Irvine Attempts to Lure DreamWorks Studio

Desperate for a Hollywood-style happy ending in its fight to block an airport at El Toro, Irvine officials are trying to lure Steven Spielberg’s movie studio to the closed marine base.

Mayor Christina Shea mailed a letter two weeks ago to DreamWorks SKG expressing the city’s interest in attracting the studio, soon after DreamWorks announced that it was pulling out of a deal to build a $250-million facility in the Playa Vista section of West Los Angeles. The plan faced heated opposition from environmentalists, who said it would destroy wetland areas, but Irvine officials said they would rather have a new movie studio than an international airport.

A similar letter sent to DreamWorks four years ago received no reply, and--so far--movie executives have not replied this time. An executive said Tuesday that he doesn’t think the company has even received Shea’s latest correspondence.

Had Shea’s letter arrived, executives would have learned nothing from it about the county’s plans to build an airport nearby. The letter also omits the fact that the city doesn’t currently own the base and has no authority to make planning decisions for the property, though city officials hope to change that.

Rather, Shea wrote that the offer made four years ago “still stands.” A 440-acre site on the base “is prime land,” she wrote, “and, without question, a DreamWorks SKG studio would be an excellent fit with the technology and multimedia industries emerging in and around the Orange County area.”

The Orange County Film Commission has offered to help Irvine bring the Oscar-winning director’s studio to the area. But even commission officials acknowledge that the base is a tough sell given the likelihood of jet noises interfering with film making.