There’s a better than average chance you might run into a movie star or two in Fayetteville over the next few weeks.
A new film starring Nick Offerman, Dennis Quaid, and Jacob Tremblay is currently in production in Fayetteville, people involved in the project told the Flyer over the weekend.
According to an article in Deadline from last May, the film is called “Sovereign,” and is written and directed by Christian Swegal. The Deadline article also notes that the movie will be filmed in Arkansas.
A brief description of the film is available at IMDB. From the description:
A father and son who identify as Sovereign Citizens, a group of anti-government extremists, find themselves in a standoff with a chief of police that sets off a manhunt.
The film is reportedly based on real events.
“When I first heard about this crime, I was immediately hooked,” Swegal told Deadline. “Radicalization is a familiar concept, but at a time when our democracy is strained to the breaking point, and conspiracy-driven domestic terrorism is emerging as a real threat, the topic is more relevant than ever.”
Offerman is best known for his role as Ron Swanson on the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. He has appeared in numerous projects since then, including the 2023 film “Dumb Money,” HBO’s series “The Last of Us,” Prime Video’s series “A League of their Own,” Hulu’s “Devs,” “The Resort” on Peacock, and others. Offerman has also been to Fayetteville at least once. He performed a set of his music and comedy at the Fayetteville Roots Festival in 2017.
Dennis Quaid has been nominated for Emmy and Golden Globe awards for his work. He has appeared in a host of films, including “Frequency,” “Traffic,” “The Parent Trap,” “The Rookie,” “The Day After Tomorrow,” “Soul Surfer,” “Vantage Point,” “The Right Stuff,” “Breaking Away” and many others.
Tremblay has also appeared in numerous films in his young career, including the 2015 film “Room” alongside Brie Larson. He also voiced the role of Flounder in the live action “Little Mermaid” remake in 2022, and appeared in “The Toxic Avenger” last year.
Movies and television projects filming in Northwest Arkansas have become more of a common occurrence in recent years. “Greater” filmmaker David Hunt is currently working on a project in town called “In Fortune’s Shadow”. Martin Lawrence and John Malkovich were in town in 2021 to film a movie called “Mindcage”, Meg Ryan and David Duchovny filmed the romantic comedy “What Happens Later” at XNA and Crystal Bridges last summer, and of course, Mahershala Ali and Stephen Dorff spent some time working on season 3 of HBO’s “True Detective” that was filmed (and set) in Fayetteville.
We spotted two trucks unloading film equipment at Potter’s House thrift store on College Avenue on Monday, though we aren’t sure which of the film projects currently underway in town were working at the location.
“Sovereign” is being distributed by Briarcliff Entertainment, and is slated for a theatrical release in late 2024 or 2025.
