NEWPORT BEACH : Liaison to Hollywood Knows Production

Want to film a yacht exploding in Newport Bay or an elephant dancing across the sand with Newport Pier in the background? Call Joe Cleary.

Cleary, with 30 years of experience in movie production, is Newport Beach’s film liaison to Hollywood.

Because of its beautiful beachfront and its efficient permit process, about 100 commercials and a smattering of movie scenes are filmed in the city each year, making it the most popular spot in Orange County for film crews.

Newport Beach was the first city in the county to hire a liaison to coordinate a range of duties, from scouting set locations to arranging for camera crews to film on residential streets. He even helps pick up trash after the actors and cameras are gone.

“We are kind of proud of the record here,” said Glen Everroad, who issues the permits to production companies.

Three years ago, Newport Beach was the setting for about 25 commercials per year. That figure is now up to 100. “That is because we have a Joe Cleary, who has 30 years of experience in the business and speaks the language,” Everroad said.

Cleary, 53, who looks much like author Kurt Vonnegut, has lived on the Newport shore for many years. Next to his kitchen is a stack of signs that say: “Film Production in Progress. We apologize for any inconvenience.” He considers the whole of Orange County his studio lot.

“What you have in Orange County is a location,” he said. “And in Los Angeles, that is where all the business is. Half of our problem is bringing the circus to town.”

This spring, Cleary was responsible for attracting a Volvo commercial and a Coppertone commercial to Newport Beach on the same day.

The three-day production cost Volvo more than $1 million, by Cleary’s estimate, and pumped thousands into the local economy.

Cleary, a native of New York, attended Orange Coast College and Cal State Fullerton to study film production. He never wanted to be a movie star.

“Just seeing people setting up lights is fascinating to me,” he said. “I have always wanted to be in production.”

In 1970, Cleary was wandering around Rome when he ran into a Federico Fellini film crew. He hung around the set until he was given something to do--gather dozens of motorcycles for a scene in “Roma.”

Cleary has a letter of recommendation written in English from the great Italian filmmaker: “When he got me a Havana cigar during a torrential lightning and thunderstorm, I knew he’d be more than a P.A. (production assistant).”

Since that time, Cleary has worked for Francis Ford Coppola on “Apocalypse Now,” which was filmed in the Philippine jungle. As a production assistant, Cleary had to collect more than 100 live machine guns from Filipino soldiers and empty each one of bullets so that they could be used safely as props in the film.

Cleary also worked on a scene from Coppola’s “Rumblefish” that was filmed behind Newport Elementary School.

“This business is in my blood,” he says.