LOCATION, LOCATION
High-Profile Shoots Highlight OC Film Production Gains This Year
By JENNIFER BELLANTONIO
Chances are you’ve run into a few Hollywood types if you live near the plaza at the Orange Circle.
We’re talking big names, such as Ben Affleck and Christina Applegate.
The stars were in Orange earlier this year to work on the Dreamworks Distribution LLC film, “Surviving Christmas,” which is set for a 2004 release.
And no, J-Lo wasn’t there to watch.
Producers spent more than $120,000 in permit and staff fees to shoot scenes in the plaza for three days, according to Orange County Film Commissioner Janice Arrington.
The Orange Circle is among the most popular spots in OC for movie backdrops.
“Surviving Christmas” is one of three big films that shot some footage there this year. The others: “First Daughter” starring Katie Holmes and Michael Keaton and “American Wedding” featuring Jason Biggs and some of the “American Pie” crew.
To be sure, OC’s film action pales in comparison to Tinseltown’s. Even Fox’s TV show “The O.C.” is mainly shot in Hermosa Beach, though recently some footage was taken in Newport Beach.
But local shooting days were up 24% to more than 846 for the fiscal year ending June 30, according to the commission, which is based at California State University, Fullerton’s Center for Entertainment and Tourism.
In all, more than 460 permits were handed out in OC for productions, up 3%. They were mainly for independent features, commercials, music videos and still photography.
“We were still suffering for a while from the slowdown caused by the 2001 terrorist attacks,” Arrington said. “But in the last fiscal year it has been picking up.”
Los Angeles, by comparison, counted 28,700 shooting days through the first eight months of the year (see related story, page 21).
A handful of film producers are currently scouting areas in OC, including in Dana Point, Arrington said.
But often they stick to a 30-mile radius around downtown Hollywood to save on costs, she said. Within the union-designated 30-mile limit, production companies aren’t required to pay for daily staff expenses such as per-diem meals, travel or hotel rooms.
“Productions with small budgets have more expenses if they leave that studio zone,” she said.
OC has eight cities that fall into the zone, including Buena Park, Brea, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach and La Habra, the location of “44 Minutes: Shootout in North Hollywood.”
That production shoot, held for four weeks in March, brought in more than $100,000 for the city of La Habra, Arrington said.
A number of local residents were extras in the film, and businesses sold producers supplies or rented out their shops, she added.
But OC is predominantly the staging area for TV commercials.
“You name a product, and we’ve had it,” Arrington said. “Whether it’s Miller Lite, Little Caesars Pizza, PacSun, Jenny Craig or Disneyland.”
Lake Forest-based Del Taco Inc. also is in the mix.
Tim Hackbardt, the Mexican fast food chain’s vice president of marketing, said that this past year the company tripled the amount of production done locally. The company shot commercials in Fullerton, Foothill Ranch, Anaheim, Orange and Irvine
And it’s not alone.
A number of local advertising agencies have created work for production and post-production shops.
“Over the last two and a half years, we’ve been shooting all over the globe,” said Joyce Ukropina, partner of Johnson/Ukropina Creative Marketing in Irvine. “But there’s nothing like home sweet home. You don’t have to chase the sun in good ‘ole OC. It will typically perform for us.”
The shop has shot commercials from Santiago Canyon to Newport Beach for a range of clients, including Jenny Craig Inc., The Toll Roads and Diedrich Coffee Inc.’s Gloria Jean’s Coffee brand. Johnson/ Ukropina usually taps Lyon Studios in Newport Beach for production work.
People used to say they couldn’t get “good talent in OC,” Ukropina said. “That’s not true.”
Meanwhile, Irvine’s Y & R; Cos., which does the bulk of its production work in Santa Monica, also has tapped local shops for a handful of projects. Orange-based Post Factory, which rents gear and studios to production companies and handles post-production work, did some work for Y & R;’s client Mattel Inc. about a year or so ago.
Costa Mesa-based Marshall Advertising & Design also tapped Post Factory to work on four commercials for client Yamaha Motor Corp. USA in Cypress.
“We’re providing the talent and the infrastructure to compete with groups in Santa Monica,” said Michael Boyd, executive producer at Post Factory.
A jump in demand prompted the shop to hire a handful of employees this year and expand its facility to include additional editorial facilities, Boyd said.
But other shops haven’t fared as well.
Mike Smith, president and creative director for Tustin-based Beard Boy Productions Inc., said 2002 was a “difficult stretch” for local production shops.
He said some shops closed, and there was a “dearth of activity” at various shooting stages and edit bays.
“In our opinion Orange County production is off anywhere from 25% to 30% from what it was at the end of the 1990s,” Smith said.
Among the casualties: Irvine-based Stun Gun; Irvine-based Hollywood South, which was bought by Merit/Andrew; and Santa Monica-based The Finish Line, which closed its 1,500-square-foot Costa Mesa office last summer. It was open less than a year.
“At the time, there seemed like a lot of opportunity,” said Jack Schaeffer, partner at The Finish Line, which is in the processes of closing its Santa Monica operations. “It was unfortunate.”
Post-production shops, including The Finish Line, felt the pinch after Bates USA West lost Fountain Valley-based Hyundai Motor America Inc.’s advertising account and closed its office last year.
That “was a huge source of revenue for several people,” Schaeffer said.
Since then, Ford Motor Co.’s Lincoln Mercury division, whose advertising is handled by Y & R;, moved its headquarters from Irvine back to Dearborn, Mich. That created holes for some post-production shops, such as Stun Gun, which worked on Lincoln projects.
But these days there are still more options available when it comes to OC production facilities, said Hank Blank, head of business development at Marshall Advertising & Design.
Although a number of local ad shops still head to Santa Monica for production work, others are sticking close to home.
“OC is a production mecca in its own right,” said Marla Friedler, executive producer of Post Modern Edit in Irvine. “We have some of the world’s leading ad agencies right here in our own backyard, and many of the people who work at these agencies want to shoot close to home.”
“I believe in supporting the home team,” Friedler said. “That includes OC locations, OC talent and OC crew whenever possible.”
Lights! Camera! Action?
Who says Orange County is a sleeper?
Here’s a look at some of the production action the area has seen this past year, according to the Orange County Film Commission.
The films:
& nbsp; “44 Minutes: Shootout in North Hollywood” in La Habra
& nbsp; “Surviving Christmas” at the Orange Circle
& nbsp; “First Daughter” at the Orange Circle
& nbsp; “American Wedding” at the Orange Circle and Chapman University
& nbsp; “The Ring” at the Orange County Register in Santa Ana
& nbsp; “Matchstick Men” at the Anaheim Convention Center.
TV shows:
& nbsp; “CSI: Miami” in Huntington Beach
& nbsp; “Las Vegas” in Dana Point.
& nbsp; “Switched” in Newport Beach
& nbsp; “The OC” in Newport Beach (pier and Fashion Island shopping center)
& nbsp; “The Monk” at Edison Field in Anaheim
