ANAHEIM : City Hopes to Entice More Filmmakers to Its Various Scenic Virtues

Hollywood location scouts know that Anaheim Stadium, Disneyland and The Pond of Anaheim are interesting backdrops for film and video shoots.

Now the city wants to get the word out that Anaheim also has lagoons, hills, outdoor artworks, canyons and other scenic features.

“The topography of Anaheim is so diverse,” city spokesman Bret Colson said, “that there are a lot of ways we can market Anaheim to the film industry.”

The payoff, he said, is “a lot of increased economic activity that up to now has been largely overlooked.

“The average film crew brings $30,000 a day of economic activity to a city,” Colson said.

“For us to ignore that doesn’t make sense.”

To heighten the city’s visibility, Anaheim has been working closely with the Orange County Film Commission, Colson said.

And on Tuesday, the City Council granted final approval to a measure that will streamline the process for obtaining filming and videotaping permits.

The new procedure, based on a model provided by the California Film Commission, will allow production companies to obtain permits in just one day in many cases, Colson said, as opposed to several days or even weeks.

“This is going to meet their needs,” he said, “and make Anaheim very film-friendly.”

Along with increased income, the shooting of movies, TV shows and commercials should be good public relations for the city, Colson said.

“Tourists who go to San Diego still want to see where ‘Simon and Simon’ was filmed,” Colson said.

“If we can create that identity, that in turn is going to have a lot of long-term residual benefits.”