FILMMAKING DECLINES IN SCV; DROP IN SHOOTING DAYS ATTRIBUTED TO RUNAWAY PRODUCTION.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry Staff Writer

The lights are dimming, cameras are going still, and there's less action in the Santa Clarita Valley, where film production fell by 50 percent for the first six months of the year.

Various movie, commercial, television and music crews recorded filming a total of 324 days from January to June, compared with 661 days during the comparable period in 1998, 662 days in 1997 and 369 days in 1996.

Throughout Los Angeles County, production days totaled 14,076 during the first half of this year compared with 15,074 from January to June 1998 - a 6.6 percent drop.

``Production is just leaving Los Angeles,'' said April Aston, movie liaison for the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce. ``The second thing is that there's just not as much production as there used to be.''

According to industry analysts, increasing competition for moviegoers' dollars is making production companies more conscientious about the amount of filming they do. Studios are concentrating on quality as opposed to quantity.

``The major studios are releasing fewer films, but better films,'' said Jack Kyser, chief economist for Los Angeles County Economic Developmental Corp. ``A lot of films are not performing at all. Cost is becoming very, very important.''

Santa Clarita is a popular site for location shoots, offering seven movies ranches and five production companies, along with the rustic beauty of downtown Newhall and the natural backdrops of Vasquez Rocks and Castaic Lake.

They have provided the setting for several television productions, including ``JAG,'' ``Mighty Morphin Power Rangers,'' ``The Profiler,'' ``X-Files,'' and ``Providence.''

``They have shot in the past season and I expect we'll see more of them,'' Aston said.

New to the area is ``Any Day Now,'' a Lifetime cable network show produced by Aaron Spelling and starring Annie Potts. It has taken over the filming space previously used by the long-running drama ``Melrose Place,'' another Spelling production.

But balancing the productions that are filming in Santa Clarita are those like ``Seven Days,'' a weekly UPN series, and a Woody Allen movie, which fled to other locales, primarily Vancouver, which offer attractive tax credits and other benefits.

``They went to Canada,'' said Aston. ``I guess it was the cost.''

Local officials say the loss of production hurts all sectors of the local economy, not just those in the entertainment business.

``It means we have residents who aren't working,'' said Aston. ``It means that we have businesses who are relying on them that are losing money.''

The decline in the industry is not only expected to affect technicians, camera people and laborers, but support industries as well such as manicurists, carpenters and caterers.

With companies leaving town, Aston says that her work will become more challenging. But she has a plan.

``We're looking at adding another trade show,'' she said. ``If we do that, it should attract commercials out of New York. But it's still something that we're looking at.''

Hoping to combat the production exodus out of Hollywood, several legislators have authored bills offering tax cuts similar to those offered by Vancouver and other locations.

In another step toward thwarting runaway production, the state Assembly passed a resolution by Assemblyman George Runner, R-Lancaster, calling on Congress to review the country's trade relations with Canada to promote incentives ensuring that the film industry remains in California.

And U.S. Rep. Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, was named chairman of the group created to examine industry problems locally and nationally. The effort is the creation of U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., chairman of the Entertainment Industry Task Force.

``We're going to keep working hard and to keep attracting filming to Santa Clarita Valley,'' said Aston. ``We're going to do what we can.''