CALIFORNIA BUSINESS MINUTE
Movies in CA
05-15-09
Hi, I am Tim Johnson and welcome to the California Business Minute.
The movie and TV industry contributed 2.5 million jobs and $41.1 billion in
wages to the U.S. economy in 2007, according to a Motion Picture Association
of America report. That's up from more than 1.3 million jobs and $30.2 billion
in 2005. In another key finding, there has been a shift of top production states
beyond the traditional entertainment powerhouses of California and New York.
Illinois, Texas and Florida are among those that have become more important
industry hubs, while Nevada, Arizona and Montana are among those that have
lost some luster. Unfortunately, the data does not cover what happen during
the Writer Build Strike in late 2007 and 2008. However, it seems as though
California has seen its fair share of filming specifically with two major
blockbusters.
The new Star Trek movie whisks moviegoers to supposed terrestrial locations
in the far reaches of outer space. But despite their exotic looks, many of the
interstellar sites were filmed in California just a few minutes’ drive from
Hollywood. For example, when engineer Scotty (Simon Pegg) beams onto the space
ship Enterprise for the first time, he gets caught up in the ship’s massive
cooling pipes. This scene was shot at the Anheuser-Busch beer plant in Van Nuys.
A variety of scenes were shot in Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park in Agua Dulce.
And in yet another scene aimed at depicting an icy planet where the exiled
James T. Kirk goes wandering, but director JJ Abrams and company wound up hitting
a home run close to home: They used the Dodger Stadium parking lot in Los Angeles.
Filmmakers filled a 50-foot by 125-foot section of the lot with “snow”
(biodegradable paper products), then used eight wind machines to create a “blizzard”
in 80-degree weather.
In the new Ron Howard movie – Angels and Demons while parts were filmed in Rome,
most of the film was shot at locations in La, included the creation of a life size
mock up of the Vatican at The Hollywood Park Race Track parking lot, as well as at
Universal’s back lot, Sony Studios and a shot at UCLA.
Angels and Demons opens this weekend.
For further information see impacts from the Writer’s Strike at www.CalBizBlog.com
I am Tim Johnson and this has been the California Business Minute.
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