As we reported two weeks ago, Gold Rush father and son mining team Dakota Fred Hurt and Dustin Hurt will not be returning for the show’s fifth season after parting ways with Discovery. As we also previously reported, Fred and Dustin’s mining adventures would not be going undocumented as they were reportedly filming with a different production crew, although details about the project were unavailable at the time.
This weekend an official announcement was made via Deadline that the Hurts are going to be the subject of a feature-length documentary directed by Kirk Roos titled All That Glitters! “It was time for me to venture off into something more realistic,” Fred says, “and I left the show on my own terms, and that’s all I can say.” (We’re guessing this comment is in reference to reports that Fred left Discovery after requesting a raise that the network declined.) “Now we are going to show some true-life excursions my son and I are tackling,” Fred adds.
Kirk Roos, whose impressive film-making resume includes producing The Brass Teapot and directing the PBS documentary American Herro, shared why he thinks fans are so interested in continuing to follow Fred. “At 71, Fred’s story is one of survival and perseverance,” he says. “There’s a human nature element at play here, and more than just gold mining.”
Kirk tweeted a response to the Deadline article on Saturday:
Thx @Deadline! The journey has begun! # driving. #filmmaking. #gold. #Alaska. @DakotaFredHurt! #seeyasoon. #allthatglitters #documentary
— Kirk Roos (@KirkRoos) July 5, 2014
“Fred and Dustin have a loyal following,” family friend and commercial producer Peder Rice says. “The fans are looking forward to their progress, and in reality shows there’s only so much room to explore backstory and details, so capturing this waterfall diversion in this documentary is key.”
All That Glitters will be produced by Rice’s PR&A Communications, and Roos’ Badlands Features. It is unknown at this point what network (or streaming service) will air the documentary.
So are you excited about All That Glitters? I know Dakota Fred Hurt is!!!
UPDATE – Fred has since shared his explanation for why he left Gold Rush! Click the link to check it out!
