of television production, which gave her an edge. She helped produce the event each year until 1990 when Alan Osmond moved to Branson, MO. She then took the job at Utah County and has been writing and directing the Stadium of Fire in Alan’s place. The producers now are John and Sherry Whitaker, and in the past it was been produced by the Children’s Miracle Network and KSL. Then the Freedom Festival took it back, and they’ve been producing it since then.
Some of the big names that have appeared at the July celebration include the Beach Boys, Bob Hope, Mr. T., Wayne Newton, Crystal Gayle, Willard Scott, the Osmonds, Keisha Knight-Pulliam, Rich Little, The Oakridge Boys, Barbara Mandrell, Natalie Cole, and this year’s Huey Lewis and the News.
She also mentioned that David Hasselhoff had his first singing performance in Provo at the Stadium of Fire. He has since then become fairly popular in Europe. Some of the performers are not used to large audiences, and often they get stage fright at seeing Cougar Stadium filled with spectators, bands, and stars.
Toone has a Bachelor degree in sociology from the University of Utah. She is quick to add that she attended BYU for two years for an Associate degree in law enforcement.
“I wanted to go into criminology, but I got sidetracked by show-biz, so I never made it,” she stated. “{BYU} didn’t have a (four-year) criminology (degree), so I went up to the U to finish.”
She said the sociology degree is part of getting a criminology degree. She started to work at Channel 7 on University of Utah’s campus and just stayed in production, “in one form or the other for the rest of my days, up ‘till now.”
Does she prefer the film industry over criminology? “Yeah, you know, at this point, sure. It’s much more interesting, much more energetic for me, much more variety. You’re learning something different all the time because your projects are so diverse,” she said.
She leads a full life, one that some of us only dream of. Anyone interested in information on how to become part of a filming crew can reach her at 370-8390.
“If they want to get into film production, I would recommend that they volunteer to be a runner for a production assistant, any production that might be around. That’s a good way to start,” she said.
She says people work their way up quickly in the business if they do a good job. “Film people are very careful who they work with. You can’t just assume you’re going to walk in as a production coordinator or something, be it wardrobe if that’s what you want to do. You’ve got to start at the very bottom and show your interest and show what you can do.”
“My basic goal is to develop programs or events that will attract visitor-ship to Utah County,” Toone says. “What we really want to do is create kind of a tourism market, and since we aren’t a national park we want to create things that are really unique, like the Freedom Festival, for instance, very unique that draws people to Utah County on the Forth of July.”
And when she’s in charge of projects like these, perhaps she could find her way on stage to display some of her law enforcement tactics. They might come in handy yet.