Our region has long been one of Hollywood’s well-known secrets. Because of the area’s natural beauty and close to year-round clement weather (the two compelling reasons that made filmmakers leave New York in the early 1920s for a stronghold in Southern California), movies, TV shows and commercials have been shot here for years.

Examples abound, from actor-director Buster Keaton’s shooting much of his 1928 comic epic, “Steamboat Bill, Jr.,” along the Sacramento River to area native Greta Gerwig’s 2017 Oscar-nominated, coming-of-age comedy-drama “Lady Bird.” At least two John Travolta movies have been filmed here. Eddie Murphy shot segments of his prison comedy “Life” here, while chunks of the Al Pacino-Michelle Pfeiffer romance “Frankie and Johnny” were shot in Sacramento and Folsom. A scene from “Almost Famous” was shot in Lincoln, and the opening of the Oscar-winning “American Beauty” featured a flyover shot of East Sacramento’s “Fab 40s” neighborhood.  

A favorite of mine was shot in my hometown of Nevada City in 2006 — Hallmark Channel’s “The Christmas Card.” And local filmmaker Joe Carnahan made his 2006 action-packed “Smokin’ Aces” in and around the area.

Besides the weather, we’re a one-hour plane ride from Los Angeles — meaning a production company can transport back and forth easily without huge travel expenses. In the late 1970s, the city and county of Sacramento created a joint-powers commission whose task it was to make movie makers aware of our region’s amenities and eagerness to help. The Film Location Industry Commission of Sacramento, cleverly branded FLICS, boasted a number of successes (like the Peter O’Toole movie “The Stuntman”). This didn’t go unnoticed by Visit Sacramento (then called the Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau), which created a new office to bring films and television shows here.  

A number of people have had the inspired idea to build a movie studio here. I really like this idea. It could be a wonderful addition to Sacramento, raising our tax base and revenues for several support industries (restaurants, caterers, hotels, services) as well as creating 3,000 to 5,000 well-paying jobs for seasoned professionals and even young people enrolled in media classes at our area high schools and colleges. And it would add to our increasing luster — that special something we have that attracts tourism, business relocations and residential growth.

One prominent supporter of building a studio here is director Nick Leisure, whom I had the pleasure of talking to recently. (He’s interviewed by Charley Ansbach on our popular podcast “The Connection Point” if you want to learn more about him.) Nick works closely with Charlie Arneson, who in turn works closely with James Cameron, director of “Titanic,” “The Abyss” and two “Avatar” films. Nick has shot several movies here already — he’s been shooting the film “Golden” for several months now; it’s expected to land in theaters in mid-October, both here and in 50 other cities. His movie “Land the Night” was shot entirely at El Camino High School and comes out shortly.  

What if we had a major film studio here, drawing talent from Hollywood and beyond? We have so many industries represented in our region, but I often hear leaders suggest we’re still missing something important. Could this be the missing puzzle piece?  

Fulfilling this vision is far more complicated than saying, “Build it and they will come.”  The film industry itself needs to discover the treasures we offer here. We need a champion. Maybe it’s Nick Leisure and Charlie Arneson. But I think it’s all of us. 

It would cost about $80 to $100 million to fund the first of four phases of building a studio. But there already is investment interest, so getting it wouldn’t be the hardest part. It would involve selecting a site with maybe 165 acres ultimately on which to build it — maybe a decommissioned military base, maybe something at Cal Expo, or some of the land surrounding a regional casino or almost any vast stretch of undeveloped, non-arable terrain. 

It would also involve bringing together builders, bankers, artists, bond counsel, environmentalists and sometimes the hardest thing to come by in our region: political will. I understand there is a lot of interest in this idea but getting the buy-in and approvals of elected leaders could be the problem. And that part I don’t understand. If something is good for the region, good for the economy, good for jobs, why wouldn’t they be all for it? Come on, people!  

I remember well when we all struggled to find a solution to the then-burning question “What do we do when McClellan AFB closes?” At the time it seemed like the sky was falling. It was the hot topic on the minds of everyone in leadership. Many were extremely concerned at the loss of jobs and more — for many reasons. Comstock’s ended up being part of the solution to that question, but that’s another story; to me, a “what if” story. 

There are many “what if” stories all around us. What if we had our own film studio here? It could ultimately bring in mega-millions of dollars to our region. I’m not seeing a downside, are you? I think we’re definitely ready for our close-up. What do you think?

Winnie Comstock-Carlson
President and Publisher

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