Man Banks On Private Film Commission

Orange County has a booming local film commission. Forty-nine other counties in California also have film commissions.

But Ventura County, which the state film commission says is perfectly poised to capitalize on its proximity to Hollywood, says it lacks the resources to establish its own film commission.

Now, the owner of a Ventura public relations firm is trying to step into the breach, sinking his own money into creating a private, countywide commission to attract the movie industry.

Officials with the California Film Commission caution against such an approach, saying a private commission would not be eligible for public money and would not necessarily place the public’s interest first.

But John Lockhart of Halsted Communications is forging ahead, holding meetings and looking for backers, convinced he can help Ventura County become a bigger presence on the silver screen.

Lockhart, who serves as a member of the Fillmore Film Commission, hopes that by the end of 1996 his proposed countywide commission would be in full swing as a private and public partnership with a board of directors to include residents, representatives of the county, its 10 cities and business people.

He said he imagines a commission that would build a post-production office in Fillmore, publish a monthly magazine on filming in the county, compile an Internet database on the county’s potential film locations and award scholarships to two promising film and television students from this area.

“The entertainment industry is one of the fastest-growing industries in California, and considering our proximity to Los Angeles we should take advantage of that,” Lockhart said.

Although no one has yet committed to financially contribute to Lockhart’s commission, several cities and chambers of commerce said they support him in theory.

“I think it’s a great idea. We have some great assets in this county that have not been promoted,” Ventura Councilman Greg Carson said. “Film companies are on their own when they come here and a film commission can help facilitate their stay.”

County Supervisor John Flynn, Thousand Oaks Councilwoman Judy Lazar, Santa Paula Councilwoman Robin Sullivan and officials of the Oxnard and Conejo Valley chambers of commerce all said they will do whatever they can if the film commission intends to boost the local economy.

“If we are sure that the commission will bring in revenues to the county, I will lobby for the county to support it,” Flynn said. “But we can’t make a financial commitment until the commission is rolling.”

Michael S. Raydo, regional public affairs manager for GTE California Inc., said his company is willing to financially assist the commission, but at this point he can’t make a pledge because the commission is still in its embryonic stage.

“We all feel this is a good idea, but before we put GTE dollars down, we want to make sure we have a countywide consensus about it,” said Raydo, who has attended some of the commission’s initial meetings. “I want to make sure all the cities in the county support the commission.”

Lockhart held a preliminary commission meeting in September at the Oxnard Tower Club and he has another meeting scheduled for Thursday at the same site. He said his goal is to form a board of directors and begin a membership drive.

So far, Lockhart said he has spent about $2,000 to establish the commission and has hired Richard Mathieu from the San Jose Film & Video Commission to spearhead the local membership drive.

Lockhart has applied to turn the commission into a nonprofit organization. If the commission is ultimately formed, Lockhart said it would operate from his public relations agency’s office in downtown Ventura and it would staff an 800-telephone line that filmmakers and production companies could call.

It would also distribute brochures with photographs of Ventura County and conduct tours of the area as well as send representatives to trade shows in Los Angeles, he said.

The commission’s role would be to ease problems for movie makers by streamlining procedures for obtaining permits and working with local merchants and fire and police agencies, Lockhart said.

“The commission would work as a liaison for all the cities and unincorporated areas,” he said.

This is not the first attempt to form such a film commission in the county. Between 1990 and 1992, the Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce tried to set up a similar commission, but the project died because of a lack of money.

“While there was a strong amount of interest, there was a strong concern about the ability of everyone involved to generate funds for the commission,” said Thousand Oaks Councilwoman Judy Lazar, who worked on the project.

Patti Archuletta, director of the California Film Commission, said she is surprised that the county has yet to form a film commission.

“Ventura County is a natural for production settings, and it should be getting as much or more revenues [generated by the film industry] than any other county in California,” Archuletta said.

“I don’t know if Mr. Lockhart’s plan for a film commission will ever be materialized and endorsed by us, but I urge county and city officials to get involved, because a film commission can immensely help the county in its economic development,” she said.

Archuletta said for the state to endorse a local film commission, the agency would need to be under the umbrella of a public organization, such as a chamber of commerce, or a county or city government.

“Mr. Lockhart and us have common goals, that is, to increase film production in Ventura County. But we have reservations about a private entity underwriting a film commission,” Archuletta said, adding that she will meet with Lockhart in the next two weeks to discuss the commission.

Archuletta said Ventura County should look to Orange County as an example of a successful county film commission.

Indeed, since the Orange County Film Commission was formed in 1993, the number of films, television shows, still photography and commercials made in Orange County increased 500%, said Debi A. Hausdorfer, the commission’s marketing director.

That increased film work pumped $2 million into the Orange County economy and its total economic impact in fiscal year 1994-95 is estimated to be $6 million, Hausdorfer said.