Written by new-contact on Sep 13, 2012. Posted in On Location

California community removes palm trees to appeal as generic small-town USA

A farming town in Southern California has cut down its palm trees to make it feel more like generic small-town America. The changes in Fillmore aren’t for a specific production but in the past the palm trees have lost the town filming business.

Fillmore is one of many California towns struggling to appeal as a filming location to productions that are leaving the state in vast numbers. The town has an old-fashioned cinema, wide pavements and old brick buildings with the generic small-town USA look that appeals to filmmakers, but the palm trees shattered the illusion and immediately identified it as California, the LA Times reports.

It’s just a great-looking town if you're doing the small-town Midwest or Texas. But I remember thinking ‘What are all these palms doing here?’

Tim Hillman, Location Manager

Tim Hillman is a Location Manager and Scout and spoke to the outlet: “For Fillmore to be making a proactive move to be more film-friendly is the most wonderful thing I've ever heard ... It’s just a great-looking town if you're doing the small-town Midwest or Texas. But I remember thinking ‘What are all these palms doing here?’”

California is facing a long-term production exodus, particularly with TV drama projects that rely more heavily on location filming. East-coast states like New York offer more generous filming incentive programmes that are more financially-viable for producers.