Effort to Retain Production Renewed
Film California First program slowly gains participants.
By DARRELL SATZMAN
Staff Reporter
Like most movie producers, Ben Liu spent a lot of time considering how he might save money before beginning work on his low-budget science fiction feature, “Deuces.” That included leaving California for a state where production costs were lower. Then he heard about Film California First.
Making use of rebates and free locations provided by the California Film Commission, the Sherman Oaks filmmaker believes he saved $20,000 for a film that was made in the low six figures.
“That’s a lot of money to us,” Liu said, who went so far as to film a scene in the Film Commission office. “We had the choice of spending one-day in a (private) office building or five days in a state building.”
Despite all the cries over how runaway production has taken a whack out of the state and local economies, the Film California First program, now completing its first year, is quietly gaining adherents like Liu.
If only more filmmakers knew it existed. Less than $6 million of the $15 million available in 2001 has been doled out.
“It really took four, five, six months before people started calling us before they made a film and saying ‘how can I use this to my advantage,'” said Karen Constine, director of the California Film Commission. “We’re trying to be more assertive about letting people know how much we want their business.”
That means hiring Los Angeles public relations firm Baker Winokur Ryder to develop a $550,000 marketing campaign (the ad budget will come out of the program’s overall $45 million, three-year appropriation).
Through California First, producers who film in the state can apply for rebates for permit and location fees, as well as the cost of hiring monitors like fire personnel, forest rangers and the California Highway Patrol. Monitors generally cost from $200-$400 per day, while location fees can easily run into thousands of dollars per day.
Beyond the money, state officials said that Film California First is helping demonstrate to producers many of whom are more interested in remaining close to home since Sept. 11 that California wants to support the film industry.
“It’s not meant to be the end all but it’s a positive message to filmmakers that the state government is willing to work with them,” said Norman Williams, assistant secretary of technology for the state Trade and Commerce Agency.
A companion program, the State Theatrical Arts Resource Partnership (STAR), makes a smattering of vacant or underutilized state buildings available for free or for a nominal fee.
So far, 815 producers have applied for and received rebates and roughly 200 applications are pending. The first rebates were sent out in mid-year, with the bulk of the applications from 2001 coming in the past few months. Many checks won’t be mailed until well into 2002.
Marketing program
“We’re trying to do a better job of getting the word out,” said Assemblyman Dario Frommer, D-Glendale, chairman of the Select Committee on the Future of the California Film Industry. “You can’t really look at the numbers as a benchmark because a lot of the productions that filmed this year won’t get their rebates until next year.”
Because less than the full amount funded was claimed in the first year of Film California First, the Legislature appropriated $5 million less or $10 million for fiscal 2001-2002. About $8 million of that was rolled over from fiscal 2000-2001.
Brent Swift, chairman of the Film & Television Action Committee, which recently applied to the Commerce Department for countervailing tariffs against Canadian productions, said the program has helped bring attention to the problem of runaway production.
“It’s a first step in trying to make California more film friendly,” Swift said. “But it is just a first step. It’s keeping some productions here, but it’s not bringing any back.”
Satisfied customers
Film California First was passed by the state Legislature in June 2000 on the heels of a Commerce Department study showing that the U.S. entertainment industry has been losing billions of dollars each year to Canada and other countries that offer producers employer tax credits and other financial incentives.
“This is exactly the kind of program that the government should do to encourage filmmakers to produce here,” said Steve Caplan, senior vice president of external affairs for the Association of Independent Commercial Producers. “It recovers direct costs associated with filmmaking, which has a direct effect on the bottom line.”
The growing roster of applicants includes major motion pictures productions such as “Planet of the Apes,” and upcoming films “Spiderman” and “Scorpion King,” the latter holding the Film California First record, having received rebates totaling $160,000.
Rene Veluzat said his production company, Rising Star Entertainment, saved about $50,000 on “The Long Ride Home,” roughly 4 percent of its $1.2 million budget. Veluzat also considered filming in Canada, but the desire to stay close to home combined with the savings from Film California First convinced him to stay in the state, he said.
“On this picture we shot for 20 days and the cost of (monitors) was averaging $600 a day, so that’s a lot of savings,” he said.
Ilt Jones, location manager for “The X-Files,” a Fox Television production, estimated he saved $100,000 on a handful of shows filmed between February and April. “It’s not an insignificant sum. It can be the difference between making an average show or superior show.”
