Muted joy over jump in location film shoots in L.A. last month

Annette Bening, Al Pacino, Ed Harris and several other celebrities helped power a surge in feature film shoots on the streets of Los Angeles last month, but film industry officials were hardly star struck.

Thanks to a flurry of low-budget celebrity-packed pictures, location shoots jumped 74% in April over last year, continuing double-digital gains from the first quarter of the year, according to data from FilmL.A. Inc., the nonprofit group that handles film permits for the city and county.

But the welcome news was tempered by the fact that most were features costing less than $20 million that don’t pack the same economic punch as big studio movies that mostly film in Louisiana, Georgia and other states with richer incentives.

California offers a credit of up to 25% of qualified production expenses, but the credit applies only to movies with budgets lower than $75 million.

What’s more, feature film activity, while up by double digits this year, remains a fraction of what it was during its peak more than a decade ago. And in a development that is more worrisome for Los Angeles, location filming for television shows — long a key driver of economic activity in the entertainment sector — continued to decline.

Production days for television shoots dropped 17% in April, after a 9% falloff in the first quarter, a trend that industry officials attributed to competition from states like New York, which hosted more than a dozen pilots this year. New York allocates $420 million annually to TV and movie production — four times as much as California.

“It’s a continuation of a trend we’ve seen for a long time," said FilmL.A. Inc. President Paul Audley. “The truth is California has put its toe in the water but really hasn’t become fully competitive to bring back the large features and TV dramas that produce the most spending and the most number of jobs for Californians.”

Audley said the California Legislature’s decision last year to extend the state tax credit by only one year instead of five sent the wrong message to the industry. A bill to extend the program five more years will be taken up by lawmakers this month.

“We need to see them make a true commitment to the industry," Audley said of the state lawmakers. “New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg routinely brags about how much business New York is taking from California.”

Although limited in scope, California’s program is having some effect in spurring local filming. Two of three new feature films that began filming in L.A. last month — the Lakeshore Entertainment comedy “Stand Up Guys” and the independently produced “The Look of Love” — each received approval for a state film credit.

“Stand Up Guys,” which stars Pacino and Christopher Walken in a story about aging con men, received approval for a $2.4 million credit, according to the California Film Commission.

“The Look of Love," a romantic comedy with Bening, Harris and Robin Williams, received an $800,000 credit. The production, which began its 26-day-shoot early last month, has filmed in multiple locations, including Mar Vista, La Canada Flintridge, Bergamot Station in Santa Monica and Aliso Beach in Orange County.

The crew will film in Venice this week, said Mike Fantasia, a veteran location manager who has worked on big-budget movies such as “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” and “Green Hornet.”

“The movie is set here so it would have been hard to film anywhere else," said Fantasia, mulling offers to work on films in North Carolina and Florida. “It’s great to be working at home.... All the big boys are filming out of town.”

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—Richard Verrier

Photo: Al Pacino, seen holding an Emmy Award in 2010, is starring in a "Stand Up Guys," a movie filming in Los Angeles. Credit: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times.

Where the cameras roll

Sample of neighborhoods with permitted TV, film and commercial shoots scheduled this week. Permits are subject to last-minute changes. Sources: FilmL.A. Inc., cities of Beverly Hills, Santa Clarita and Pasadena. Thomas Suh Lauder / Los Angeles Times

On Location: Overall location filming down 2% in 1st quarter in L.A.

Feature film activity on the streets of Los Angeles rebounded in the first quarter of this year, but the gains were offset by a continued falloff in television shoots in the region.

Location filming for movies generated 1,019 production days in the first quarter, up 16% over the same period a year ago as the city and county benefited from several smaller movies, including Millennium Films' and Eclectic Pictures' "Lovelace," starring Amanda Seyfried and James Franco in a story about the late porn star Linda Lovelace.

That was a welcome turnaround from the fourth quarter of 2011, when feature production dropped 26%, according to data from FilmL.A. Inc., which handles shooting permits on behalf of the city and county. Commercial production continued to grow, rising 11% in the quarter.

