ACTION! IN THE SANTA CLARITA VALLEY; VARIED LOCALES KEY DRAW FOR PRODUCTION.

Byline: Jason Takenouchi Daily News Staff Writer

Lured by lower costs and competitive locales, producers have been moving north to Canada in droves.

But some, including the makers of the Woody Allen comedy ``Pick Up the Pieces'' and the Paramount television series ``Seven Days,'' are taking far shorter trips north to a rising star in Los Angeles County's film industry: the Santa Clarita Valley.

Analysts say the valley's combination of lower costs, varied environments and booming growth has helped it carve a solid niche at a time when the local industry is beginning to struggle.

``The Santa Clarita Valley is probably one of the strongest communities in the Southland in terms of support and promotional efforts,'' said John Grant, a Camarillo-based location scout. ``The area is very approachable.''

That approachability has paid off.

The valley's film bureau issued a record 355 film permits in 1998. Two major 1999 movies, ``Wild Wild West'' and ``Life,'' were shot in the area, and television's ``The X-Files'' often uses valley locales.

``Pick Up the Pieces'' will begin filming next month at the Veluzat Motion Picture Ranch.

At the Legacy Partners, the year-old Santa Clarita facility where ``Seven Days'' is based, location director Jeff Botsford said film revenue is 50 percent over projections.

But movie boosters here are not resting on their laurels.

Faced with the specter of competition abroad and a general slowdown at home, industry backers are pushing a new campaign using the valley's booming housing and business market to give renewed weight to the film industry.

The message now is more than just a recitation of the low costs and varied locales that have made the valley a top film spot, said Santa Clarita Chamber of Commerce film liaison April Aston.

The new message, she said, is Santa Clarita is a great place to ``base your project, base your company or move your entire family.''

``With all the development that Newhall Land and Farming Company has planned, there's a lot of energy going into that message,'' Aston said.

Industry backers also are concentrating on bringing businesses into the valley, including shops for film ``expendables'' such as rigging, tape and camera supplies.

The Santa Clarita Valley Motion Picture General Store, a satellite office of Burbank-based L&M Technology Group that began selling expendables last year, was a major contributor to that effort, Aston said.

An influx of businesses and employees would add to the approximately 8,000 entertainment industry workers already living in the Santa Clarita Valley. By bringing more executives and workers into the valley, film boosters hope they will keep production closer to workers' homes.

``In the midst of the film industry shifting and moving elsewhere, we have the luxury of being in the center of one of the fastest-growing communities in Los Angeles County,'' Aston said. ``That's helping us weather the storm.''

But that expanding population is only one of many factors that have turned the region into one of the top producers in the entertainment business.

The area's natural environment, the element that scouts say is its biggest draw, will remain despite any slowdowns.

``There are areas that could be doubled for deserts, mountains, creeks,'' location scout Grant said. ``There are looks you just can't get in the Los Angeles Basin.''

Movie ranch owner Rene Veluzat, an area native who began working in movies in 1950, said scenes can shift from desert to lake to suburbia, all in a matter of miles.

``Three out of four of the pictures that are written can be filmed in the Santa Clarita Valley,'' he said. ``We have every look imaginable.''

Veluzat's popular ``Spanish town'' setting, just a short walk from his newest small-town America set, was the site of recent filming for a special CBS episode of ``Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.''

Producers also have been lured to Santa Clarita by the bottom line.

Production costs in the area's stages and movie ranches are often far lower than comparable costs in traditional studio back lots.

Producers who shoot here save on labor costs because Santa Clarita is within the 30-mile zone, which can save a host of additional costs. Outside the zone, a producer has to pay workers for transportation, meals and lodging.

According to the latest figures from the Motion Picture Association of America, film and entertainment companies spent $394 million in Santa Clarita in 1996, a 168 percent increase over 1992 spending.

But even with its varied locales and facilities, the Santa Clarita Valley film industry is expecting to take a hit this year.

The long-running series ``Melrose Place'' is ending this year, and the series ``Magnificent Seven'' also is closing shop.

And then there's the threat of foreign competition.

``We're hoping `Seven Days' doesn't move to Canada,'' said Aston.

``All the numbers I've seen say that a great number of L.A. features are going to other countries,'' she said. ``It's going to be a rough year.''

LIGHTS! CAMERA! VALLEY!

Among the television shows and movies that were filmed at least in part in and around Santa Clarita over the past few years:

TELEVISION

``Profiler''

``The Pretender''

``Power Rangers''

``Clueless''

``Mad TV''

FILMS

``Dante's Peak''

``Don Juan DeMarco''

``Last Man Standing''

``The Flintstones''

SOURCE: The Santa Clarita Valley Film and Entertainment Bureau.

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos, Box

PHOTO (1--Color) The Santa Clarita Valley offers a wide range of locations, including the Veluzat movie ranch, site of recent filming of an episode of ``Dr. Quinn.''

(2-3--Color--Ran in Business Edition only) The Veluzat movie ranch is teeming with actors and crew during filming of an episode of ``Dr. Quinn,'' above, as eras intermingle on the set, left.

David R. Crane/Daily News

BOX: LIGHTS! CAMERA! VALLEY! (See text)