Written by new-contact on Jan 13, 2015. Posted in On Location

American Sniper helps boost filming days in Santa Clarita region of California

Clint Eastwood’s true-life drama American Sniper helped boost location filming days in Santa Clarita in Los Angeles County, California. In 2014 the city posted year-on-year increases in both the number of filming permits issued and the number of overall filming days.

Santa Clarita’s production popularity stems partly from its proximity to Hollywood. It lies within the so-called ‘Thirty Mile Zone’ so crew can commute directly to set on each shoot day.

The city also offers a local filming incentive that includes refunding basic permit fees.

A collection of movie ranches offer specialist standing sets. Eastwood and Bradley Cooper used a Middle Eastern Village set at the Blue Cloud Movie Ranch as a stand-in for Iraq when they filmed American Sniper.

“Santa Clarita is known as Hollywood North and remains a top choice for location filming in the Los Angeles area, as demonstrated by yet another strong year,” commented Mayor Marsha McLean.

“Filming remains a big part of our business community and local economy by supporting high-paying jobs and hundreds of companies involved in the industry. We will continue to do everything we can to ensure our unique and beautiful valley remains a top choice for filming.”

Santa Clarita’s local production industry has grown in recent years, defying a broader decline for California at the state level.

In the next months, California’s filming incentive will have its annual fund more than tripled and support will be expanded to big-budget shoots. The move is intended to tackle the state’s long-term runaway production problem.