Vigilantes, revolutions and a powerhouse father-daughter duo, while taking over San Diego County, brought almost $7 million to it.
How? Via One Battle After Another, the new Warner Bros production that spent six weeks filming in the county. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Teyana Taylor, the film generated $6.86 million for the local economy. It even garnered love from locals, including county officials.
Steve Lockett, the county’s deputy director of economic development and government affairs, said that the county built a strong relationship with the film crew in hopes of encouraging more productions to come to San Diego.
“My staff worked with them to identify locations that would be suitable. We first worked around county parks that might fit with what the producers were looking for, then transitioned to Borrego Springs,” Lockett said. “They were in Borrego Springs for a couple of weeks, really enjoyed their time there, enjoyed working with us and actually ended up extending their stay for several weeks to shoot along the border.”
San Diegans watching the film release on Friday, can expect to see shots from Borrego Springs, Otay Mesa and Agua Caliente. While filming in Otay Mesa, the film studio reported hiring more than 300 local extras and 64 San Diego vendors.
The film follows DiCaprio, who plays an ex-revolutionary and paranoid father living off-the-grid with his teenage daughter. When his nemesis comes back and his daughter goes missing, DiCaprio’s character goes on a journey to find her.
Lockett said the county worked closely with the film’s production, easing legal barriers for the crew. He added that his office aims to grow the film presence in San Diego, and wants future productions to know that it’s more than sandy shores.
“We have a lot of the same terrain and a lot of the same visual cues that you might see in L.A. County, we have them here in San Diego and we tend to be cheaper,” Lockett said. “For permitting processes we’re easier to reach and things tend to move quicker for us. One of the things we’re trying to promote is that personal relationship with location scouts and build that kind of word of mouth.”
The Office of Economic Development started just three years ago, but Lockett said they are fielding more and more production calls. The region isn’t new to the silver screen, but the economic impact from One Battle After Another is showing a need to nurture cinema.
“I firmly believe that the creative economy is a major driver of our regional economy. That’s everything from supporting arts, culture to film. Because when somebody comes and does filmmaking here, commercials or large films, it’s not just a filmmaker,” Lockett said. “They spend money on food, they spend money on hotels, they hire locals for extras, they buy materials. They’re putting significant dollars into the economy.”
