Feb 24, 2023
Please contact us
with corrections
or breaking news
Please contact us
with corrections
or breaking news
SF Film Explodes with Productions and Incentives
by Doniphan Blair
San Francisco City Hall, built after the 1906 earthquake and with a dome even bigger than the capital building in Washington, has introduced a brilliant innovation to lure film production. photo: D. BlairA surprising surge of productions during San Francisco's famous fall shooting season and a brilliant innovation by the San Francisco Film Commission— the "Scene in San Francisco," which encourages businesses to offer filmmakers their own discounts—suggests that Bay Area filmmaking is over its hard recession hump. It is even possible that this surge may reverse the downward trend that has prevailed since the 1990s collapse of the Golden Age of Northern California filmmaking.
"You know how I know the town is really busy?" asked the ever-enthusiastic Debbie Brubaker, the reigning matriarch of local indie production, as well as recent inductee to the SF Film Commission. "I can't rent a truck with a lift gate to save my life! We had to scour the town to find a truck to replace the one we had when its transmission started acting up. There are no less than four commercials working this week [Dec 10], three movies and countless corporate projects."
"We have issued 76 more filming permits this year than at the same time last year, for a total of 363 permits as of November 19, " noted Susannah Greason Robbins, the new director of the Film Commission, in a conversation with CineSource on December 14, the same day her office announced the Scene in San Francisco Vendor Discount program that she devised with strong backing from Mayor Gavin Newsom. Robbins, who came on board in January, replacing Stefanie Coyote, pushed from early in her tenure for the vendor program "because there are only so many incentives local and state government can provide."
The commission is asking vendors to apply for the new program by January 11 so that they can be listed on the SF Film Commission website as soon as possible. Participants in the new program would get a certificate and a decal to be affixed to the front of their place of business.
This a welcome addition to San Francisco's modest rebate program—which refunds some city fees and local payroll taxes—that the Board of Supervisors approved in July 2009. While San Francisco's rebates and new vendor discount don't equal those of Vancouver or Michigan, when combined with the better weather, breathtaking landscapes, and proximity to Los Angeles—as well as world-class food and entertainment (for after-shoot R&R)—it makes for a winning package.
"It'll put another spotlight on San Francisco as a place that's looking for ways to work with filmmakers and have them consider it affordable instead of writing it off as too expensive," Robbins told Jessica Kwong in the SF Chronicle's notably long story (12/14/10). For example, the Fairmont Hotel is offering 20 percent off their rate sheet while the Holiday Inn on Van Ness is awarding similar or better. Jessica Smith, the Fairmont's marketing and film sales manager, told Kwong: "If we can get together as a city, we can collectively drive business back."
This is a welcome turnaround in a community which often favored tourism, real estate and computers over filmmaking. Indeed, it augers well for a city that is just close and quaint enough—to and in comparison to LA—to attract a lot of action as that massive film economy rolls back even stronger in 2011. "We have had 178 more shooting days than last year," continued Robbins. "While most productions are working with smaller budgets than in past years, it still shows that San Francisco is improving in drawing productions."
Although Debbie Brubaker, one of the top indie producers in San Francisco likes to laugh, she had reason to be overjoyed at the recent Video Arts holiday party—tons of work! photo: D. Blair"Almost everybody is working—it's insane!" effused Brubaker, whom I ran into at a hopping holiday party at Video Arts recently. "I couldn't find a PA if I wanted another one right now. As for grips and electricians—they're all working. Local 16 [Theatrical Stage Employees] is crazy busy! And some folks got offers to work right up to Christmas and after. It'll be interesting to see what January brings, but for now we're loving it. We even worked in the pouring rain on both the shows I was on. It was miserable but we grinned through it. One can hope it bodes of times to come."
As far as how San Francisco will secure that future: "We have a few ads which will highlight our incentive program," Robbins said, including the back page of the "LA411 Guide," a half page ad in "Locations Magazine," and a 1/2 page ad in the California issue of "P3 Update" [a film industry monthly]. "I also plan to make a trip to Los Angeles to get the word out about our rebate program, as well as our new Scene program. And in May, I'm aiming on a FAM tour [or familiarization tour, a common tool in the tourism industry], to highlight San Francisco as a filming destination." Robbins learned the latest theories on how to market a city to the film business at the Cineposium of the AFCI (Association of Film Commissioners International) in LA last month.
