County Considering Pitch to Hollywood

SANTA ANA — Orange County officials are expected to begin discussions with the Chamber of Commerce to establish a film commission designed to attract more film production like that of the current hit “Demolition Man” to county locations.

Like Los Angeles and San Diego, which have aggressively marketed their areas as backdrops for films and television shows, the county economy could reap millions of dollars by promoting its own beaches and cities to production companies, the county’s Environmental Management Agency said in a report released Tuesday.

According to the report, expected to receive the Board of Supervisors’ support Tuesday, the county’s “fragmented structure” of 32 local governments--most with their own set of location regulations--has often resulted in film executives and their projects deciding to spend their money elsewhere.

The maze of conflicting regulations and the lack of a marketing plan, officials said, has cost the county economy millions of dollars each year.

The latest survey conducted by the county found that film companies spent about $378,000 in Orange County in 1991. San Diego, meanwhile, took in an estimated $27 million.

Los Angeles County, the industry’s mecca, took in about $2.5 billion in overall benefits from Southern California filmmakers, the report shows.

“We are literally going to go to Hollywood and say, ‘We want you to come here,’ ” Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez said. “This is about marketing, outreach and luring business to this county.”

Under the proposal, the commission would be managed by the Orange County Chamber of Commerce and require as much as $200,000 in funding annually.

Although it has yet to be determined where the county would find the seed money, Vasquez defended the expenditure as an investment that could reap enormous rewards during hard economic times.

Vasquez said he hopes the commission can be in operation by Jan. 1. Chamber officials have already been briefed on the county’s proposal.

“I think we have a lot that is available to the industry,” said Tom Wilck, chairman of the county chamber. “We have terrific locations with a range of settings and backgrounds. But we haven’t been sufficiently aggressive in selling this area.”

With proper direction, Wilck said, future annual benefits to Orange County could rival those of San Diego, where the city’s Motion Picture and Television Bureau is also managed by the Chamber of Commerce.

Details about who would be selected to lead such a venture and how many staff members would be needed to operate the office have yet to be worked out.

Vasquez, a former member of the California Film Commission, who has long pushed for such an organization, said that streamlining the permit and fee process would be among the commission’s first orders of business.

Under the current system, production companies are sometimes required to obtain multiple permits to use the same location.

For example, the old Orange County Courthouse has for years been a popular filming location. But companies must obtain permits from both the county--for use of the building--and the city of Santa Ana--for parking concessions--to operate there.

“We’re not looking to raise fees,” Vasquez said. “We’re looking to create a friendly environment.”

The report estimates that production companies spend about $30,000 per day while filming on location. While filming portions of “Demolition Man” in Orange County in May and June, for example, Warner Bros. spent about $198,000.

Among the major expenditures were $50,000 for hotel rooms, $12,500 for catering services, $15,000 for gasoline and $42,000 for rentals and prop purchases.