But the increase in features and commercials wasn't enough to prevent a 2% drop in overall location filming. TV dramas and reality TV each fell 19% in the quarter, which also saw an 11% drop in pilot activity. The pilot season typically runs from February through April and has been slower than normal.

Fox and CBS have ordered fewer pilots this year because their schedules are more stable and they need fewer replacement shows. The slowdown also comes as L.A. continues to lose business to rival locations, especially New York. That state, which allocates about $400 million a year in film tax credits -- four times as much as California -- had a record year for film production in 2011, with 23 prime-time series. About 13 pilots are expected to be filmed in New York City this year.

"We continue to feel the sting of last year's loss of television dramas and a softening in the reality production segment overall," FilmLA president Paul Audley said in a statement.

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-- Richard Verrier 

Photo: James Franco will play Hugh Hefner in a film biopic about Linda Lovelace entitled “'Lovelace.” Credit: Mark Mainz / Getty Images

Where the cameras roll

Sample of neighborhoods with permitted TV, film and commercial shoots scheduled this week. Permits are subject to last-minute changes. Sources: FilmL.A. Inc., cities of Beverly Hills, Santa Clarita and Pasadena. Thomas Suh Lauder / Los Angeles Times

On Location: Soderbergh brings 'Magic Mike' to L.A.

 
With his latest pandemic thriller “Contagion” enjoying critical praise and generating more than $50 million in ticket sales, Steven Soderbergh has already started rolling the cameras on his next project, and this time, he’s keeping it in town.

The Oscar-winning director, who hasn’t shot a film primarily in L.A. since 2006’s “The Good German,”  recently began production on “Magic Mike,” a comedy about male strippers living in Tampa, Fla., at Mulligan’s Family Fun Center in Torrance. The five-week shoot, which will mostly film in L.A. with some on-location filming to take place in Florida, has since shot scenes in Hollywood and Studio City and at Dockweiler Beach, according to FilmL.A. Inc., the nonprofit that handles film permits.

Soderbergh’s filming locations have spanned several states and countries over his lengthy career, which began more than two decades ago with the cult classic “Sex, Lies and Videotape.” “Contagion” was shot primarily in Illinois, a state the director has also used for filming parts of “Ocean’s Eleven,” “Ocean’s Twelve” and “The Informant!” His next film to hit theaters, “Haywire,” a spy thriller starring Channing Tatum that is scheduled for a Jan. 20 release, was shot largely in Ireland.

“Magic Mike,” is based on Tatum’s early life as an exotic dancer in Tampa and has Tatum playing the title character, Mike Martingano, a veteran stripper who takes a newbie dancer, played by Alex Pettyfer, under his wing. Matthew McConaughey, Olivia Munn, Joe Manganiello and Elvis Presley’s granddaughter, Riley Keough, will also star in the film.

The privately financed project does not yet have domestic distribution and is being produced by Nick Wechsler, Gregory Jacobs, Tatum and Reid Carolin, who also wrote the script.

A publicist for the film said producers were unavailable for comment.

After “Magic Mike,” Soderbergh is planning to direct the Warner Bros. film “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” based on the 1960s television series and scheduled to begin shooting in February, and the biopic “Liberace” about the flamboyant pianist, scheduled to start filming in June.

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On Location: Commercial shoots in L.A. post big gains for third week in a row

-Overall, on-location shoots in Los Angeles edged up 4% last week, fueled by a flurry of commercial filming.

Commercial shoots for Toshiba, Procter & Gamble and other national advertisers generated 137 production days for the week ending June 12, up 56% from the same period a year ago.

Commercial filming on local streets and non-certified sound stages has been up by double digits in the last three weeks, according to the latest data from FilmL.A. Inc., which handles film permits for the city and unincorporated areas of the county.

After two weeks of consecutive gains, production days for feature films declined 4%, for 131 production days, while television activity dipped for the second consecutive week, down 7% compared with a year ago, with 302 production days.

