BUREAU BRINGING FILMMAKERS, MONEY INTO ANTELOPE VALLEY.

Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer

Antelope Valley film liaison Jeff McNeil says his office received about 30 calls the second day it was open.

A month later, it is getting 60 calls a day.

``They're not who and what calls, but how and when,'' McNeil said.

The film office, the first sanctioned by a local government in the Antelope Valley, in its first month in operation assisted four major films and several commercials. McNeil guesses the production companies spent between $5 million and $10 million in the Antelope Valley.

``Money is the bottom line. The question is how much are they spending in our area?'' McNeil said. ``At the end of the year I hope to be able to say film companies spent X amount of dollars.''

Creating a film bureau was one of the recommendations for economic growth contained in a $150,000 study released in March 1994 by PHH Fantus Consulting, a Chicago company.

McNeil works to market the area to location scouts by finding and touting the often odd assortment of items that attract them to a particular locale, officials say.

When companies are in town, he helps them obtain the appropriate government permits for filming, and by tracking down things they need, ranging from buildings for storing their equipment, to plumbing and art supplies, to dry cleaning and copying services.

Tracking the money spent in the region is done through a combination of chasing after production company accountants and through information supplied by Antelope Valley businesses.

Lancaster and Palmdale were planning to open the film office jointly, but the two cities had differing financing plans. Lancaster City Council opted to move ahead with the project rather than delay its opening while working out differences with Palmdale.

Lancaster officials say the film office is an Antelope Valley film office, not just for their city. Lancaster officials say the door is open for involvement by Palmdale.

In February, the Lancaster City Council voted to spend $50,000 to start a film bureau. McNeil was hired as a contractor, at 30 hours a week, to serve as film liaison.

The film office is officially sanctioned by the California Film Commission, which serves as a data bank and clearinghouse for information for the film industry and communities.

Lancaster city officials are working on giving the new office visibility. The city sent out 700 letters announcing the office's presence. Officials are planning on placing ads in trade publications and attending a trade show in Los Angeles this summer, said Lyle Norton, Lancaster's director of Parks, Recreation and Arts.

The film office has an Internet address, http://www.avfilm.com. Lancaster officials hope to have as many as 300 photos on the site in a month's time.

Lancaster also will create a directory of film services and will work to streamline the permitting process for films, Norton said.

``We're working to be in the network and be film friendly,'' Norton said.

McNeil worked in the film industry, starting as a grip and working his way up to become a camera operator. His first movie was ``Blade Runner,'' and has worked on such films as ``Breathless'' and ``Lethal Weapon 3.''

About three years ago, McNeil founded the High Desert Film Commission, which operated in conjunction with the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce. McNeil later served on the film and visitor's bureau task force of the Antelope Valley Regional Partnership, an organization that is trying to implement the recommendations of the PHH Fantus report.

It was the Antelope Valley Regional Partnership that spearheaded the effort to get Palmdale and Lancaster to create the film office.

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Photo

Photo: Jeff McNeil

Says money the bottom line