View source for Halestorm Entertainment

{{Short description|American film production company}}
{{Distinguish|Halestorm}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2007}}
'''Halestorm Entertainment''' was a [[film]] [[production company|production]] and distribution company based in [[Orem, Utah]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/31/magazine/the-cinema-of-latterday-saints.html|title=The Cinema of Latter-Day Saints|last=Bauer|first=Carlene|date=July 31, 2005|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=October 31, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> It was founded in January 2001 by [[Kurt Hale]] and [[Dave Hunter (producer)|Dave Hunter]],<ref>[http://www.halestormentertainment.com/about-halestorm About Halestorm] from Halestorm's official website</ref> who were both film majors at [[Brigham Young University]].<ref name=":0" />  Halestorm films were largely created by, for, and about [[Latter-day Saint]]s and usually contain a 
high number of clichés and stereotypes about the behavior and culture of mainland Western United States members of the Church. Because of that, their films are mostly shown in [[First run (filmmaking)|first run]] movie theatres in that region, where most US members of that church live.<ref name=":0" />

The company started with a successful first film, ''[[The Singles Ward]],'' released in 2002.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/25/AR2006012502320.html|title=Big-Screen Religion|last=Chandler|first=Michael Alison|date=January 26, 2006|newspaper=[[Washington Post]]|access-date=October 31, 2017|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> However, with a major box office failure in ''The Home Teachers'' it faced a declining market for explicitly Mormon-themed comedy films.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.deseretnews.com/article/865601732/What-happened-to-the-wave-of-Mormon-movies.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140425075803/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865601732/What-happened-to-the-wave-of-Mormon-movies.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 25, 2014|title=What happened to the wave of Mormon movies?|first=Jim|last=Bennett|date=25 April 2014|website=DeseretNews.com|access-date=9 January 2019}}</ref> In response, Halestorm phased out of producing explicitly LDS-based films with ''Church Ball'' sporting fewer in-jokes and named talent in an attempt to gain a wider audience.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.deseret.com/2006/3/17/19943534/church-ball-may-be-halestorm-s-last-lds-comedy|title='Church Ball' may be HaleStorm's last LDS comedy|date=17 March 2006|website=DeseretNews.com|access-date=8 April 2022}}</ref>

The company was quietly dissolved in 2020 after years of inactivity.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_ut/5527600-0160|title=HALESTORM ENTERTAINMENT, LLC|website=OpenCorporates|access-date=18 June 2022}}</ref> Currently, [[Deseret Book]] controls most of their library.

==Film library==

===Feature films===
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
* ''[[The Singles Ward]]'' (2002)
* ''[[The Best Two Years]]'' (2003)
* ''[[The Book of Mormon Movie, Vol. 1: The Journey]]'' (2003)
* ''It's Latter-day Night!'' (2003)
* ''[[The R.M.]]'' (2003)
* ''[[Baptists at Our Barbecue]]'' (2004)
* ''[[The Home Teachers]]'' (2004)
* ''[[Sons of Provo]]'' (2004)
* ''[[Mobsters and Mormons]]'' (2005)
* ''[[Suits on the Loose]]'' (2005)
{{col-2}}
* ''Latter-Day Night Biscuit'' (2005)
* ''Take a Chance'' (2006)
* ''[[Church Ball]]'' (2006)
* ''The Singles 2nd Ward'' (2007)
* ''The Dance'' (2007)
* ''Beau Jest'' (2008)
* ''[[The Wild Stallion]]'' (2009)
* ''A Christmas Wish'' (2010)
* ''[[Heaven's Door (2012 film)|Heaven's Door]]'' (2012)
* ''[[Storm Rider (2013 film)|Storm Rider]]'' (2013)
{{col-end}}

===Short films===
* ''Money or Mission'' (2006) 
* ''Sons of Provo: Confidential'' (2007)

===Television===
* ''Howdy Town'' (2006–2007)

===Documentaries===
* ''Happy Valley'' (2008)
* ''The Real Life Singles Ward'' (2011)

==Divisions==
*HaleYeah! Records: the music division at HaleStorm.<ref name="WorldCat online library listing">{{cite web|url=http://www.worldcat.org/identities/nc-hale%20yeah%20records%20firm|title=Hale Yeah! Records (Firm) : Overview|website=Worldcat.org|access-date=9 January 2019}}</ref>
*Stone Five Studios: a sister company of HaleStorm, whose purpose is to produce family-friendly films not in the LDS genre.
*HaleStone Distribution: distributor of films and DVDs of other, smaller studios.
*HaleMark Publishing: a book imprint for novelizations of films and children's books.

==Production studio==
In May 2005, HaleStorm broke ground on a full-service production and post-production facility in [[Provo, Utah]]. The studio will be the only commercially available studio soundstages in the state since the [[Osmond Studios]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.halestormentertainment.com Official website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080119050806/http://halestormentertainment.com/ |date=2008-01-19 }}
* [http://archives.lib.byu.edu/repositories/14/resources/11316 HaleStorm Entertainment records, MSS 2765] at [https://sites.lib.byu.edu/sc/ L. Tom Perry Special Collections], [[Brigham Young University]]

{{Halestorm Entertainment Films}}

[[Category:Film production companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Film distributors of the United States]]
[[Category:Latter Day Saint organizations]]
[[Category:Mormon cinema]]
[[Category:Companies based in Orem, Utah]]
[[Category:American companies established in 2001]]
[[Category:2001 establishments in Utah]]


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