In the wake of an accidental shooting that occurred Jan. 7 on the set of a film being shot at Old Warrenton Studios, the Warren County Commission will discuss whether to vacate a variance that allows commercial activities to occur on land zoned as agricultural and residential.
The variance allows for the studio to maintain a shooting range on the 45-acre property as long as the owners provide a 50 foot buffer zone and only allow gunfire to occur within certain hours.
According to owner, Brad Owens, he has abided by the stipulations given to him when the variance passed in August of 2020 for the property located at 715 Ranger Rd.
“They approved the shooting range, so they knew that guns would be on the property, and now they are threatening to destroy my business because a gun was on the property. It just doesn’t make sense,” Owens said.
Warren County Commission Chairman John Graham says the variance issue has nothing to do with the shooting that occurred, seriously wounding Joseph Eckert, 21, of Marietta, Ga. Jason Owen, 25, of Akron, Ohio, was arrested and charged with one count of reckless conduct.
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According to Owens, the gun involved was not a prop for the movie being filmed. It was a privately owned weapon that was accidentally discharged hours before filming commenced.
According to Graham, the accidental shooting is irrelevant, and the matter is whether Owens has abided by his agreement with the county.
“This has absolutely nothing to do with the shooting. That is for law enforcement to work out. We are concerned that (Owens) violated the stipulations in the variance. It was our understanding that the land was only to be used to film traditional western movies, and they weren’t filming a western out there,” Graham said.
The film in question was a science fiction clip produced by Chernobyl Milisim, a production company out of Florida that posts their work on YouTube.com.
Owens says there is no such stipulation in the variance that requires him to rent his property only to films in the western genre. He believes he is being discriminated against and that the county government is trying to dictate exactly what types of films can be produced on his property.
According to Owens, films such as Blazing Saddles and Back To The Future III are not traditional westerns but were filmed on western style sets.
“I have a contract pending with a production company to produce a film about guys filming a western movie, and it is set in the present time. This is less about the type of films that occur here, but rather about the county attempting to force me off of my land,” Owens said.
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Veteran Augusta film producer Mark Crump says he worked in Warrenton recently with Dennis Quaid’s project, The Hill, and greatly enjoyed working with the Warren County Commissioners on the project.
Crump says he is sad to see such a conflict occur and hopes that the issue can be resolved amicably.
“I believe as long as all of the ordinances, rules and regulations concerning production protocols are followed there should be no restrictions to the types of films that are shot there. I hope they can all work through their differences as I’m looking forward to working with them on many more to come in the future,” Crump said.
Owens says that he has retained the services of local attorney Stephen Shepard and plans to sue the county if necessary.
“I am out here creating jobs, adding to the local economy. I have spent over $75,000 so far and much more in labor and sweat to make this film studio a reality. I am not going to let them take that away from me without a fight,” Owens said.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
