The ’surreal’ story behind filming supernatural thriller in West Baden

Best-selling author Michael Koryta of Bloomington based his book, “So Cold the River,” at the West Baden Hotel in Orange County. In fact, you could argue the hotel is essentially a character in the book. And so when it came time to make "So Cold the River" into a movie, there could be no other spot to do it. Enter Pete Yonkman, president of the hotel's owner, Cook Group. Yonkman is friends with Koryta and the folks at Pigasus Pictures, a Bloomington-based film company. So he connected the two—and stayed involved. In fact, Yonkman and Cook CEO Carl Cook (the son of Bill and Gayle Cook, who funded the hotel's renovation) invested in the movie and facilitated Pigasus' use of the hotel, which closed down for several weeks to accomodate filming. Host Mason King talks with Yonkman and Zack Spicer, CEO of Pigasus Pictures, about the hotel, the story and making the movie. But they also delve into a new law that will offer tax credits to future productions filmed in Indiana. The IBJ Podcast is brought to you by Taft.