SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego has been the setting for some big-time films — Anchorman, Citizen Kane, Top Gun, Deep Blue Sea, to name a few.
But local officials say in recent years production crews have stayed away from America's Finest City. They say that's costing the region millions in dollars coming in, and in jobs for locals.
"There are more platforms with more streaming and more content than at any point before, and it's time in San Diego, we get in on a piece of that action," County board chair Nathan Fletcher said Monday.
On Tuesday, the board will consider a $200,000 investment to create a regional film office. The office would handle multi-agency permitting to allow studios to come to San Diego without worrying about the hassle of getting needed permissions, something Fletcher says has been a major impediment since the San Diego Film Commission disbanded in 2013.
Fletcher said studios would be attracted to San Diego because of the variety of settings it offers and because state tax incentives are stronger for filming in locations outside Los Angeles. He noted the difficulty of obtaining permission to film on beaches in L.A. but said this office would be able to help procure a spot in San Diego.
At a news conference Monday, officials from the Port of San Diego, Downtown San Diego Partnership, Media Arts Center San Diego, the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council and the International Alliance of Theatrical State Employees Local 122 (IATSE) spoke in favor of the partnership.
Annette Moreno, an IATSE member who works locally in production, said the office could help get some of her colleagues who have been forced to move to Los Angeles back home.
"We have a huge film family here in San Diego, and they need to stay here," she said.
