RIDGECREST NABS 3 OF 12 STATE FILM AWARDS(10/21/01)

    (Ridgecrest)---The 7th ANNUAL CALIFORNIA ON LOCATION AWARDS ceremonies took place at The Castaway Restaurant in Burbank Sunday, October 21st, as over 200 of the state's location professionals, film commissioners, industry leaders and their friends celebrated this year's accomplishments of filming in California. And the winner is...RIDGECREST!  According to Ridgecrest Regional Film Commissioner (RRFC), Ray Arthur, of the 12 major categories, three of this year's winners were nominated by, and represented film production in Ridgecrest.  "We were very fortunate to have three winners from our area this year.  They were:  PLANET OF THE APES for production company of the year - feature films, TOM HOLADAY for location professional of the year - feature films, and PETER GRAVES for public employee of the year - federal.  And, we're especially excited for Peter because he has been a finalist twice before, and this year he gets the full recognition he deserves," Arthur said.  Arthur also noted that two additional nominees were finalists:  Robin Citrin for location professional of the year - features for Planet of the Apes, and Shotsie Kassim for location professional of the year - still photography, for a magazine cover shoot with "Apes" co-star Estella Warren

    This year's COLA feature film winner, PLANET OF THE APES, was Ridgecrest's biggest film project ever, with a cast and crew of over 1,000 for almost six months.  The RRFC estimates the revenue stream from that project alone, at over $3.4 million.  Tom Holaday, winner for top pro in stills, was shooting a Renault print ad at the Trona Pinnacles when regional wildfires almost canceled his project.  And, according to Arthur, Peter Graves of the Ridgecrest BLM resource office, was integral in both saving Holiday's shot, as well as creating the partnership with Twentieth Century Fox that resulted in PLANET OF THE APES filming in and around Ridgecrest.

    The "COLA" awards are the only industry recognition for location professionals and were created in 1995 by the California Film Commission and its 57 "FLICS," film liaisons in California, statewide.  There are the city, county, and regional film offices throughout the state that work directly with location scouts, location managers, production managers and other industry professionals to find and secure locations in their communities and to facilitate the needs of the crews while on location.

    Ridgecrest, a city of 25,000 located in the Mojave "High Desert" is located 2 1/2 hours northeast of Los Angeles, and hosts approximately 100 film productions each year.  According to Arthur, the city and the 10,000 square miles around it are perfect for filming "340 days year  of sunshine, dozens of unique desert and rural locations, a full service city with 700 rooms, 65 restaurants, a dozen caterers and no traffic.  You have rush hours...we have rush minutes."

    Since 1992, the Ridgecrest Regional Film Commission has hosted over 800 shoots including the feature films:  Dinosaur, Jurassic Park, Bulletproof, Switchback, Terminal Velocity, Wayne's World II, Television's ER, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Space:  Above and Beyond, MTV's Road Rules, and music videos by The Corrs, Madonna, Puff Daddy, Marcy Playground, Filter, Isaac Hayes, Kathy Mattea, Aerosmith, Vanessa Williams, Alan Jackson and Donny Osmond.