Welcome mat rolled up for moviemakers
By Nancy Needham  nancy@theacorn.com

Thousand Oaks' reputation as a desirable film location is history, according to Michele Pettes, president of the Ventura County Film Commission.

"Thousand Oaks is notorious for being the most difficult location to film in Ventura County," Pettes said.

The city where "It Happened One Night," "Tarzan" and "The Adventures of Robin Hood" were filmed now protects its citizens from filmmakers.

"We recently had Ron Howard filming in Thousand Oaks, a film other cities would roll out the red carpet for, but we got a lot of complaints about how they were treated here," Pettes told the Thousand Oaks-Westlake Village Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Many city residents work in the film industry, and Thousand Oaks City Hall was built on the former site of Jungleland, an animal actor attraction with lions, elephants, chimpanzees and other creatures.

Children who grew up here in the 1960s played on the sets of such TV shows as "Gunsmoke," "Bonanza" and "The Rifleman." But people now want their privacy.

"We try to protect residents from the negative affects of film industry--not a small impact," said Geoff Ware, code compliance manager.

Currently, there must be 100 percent approval by those within a 500-foot radius of a film location. The application for a permit must be reviewed by police and possibly other city departments, depending on the filming plans, he said. Also, a fee of $145 a day plus other charges are levied, he said.

The council adopted a film ordinance in 1997 that Ware called "fairly strict."

Thousand Oaks resident Gary Tachell, president of Third Point Production, has noticed other states seem to be more excited to have filming.

"It's so different there. If you're not stopping traffic or blowing up a building, there are no permits needed," Tachell said.

When he was in Florida, they closed freeways and donated police assistance, he said.

Tachell's not complaining about Thousand Oaks though. He enjoys living here, he said. He's loved Thousand Oaks ever since he moved here as a boy and his grandfather took him to Jungleland, Tachell said.

"My grandfather lived here since the '50s. Lake Sherwood was his secret fishing hole," Tachell said.