SANTA CLARITA STUDIOS CHAN OPENS FACILITY.Byline: JERRY BERRIOS Staff Writer Actor Jackie Chan Jackie Chan SBS, (born April 7, 1954), also known as Sing Lung in Cantonese (Traditional Chinese: 成龍; Simplified Chinese: 成龙 on Friday opened a branch of his management company, JC Culture USA, at Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, Studios. Chan made the official announcement during an afternoon news conference at a cavernous cavernous /cav·er·nous/ (kav´er-nus) 1. pertaining to a hollow, or containing hollow spaces. 2. having a hollow sound, such as certain abnormal breath sounds. sound stage on the site. "Because of the sincere invitation from Santa Clarita city and its policy of encouraging the development of the movie industry, my new management company has chosen to be located at first in Santa Clarita Studios," Chan said in Mandarin through an interpreter. The U.S. office of JC Culture USA will focus on projects including a Broadway show in Chinese and English based on Chan's book, "I am Jackie Chan." David McKeon, executive vice president for operations at JC Culture USA, will be one of seven employees based at Santa Clarita Studios working on the Broadway show and other projects. "He wants people to know more about where he came from, what he has gone through, what his path was to get here," McKeon said. "He grew up in an academy, which is like an orphanage ORPHANAGE, Eng. law. By the custom of London, when a freeman of that city dies, his estate is divided into three parts, as follows: one third part to the widow; another, to the children advanced by him in his lifetime, which is called the orphanage; and the other third part may be by him ." Chan also wants to be a liaison for production companies filming in China. He wants to help movie industry officials recruit local bilingual crew members, find locations and apply for local permits. "I believe our service will be valuable," Chan said through his interpreter. "Based on the resources we have, we are confident that we will offer the production companies, studios and individual producers the best service in China." At that point, Chan's interpreter fell off the dais, giving the actor the opportunity to show off his comic timing. "Stuntgirl," Chan said as the young lady made it back to the stage unharmed. California elected officials -- U.S. Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, Assemblyman as·sem·bly·man n. A man who is a member of a legislative assembly. assemblyman Noun pl -men a member of a legislative assembly Noun 1. Cameron Smyth Cameron Smyth is a Republican who has represented Califoria's 38th Assembly district since December of 2006. He succeeded Keith Richman who was term limited. Prior to being elected to the state legislature, Assemblyman Smyth served on the Santa Clarita City Council, where he and Santa Clarita Councilman Bob Kellar -- took the opportunity Friday to give Chan some awards and praise him for bringing jobs to the area and the state. "The industry will provide such an economic benefit to not only this area but to the state of California as a whole and provide badly needed jobs for so many people," Smyth said. Santa Clarita is thrilled to have Chan's business, Kellar said. He said Santa Clarita is one of California's most-filmed cities and has nearly 10,000 residents working in the entertainment industry. The city is within the 30-mile zone including Hollywood studios and offers a reverse commute A reverse commute is a round trip, regularly taken, from a metropolitan area to a suburban one in the morning, and returning in the evening. It is almost universally applied to the trip to work in the suburbs from home in the city. , Kellar said. The city has the lowest film permit fees in the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. area and is home to more than 10 movie ranches A movie ranch is a ranch that is at least partially dedicated to being used as a site for the production of motion pictures. Movie ranches first came into use in southern California in the 1920s when westerns had become increasingly popular. and more than 20 sound stages. "This is going to continue to show that Santa Clarita is a true leader in the filming industry in America," Kellar said about Chan's decision to locate in the city. McKeon said Chan chose Santa Clarita over places such as Hollywood and Santa Monica Santa Monica (săn`tə mŏn`ĭkə), city (1990 pop. 86,905), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1886. Tourism and retailing are important, and the city has motion-picture, biotechnology, and software industries. because of the city's tax rebates and film-friendly atmosphere. "When we were looking at all the other options, financially, it makes sense to do business here," McKeon said. jerry.berrios(at)dailynews.com (661) 257-5253 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Actor Jackie Chan sits with Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon during a ceremony in which Chan received several awards, including being named Sino American cultural exchange ambassador, at Santa Clarita Studios in Valencia on Friday. Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion