S.F.'s curmudgeons yell 'cut!' to filmmakers

A production crew films a scene for "San Fran Land" at Dolores Park in San Francisco, Calif. on Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012. A production crew films a scene for "San Fran Land" at Dolores Park in San Francisco, Calif. on Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012. Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 10 Caption Close S.F.'s curmudgeons yell 'cut!' to filmmakers 1 / 10 Back to Gallery

Cities across the country are falling all over themselves to woo movie and television productions. They give large tax breaks, shut down streets and swoon over the screen stars.

In San Francisco? We're thinking about it.

On one hand, encouraging film and video shoots in the city sounds like a no-brainer. The city is trending like a "Bullitt." "San Andreas," an earthquake disaster picture, is filming here this month; the TV crime drama "Murder in the First" features familiar sites from all over the city; and HBO's "Looking" is headed back for a second season at the end of the month.

"I feel very proud when I see San Francisco on a screen," says Susannah Greason Robbins, executive director of the San Francisco Film Commission. "It is really wonderful to see your city up there, in addition to being projected around the world."

But the confusion, mess and inconvenience of hosting those productions has some local residents experiencing "Vertigo."

Local attorney John Keker, who famously prosecuted Oliver North in the Iran-Contra scandal and defended cyclist Lance Armstrong, is a man of strong opinions. When he heard of plans to close streets near his home on Greenwich Street to film scenes for "San Andreas," he sent a letter to Mayor Ed Lee.

"Your Film Commission has gone mad," Keker wrote. "When I first read (about it) I thought it was an April Fool's joke."

So we will put him down as "undecided."

Still, there's no question a case can be made for filming in the city.

"Productions spend millions of dollars a year on crews, extras, hotels, equipment, catering, and employ hundreds of San Francisco and Bay Area locals," Robbins says. "We hope that bringing jobs, spending and tourism to San Francisco outweighs the inconvenience."

At both the state and local level there are efforts to make San Francisco and California more filming-friendly. A bill, the California Film and Television Job Retention and Promotion Act, is working its way through the state Legislature. It would dramatically increase the tax rebates production companies receive for filming in the state.

John Morse, a San Francisco director who has worked on local shoots for Woody Allen's "Blue Jasmine" and the old Don Johnson cop show "Nash Bridges," says his personal experience is a snapshot of the film business.

"In the first seven years of this century, I had nine projects shot in California and one out of state," he said. "In the next seven years, I had only two in California and seven out of state. This whole thing is about money."

Morse says filming can be done right, without the problems, and cites his experience on "Blue Jasmine."

"We were shooting at this market in the Mission, and it was open at the time," he said. "It was so funny to watch this woman walk by and have her realize, 'Oh my God, that guy in the frumpy hat is Woody Allen.' He was just great about it."

That's in contrast to what happened this week at Fisherman's Wharf, where the "San Andreas" location crew passed out some leaflets announcing that several streets, including the main corridor through the wharf, would be closed next Tuesday and Wednesday.

"I am really surprised that we didn't have any heads-up whatsoever," said Troy Campbell, head of the Fisherman's Wharf Community Benefits District. "Filming on Jefferson Street in the middle of our peak season is not good at all."

As the angry phone calls piled up, everyone went into damage control. Robbins says the movie company has now scaled back plans and has - a little late - gotten approval.

"In her eagerness to get information out early," Robbins wrote in an e-mail that the location manager "leafleted the neighborhood, not realizing that portion of their filming hadn't been given the go-ahead yet."

Yeah, well, if you are trying to encourage filming in the city that's exactly the wrong way to go about it. It makes you wonder how they are going to complete the rest of the movie.

Robbins says that won't be a problem.

"The film is actually mostly being shot in Australia," she says.