‘Hollywood North’
Santa Clarita Valley sees growing numbers of film locations
A futuristic installation off Vasquez Canyon Road is just one of a growing number of film locations in the Santa Clarita Valley, film officials confirmed Tuesday.
While season No. 2 of “Future Man” — the story of a janitor by day/ world-ranked gamer by night tasked with saving humanity, according to Hulu, the show’s host — recently wrapped up filming in Agua Dulce, there continues to be more and more filming activity in Santa Clarita each year, as well, according to data released by the city this week.
The Agua Dulce production has garnered attention in the last few weeks from residents who’ve noticed from the road, the patchwork of structures that sit in front of what looks like a massive bunker on the side of a hill.
While “Future Man” production was filmed at 32570 Vasquez Canyon Road outside Santa Clarita city limits from May 22-24, according to Philip Sokoloski, vice president of integrated communications at FilmL.A, 2018 marks the fifth consecutive fiscal year the Santa Clarita film office has recorded more than 500 permits and over $30 million generated from
location filming alone.
Santa Clarita is seeing an increase in onlocation filming for the 2017-18 fiscal year with over $30 million generated in economic impact to the local community, city officials touted in a news release.
“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.
There was a 2.8 percent increase in permits with a record of 560 permits and an 8.9 percent increase in film days with a record of 1,377 film days when compared to the 2016-2017 fiscal year, according to records.
Many movies have been shot in the SCV during 2017-18, including “Honey Boy,” “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” “Miss Virginia,” “Rogue Warfare,” “Semper Fi,” to name a few. More than half of the
filming days for the fiscal year 2017-2018 were attributed to television productions.
Santa Clarita is known as one of the most-filmed places in California since it is located in the 30 mile zone and offers thousands of film friendly locations. It has over 20 sound stages, more than 10 movie ranches and some of the lowest film permitting fees in the Los Angeles area.
Santa Clarita’s economic staff see other factors contributing to the continued success and appeal of filming in Santa Clarita, including the city’s 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 in Santa Clarita Valley.
“Being a film-friendly community continues to be a priority for our City Council,” said Santa Clarita Mayor Laurene Weste, in a statement Tuesday, “and we will continue to do everything we can to keep the cameras rolling in ‘Hollywood North’ to ensure our unique and beautiful valley remains a preferred place for production.”