Santa Clarita movie ranches, locations ranked high

Crews prepare to film an episode of 'Shooter' at the Rancho Deluxe movie ranch. Katharine Lotze/The Signal.
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Santa Clarita was recently ranked among the world’s top 100 most-filmed cities and one of the top most-filmed in California, according to a financial services comparison website.

GoCompare compiled data from IMDb’s “filming locations” section, which placed Santa Clarita as the 26th most-filmed city in the world and the fourth in California.

There may be even more locations not submitted to the movie and television database, as Santa Clarita has seen a continual increase in on-location filming for years, said Evan Thomason, Santa Clarita Film Office economic development associate.

In Fiscal Year 2017-2018, the Film Office brought about $33.1 million to the local economy, according to a recent news release.

Revenue generated included issuance of 560 film permits and hosting 1377 film days for movies such as “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” “Book Club” and “The 15:17 to Paris,” and T.V. shows such as “Westworld,” “The Santa Clarita Diet” and “Future Man”.

Much of Santa Clarita’s historic appeal to filmmaking can be credited to the different “looks” the city can take on, Thomason said.

“We’ve had film in the Santa Clarita Valley going back to the silent era with (film stars) William S. Hart and Charlie Chaplin,” he said. “We’re popular today because we have so many different, unique looks.

“We can look like we’re on the east coast, or we can look like we’re in the Pacific Northwest, or the middle of the desert,” he said. “College of the Canyons has served as a school as well as corporate headquarters. Older neighborhoods can look like they’re somewhere rural, and newer neighborhoods can look like America anywhere. Our space can aid a filmmaker in using a location to enhance the story.”

The city also has over ten movie ranches, an outdoor space where filming activity takes place.

Other prime locations in Santa Clarita for filming include Town Center Drive, the Hyatt hotel and College of the Canyons.

Mike DeLorenzo, president of Santa Clarita Studios, said his movie ranch has been “100 percent booked” for the last several years.

“In my experience of 40 years in this business, I’ve never seen the film industry this busy,” he said.

Santa Clarita’s film-friendliness appeal comes from cooperation with local businesses and a private community making it advantageous to producers, he said.

“We can match any sort of location the producer is looking for,” he said.

In the last fiscal year, the city saw a 2.8 percent increase in permits, an 8.9 percent increase in film days and a 9.8 percent increase to the estimated economic impact, according to a city news release.

This is the fifth consecutive fiscal year the Santa Clarita Film Office has recorded more than 500 permits and $30 million or more in estimated economic impact generated from location filming alone.

“We’re happy that production has remained so steady and Santa Clarita continues to be a top choice for location filming,” said Mayor Laurene Weste. “We are proud that the film industry plays a big part in our local economy, supporting hundreds of area businesses and providing high paying jobs to thousands of our local residents.”

Several other factors have contributed to the continued success and appeal of filming in Santa Clarita, including the City’s own Film Incentive Program and Movie Ranch Overlay Zone. In addition, the California Film and Television Tax Credit Program was recently extended and is working very successfully to keep production in the state and right here in the SCV.

For more information about filming in Santa Clarita, please visit FilmSantaClarita.com.

 

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