Chilili Land Dispute - Hollywood Repercussions

See the history of Chilili and the dispute here.

Back in 2013 Chilili was involved in a bit of a scandal that involved a movie production filming in the area. Chilili is a secluded settlement on the east side of the Manzano Mountains, about an hour to the southeast of Albuquerque, and is a remnant of an old Mexican land grant that was upheld when the US annexed New Mexico. Property owner Patrick Elwell inherited the land, in his family for 80+ years, that lay inside the land grant boundaries from his grandfather. In his annual trek from Albuquerque to check on the land, he received a huge shock when he saw a town had been built on his once forested and pristine foothills land.

A Hollywood production company had moved in and built a replica of an Afghan village for the movie Lone Survivor. They brought in 150 crew members, and more than 20 semi's for the production, which included helicopters, gunfights and explosions, completely wrecking the property and removing all the vegetation in the process.

Turns out, the production company had made a deal for $35,000 with Juan Sanchez, president of the Chilili Land Grant, to use the land. Sanchez claims that all past sales of former Land Grant areas were fraudulent, and does not recognize the rights of property owners within the historical boundaries of Chilili. The movie failed to properly verify land ownership, and even though the ownership issue had been settled years ago by the state supreme court, Sanchez and other land grant heirs still refuse the verdict. Sanchez had previously contracted with Avengers to shoot two scenes in Chilili.

Elwell sent the production company an invoice for the use and damage of his property, and eventually had to settle in court. Though the cost to rehab the land is estimated over $200 grand, he had to settle for the original $35,000 the film paid Sanchez. Then the movie makers had to sue the Chilili Land Grant to get their money back. The whole thing was a big debacle for the New Mexico film industry, but the real loser was Elwell, whose family land was totally destroyed. The movie set was completely taken down as well, so he was left with a huge mud pit basically.