Extra Charge for Filming in Piru Is Sought

“Attack of the 50-Foot Woman,” with Daryl Hannah, was filmed here. So was “Heroes,” starring Dustin Hoffman, and more recently a pilot for a possible television series called “Weird Tales.”

Over the years, Piru’s historic downtown has played the part of Small Town U.S.A, circa 1950, in countless television shows, music videos and feature films.

But officials now say that so much filming goes on in the town--in spite of being hard hit by the Northridge earthquake--that it has become disruptive to its 1,600 residents.

Indeed, every time a movie crew is filming, the entire community is transformed into a studio back lot, interrupting traffic and forcing some residents to reschedule trips to the grocery store or post office.

“They just take over our town and then we don’t get to use our services,” said Alfonso Gaitan, president of Piru’s Neighborhood Council.

To help compensate for the inconvenience, the county Board of Supervisors will consider at its meeting on Tuesday charging movie companies an additional fee of $325 a day for the privilege of filming in Piru.

Proceeds from the new fee would go right back to the Neighborhood Council to help pay for community improvements, said Supervisor Maggie Kildee, who proposed the fee. Kildee’s district includes the incorporated community.

Patti Archuletta, director of the California Film Commission, which promotes the film industry, said she believes the proposed fee is reasonable and warranted.

But Archuletta stressed that she hopes this does not “trigger a domino effect” in other Ventura County communities. She said Piru’s situation is unique because the town is so small and has few roads in and out of the downtown area, where most filming takes place.

“We believe it would head off a lot of problems and improve community relations,” said Archuletta, who met with Piru residents last week to discuss the fee. “It seems a small price to pay and I think the industry would be happy to do it.”

Production companies already pay the county $150 for a film permit and another $150 for every day of filming. So a two-day shoot in Piru would jump from $450 to $1,100 with the new fee.

But Frank Ugolini, a county planning official who handles film permits, said he doesn’t believe that the new fee will deter business.

He said Piru is popular as a shooting location not only because of its “1950s look” but because it is relatively close to Hollywood. He said that this in turn helps reduce costs because film crews do not have to stay overnight.

Despite last year’s earthquake, which devastated much of the downtown area, movie and television companies spent a total of 26 days filming in the community in 1994, Ugolini said. This compares to 39 days in 1993.

But Ugolini said that perhaps the most popular film location in the unincorporated area of the county is in Hidden Valley and Lake Sherwood near Thousand Oaks. Last year, production crews spent a total of 149 days filming in the area.

The area’s horse ranches, white fences and winding roads make it particularly attractive for car commercials, Ugolini said.

“I’d say about 75% of the car commercials you see on television are made in Lake Sherwood,” he said.