Del Norte readies for close-up

Film commission works on marketing

Was that Miley Cyrus speeding through Hiouchi?

Did Sasquatch just strike a pose?

Probably not, yet. 

Only a handful of film crews have made the trek to Del Norte County since E.T. landed and Ewoks roamed the redwoods 30 years ago.

The county’s new film commission hopes to change that soon.

Del Norte’s first ever film commissioner, Cassandra Hesseltine, delivered a progress report to the Crescent City Council on Monday, detailing efforts made since R.R.E.E.L. Inc., a non-profit group overseeing both filmDELNORTE and filmHUMBOLDT, secured a $10,000 contract with the Visitors Bureau in July. 

The website filmdelnorte.com launched this month, while a newsletter for industry professionals and location scouts goes out in January.

Before the cameras roll (and out-of-town wallets open to local vendors), Hesseltine is focused on marketing strategy, industry networking and smoothing out any kinks with infrastructure, such as permit protocol and creating a directory of local production resources, including hotels, equipment rentals, services and people interested in working on sets.

John Deere, National Geographic, FedEx, Marvel Studios and Boars Head Ham have all expressed interest in possibly filming or shooting print ads here, though nothing is definite, Hesseltine told the council.

A film adaptation of Aprilynne Pike’s best-selling young adult book, “Wings,” set in Crescent City and rumored to star Miley Cyrus, is expected to film in town and hit theaters by 2014.

The Discovery Channel already filmed a segment in Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park.

Hesseltine estimated that the “direct” money coming in from these type of productions in this area averages $5,000 per day, creating an “indirect” stimulus of $15,000 a day.

The “direct” dollars go to hotels, rentals, supplies, security and travel costs, while “indirect” dollars come from crew members hanging out, spending money, eating in restaurants and buying gifts.

“It’s one of those things that’s like, how we do we fund a film commission when we’ve got schools and roads and things that are very important to worry about? But if we can stimulate the economy, we can bring in some real benefits to the community,” she told the Triplicate.

Also head of the Humboldt film commission in Arcata, Hesseltine hopes Humboldt’s lengthy commercial filmography and more established reputation could bolster rather than compete with Del Norte.

“It will help each county by pulling our resources together,” she said.

Commercials and print ads may be the most realistic and lucrative targets for the area as commercial clients film quickly, spend a lot and often come back again. Unlike feature films, the setting for ads is usually more open to interpretation, Hesseltine said.

“Mostly what we are going to get is commercials. That’s our bread and butter in Humboldt,” she explained. 

Though with the rainy season before us, it’s unlikely Del Norte will see much in the way of lights, cameras or action until springtime.

For more information, visit www.filmdelnorte.com