This week, the TV show "Sons of Anarchy" is scheduled to be filming in Sun Valley, Showtime's "Dexter" is to shoot in Hollywood and the crew from the ABC Family show "Switched at Birth" is to be on location in the Santa Susana Mountains.  For more details, see the accompanying On Location map.

-- Richard Verrier

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On-location film production flat last week in L.A.

On-location film production was as flat as Wilshire Boulevard last week, with overall production days down 1% compared with the same period a year ago, according to FilmLA Inc., the nonprofit film permitting group.

One production day is defined as a single crew's permission to film at a single location in a 24-hour period.

Features generated 106 production days, down 5% from the same week in 2010. Major films currently shooting on location in L.A. include "Welcome to People," a DreamWorks drama starring Chris Pine, Olivia Wilde and Michelle Pfeiffer; and Twentieth Century Fox's sci-fi thriller "NOW" with Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried and the fourth installment of the "Spider-Man" series from Sony Pictures.

Commercial activity, which began to slow in the fourth quarter, was also down 5% with 174 production days, while TV production was up slightly at 1% with 425 days. 

Local TV production has been fueled by such shows as NBC's drama "The Event," and FX's crime series "Justified" and the ABC crime drama "Castle."

Although commercial production is up nationwide as advertisers spend more as a result of the improved economy, L.A.'s share of commercial filming has declined in recent years as other states such as New Mexico, New York and Illinois grab more of the business.

For more details on what's filming where, see the accompanying chart.

 -- Richard Verrier

Photo: Chris Pine is stars in the DreamWorks movie "Welcome to People," which is currently filming in L.A. Credit: Kevin Winter / Getty Images
 
 

 

On Location: Film survey ranks Griffith Park, downtown warehouse and former hospital among busiest sites in 2010

When producers of the ABC game show “Downfall” needed a building from which to hurl dishwashers, gumball machines and other “prizes,” they settled on a warehouse on the east side of downtown Los Angeles.

The six-story building on Terminal Street, near the corner of 7th and Alameda streets, was among the most popular on-location filming sites in the region in 2010, along with a long-shuttered hospital in Boyle Heights and a faux Route 66 pit stop on the edge of the Mojave Desert, according to a recent survey by the nonprofit group FilmL.A. Inc., which handles film permits for location filming in city of L.A. and much of L.A. County. The data track filming done outside the major studios on city streets and on soundstages that aren’t certified by the fire department.

Topping the list of the year’s 10 most popular sites was Griffith Park, a favorite of location scouts because of its diverse terrain that spans more than 4,210 acres, drawing shoots from such TV shows as CBS’ “Criminal Minds” and “NCIS: Los Angeles.”

More surprising was No. 2 on the list: the six-story building on Terminal Street, a former manufacturing facility built in 1913 that is housed in the same complex as clothing designer American Apparel Inc.

Now called Central City Studio, the building has been remodeled with various stage sets. Along with a 10,000-square-foot warehouse, it includes a “fully dressed” hospital, complete with emergency room and morgue.

Last year, the studio catered heavily to low-budget cable shows, including multiple episodes of the Spike TV’s “1,000 Ways to Die,”  Discovery's Fit & Health channel series “I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant” and Animal Planet's "I'm Alive”

“I’m an RN so this is my area of expertise,’’ said Lucy Doty, who opened the facility a year and half ago and also serves as a medical consultant on shows.

Several low-budget feature films, including a drama about the homeless called “Monday” also shot there last year. “The building has excellent space for filming, it gives you a gritty, industrial look and it’s relatively cheap,’’ said Crystal Wortman, location manager for “Monday.”

Another downtown venue, the 20-acre Los Angeles Center Studios, was the third-busiest site for on-location filming. A private street runs through the property and it is often used for filming by the TV shows that are based at the studio, including AMC’s “Mad Men” “Law & Order: Los Angeles” and TNT’s “Southland,” said Sam Nicassio, the studio’s president.

“We try to continually add new sets to keep our location fresh,” Nicassio said.

