Ventura Hoping for Bigger Role in Upcoming Movies

Hoping to lure Hollywood movie and television crews to local beaches and historic locales, the City Council has decided to reduce or waive the permit fees it charges film companies to use Ventura as a backdrop.

The council’s action is the latest attempt to market Ventura County as a film-friendly region.

Piru residents recently sought the advice of film and television studios on how to rebuild their earthquake-damaged town as a desirable movie location.

And last month, a group of community and business leaders met to discuss the creation of a film commission that would attract movie and television crews to the region and keep them happy once they arrive.

“The industry is hungry for new areas and vistas,” said Richard Newsham, Ventura’s community relations official who works as a liaison with production managers.

By reducing the city’s fees, Ventura officials hope to entice some of those hungry studios.

Ventura currently charges a permit fee of $150 a day or $250 a week to film within the city limits, which is less than other areas of Ventura County. A two-day shoot in Piru, for example, would cost a production company $1,100.

But as Ventura’s reputation has grown among location scouts as an inexpensive place to film, city officials have struggled with a permitting process that leaves little flexibility for long-term negotiations with film studios.

“We found that the fee structure is fairly rigid,” Economic Development Manager David Kleitsch told the City Council Monday night. “As a result, it gets us in a position where we are not competitive.”

Kleitsch said that by lowering or eliminating some permit fees, the city could lure film and television projects whose crews would pour money into city coffers via the tax on hotel room rentals and increased sales tax revenue.

“There are other benefits other than fees,” Kleitsch said.

San Diego learned that lesson about 20 years ago when the city and the county agreed to waive permit fees altogether, and the results have been staggering.

In fiscal 1994-95, film and television projects pumped $50 million into San Diego’s economy, and in 1995-96 profits are expected to total about $55 million, according to San Diego Film Commissioner Cathy Anderson.

“There were over 35,000 room nights in hotels and 60,000 jobs created,” Anderson said of the 1994-95 filming season.

“A lot of people think they are coming for the weather, but what we hear most frequently is the cost factor,” she said. “We don’t have a film permit, we don’t have a film cost--it is a marketing tool.”

At the recommendation of the California Film Commission, Ventura looked to San Diego for advice on how to streamline its policies with regard to film projects.

City leaders hailed the move as a positive step that could eventually lead to film production studios relocating to Ventura from the Los Angeles area, they said.

“I think it speaks loud and clear that Ventura is business-friendly,” Councilman Jim Friedman said. “It will certainly provide a good shot in the arm to our economy.”

The plan approved by the council Monday allows the city manager to negotiate with a film company on the amount of fees charged. The flexibility with rates will be based on how long a film crew plans to shoot, and how much exposure the project will give the city, officials said.

A syndicated TV series that is set to shoot about 25 episodes in Ventura in the next six months is a good example of the type of project city officials hope to attract.

“It’s kind of a ‘Baywatch’ knockoff,” Newsham said of the surfing-detective series “High Tide,” which was scheduled to begin filming on Ventura beaches this week.

“We are really excited,” said Bill Clawson, director of the Ventura Visitors and Convention Bureau. He said film crews will fill the equivalent of 900 rooms at a local hotel for several weeks and shoot at various local restaurants.

“It’s not ‘Friends,’ ” he said. “[But] clearly it is a step in the right direction.”