Filming Ban at Airports Causes Ripple Effect

Pilot Rick Shuster and his crew make much of their money flying helicopters in film productions, but because of a ban on commercial filming at Van Nuys Airport and three others in the region, he lost a job in early December that would have netted $36,000.

The scene was written out of the movie script and Shuster’s helicopters will remain idle until a job outside the airport comes around later in December. Many similar businesses fear that the ban on filming, which was ordered to heighten airport security, will harm their revenues.

The policy that took effect Nov. 5 at Los Angeles International, Van Nuys, Ontario International and Palmdale Regional airports will continue indefinitely, said officials with Los Angeles World Airports, which operates the four sites. Airport personnel are spread too thinly to accommodate film crews, said Nancy Castles, a spokeswoman for the airport agency.

“I think the industry is going to take it very hard,” said Barbara Cesar, who owns EPS, a company at Van Nuys Airport that has rented its hangar for use in movies such as “True Lies” and “Air Force One,” in which terrorists take over the president’s airplane.

“We just hope it’s going to be a short, temporary measure,” said Cesar, who also owns a company that designs interiors for private planes.

Castles said she was aware of the dependency many businesses have on film and TV production.

“Assuring the security and safety of our passengers and employees is our primary concern,” Castles said. “Commercial production is secondary. We hope the commercial film industry would understand our current position and support it.”

Burbank Airport, which has not imposed a ban, is seldom used for filming. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has not banned commercial filming at its three major airports, John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark, officials said.

LAX granted 144 permits from January to September for everything from blockbuster movies to student projects. Van Nuys Airport issued 40 permits last year, Ontario 12 and Palmdale seven, officials said.

The permits cost $100 but renting a site from the airport or a private company can run anywhere from $800 to $50,000 a day.

“It’s amazing the amount of time and money they can spend to make a 40-second spot in a movie,” said Fred Strouse, who manages a TWA hanger at LAX that most recently played a part in the filming of “Swordfish.”

Shuster, who has worked on such movies as “Independence Day” and “Jurassic Park 3,” said the ban is damaging for everyone involved.

“This impacts everyone from the security guards on the set to the caterers,” Shuster said.

Morrie Goldman, a spokesman at the Entertainment Industry Development Corp., which promotes the film industry in Los Angeles, said he understands the reason for the ban.

“We hope that in the coming months they’ll work out the issue of security and at the same time allow filming,” he said.