"A lot of it we're already doing," Robbins said, "But since so much of the talk was about how films are following the incentives, I realized I need to focus on getting the word out about our incentive program, as well as to find other ways productions can save money while shooting in San Francisco. That's why I started the Scene in San Francisco. It's a great way for productions to save money while they're shooting in town, and for businesses to reap the rewards of attracting more customers. It will include discounts on hotels, restaurants, caterers, dry cleaners, car rentals, as well as things like spa services and entertainment. There's more information about it on our website. I'm also beginning to talk to the post-production community about how we can work together to not only attract more production to San Francisco but keep more post-production here."
Interestingly, San Francisco's fabulous fall had a lot to do with Pacific Rim filmmakers, for whom the City serves as an important icon. A South Indian “Tollywood” film, “181,” shot for ten days; a Japanese TV pilot, “Amalfi,” about a diplomat running around the world solving problems, clocked nine in SF and Oakland; and “Rose Wedding,” a Chinese reality show, flitted from symbolic site to beauty shot and back all over the area.
National productions included a host of commercials from Kia, Sprite and Cadillac, among many others, an ABC pilot called “The Nine Lives of Chloe King,” the reality show “The Bad Girls Club,” the series “The Hunter-Gatherer,” and five days from the "On the Road" the at-long-last adaptation of the famous Kerouac novel. But the big beatnik film is "Hemingway and Gellhorn," which is currently building out Pier 80 on San Francisco's Embarcadero with sets and a massive green screen in order to start shooting in February. It is led by local indie-Hollywood North synergizer-supreme Phil Kaufman, who is working with his son Peter on this project.
Oakland was "much busier then last year," according to assistant film coordinator Janet Austin. As well as hosting some of the "Amalfi" shoot, there was a massive Lincoln commercial, which closed off much of the "Old Oakland" neighborhood for a few days, an Ebay commercial, that filmed at the downtown City Center Garage, a Cisco piece that is still shooting at the Temescal Firehouse on 51st Street, and scenes from "Us," a spooky psychological story directed by Sam Hancock and starring Alanna Ubach, Barbara Niven and Rolf Saxon. Coincidentally, "Us" was written in conjunction with Dr. Matthew McKay, a leading Bay Area psychologist and mental health author.
"While most of these productions don't qualify for our rebate program, there is more interest in it," noted Robbins. "The Hemingway production will be taking advantage of the rebate program, and we have another long term production that is looking like a strong possibility. I think the rest of the productions are here because San Francisco was called for in the scripts. Unfortunately, the pilots are still planning to shoot their follow-up episodes elsewhere, most likely Canada, as it's still a lot cheaper [there] to film. [Our ads] almost hit you over the head that the rebate is up to $600,000 for fees paid to the City—PER FILM!—or television episode. I'm really trying to get the 'Per Television Episode' [concept] across to producers, because I want to bring another long term show here."
Enjoying the holiday party at Video Arts, after a busy two months, is Video Arts executive producer Sharon Nichols, VA president Kim Salyer, and aspiring model and actor Reggie Snowden. photo: D. BlairIndeed, the new year is already looking good with a portion of the Steven Soderbergh's new film, "Contagion," slated to start shooting in February, another television pilot coming in January, a Chinese cooking show, which will begin filming in mid-February, and more. All of this adds up to significant change from just five months ago when Kim Salyer, the president of Video Arts, wrote in these pages (see article) of a possible double dip. The only double dipping at his well-attended, almost-solstice bacchanal was at the open bar. "Knock on wood, we've been really busy for two months," noted Sharon Nichols, one of Video Arts' executive producers.
The story of "On the Road" is interesting, although it was hardly a big production—only five days here. It is being directed by the Brazilian Walter Salles, who is coming to specialize in road films, considering he did "Motorcycle Diaries" (2004). Francis Ford Coppola is not producing, as some had assumed, since he owned the book rights. Coppola sold them to Film 4 in Europe and the producers are all French, albeit some from Montreal, suggesting a solidarity with the Quebecois "Jacques" Kerouac, but more likely an awareness that high art beatnik adventure will do well in Europe. The production company is SPAD Films.
Salles has gone full bore on the project, reuniting the stellar team from his award-winning "Motorcycle Diaries," including screenwriter Jose Rivera, director of photography Eric Gautier and Oscar-winning composer Gustavo Santaolalla, as well as filming a making-of doc, "In Search of 'On the Road.'" Garrett Hedlund of "TRON: Legacy" and "Friday Night Lights" is Dean Moriarity, the Neal Cassady character, and Sam Riley, recently of "Control," is Sal Paradise, the Kerouac stand-in. They also shot one day in Locke, near Sacramento, the only rural Chinatown in the United States, and someone close to the production said, "The period work looks amazing."
