Business & Tech
Local Haunts Star in 'Beginners'
The new film features many recognizable spots in or around Hollywood, and with filming in the L.A. region increasing, we may be seeing our town more often on the big and small screens.
Angelenos are accustomed to seeing actors around town, but it’s rare when your own neighborhood makes multiple appearances in a film. But that's the case with the new movie Beginners starring Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer.
Many local Eastside haunts are seen in the film, including Counterpoint Books and Records on Franklin Avenue (one of the few bookstores in the area); Akbar in Silver Lake; Griffith Park; Elysian Park; and the Glendale Narrows alongside the L.A. River. LACMA also makes a brief appearance. It’s great to see so many favorite Hollywood and Eastside spots on the big screen, something we may be experiencing more often with filming in L.A. as a whole on the rise.
FilmL.A., a private nonprofit organization that coordinates film permits in the Los Angeles region, reported in April that on-location filming in the area had increased 4.7 percent in the first quarter of 2011 compared with the year-ago period.
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Filming in the region was reported to be up 15 percent in 2010 from the year before, helped by California’s film and television tax credit program, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The program expires in 2014, but the state Assembly approved a bill last month that would extend it five more years. The state Senate is expected to vote on the bill this summer, according to the Los Angeles Times. The program was started in 2009 to persuade filmmakers to shoot in L.A. after many were lured away to other states.
Take a guided tour through the locations in Beginners here.
