Location, location, Episode III: Promoting ourselves

(The Daily Triplicate illustration/ Bryant Anderson).

By Kelley Atherton

There is no denying that California is the home of movies. There's even a landmark sign proclaiming it and a street filled with stars.

California is home to Hollywood, where aspiring actors and filmmakers come to make their movie dreams a reality.

It may not seem like it at times, but Del Norte County is part of the image that outsiders have of California —redwoods, ocean, mountains, rivers and movies. "Return of the Jedi" and "E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial," two of the highest-grossing films ever made, were partially filmed here.

If Del Norte redwoods were good enough for the likes of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, the county probably has what other filmmakers are looking for. Yet there is no film commission or office devoted to marketing the area for future films.

Local officials agree that a film commission that recruits filmmakers and helps them navigate local bureaucracies would be one more way to market Del Norte and boost the economy. But no one has made it a priority.

Film production generates billions of dollars for California and employs about 250,000 Californians. About 600 to 800 feature films are shot worldwide every year. The average cost of a feature film made by a major studio is $64 million. Studios spend roughly $50,000 a day filming scenes for a movie in areas outside of Los Angeles, according to the California Film Commission.

The Crescent City & Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce does act as a liaison for filmmakers, said executive director Gina Zottola.

"It's a great idea for the Visitor's Bureau, another way to market the area," she said.

Why not Del Norte County?

"We haven't moved to that point yet," said Jim Strong, chairman of the Visitor's Bureau Board of Directors.

It takes "incremental steps" to develop tourism, he added, citing the www.exploredelnorte.com Web site and establishing the North Coast Tourism Council with Humboldt, Mendocino, Sonoma and Marin counties as some of the first steps.

Strong said he wishes Del Norte could be more like Humboldt County.

"I'd eventually like us to be at that point, but we're still at the infant stages," Strong said, but added that a local film office is going on his to-do list.

However, to create a film commission, the Visitor's Bureau would first have to get permanent funding from the city and county governments, he said. There's also needs to be someone marketing Del Norte full-time.

"To take it to the next level requires an employee," Strong said.

David Finigan, chairman of the Board of Supervisors and the Tri-Agency Economic Development Authority, said the idea has been talked about, and a film commission could perhaps be under the umbrella of the EDA.

"That's something we need to take the lead on," he said.

Marketing film production

CFC has about 60 offices up and down the state in almost every county, to help with finding filming locations and acquiring permits. Del Norte is one of only a handful of California counties without one.

Neighboring counties Humboldt, Siskiyou, Trinity, Mendocino and Shasta all have one.

CFC produces "Attracting Film Production," a nifty handbook to starting a film commission available online at www.film.ca.gov.

"Increased local revenues, temporary jobs and an increased use of local services and supplies are some of the direct benefits your community may experience," the booklet states. "Secondary goals include strengthening local business and increasing exposure that may encourage other industries, such as tourism, to invest in local development."

How it's done is a chamber of commerce, city or county government or visitor's bureau forms a film development committee that includes business people, elected officials, government staff, environmental groups and police or sheriff's departments.

The next step is to establish a film production office and hire a liaison who promotes the area, contacts production companies and handles permits and accommodations when production companies come to town. Liaisons can also become members of FLICS (Film Liaisons in California, Statewide) through the CFC.

According to the CFC, the operating budget, excluding salaries, is typically about $25,000 and is funded fully or partially from sources like the Transient Occupancy Tax.

Another important consideration is the local services that film production crews need: hotels, restaurants and catering, transportation (rental cars, boats, planes), props and equipment rental, retail stores, banks and photo copying.

Mary Cruse, the commissioner for the Humboldt Film and Digital Media Commission, said the future of film commissions in California is changing. Other states offer incentives to filmmakers, except for California. Suddenly, this state isn't the obvious choice.

"So many film productions want to shoot here, but they go to Louisiana," Cruse said. "Before starting a film commission, anyone should check into the viability and future of film commissions (in California)."

The Humboldt commission is looking to bring in more commercial shoots, independent and feature films, she said, as well as foreign production companies. The sinking value of the dollar has made it cheaper for filmmakers from India, Japan or Europe to come to the U.S.

As for how Humboldt is doing, Cruse said this week she had six inquiries on locations and met with three filmmakers looking to do different projects.

Humboldt has a variety of locations to chose from. The film commission's Web site www.filmhumboldt.org offers photos of sites that resemble not just Northern California, but Scotland, New Zealand, Wyoming and New England.

Del Norte has similar locations, and more seclusion.

Everything rolled into one

"The landscape we have here — it's a natural environment for filmmaking," said Kelly Schellong, a Crescent City Council member who is also on the Visitor's Bureau Board of Directors. "The movies that have been filmed here speak for themselves."

She said that the role of the Visitor's Bureau is marketing the community, especially to those who want to invest money here, which film makers do by the millions of dollars.

Del Norters who were involved in past film projects here agree the county should be promoted more.

"It brings a whole new business into town that spends money," said Barbara Tryon, who worked in the costume department on the "Return of the Jedi."

"Jedi" employed a couple hundred Del Norters for about six weeks 26 years ago. The production company spent about $3 million on a few scenes in the movie.

Working on the movie financially helped out a 28-year-old Joe Gillespie, who was hired to be the stand-in for actor Harrison Ford. Del Norte provides endless opportunities for other movies, Gillespie said.

"We have one of the most fab environments on the West Coast," Gillespie said.

Del Norte has a wide range of images, Gillespie said, from the Pacific Ocean to the pristine Smith River to the redwoods to the mountains to the Tolowa Dunes.

"It's so unique," he said. "We should be marketing that uniqueness to Hollywood. That's not a bad idea."