FILMING UP FOR MONTH IN MOST CATEGORIES.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

Feature-film, television, commercial and music video production were up a combined 37.7 percent during the month of October compared with production levels a year earlier, according to figures released Thursday by the Entertainment Industry Development Corp.

Production days totaled 2,612 last month, a significant leap from the 1,897 days reported in October 2001, when feature film production was still in the midst of a major slowdown stemming from threatened actors and writers strikes earlier that year.

Movie filming accounted for 835 production days in October, more than double the 399 days recorded 12 months earlier. But there were still 95 fewer filming days than in September, which had been a five-year high for that month.

One of the most visible productions in town has been the Harrison Ford-Josh Hartnett comedy ``Hollywood Homicide,'' which filmed on Hollywood Boulevard during the month and required the daytime closure of the street to traffic for several weeks.

High-profile films that began production in Los Angeles in October include: ``The Cat in The Hat'' starring Mike Myers; ``S.W.A.T.'' starring Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Farrell (loosely based on the 1970s television series of the same name); ``The Whole Nine Yards 2,'' a comedy sequel starring Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry; and the drama ``House of Sand and Fog,'' starring Oscar winners Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley.

Other ongoing projects in the area are the Eddie Murphy comedy ``Daddy Day Care,'' the remake of Disney's ``Freaky Friday'' starring Jaime Lee Curtis, and an untitled action-adventure starring Dwayne ``The Rock'' Johnson and Seann William Scott of ``American Pie'' fame.

The television season remaining in full production resulted in robust numbers totaling 1,231 days, a solid 290-day increase from October 2001 but a 50-day drop from a month earlier.

Television commercials, the area of filming most impacted by the struggling economy, recorded 440 filming days. That total was an increase of 51 days from a year earlier but a dip of 77 days from September's figures. Music video totals (106 days) were down by 60 days compared with the same month a year earlier but were up by six days from September.