In Boyle Heights, the former Linda Vista Community Hospital attracted several independent films and TV shows in 2010, and has played host over the years to such medical dramas as “E.R.” and movies that included director Wolfgang Petersen’s 1995 sci-fi thriller “Outbreak” about a deadly virus.

“What makes it a great location is that it’s large, you can really get lost in there, and it’s foreboding,’’ said Daniel Schwartz, executive producer of Travel Channel’s “Ghost Stories,” which filmed an episode at the hospital last year entitled “The Ghost of Dr. Edwards.”

Also among the most popular filming desinations last year was a desert outpost east of Lancaster called Club Ed, which includes a 1950s-style diner, motel and gas station built as a set for an obscure 1991 Dennis Hopper movie “Eye of the Storm.” The 12-acre ranch is popular for fashion shoots, commercials, music videos and some TV shows, such as “Southland.”

“I’m not going to be a millionaire out of it,’’ said ranch owner Randy Czajkowski, adding that his facility generates revenue of $300,000 to $550,000 a year. “But it’s a good business.”

-- Richard Verrier

Photo: Crew members get ready to film a scene for "NCIS: Los Angeles" on Ocean Front Walk in Venice. Venice Beach attracted 96 production days and 90 shoots in 2010, including the feature film "The Good Doctor." Credit: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times

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On-location filming jumps 15% in 2010, but L.A. still not out of the woods

 
Los Angeles recorded significant gains in on-location filming activity in 2010, powered by economic recovery, a revival in television comedies and state tax credits that helped to lure new business.

But even with the increased activity, feature production remained less than half what it was in 1996, underscoring the long-term challenges L.A. faces as it struggles to keep movies and TV shows from leaving Southern California, according to data from FilmL.A. Inc., the nonprofit group that handles film permits for the city and many unincorporated areas of the county.

FilmL.A. recorded 43,646 total production days in 2010, up 15% from 2009. A production day is defined as a single crew’s permission to film a project at a single location in a 24-hour period. Overall activity rose 26% in the fourth quarter over the same period in 2009.

Though the data do not track filming on major studio lots, it's viewed as a barometer of overall economic activity in L.A.’s entertainment sector, which employs more than 200,000 people.

The upswing signaled a continued recovery from the pummeling the sector took in 2009, when production posted its steepest annual drop on record as studios cut back the number of films they released, advertisers shot far fewer commercials and filmmakers took their business to other states that offered more attractive tax credits and rebates.

Leading the growth was commercial shoots, which saw a 28% increase in production days last year, the category’s largest year-over-year increase since tracking began in 1993. The year's total of 6,778 production days was the highest since commercial production reached its peak in 2005.

Though growth slowed in the fourth quarter, climbing only 2.5%, the year was marked by an increase in orders for spots by Chrysler, Verizon and AT&T and other advertisers amid signs of an improving economy.

On-location television shoots also mounted an impressive comeback, increasing 50% in the fourth quarter and 12% for the year for a total of 17,833 production days.

The gains were fueled by a continued growth in reality TV programming, which rose 47% with 7,341 production days, making it the single largest TV category; and sitcoms, which rose 78% for the year, including 227% in the fourth quarter.

TV comedies have been making a comeback, thanks to the popularity of such shows as ABC’s “Modern Family” and FX's "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," which are L.A.-based. New sitcoms shooting locally include MTV’s “The Hard Times of RJ Berger," Showtime’s “Shameless” and NBC’s “The Paul Reiser Show.”

However, TV dramas fell 19% for the year, reflecting the cancelling of such shows as Fox’s “24” and NBC's “Heroes.”

Feature films rose 8% for the year and 28% for the fourth quarter with the increases attributed to the state’s film tax credit program, which took effect in mid-2009. The program provides a 20% to 25% credit on qualified production expenses and can be used to offset state income or sale tax liabilities.

