This article appeared in Sierra Sun on Febuary 28th, 2008

BIG BLUE on the BIG SCREEN

By Julie Brown
Sierra Sun, jbrown@sierrasun.com
February 27, 2008


The last thing Fredo Corleone saw was Lake Tahoe’s famous clear water. But for the millions of “Godfather II” fans, the lasting impression — other than Fredo, Al Pacino’s celluloid brother, getting rubbed out — is Tahoe’s striking screen presence.

From its natural beauty to seriously moneyed mansions, the Tahoe Basin is a made-for-the-movies location, said Beverly Lewis of the Placer-Lake Tahoe Film Office. Despite the brevity of some Tahoe film and TV commercial scenes, the exposure promotes the area to countless viewers.

The 2007 Sean Penn film “Into The Wild” features a shot of actor Emile Hirsch trekking in Tahoe’s mountains. The shot was taken from a helicopter. The camera focuses on Hirsch hiking along the Pacific Crest Trail, and then it rises up and pans out to reveal Lake Tahoe.

In “City of Angels” Meg Ryan pedals her bike near Fallen Leaf Lake with her arms opening wide to Tahoe’s blue sky.
And Michael Keaton’s snowman comes to life in Truckee and North Tahoe in 1998’s “Jack Frost.”

And in the seminal Tahoe film “Godfather II,” released in 1974, the wooden boats and classic estates of Fleur du Lac are prominent players.

“The fact that [film crews] want to come here really says something about our destination,” said Pettit Gilwee, who promotes Lake Tahoe through her public relations business.

But Hollywood flicks, commercials and photo shoots don’t just promote the area to the outside world — they also stimulate the economy.

During the fiscal year of 2006-07, productions and film crews generated an estimated $1.26 million for Placer County, Lewis said. The figure is based off a standard formula that looks at the average expenditures a production company spends while on location.

From lodging to retail, food and supplies — film crews pump a significant amount of money into the Tahoe Basin economy, Lewis said.

“So we’re here to ensure that if they need to spend their money, we get them in touch with the local community,” she said.

Films featuring Tahoe Truckee

• The Deep End 2001 • The Godfather II 1974 • True Lies 1994 • Jack Frost 1998 • City of Angels 1998 • A Place in the Sun 1951

The Placer-Lake Tahoe Film Office, a one-person show headed up by Lewis, was created to promote the county’s diverse and stunning terrain to Hollywood.

With more than 55 film commissions statewide and more than 400 in the world, Lewis is, in a sense, Lake Tahoe’s agent and must compete to feature the region in the spotlight. Every year Lewis attends several tradeshows, both international and domestic. And she goes after production companies who have shown interest in the area.

“There’s a whole slew of things that we do,” Lewis said.

But the strongest marketing tool is the area itself, she said. Location photography is key to attracting scouts to Tahoe.

“The locations are just exquisite,” Lewis said. “Whether it’s snow-capped vistas or beautiful lakeside settings or pine trees.”

For the most part, the region attracts mostly commercials, especially car commercials seeking out rugged and winding roads, Lewis said.

Of the 21 filming permits Lewis has coordinated countywide so far this fiscal year, 14 are located in the Tahoe area. And they are mostly commercials, she said.

The film office is funded mostly by the county’s general fund. But the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association contributes nearly $35,000 annually — a third of the film office budget.

The resort association sees its contribution as a way to leverage the economy, said Director of Tourism Andy Chapman.

“Any time you bring a large film production, or down to a photo shoot, it creates an economic impact,” Chapman said.

Interview at California Only Location

Here’s an interview I did at California Only Location trade show with Jim McCabe in Febuary 2008, one of the leading location managers in the biz. You’ll need to scroll to the right when the web page comes up, then click on the video/still image with Jim and me:

http://www.californiafilmindustry.com/

County's scenic sites fuel car commercials, photos

Since the beginning of the fiscal year for Placer County, which started in July 2007, the county has been the home to 11 national car commercials that appear on TV — an increase from the previous year. This is thanks to a variety of locations the county offers for unique commercials and photos.

“We’ve got the snow, spring and summer all within an hour of each other. That’s a pretty unique thing to do,” said Lorin Miller, Auburn resident and long-time professional location scout and manager. “I think it’s the pristine quality and the good weather, and close accessibility.”

Placer is no stranger to getting national TV time, especially in the auto world. Kermit the Frog and a Ford Escape hybrid got together in Alta and made a commercial that aired during the Super Bowl in 2006. And then there’s the infamous film moment when a Corvette was driven off the Foresthill Bridge for the movie “XXX.”

Many different car companies have made the trip — be it short or long — to the county. Car companies such as Volvo, Toyota, Volkswagen, BMW, Honda, Chrysler and Kawasaki have all shot commercials here recently.

“Some of these are repeat customers because the location manager had shot here before and he’s familiar with our area and knows we have a lot to choose from,” said Beverly Lewis, director of the Placer-Lake Tahoe Film Office.

But Placer County is not home to just car commercials. Feature-length film productions and other types of television advertisements have also been shot here. And with these endeavors come large crews, anywhere from 20 to 60 people at a time for car commercials, thus bringing a boost to the county economy. Lewis said that annually local county communities average $1.2 million in economic benefits from film crews using the region as their backdrop.

Along with the sweeping vistas, open farmlands, majestic mountains, S-turn roads and quaint towns, other factors have made the region appealing to those seeking places to film car commercials.

“Well I think right now as the dollar has weakened, people have come back to the United States (to film), which is increasing our local shootings,” Miller said.

That, and everywhere else is getting used up.

“The Bay Area is really shot out, and we really try to find some new stuff,” said Bay Area location scout Peter Kwong. “Your neck of the woods is wide open. It’s kind of fresh, that’s what we try to find.”

Lewis has taken film crews all over the county, from shooting out in Lincoln and unincorporated Roseville to Alta, Old Foresthill and Mosquito Ridge roads and all over Lake Tahoe — including a shot at KT-22 at Squaw Valley. And the results have been pleasing.

“We shot this great ranch out there,” Kwong said about a recent Toyota commercial filmed in Placer County. “We wanted to kind of get that dusty weather Texas landscape and we found this great barn out in Lincoln. This beautiful Ralph Lauren texture, paint falling off the barn kind of thing, it was just beautiful. Big sky, big giant haystack, it just kind of worked. We found Texas right there. Hey, this is Texas, just right outside Lincoln. It’s hard to believe it’s within a mile of the city boundaries or something like that.”

Some of the increase in car commercials in Placer County has come in part due to Lewis’ work in courting commercial production crews. The director says that roughly 75 percent of the filming done in the county is for commercials.

“Beverly does a great job at representing our county in a very professional way,” Miller said.

And it doesn’t hurt to have breathtaking scenery, either.

“I literally have been all over the world doing this,” said Miller, who’s been working in TV and film for 22 years. “And I think we stand up to anywhere in the world as far as beauty goes.”

The Journal’s Andrew DiLuccia can be reached at andrewd@goldcountrymedia.com or post a comment on auburnjournal.com.