The City of Santa Clarita Film Office announced today October 2008 was the most successful October to date, with the office issuing more permits and overseeing more film days for the month than any other October on record since the office’s inception in 2002.
The City of Santa Clarita Film Office issued 42 permits in October 2008, a 16 percent increase when compared to October 2007 when the office issued 36 permits. The City of Santa Clarita reported a total of 112 film days in the month, a 15 percent increase when compared to October 2007 when the City hosted 97 film days. Location filming for the month resulted in more than $2.8 million in economic benefit to Santa Clarita businesses.
“The City of Santa Clarita is not immune to the economic challenges facing the state and the nation. But one of the bright spots for the City right now is that location filming is on the rise, which means our locally based film companies are doing business, keeping our residents working, and contributing to our local economy,” said City of Santa Clarita Mayor Bob Kellar.
The City of Santa Clarita continues to aggressively market the City as an ideal place to film in the 30-mile zone and credits its success as a prime film destination to the City’s film-friendly neighborhoods and businesses, variety of locations, affordable permit and location fees, close proximity to Los Angeles, and access to talented industry professionals.
The City of Santa Clarita is currently home to several network television shows, including HBO’s “Big Love,” CBS’s “NCIS” and “The Unit,” and NBC’s Knight Rider.” In addition to these shows based in the City, several other television shows, like “11th Hour,” “Heroes,” “House,” and “Bones,” regularly film on location in Santa Clarita.
These shows, in addition to commercial and feature film production, have contributed an estimated $8.4 million in economic impact to the Santa Clarita economy in the first four months of Fiscal Year 2008-2009, which runs from July through June. 