The state program attracted dozens of movies to L.A. last year, including the upcoming releases “Rampart,” “The Good Doctor," produced by and starring Orlando Bloom, and Walt Disney’s “The Muppets," with tax-incentive productions accounting for a quarter of all production days in the year.

Despite the improvement, the number of feature film production days in 2010 -- 5,378 --  was still down 62% from its peak in 1996, reflecting L.A.’s  loss of market share, not only to foreign cities such as Vancouver and Toronto, but also to other U.S. locations, notably Detroit, New Orleans and New York.

In response to the migration, city officials and film promoters have been grappling with ways to keep filming at home, including recently launching a marketing campaign touting the industry’s economic benefits to the L.A. economy.

-- Richard Verrier

Photo: Ed O'Neill, left, Rico Rodriguez and Sofia Vergara in the L.A.-based "Modern Family." Credit: Adam Larkey / ABC

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Spider-Man and Cameron Crowe movies give L.A. production a jolt

Angelenos have good reason to be despondent about the flight of filming from California.

After all, the upcoming alien invasion movie “Battle: Los Angeles,” was actually shot in Baton Rouge and Shreveport, La., not Southern California. “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol”  has been filming in Dubai; Prague, Czech Republic; and Vancouver, Canada. 

Marvel Studios selected London over Los Angeles as home base for filming of its comic book hero movie “Captain America: The First Avenger.”

And New Zealand served as the backdrop for Jellystone Park in the Warner Bros. current 3-D movie “Yogi Bear.”

But for all the hand-wringing about film flight -- film industry promoters recently unveiled a $135,000 marketing campaign to market the local movie and TV industry -- at least two major-studio feature films are staying close to home, providing some relief to a sector that has been buffeted by job losses.

Sony Pictures recently began filming its fourth installment of the Spider-Man series locally, and 20th Century Fox’s “We Bought a Zoo,” starring Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson, is preparing to begin production in Thousand Oaks next month.

For below-the-line crews who’ve been hard hit by the effects of runaway production and studios making fewer feature films, the film projects come at an opportune time.

"It’s tremendous to have these films because you’re talking about hundreds of jobs that will stay in the area," said Ed Duffy, business agent for Teamsters Local 399, which represents location managers, casting agents and studio drivers. 

The latest Spider-Man film alone will employ nearly 1,000 crew members, including construction workers building sets for the production, which takes up seven stages on the Sony Pictures lot.

Sony began its 90-day film shoot for the Spider-Man film two weeks ago, mainly on the lot but also on location: including at the Henry Fonda Theater in Hollywood and Immanuel Presbyterian Church in mid-Wilshire.

Scheduled for release in 2012, the Spider-Man film has an entirely new cast (British actor Andrew Garfield, replaces Tobey Maguire) and is being directed by Marc Webb at less than half the budget of the previous Spider-Man film,  which cost more than $250 million to make.

While the production will include two weeks in New York (where the story is set), the bulk of filming will occur in Los Angeles on the Sony lot and various locations around town, from South Pasadena to San Pedro to Woodland Hills.

Sony had ample incentive to select L.A. as its primary destination.

“This the fourth Spider-Man production we have shot primarily in Los Angeles and for good reason," Sony Pictures Entertainment spokesman Steve Elzer said. “The crews here are the best in the world but there is a comfort level in producing a project of this size and scope on your own backlot. “

Basing the film on the lot also makes it easier for producers to interact with Sony’s in-house visual effects team, and gives the studios greater control of quality and security, Elzer added.

Nonetheless, Sony had considered other locations and filmmakers met with city and film industry officials this summer seeking assurances that they would be able to film key scenes downtown. “They wanted assurances that a film like that could be made in L.A." said Paul Audley, president of FilmL.A. Inc., the nonprofit film permit group.

In Thousand Oaks, crews have been building a zoo on a private ranch as they prepare to begin a 50-day shoot next month for “We Bought a Zoo.”

Directed by Cameron Crowe, the film is based on the bestselling memoir of the same name about an Englishman who build a wildlife preserve to care for some 200 animals.

-- Richard Verrier