Inside American Zoetrope Studios

All Dressed & Nowhere To Go?
It's ironic that American Zoetrope is that it is a world-class filmmaking facility in a non-filmmaking capital. Despite many attempts by local filmmakers to make San Francisco a filmmaking Mecca, it seems like little progress has been made over the years. However, Stein (a long-time San Francisco Bay Area filmmaker) notes that things are changing for the better. "When I got working in film. When I got [to San Francisco] in 1973, a lot of people said" This whole feature film thing in San Francisco, it's about to explode - just hang on," says Stein with a smile. "Well, it's about 27 years later and I'm ready for the explosion, but I haven't seen it yet (laughs)."

However, Stein notes that the biggest single factor that could contribute to San Francisco's becoming a film making Mecca now are the many military base closures in the area. "Now we have Treasure Island, Alameda naval station - Suddenly you have these beautiful huge buildings that the government doesn't want," points out Stein. "All you need to do is just bring your generator and you have a sound stage."

Adding to this is a growing community of ex-patriot directors and producers - from Barry Levinson to Chris Columbus - who are doing production and post-production in the Bay Area. Stein believes that this combination of facility and space availability with localized talent could be the momentum that finally pushes San Francisco into a filmmaking center. "It will certainly never be Hollywood," said Stein, "but we don't want it to be Hollywood - we want it to stay San Francisco."

We'd like to thank Howie Stein, Jo-Carol Davidson, and Frances Coppola for their help in creating this piece.

Erik Holsinger is a Bay Area writer and producer who still has a bottle of champagne ready for the Dawn of The San Francisco Movie Era - or for Rent Control in San Francisco, whichever comes first. You can reach him at eholsinger@digitalmedianet.com