SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - San Diegans looking to break into the movie-making industry may have new opportunities coming their way.
10News learned a group is launching a new venture to encourage independent filmmakers to shoot in San Diego and hire locally.
Filmmaker Jeff Deverett, whose company has produced four family motion pictures, is part of a group launching a private nonprofit called the San Diego Regional Film Commission and the for-profit San Diego Film Studio, which plans to add 100 local workers starting in January.
Essentially, filmmakers who use the studio for all of the below-the-line costs -- like crew, catering and props -- will get up to 30 percent off those services.
The offer is open to productions with a $500,000 to $1.5 million budget.
"Everybody talks about 'Top Gun' and 'Some Like It Hot' and 'Anchorman' and all those big movies. That's Hollywood talk; we're not doing that," Deverett said. "We're talking about real, independent, roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty type of filmmaking."
Stu Segall, who owns a San Diego production studio that once housed shows like "Silk Stalkings" and "Veronica Mars," said networks gravitated toward reality TV in the early 2000s.
The city of San Diego also launched a film office last year, and a spokeswoman said it issued more than 800 days worth of fee-free permits since.
Deverett said the small budget films can still make it big, like 1999's "Blair Witch Project," which earned $250 million on a $60,000 budget.
The group will launch its website www.sandiegoregionalfilm.com on Friday, where San Diegans can inquire about jobs and paid internships.
