LOBBYING EFFORT ON RUNAWAY FILMING.

Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer

HOLLYWOOD - Like a story straight out of the movies he's fighting to protect, Greg Lippe's going to Washington.

Speaking from the Hollywood Entertainment Museum on Monday, Lippe detailed his plans to keep the movies in their original home. As chairman of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association's Runaway Film Production subcommittee, he holds the tricky task of keeping the entertainment industry anchored within Los Angeles. And as Hollywood and its supporting crew in the San Fernando Valley increasingly look elsewhere for cheaper production sites, Lippe and his cohorts have had their work cut out from them.

Their mission: to save the estimated $1 billion runaway production that drains from the local economy annually. Their latest ally: the U.S. House and Senate.

Next week, Lippe and a delegation of 20 industry leaders will head to Capitol Hill to lobby in support of HR 3131 and SB 1278, proposed bills in Congress and the Senate to provide tax incentives to keep production stateside. Though the proposed legislation has attracted heavyweight political support in both houses, Lippe harbors no illusions that getting the bills passed will be easy.

``Congress seems receptive, but it will take work,'' Lippe said. ``Right now, there wouldn't be enough votes, so this will take significant lobbying. We're prepared to do whatever it takes.''

The latest arrow in VICA's quill is ``Runaway Films: Keep Them In America,'' a 10-minute short aimed to soften legislative hearts with its tale of the woes inflicted by films heading to Canada, Australia and elsewhere. Produced and directed by David and Jeff Murphy, the Granada Hills-based brothers who comprise Quest Pictures, the film documents the widespread effects of films fleeing the area, from diminished revenues at local stores to out-of-work actors searching for quality parts.

According to the movie, $10.3 billion has already been lost as films and television shoots have fled for foreign shores. The film, shot and edited in the Valley and Hollywood, seeks to remind politicians of where that money would otherwise go.

``We can use the same media to tell our story that we're trying to protect,'' Lippe said in his introduction.

A slew of local businessmen and civic leaders appear on screen, including Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn.

``We need to be competitive,'' Hahn implores congressional leaders in the film. ``If we're not, we're going to see an industry that is ours going overseas.''

And, Jeff Murphy pointed out, that not only hurts filmmakers like him and his brother but the surrounding community.

``It hurts the heart and soul of the industry,'' he said. ``If we're not working, we can't go to the mall and buy things, so the whole economy gets hit.''

The industry may get its name from Hollywood, but it's the Valley that takes much of that hit, according to Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President and Chief Executive Officer Leron Gubler.

``When you're talking about the area that backs up the industry, it's the Valley,'' Gubler said. ``With all the people that live there, we're interlinked with them on all the same issues.''

Though VICA leaders believe the mission will be a tough one, local financial guru Jack Kyser of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. says there's hope in sight. Kyser, who appears in the video, said that while Los Angeles bears significant production pain, enough national concern exists to carry the bills into law.

``It might not be as difficult as they think,'' Kyser said. ``All the states trying to get location production have felt the pain just as much, if not more, as we have here. I think they could get it passed - there's a lot of people who would be very interested in it.''