We can only hope the next step is a spate of hippie-era films. From the joys of communal living or pride in founding progressive organizations to the tragedy of the Haight-Ashbury's collapse into amphetamine addiction, there are many stories of interest to a wider world that start in the '60s but lead to today's issues: the explosion of green jobs, both environmental and marihuana, or California's structural ambiguity—a state that features both easy living and futurism and economic disarray and cultural confusion.
Undoubtedly, San Francisco's year-old rebate program and innovative new vendor initiative will go a long way to helping make this happen. Considering this creative financing and the spate of new indie filmmakers here, as well as out of town producers seeking iconic edifices and geography, perhaps we can beat back the Bay Area's losses and foster our next Golden Age of Cinema. As Poppa Hemingway might say: "Isn't it nice to think so."
Posted on Dec 18, 2010 - 05:08 AM
by Doniphan Blair
San Francisco City Hall, built after the 1906 earthquake and with a dome even bigger than the capital building in Washington, has introduced a brilliant innovation to lure film production. photo: D. Blair"You know how I know the town is really busy?" asked the ever-enthusiastic Debbie Brubaker, the reigning matriarch of local indie production, as well as recent inductee to the SF Film Commission. "I can't rent a truck with a lift gate to save my life! We had to scour the town to find a truck to replace the one we had when its transmission started acting up. There are no less than four commercials working this week [Dec 10], three movies and countless corporate projects."
"We have issued 76 more filming permits this year than at the same time last year, for a total of 363 permits as of November 19, " noted Susannah Greason Robbins, the new director of the Film Commission, in a conversation with CineSource on December 14, the same day her office announced the Scene in San Francisco Vendor Discount program that she devised with strong backing from Mayor Gavin Newsom. Robbins, who came on board in January, replacing Stefanie Coyote, pushed from early in her tenure for the vendor program "because there are only so many incentives local and state government can provide."
The commission is asking vendors to apply for the new program by January 11 so that they can be listed on the SF Film Commission website as soon as possible. Participants in the new program would get a certificate and a decal to be affixed to the front of their place of business.
This a welcome addition to San Francisco's modest rebate program—which refunds some city fees and local payroll taxes—that the Board of Supervisors approved in July 2009. While San Francisco's rebates and new vendor discount don't equal those of Vancouver or Michigan, when combined with the better weather, breathtaking landscapes, and proximity to Los Angeles—as well as world-class food and entertainment (for after-shoot R&R)—it makes for a winning package.
"It'll put another spotlight on San Francisco as a place that's looking for ways to work with filmmakers and have them consider it affordable instead of writing it off as too expensive," Robbins told Jessica Kwong in the SF Chronicle's notably long story (12/14/10). For example, the Fairmont Hotel is offering 20 percent off their rate sheet while the Holiday Inn on Van Ness is awarding similar or better. Jessica Smith, the Fairmont's marketing and film sales manager, told Kwong: "If we can get together as a city, we can collectively drive business back."
This is a welcome turnaround in a community which often favored tourism, real estate and computers over filmmaking. Indeed, it augers well for a city that is just close and quaint enough—to and in comparison to LA—to attract a lot of action as that massive film economy rolls back even stronger in 2011. "We have had 178 more shooting days than last year," continued Robbins. "While most productions are working with smaller budgets than in past years, it still shows that San Francisco is improving in drawing productions."
Although Debbie Brubaker, one of the top indie producers in San Francisco likes to laugh, she had reason to be overjoyed at the recent Video Arts holiday party—tons of work! photo: D. BlairAs far as how San Francisco will secure that future: "We have a few ads which will highlight our incentive program," Robbins said, including the back page of the "LA411 Guide," a half page ad in "Locations Magazine," and a 1/2 page ad in the California issue of "P3 Update" [a film industry monthly]. "I also plan to make a trip to Los Angeles to get the word out about our rebate program, as well as our new Scene program. And in May, I'm aiming on a FAM tour [or familiarization tour, a common tool in the tourism industry], to highlight San Francisco as a filming destination." Robbins learned the latest theories on how to market a city to the film business at the Cineposium of the AFCI (Association of Film Commissioners International) in LA last month.
"A lot of it we're already doing," Robbins said, "But since so much of the talk was about how films are following the incentives, I realized I need to focus on getting the word out about our incentive program, as well as to find other ways productions can save money while shooting in San Francisco. That's why I started the Scene in San Francisco. It's a great way for productions to save money while they're shooting in town, and for businesses to reap the rewards of attracting more customers. It will include discounts on hotels, restaurants, caterers, dry cleaners, car rentals, as well as things like spa services and entertainment. There's more information about it on our website. I'm also beginning to talk to the post-production community about how we can work together to not only attract more production to San Francisco but keep more post-production here."
