County Urged to Retake Control of Film Office : Movies: Chief Administrative Officer Sally Reed will also recommend that its recently fired director be put in charge.

In an illustration of the movie industry’s clout, county Chief Administrative Officer Sally Reed is recommending that the county take back control of film permitting operations from a private firm that has come under heavy fire for dismissing its popular film office director.

Further, Reed said she will urge the Board of Supervisors to hire the deposed director, Stephanie Liner, to direct the county’s film activities.

The recommendation came after a weeklong examination of film office operations and finances that was sparked by the Aug. 16 firing of Liner, who had won praise from film executives for her work in promoting industry affairs.

The review of film office operations was ordered by the Board of Supervisors after about 30 film industry executives showed up at a public hearing last week to support Liner.

In an interview Wednesday, Reed said she concluded that there were no substantive problems with film office operations, but there appeared to be conflicts between the Economic Development Corp. and the county in defining the role of the film office director. The Economic Development Corp. was hired by the county in 1990 to run the film office.

“I think the problems centered on differences in style and in ways of doing things,” Reed said. “Our whole discussion centered around our belief that the work Liner was doing was important and that she played a critical role. We didn’t seem to be able to reconcile that with the management at the EDC.”

In her work at the film office, Liner had focused on easing restrictions on film crews, building community support for the industry and marketing Los Angeles County’s production expertise to retain its status as filmmaking capital of the world.

She has been credited with helping to stem the flight of filmmakers from Los Angeles, which gets $5 billion a year from film and television production. Liner had worked in the county film office for three years, the last year as director.

She said Wednesday that she was still in shock over the events of the last few weeks but that she is willing to do whatever is best for the film industry and the county.

“I think the proactive stance the county is taking is very encouraging,” Liner said. “The film industry runs in a different fashion than other industries. It is changing all the time, and it really takes someone who can pay attention to their needs but who also has the ear of the board.”

Industry executives voiced cautious support for the proposed realignment of the film office.

“I think we are comfortable with Reed’s recommendations as long as it will preserve the level of service we want and . . . we can get strong assurances that the transition will be smoothly arranged,” said Kathleen Milnes, director of governmental affairs for the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

“I think the amount of attention this issue is getting is very encouraging. The county has taken a strong interest in the film industry and its needs, and this is another example of that.”

Reed said money for Liner’s position would come from about $118,000 in surplus funds accrued by the film office in the last two years.

Reed, who will make her recommendation to the board Tuesday, alluded to the importance the county assigns to its relationship with the film industry and to the industry’s outpouring of support for Liner.

“These recommendations are not intended to be a slap at the EDC,” Reed said.

Officials with the development corporation have declined to discuss Liner’s firing, citing confidentiality. Speculation over her ouster, though, had centered on her support for merging the Los Angeles city and county film offices.

The Board of Supervisors has already approved the merger and has received the support of Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan. The City Council is expected to vote on the matter in the next few weeks. If the merger is approved, the county would form a nonprofit organization to handle the city-county film permit operation.

Several supervisors said they had not had a chance to study Reed’s recommendations and could not comment. Supervisor Mike Antonovich, who has been a vocal supporter of the film office, said it made sense for the county to control it until a merger can be arranged.

“I believe it is a step forward in our continuing effort to attract and retain the film industry,” he said.

Gary Conley, president of the development corporation, said his organization also agreed with Reed that “in view of the concerns expressed by the industry and the county, this is the only way the issue could be resolved.”

“It’s a very sensible solution, and overall in everyone’s best interest,” said Conley.

He expressed concern that Reed’s recommendation not be seen as a criticism of the development corporation’s efforts to promote the film industry.

“We have . . . an outstanding track record of assisting and serving the film industry through the film office, and we’ve done a great number of things on our own to promote the industry. We expect to continue to do that,” he said.