Hollywood’s Backlot

HOLLYWOOD’S BACK LOT

Santa Clarita’s momentum for growth of film industry continues to roll

BY PERRY SMITH

SCV Business Journal Editor

Acouple of things become obvious after meeting Anthony Syracuse, co-owner of LA North, and touring one of the 16 massive soundstages his company operates in Santa Clarita: 1. He’s an industry veteran whose know-how and connections drive the success of his burgeoning, 4-year-old company; and 2. he’s one of the most enthusiastic starred Morgan Freeman and Christian Slater.

In 2006, he became the youngest construction coordinator in the United States, while he was working on a film called “3:10 to Yuma,” a Western action drama, but his success came at a cost. He spent nearly a half-dozen years on the road, chasing work on blockbuster productions to a growing number of places that were offering tax advantages to try and be competitive with Hollywood’s Thirty-Mile Zone.

The “chase” became a challenge for Syracuse, who noticed that there was less and less local work and, at the same time, he and his wife were raising a young family, and he desired something a little closer to home.

Then Syracuse developed a local plan with his business partner, real estate expert John Prabhu.

The two now own and operate close to a half-million square feet of soundstage space spread out over five campuses in Santa Clarita, with plans to grow.

“Our model is a little different. Our model is, good shows that are looking for a reasonable place to work,” Syracuse said, whose studio has hosted everything from “The Fablemans,” another Spielberg blockbuster, and “Emancipation,” Will Smith’s latest release, which is available now from Apple Studios.

He also knows he’s part of a community that works hard to draw filming to the area, and that’s a big help, too. He gave a big credit to Mike DeLorenzo, president of Santa Clarita Studios, as one of the biggest reasons why Santa Clarita’s rep is

ambassadors of in-state filming, especially in the city, that anyone could ask for.

The 45-year-old remembers first being drawn to film sets before he even attended Saugus High, visiting his dad “at the office” so to speak, while the elder Syracuse worked on building the sets for Steven Spielberg’s “Hook” in 1989.

After graduating, he went right to work in the industry, following in those footsteps with work on his first project, “Hard Rain,” a 1998 action flick that

REVENUE STREAM

The list of locations in Santa Clarita can be seen on page 24 and the impacts to the local economy have grown almost every year since 2003, for a total estimated economic impact that’s surpassed $2.5 billion over the last 20 years. Below are the numbers for the last five years:

The economic impact figure is based on a formula created by the California Film Commission, which looks at the estimated spending per day on a range of productions from features and television shows, which spend a projected $30,000 per day to student projects and nonprofit work that have an estimated impact of about $1,500 per day.

CALENDAR YEAR PERMIT NO. FILM DAYS FINANCIAL IMPACT

2018 547 1376 $ 32,941,000.00 2019 581 1500 $ 35,910,000.00 2020 351 1055 $ 26,765,000.00 2021 579 1505 $ 37,682,500.00 2022 455 1291 $ 32,461,500.00

The Scenic Companies’ Mark Larinto walks through a 100,000-square-foot warehouse storing movie props and scenery. This is one of eight warehouses totaling 420,000 square feet at Scenic Expression. PHOTOS BY DAN WATSON / THE SIGNAL

so strong right now. That facility was the first-purpose built studio in Santa Clarita, and it continues to grow, also.

“You can quote me on this: LA North would not be in existence without Mike DeLorenzo. He saw something out here,” Syracuse said, describing how DeLorenzo has helped him “move mountains” to facilitate filming projects, recalling one specifically at Magic Mountain.

Syracuse added that the support he receives from Santa Clarita, whether it’s from the Film Office, local fire officials or code enforcement, is a big part of what makes the studio unique. The facilities also offer isolation from distraction and anonymity that lets the stars of major motion pictures do their jobs without a lot of the hassles that exist south of the Newhall Pass.

“The best part about this is the city of Santa Clarita,” he added. “If you take this property, we put it anywhere south of the 5 and (Highway) 14, the riff-raff that goes on outside of those properties is something that we don’t have up here.”

Growing and Growing

Triscenic Production Services has been a force in the film community for a little over 35 years, starting with a 10,000-square-foot lot in the Commerce, and now operating approximately 1.75 million square feet throughout Southern California.

The company has helped out on more than 4,000 films, shows and commercials over the years, according to its website, and it continues to grow due to its ability to recognize trends and adapt to them, according to Bob Doyle, executive vice president of business development.

The company’s most recent growth area has been set recycling, disposal and sound stages, with the company currently operating seven locations in the city.

“We work with the major studios, of course, but also, we do a lot of work with production companies,” Doyle said. “And we service the different platforms from commercials and music videos to TV series and then feature films as well. And we’d like to think that there’s no there’s no project too small or too large that we’re not willing to jump in and help out.”

He also shared what many others have in terms of the welcoming environment that Santa Clarita offers, not only from the city’s support staff, and a proximity to other companies in the industry, but from the surrounding environment, too.

The city offers freeway-proximity convenience, lots of options for different locations and supportive atmosphere, Doyle said, and whether the project is a shorter music video shoot or a feature film, he always hears positive feedback from production companies.

“I mean, from my perspective, it’s a safe environment. You know, when you’re doing a lot of work down in (Los Angeles) and all the other areas, there’s a lot of homelessness, unfortunately, and there’s a lot of crime — up here in Santa Clarita, it’s a clean, safe environment to work in. Everything is conveniently located. There are so many options for food. I mean, it’s just the best of all, you know, the best of all possible cases.”

Behind the Scenes

Mark Larinto, who runs The Scenic Companies with his brother Robert and his son Tyler shared the same sentiment regarding why he’s made big expansion plans in Santa Clarita.

The Larintos run a company that stores sets for hundreds of production companies, including the ones that produce Hollywood’s biggest awards shows, a countless number of streaming productions and a host of big budget movies.

They recently signed a multiyear lease on nearly 300,000 square feet of space at the Saugus Station Industrial Center, behind Railroad Avenue off Springbrook Avenue, where he plans to install the headquarters of their operations, not far from where the city recently approved about 400,000 square feet of building for The Covington Group, a Dallas-based business park developer.

It signaled a big commitment for the business owners who have more than 1.2 million square feet of storage space, including properties in Valencia, North Hollywood and Atlanta, which Larinto likened to “putting his money where his mouth is” in terms of all of his support for his hometown.

“It was a pretty big investment ... and, you know, it shows how bullish we are in Santa Clarita,” Mark Larinto said, during a recent tour of his warehouse, which stores everything from the oversized Academy Award statues of Oscar to a spaceship that Johnny Depp commissioned in order to send Hunter S.