Interestingly, San Francisco's fabulous fall had a lot to do with Pacific Rim filmmakers, for whom the City serves as an important icon. A South Indian “Tollywood” film, “181,” shot for ten days; a Japanese TV pilot, “Amalfi,” about a diplomat running around the world solving problems, clocked nine in SF and Oakland; and “Rose Wedding,” a Chinese reality show, flitted from symbolic site to beauty shot and back all over the area.
National productions included a host of commercials from Kia, Sprite and Cadillac, among many others, an ABC pilot called “The Nine Lives of Chloe King,” the reality show “The Bad Girls Club,” the series “The Hunter-Gatherer,” and five days from the "On the Road" the at-long-last adaptation of the famous Kerouac novel. But the big beatnik film is "Hemingway and Gellhorn," which is currently building out Pier 80 on San Francisco's Embarcadero with sets and a massive green screen in order to start shooting in February. It is led by local indie-Hollywood North synergizer-supreme Phil Kaufman, who is working with his son Peter on this project.
Oakland was "much busier then last year," according to assistant film coordinator Janet Austin. As well as hosting some of the "Amalfi" shoot, there was a massive Lincoln commercial, which closed off much of the "Old Oakland" neighborhood for a few days, an Ebay commercial, that filmed at the downtown City Center Garage, a Cisco piece that is still shooting at the Temescal Firehouse on 51st Street, and scenes from "Us," a spooky psychological story directed by Sam Hancock and starring Alanna Ubach, Barbara Niven and Rolf Saxon. Coincidentally, "Us" was written in conjunction with Dr. Matthew McKay, a leading Bay Area psychologist and mental health author.
"While most of these productions don't qualify for our rebate program, there is more interest in it," noted Robbins. "The Hemingway production will be taking advantage of the rebate program, and we have another long term production that is looking like a strong possibility. I think the rest of the productions are here because San Francisco was called for in the scripts. Unfortunately, the pilots are still planning to shoot their follow-up episodes elsewhere, most likely Canada, as it's still a lot cheaper [there] to film. [Our ads] almost hit you over the head that the rebate is up to $600,000 for fees paid to the City—PER FILM!—or television episode. I'm really trying to get the 'Per Television Episode' [concept] across to producers, because I want to bring another long term show here."
Enjoying the holiday party at Video Arts, after a busy two months, is Video Arts executive producer Sharon Nichols, VA president Kim Salyer, and aspiring model and actor Reggie Snowden. photo: D. BlairThe story of "On the Road" is interesting, although it was hardly a big production—only five days here. It is being directed by the Brazilian Walter Salles, who is coming to specialize in road films, considering he did "Motorcycle Diaries" (2004). Francis Ford Coppola is not producing, as some had assumed, since he owned the book rights. Coppola sold them to Film 4 in Europe and the producers are all French, albeit some from Montreal, suggesting a solidarity with the Quebecois "Jacques" Kerouac, but more likely an awareness that high art beatnik adventure will do well in Europe. The production company is SPAD Films.
Salles has gone full bore on the project, reuniting the stellar team from his award-winning "Motorcycle Diaries," including screenwriter Jose Rivera, director of photography Eric Gautier and Oscar-winning composer Gustavo Santaolalla, as well as filming a making-of doc, "In Search of 'On the Road.'" Garrett Hedlund of "TRON: Legacy" and "Friday Night Lights" is Dean Moriarity, the Neal Cassady character, and Sam Riley, recently of "Control," is Sal Paradise, the Kerouac stand-in. They also shot one day in Locke, near Sacramento, the only rural Chinatown in the United States, and someone close to the production said, "The period work looks amazing."
We can only hope the next step is a spate of hippie-era films. From the joys of communal living or pride in founding progressive organizations to the tragedy of the Haight-Ashbury's collapse into amphetamine addiction, there are many stories of interest to a wider world that start in the '60s but lead to today's issues: the explosion of green jobs, both environmental and marihuana, or California's structural ambiguity—a state that features both easy living and futurism and economic disarray and cultural confusion.
Undoubtedly, San Francisco's year-old rebate program and innovative new vendor initiative will go a long way to helping make this happen. Considering this creative financing and the spate of new indie filmmakers here, as well as out of town producers seeking iconic edifices and geography, perhaps we can beat back the Bay Area's losses and foster our next Golden Age of Cinema. As Poppa Hemingway might say: "Isn't it nice to think so."
Posted on Dec 18, 2010 - 05:08 AM
