Film Crews Could Learn Courtesy

A Hollywood film crew is stirring up neighborhood wrath again (“ ‘90210’ Crew: Return to Sender,” Calendar, July 29) and the director of the California Film Commission, Patti Archuletta, thinks she knows why.

“(The protest) is coming from residents who are not thinking globally or thinking Southern California . . . ,” Archuletta was quoted as saying. “The cachet of California, the lifestyle, is fueled by this industry.”

Gee, Patti, thanks for the civics lesson. Now that you fully understand Hollywood’s position, how about listening to us “locals.”

First, I’ll bet you’d be surprised to know that most of us understand the importance of local filming, both economically and symbolically. Most of us actually enjoy being a part of that.

The problem isn’t global economics or symbolism, it’s the behavior of the film crews when they work here. Pay attention, Hollywood, the solution is simple--but it’s easy to miss because it has nothing to do with the money or power producers and directors wield in the confines of a studio lot.

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Sure, Hollywood does spend thousands of dollars on filming permits and local governments appreciate that. But that money doesn’t buy the right to treat residents badly.

When you shoot in our neighborhoods, you become guests in our home. If you behave like good guests, most of your problems will vanish. That’s been the case in my South Pasadena neighborhood, which is often used as a film location. (The current dispute is in Hermosa Beach.) Respect for our homes would be nice, but, at the very least, we deserve common courtesy.

Besides being the decent thing to do, many crews know it works and they have no problems. Examples:

* Bill Cosby’s “Ghost Dad” crew introduced themselves to us by name, told us what they needed to do, asked how they could minimize the intrusion, offered us sodas and invited us to sit down and watch. And, when they weren’t busy during setups, Cosby, Kimberly Russell and others were available for snapshots, autographs and brief “hellos.”

* The “Beethoven” crew is back in the neighborhood filming the sequel. They’ve been quiet, friendly, they show the dogs and puppies to neighborhood kids, and say things like, “Hey, we’ll be here until 10 tonight, come on over and watch. I think you’ll enjoy it.”

Nothing complicated there, so why do so many crews behave so badly and give the entire industry a bad name?

The “Back to the Future II” crew comes to mind. They behaved like the German army invading Poland. Examples:

* “You can’t be here, this is a closed set!” We were standing on the sidewalk watching them work about 25 yards away in plain view on a public street, the one we live on. If they wanted a closed set, they should have stayed on the back lot.

* One crew member ran about 150 feet into our condos to demand our cable company stop installing wires. A smile and a simple, “Hey, we’ve got to shoot. Do you mind shutting off your equipment for about 15 minutes?” would have taken care of everything.

* Another crew member yelled at us for taking pictures on a “closed set”--again a public street, in plain view. Even we “locals” understand copyright infringement. But does Universal really think a snapshot for my mother-in-law in Wisconsin is a commercial threat? As a contrast, Mel Gibson, Bill Cosby and Jamie Lee Curtis didn’t object at all when they were here.

Most of us enjoy having crews here--it’s fun. I’ve even seen neighbors bring cookies to crews. To get along, simply remember the basics:

* Be good guests, be friendly.

* A local shoot impacts the entire neighborhood, not just the one or two houses you pay to use.

* We don’t work for you and we don’t owe you anything. Talk to us nicely; we’ll cooperate and help any way we can.

* You may work for Producer X or Director Y, but when we want to park our cars after a long day’s work and your stuff blocks our driveways, you’re accountable to us.

* It is not unreasonable for folks to ask for an autograph or snapshot when a movie star is in the neighborhood. It’s a small compensation for the disruption. We understand that stars are working, but there is a lot of down time between setups.

Pretty basic stuff, isn’t it, Patti?

And, Hollywood, we understand you have other location problems but this is the core of the issue. Don’t use global, economic or symbolic rationalizations to cloud the issue, and don’t blame us for your behavior.

Take a lesson from Bill Cosby’s crew--use courtesy and common sense. Folks will go out of their way to help you and encourage you to come back to the neighborhood. It really is that simple.

Oh, and wouldn’t that stop runaway production, improve local economies and reinforce “the cachet of California”?