Industry News :: You oughta be in pictures

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By Niesha Lofing -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Sunday, November 27, 2005
Story appeared in South placer roseville section, Page N1

Placer County is well known and beloved by skiers, endurance runners and fruit festival enthusiasts, but the county landscape is becoming somewhat of a celebrity among another set - the Hollywood crowd.

From the rural roads of Sheridan to the glistening blue water of Lake Tahoe, Placer County is fast becoming a popular location within the film industry for shooting commercials, documentaries and movies.

The Placer-Lake Tahoe Film Office has issued 29 film permits so far this year - the busiest year to date in terms of permits issued - and that number is expected to grow by the year's end.

Film production this year has generated $1.3 million in revenue within the county, said Beverly Lewis, director of the county's film office.

Placer County's diverse landscape and visible season changes make it an ideal location for filming, she said.

"One of the beauties of our county is that it's a four-season location," Lewis said. "We had a car commercial a few years ago that shot their whole year of commercial campaigns at the same time. We got all four seasons shot in one weekend in Placer County."

Placer County also has served as a stand-in for more exotic locales. In 2001, Foresthill was used to film a Venezuela scene in the film "Dragonfly," starring Kevin Costner.

Placer County also has been featured in classic films such as Charlie Chaplin's "The Gold Rush," "The Godfather: Part II" and "A Place in the Sun."

Two of the most recited movie titles associated with Placer County in recent years, however, are "Phenomenon," starring John Travolta, and "XXX," starring Vin Diesel.

Much of "Phenomenon" was filmed in Old Town Auburn, and a much-talked-about scene in "XXX" was filmed at the Foresthill Bridge. In that scene, a red Corvette plunges off the bridge.

"Placer County has quite a lot to crow about over the years," Lewis said.

In recent years, TV commercials have constituted the bulk of shooting taking place in the county, primarily because California is losing productions to other states and countries offering tax breaks to production companies who film there.

An estimated $10 billion nationwide has been lost as a result of increased production costs, Amy Lemisch, director of the California Film Commission said, citing a U.S. Department of Commerce report.

The state Legislature is considering a bill - AB 777 - that would grant tax breaks for production companies as an incentive to keep production in the state. The bill has been roundly criticized by some as being special-interest pork for a wealthy industry.

While the first decision regarding where to shoot a production comes from a creative perspective, the second factor is financial, Lemisch said.

"Nowadays, the second thing people are thinking about are incentives," Lemisch said. "The competition has exploded over the last couple years with regions outside of California."

Despite the lure of tax breaks elsewhere, California remains a popular place to film, she said.

Outside of Los Angeles, where the bulk of television shows are shot, Orange County, Ventura County and the Bay Area are the most popular, Lemisch said.

Placer County is well liked because of its "gorgeous scenery," she said.

"It also has that small-town look and quaint feel," she said.

John Dunlap, Gold Country region commissioner for the California Travel and Tourism Commission, said the county's growth also may contribute to increased popularity among production companies.

"People's relocating to Placer County is showing off the beauty of the county, and that's getting noticed by people in the film industry," Dunlap said.

Jof Hanwright, a freelance location manager for production companies, has led several commercial and advertising productions to Placer County.

The latest commercial Hanwright worked on that filmed in Placer County was for Suzuki's 2006 advertising campaign. The automobile company filmed for two days on private property near Donner Summit. Locations in Sacramento and Sonoma also were used, he said.

Shooting in Placer County, and Northern California, is "kind of ideal because we can visually take a trip across America in a three-hour drive," he said.

"Placer County is a wonderful place to shoot," he said. "There are really some gems there."

In the immortal (and slightly altered) words of Gloria Swanson, Placer County is ready for it's close-up, Mr. DeMille.

ONLINE
To see a more complete list of movies filmed in Placer County, go to www.placer.ca.gov/business/films/shot-in-county.htm

About the writer:

The Bee's Niesha Lofing can be reached at (916) 773-6846 or nlofing@sacbee.com.