Every summer, San Diego Comic-Con puts San Diego under Hollywood’s spotlight as film studios and entertainment companies descend on the pop culture event.
But they don’t exactly ignore San Diego the rest of the year when it comes to filming. Many well-known projects, even classics, have been shot here and more may be on the way, according to a group of filmmakers and observers at a “San Diego on Screen” panel discussion.
“Some Like it Hot,” “Citizen Kane,” “Top Gun” and “Anchorman” are some of the most well-known films shot on location in San Diego. The last Academy Award winner for Best Picture, “One Battle After Another,” filmed for several weeks in San Diego.
San Diego’s weather and diverse geography are two of the big attractions for producers. And that pays dividends for the region.
Filming brings in dollars, not to mention tourism driven by travelers and locals who want to see where the films were shot.
“There’s a huge market for that,” said Jake Rowlett, a geography professor at SDSU who does research on film locations and tourism.
The earliest film shot in San Diego is believed to be footage of a streetcar on Broadway in downtown San Diego during the 1880s or 1890s. Early footage of Balboa Park also has been cited.
Speakers talked about several films that are less well known.
Those include “The Stuntman,” a 1980 film shot at the Hotel Del Coronado, also host to the far more famous “Some Like it Hot,” starring Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe.
Television’s ’00s teen detective drama “Veronica Mars” was shot in Normal Heights, Balboa Park and the UC San Diego campus. The sci-fi film “Demolition Man” had a short scene in front of the San Diego Convention Center.
And San Diego’s homegrown cult classic “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes” was filmed throughout the region in the late 1970s.
“Sometimes it is San Diego (captured) on film. Sometimes it’s San Diego standing in for somewhere else,” said Beth Accomando, KPBS arts and culture journalist.
More locally-shot projects are coming, including a Chris Pratt film. And another sequel to “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes” is being released Aug. 7.
The city alone 439 such film permits last year. The projects had an estimated economic impact of $10.6 million. In 2024, location shoots in the city of San Diego pumped an estimated $17.4 million into the local economy.
That didn’t stop the city, though, from initially proposing cutting its lone liaison to the film industry during this year’s fraught budget talks. Ultimately, though, the job was preserved.
Greg Sowizdrzal, president of the Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Local 122, is working to create other options to draw in productions. He wants to establish a regional film initiative so San Diego can continue to attract filmmakers.
“What were really trying to do is build a coalition,” he said.
