Abstract Over the month of October the number of filming permits issued for public land overseen by the Bureau of Land Management experienced a mild but characteristic drop. While 25 permits were closed compared to only 15 that were authorized, this was actually a positive trend compared to October, 2015. The net total of filming permits in October 2015 dropped…
Author: Lizette Twain
May 2016 Review
May 2016 experienced a spike in authorized filming permits on federal land compared to May 2015 (70%). This increase was almost exclusively accounted for by the 12 permits authorized in California (5)—all but one of which were located in San Bernardino, California. Similar to April 2016, the majority of closed permits were located in Utah (21) and half of which were in Grand, Utah (7). Nationwide Trends State Trends…
April 2016 Review
Over the month of April 2016, 11 filming permits on Bureau of Land Management administered land were authorized, primarily in California. This is ten more permits authorized than April 2015. Yet, this is less than the 34 permits closed over April—21 of which were in Utah. Seventeen of these closed permits were in Grand, Utah, where the majority of March’s activity also occurred.…
March 2016 Review
March marked a noteworthy uptick in film permits authorized and pending on public land. The 21 authorized is a 250% increase compared to March 2015. Over half of these authorized permits are located in Utah—Grand, Utah in particular. There are an additional 26 pending filming permits, half of which are in Utah. While, permits closed in the same month exceed the number opened, the increase compared to 2015 is less dramatic.
Bronson Canyon
Holy historic landmark, Batman! It’s Bronson Canyon! Along with Griffith Observatory, Bronson Canyon is an iconic and much filmed feature of Griffith Park. For Hollywood, particularly low budget productions, Bronson Canyon is an ideal filming location given its proximity to studios while maintaining a rugged terrain. It’s been a favorite of westerns and science fiction for it’s rocky, deserted, alien landscape…
Department of the Interior Museum
Along with assorted administrative offices, the Department of the Interior (DOI) building in Washington DC houses a museum. As a result of a recent renovation effort, only part of the museum is open, but the little that is there focuses on the DOI in print, art, and—most importantly to us—film. With sweeping vistas and alien terrain to oversee, it is little…
Los Angeles County Arboretum
Los Angeles has many popular filming locations, but few can be the backdrop for a tropical island or jungle wilderness. One rare convenient location for Hollywood is the Los Angeles Arboretum, whose palm fringed pools and prehistoric forrest has been the settings for shoots from Fantasy Island to Jurassic Park. The LA Arboretum finds some of its original landscaping in…
Understanding Maps
The time has come for a over of our mapping services to clear the way for further development of handy tools for our users. As such, this month we have rolled out a new map format to better allow our users to quickly peruse filmmaking permits by disposition. In order to keep the maps as clutter free as possibly, we…
Understanding Film Permit Ownership
We receive lots of emails from people who find their name or a relative’s name on our site and want to know if this means they have some right to the land listed under that name. The short answer is, “if you have to ask, then probably not” but the complete answer deserves the time and attention that is best…
Understanding BLM Administrative Areas
We have added a new way to browse and explore permits: by Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Administrative Area. To give context to this new feature, we wrote this handy explanation. Summary Nearly a quarter of a billion acres – about one-eighth of the landmass of the USA – is administered by the BLM. These public lands & resources contributed…