County Would Woo Movie Makers : Films: The making of “Blind Faith” in Santa Ana this week aroused optimism about attracting more film makers to area.

As Santa Ana’s historic courthouse was transformed into a film set earlier this week, county officials grew optimistic about the prospect of attracting more film projects into the county.

Orange County could provide an abundance of settings at a time when the film industry is venturing outside the crowded Los Angeles-Hollywood area and even taking its business out of California at an increasing rate, said Orange County Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez.

The county supervisor, who also is an appointee to the California Film Commission, sees this week’s filming of the NBC miniseries “Blind Faith” as a harbinger of deals with the film industry. He says both the county and film makers stand to win. The film industry is offered easy access to the county’s many scenic sites, and the county can prosper from an industry that offers temporary jobs and leaves no detrimental side effects, such as environmental damage or pollution. And the $23,000 per project collected by the county in permit fees doesn’t hurt either.

“Orange County has thrown out its welcome mat to the motion picture industry, and I think this (contract) is clearly a response to that welcome,” said Vasquez, who has worked to ease the county’s filming permit policies since his appointment to the film commission six months ago.

But members of the film industry remain skeptical.

Those working on “Blind Faith” at the 89-year-old courthouse say Vasquez’s work to ease permit requirements and attract film makers to the county has not gone unnoticed. However, they say the county has more to learn before it will attract a steady clientele.

Rick Byrum, location manger for “Blind Faith,” which is being shot in the county courthouse and the Hall of Administration, said county workers were helpful in obtaining the permits, but he doesn’t think the county has the personnel necessary to conduct that type of business on a regular basis.

He suggested the county hire a full-time person to handle relations with the film industry. “Now it’s a little tough for them. They’re all wearing two or three hats,” Byrum said.

Byrum said the county has “come a long way” in its ability to work with the film industry, but it continues to alienate a portion of the market with its slow procedure for issuing filming permits. For example, he said, weekly television programs and other film makers under time constraints would not be able to work easily in the county.

Orange County is “a good-looking place” for filming, he said, and as more film companies shoot here and the county gains the experience of working with the industry, the prospects for a more active relationship in the future will improve.

The filming of “Blind Faith” at the county’s red sandstone courthouse and Hall of Administration will continue through next week. The story, an adaptation of Joseph McGinniss’ bestseller based on a true account, centers on a seemingly normal New Jersey insurance salesman who arranges his wife’s murder in order to cash in on her life insurance policy.