COUNTY BIG HIT AMONG FILM PRODUCERS.

Byline: Dave McNary Daily News Staff Writer

Entertainment production activity in Los Angeles County jumped 29.4 percent last year due to an across-the-board surge in the industry and aided by a streamlined permitting process, an industry tracker reported Wednesday.

Last year's activity was spurred partly by five big-budget features, laden with special effects, being shot in the county for release in 1997: Warner's ``Batman and Robin,'' Universal's ``Dante's Peak,'' Paramount's ``The Flood,'' 20th Century Fox's ``Volcano'' and Sony's ``Starship Troopers.''

``We have been seeing days when all 250 production crews available in the county are being used,'' said Cody Cluff, president of the Entertainment Industry Development Corp. ``It's not uncommon for crews to be shooting within sight of each other.''

The gain follows a 27 percent increase from 1994 to 1995 in production days, which include film, commercials, television, music and still photography.

In response to the release of the figures, Noelia Rodriguez, spokeswoman for Mayor Richard Riordan, said, ``Two thumbs up.''

``This is the return on the investment the mayor made a couple of years ago when he advocated combining the county and city film offices,'' she said. ``We should also congratulate the EIDC for its hard work and making sure there are not only lights and cameras, but action on the streets of Los Angeles.''

The Entertainment Industry Development Corp. was formed in 1995 as a merged entity of the county and city film permit offices to help promote increased local production and convince producers to shoot in the region rather than locales that have been wooing the industry, such as Toronto and Vancouver, Canada, New York, Seattle and the Carolinas. The agency, which has a staff of 25 and receives an average of 1,800 calls per day, bills its ``one-stop'' permitting as a key factor in retaining production.

Cluff said the time it takes to issue a permit has fallen sharply in recent years from two days in 1993 to less than four hours in 80 percent of current productions.

Michael Walbrecht, director of studio and production affairs for Warner Bros., said the Entertainment Industry Development Corp. has been particularly effective in playing a ``mediator'' role between the industry and communities where filming takes place, thus saving time and money for studios.

``I hope the office is able to get more coordinators to handle the volume of calls coming in,'' Walbrecht said, adding that Warner recently signed a three-year lease on the Spruce Goose Dome in Long Beach in order to add to its inventory of production space.

``We have 32 sound stages in Burbank and they're fully booked, so we've been forced to make use of spaces like warehouses and hangars,'' he added.

The number of production days in the county rose by exactly 10,000 last year to 43,982. The biggest gains occurred in March, when production rose by 57.5 percent to 4,526 days, and in November, when it surged 66 percent to 4,402.

Demand for production space has led to studios building new facilities in the Los Angeles area, including Disney in Burbank, DreamWorks SKG in Glendale and Universal Studios pushing its 25-year expansion plan for Universal City, along with expansions by Warner and NBC in Burbank, and CBS in Studio City.

Cluff also said he expects a similar increase in production during 1997 in the county with major gains coming in TV and commercial filming.

Additionally, the California Film Commission has reported a 21 percent gain in production days on state-owned property last year to 1,662, including Sony's ``Jerry Maguire'' and Universal's ``Metro.''

CFC Director Patti Stolkin Archuletta said the gain is due partly to aggressive efforts by state officials to retain film work and by legislation enacted last year to standardize safety codes for studios, encourage the use of closed military bases and streamline construction permitting for sets.

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Chart: ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCTION

Entertainment production was up 29.4 percent in Los Angeles County in 1996. The graphic shows the number of production days for movies, commercials, television, music and still photos.