Santa Clarita Valley movie studios still shooting; they battle rumors of heavy quake damage, travel woes.

It has taken 10 years for the Santa Clarita Valley to become a film production center and city officials and studio owners there are aggressively trying to avoid letting the Northridge earthquake impede that growth.

They are waging a "damage control" campaign to combat perceptions in the entertainment industry that the studios there were destroyed and the roads leading into and out of the valley are gridlocked. The campaign is also attempting to capitalize on the quake by wooing production out of damaged areas in Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley with a marketing effort.

The City of Santa Clarita's Office of Economic Development together with Herman David, owner of Santa Clarita Studios, have combined to take half-page advertisements in Daily Variety and The Hollywood Reporter to dispel the notion that the Santa Clarita Valley has been cut off from Los Angeles because of earthquake-damaged freeways (Interstate 5, 14). The ads say that stages are immediately available.

As an inducement, David is offering 20 percent discounts on stage rates to earthquake-displaced production companies.

Due to damage at his own facilities, David lost a feature called "Puppet Masters" which went to a studio based in Hollywood, but it has been able to retain two other features and his anchor television show, "Melrose Place." David had to make substantial repairs to his facilities and said he has used 10 times the amount of steel that is required by code to prevent future damage. He didn't have a cost estimate for the repairs.

John Warren, president and owner of Lindsey Studios in the Santa Clarita Valley, took out his own Daily Variety ad on Feb. 25 to let the film industry know it's "business as usual" at his 18-set production facility. Lindsay said he lost a major feature film that bolted soon after the quake for an out-of-state location and that has disrupted his scheduling. He wants to prevent others from departing, he said, and wants to stop a rumor mill in production circles that the area is still paralyzed.

Warren, along with other studio owners and city officials, maintains it takes only 20 to 30 minutes to reach the Santa Clarita production facilities from Hollywood because film crews that leave Los Angeles early in the morning and head north on the I-5 are going against the traffic.

The studios in the Santa Clarita Valley are clustered in an industrial park just east of Magic Mountain amusement park. Coupled with these indoor sets are the dramatic outdoor scenery at nearby Vasquez Rocks.

This combination has enabled the valley to become a film hub capturing around 50 percent of all film, television, commercial and video permits issued by the County of Los Angeles, according to Cheryl Adams, Santa Clarita's film liaison. County film officials didn't confirm those figures but other production observers say they sound too high.

Stephanie Liner, director of the county's film permit office said Santa Clarita has become the most aggressive municipality in the county in seeking film production and is also the most "film friendly."

In the 1980s, the Santa Clarita Valley studios were primarily capturing overflow production from the Hollywood and San Fernando Valley studios. However, Santa Clarita's attitude, improving facilities, low crime rate and easy accessibility put the area on the entertainment map. Studios started cropping up in 1984 and today there are four studios and six film ranches.

Big-budget feature films are shot frequently in the valley. Lindsey Studios hosted upcoming movies sequels to "Beverly Hills Cop" and "The Mighty Ducks." A television movie about the Menendez murder trial, "Honor Thy Father and Mother," is also being shot there.

At Santa Clarita Studios, the next Arnold Schwarzenegger film, "True Lies," recently wrapped after two months of filming, David said.

While the earthquake has caused uncertainty, most in the valley's movie production business expect filming growth to continue.

David, a former studio manager at 20th Century Fox Film Corp., is so confident in the area's future that he recently obtained two permits to build two 15,000-square-foot stages. He also plans to lease 11 acres from the adjacent Newhall Land & Farming Co. where he plans to build exterior sets such as a western street.