Newport starring on producers’ maps

Alicia Robinson

A bevy of movies, commercials and TV shows, including hit show “The

O.C.,” are finding this city by the sea an ideal place to shoot.

Newport’s booming film business has produced a windfall for local

business, with hotels and stores among the beneficiaries.

“We are the No. 1 city in Orange County to film in, that’s easy,”

said Joseph Cleary, a consultant who is essentially the city’s film

guru. “We do more filming in a month than the rest of the county does

in a year.”

For 20 years, Cleary and business partner Marty Capune have been

liaisons for the city, helping media crews scout locations, get

filming permits and go anywhere in Newport Beach.

And the media have come in increasing numbers since at least 1987,

when the city began tracking film permits. City records show the

growth, with just 27 productions filming here in 1987 compared with

197 productions in 2003, city revenue manager Glen Everroad said.

In April alone, crews filmed segments for the Colorado-based Love

Stories Network, a British Broadcasting Corp. program and an MTV

reality show.

Ads were also shot here for the Long Beach Aquarium and the

Monterey Bay and Anthropologie clothing companies.

“I find that people come here because this is a very opportunist

city for filming,” Cleary said. “Newport is able to respond instantly

to your needs film-wise, and that is a big plus.”

Hotels have reaped the benefits of the city’s photogenic

qualities. Newport Beach hotel room occupancy increased 12% from

January to March, and the March occupancy rate was 13.2% higher than

the same month in 2003, according to statistics given by PKF

Consulting.

“We’ve had two or three [production] groups come in within the

last two or three months, and what we give them is a combination of

rooms and our conference room,” said Michel Pourmussa, owner and

manager of the Balboa Inn.

The city’s conference and visitors bureau has latched on to

interest generated by “The O.C.” and other shows featuring Newport

Beach and turned it into a marketing plan, offering tourist packages

with entertainment as seen on TV.

“This is what people are going to request and we want to make it

real easy for them to buy,” said Marta Hayden, executive director of

the Newport Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau.

“When both ‘The Bachelorette’ and ‘The Bachelor’ aired shows where

couples went on dates here, people called asking where the shows

filmed and how they could visit those places,” she said.

The city gets its share of film-related dollars in the form of

sales taxes, hotel taxes and other income, Everroad said.

“As a city that depends heavily on tourist dollars, we know there

is a direct correlation between Newport Beach’s appearance in the

media ... and the decision that some people have [made] to come to

Newport Beach,” Everroad said.

Experts say it’s difficult to tell which came first.

Everroad traces it directly to Cleary’s efforts, and Cleary said

marketing is easy when you have a good product.

“I think we’re the busiest we’ve ever been, and it’s probably

[because of] ‘The O.C.,’” Cleary said. “The reason why ‘The O.C.’ is

a hit is because we are a hit place to live.”

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers business, politics and the environment.

She may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at

alicia.robinson@latimes.com.