DreamWorks production of the feature film "Anchorman," starring Will Ferrell, is in theaters now. It's a period film, representative of the 1970s originally written for Portland, Ore.
Adam McKay, a former writer for the television show "Saturday Night Live," and Will Ferrell, a cast member from the show, have been working on this idea as a premise for a feature film for several years.
DreamWorks, looking for 1970s style news anchor desks and/or sets that they could use in the movie, contacted the San Diego Film Commission in April 2003. They wanted to know if a local station would still have one somewhere. Of course, with ratings a consideration, our local news sets are all updated and not one bit sorry they didn't keep their older desks and backdrops.
DreamWorks was also looking for historical footage that might exist in the local news stations' archives.
The film commission referred the production people to all the local news stations. Additionally, they wanted a tour of a station. Our office sent them to J.W. August, general manager of KGTV (ABC Channel 10), who took the location manager and production designer around the news sets to visualize what real working news teams look like in action.
Jack White, a retired news anchor, was also brought in to consult with the writers to keep their work authentic to the period. McKay and Ferrell met with White and were completely enthralled and entertained with his stories from his long news career.
Although Will Ferrell's character, Ron Burgundy, is fictitious, we in San Diego can see a resemblance to our own Harold Green. Gaudy color combinations, plaids, bell-bottoms, polyester suits with big lapels are all present and representative of that period of time.
Once the production was working with White, the film commission was told that the script was being changed and that San Diego was going to be the character location in this film. There were frequent calls from DreamWorks, which were followed up by sending various location photos to the location manager and production designer. We received many requests for architecture representative of the 1970s. Any period piece will present some problems. Icon locations would definitely target San Diego as the backdrop of the story, however, if the locations had been modernized or surrounding areas looked too present-day, we would be back to the drawing board. The film commission was busy taking photos from rooftops and researching the 1970s San Diego skyline in an effort to capture buildings and groupings of buildings that would work.
After lots of scouting, the final decision was made to build a set characteristic to the period on a stage in Los Angeles. Our biggest challenge then was determining what it would take to film the on-location portion in San Diego, since a majority would be filmed on stage. With their crew and equipment already in Los Angeles, why would they go somewhere else and absorb the cost of hotel rooms and mileage? San Diego can be captured in Los Angeles.
Because of our close working relationship with DreamWorks during months of scouting, we were able to finally capture a day of filming for San Diego. Building as many scenes in San Diego is crucial to building more days, thus more hotel rooms and jobs. Will Ferrell was seen dressed up as Ron Burgundy in many San Diego locations. They shot in front of Executive Complex on Second Avenue. The building was perfect for what they needed and it was building manager Peter Tietz, who consistently supports filming on his property, that made the difference in saving time and money.
Balboa Park, an icon location, was clearly in the film. San Diegans are happy to see their park so beautifully showcased in the film. The inconsistent support of filming at Balboa Park creates some stress for the film commission and production as projects request the park as a location. This difficulty is even more frustrating when it doesn't make it into the film -- so we were especially happy to see the park on the big screen.
There is a scene at a zoo, and you may have already guessed that it was not filmed at the San Diego Zoo. Our zoo is sensitive to activity that would disturb the animals and/or tourism, and thus we cannot provide opportunities to film there. Because it is an icon location that would identify San Diego, DreamWorks wanted it. But they finally shot that scene in Los Angeles.
A day of helicopter shots done here showcased the Coronado Bridge as well as the classic San Diego skyline, which was used as establishing shots in the film. The skyline was another area of concern, although today computers can correct almost anything, including taking out modern buildings that wouldn't have been there in the 1970s.
At the end of the day, we realize that it takes more than "San Diego" in the script to dictate where that film is going, and if by chance we do get the work here for a day or two, it takes a lot of cooperation to keep them happy and coming back for more. The biggest misperception is that they'll come for the weather or because we are a hop, skip and jump from Hollywood. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Anderson has spent much of her life in theatre, writing and film production, as well as her role as film commissioner and CEO with the San Diego Film Commission.
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