Today was a great day to be on the radio. Because it is the 5th Thursday, it was Radio Chicks day featuring me as The Goddess of Skin Care, Denise Marie as the Media Mavin and Cindy as Madame Director. This time, we added one more chick to our clutch - Janice Arrington, Orange County Film Commissioner.
Janice is Orange County's first and only film commissioner and she is the point person to bring Hollywood to Orange County. Since 1999, 43 movies have been filmed in Orange County including Pearl Harbor (at the Tustin air base), Borat (at the Block), and the soon to be released Frost/Nixon (at the Nixon Library and San Clemente's Western White House). That number does not include feature films, commercials and photography.
Besides learning that we even had a film commission, I learned that every county in California, every state in the US and every country has a film commission. Why - economic development! A film commission is the first place that location scouts call to find what they're looking for. And, the commission can help with permits and such.
When a film production comes to an area, they spend lots of money on everything from hotel rooms and food to off-duty police and firemen to the location and permit fees. Additionally, that area gets the promotion that comes with film and this is good for tourism bringing more money to the area. When Jackie Chan came to Orange County to film Rush Hour 3, alot of supplies were purchased locally and Jackie bought souvenirs from Home Depot to bring back to China!
Janice is a very interesting person and we were happy to have her on the show. Check out the commission's new website at FilmOrangeCounty.org.
