Filmed on Location Here, They Hope

For decades, the film industry has immortalized the coast and skylines of Los Angeles County, but the cities, canyons and beaches of Orange County have seldom seen the spotlight.

Now, enticed by big production budgets, Orange County wants to be a player too.

With officials on hand from the California Film Commission and the private sector, Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez introduced plans Wednesday for the county’s new Film Office during a Newport Beach press conference.

The office will promote Orange County locales and landmarks to filmmakers who may be tired of often-seen Los Angeles sites, and will work to make the county user-friendly for the movie industry.

Vasquez said that luring movie-makers to Orange County could pump millions into the local economy, and heighten the area’s visibility to film and television audiences nationwide.

The goal, he said, would be to duplicate the success of the San Diego County film office, which in 1992 used a $362,000 budget to lure filmmakers who ended up spending more than $27 million locally. In Orange County, film producers spend about $200,000 annually.

“We’re not even in the same ballpark,” Vasquez said. “We may turn out to be the best-kept secret in Southern California for filmmakers. The potential is almost unlimited.”

Orange County has recently gotten a taste of Hollywood, with Harrison Ford and Willem DaFoe in the area last month filming their next feature, “Clear and Present Danger.” Last year, the crew of “Demolition Man,” an action film starring Sylvester Stallone, spent 10 days shooting in Orange County, spending about $33,000 a day, county officials said.

The Orange County Film Office will be operated as a private-public partnership, with the county putting up $50,000 to $70,000 for the program’s budget, and the Orange County Chamber of Commerce and Industry providing office space, computers, volunteers and other assistance.

The office’s staff will organize tours of Orange County for movie-makers, visit Hollywood to promote the area and try to set up a standardized permit process among the county’s 31 cities to make location filming easier, office director Cristi Silverberg said. The office will also field calls from movie industry members seeking a certain type of setting.