Hollywood producers revisit Colusa

The Mid-Valley’s long, lost love affair with Hollywood was brought back to life last week with a visit from movie producers Lang Elliott and Hugh Kelley, who are looking for a  home for a movie studio in Colusa County and places to begin filming.

Elliott, founder of TriStar Pictures and CEO of Sunn Classic Pictures, along with Kelley, screenplay writer for “Cage” and “Warriors of Virtue,” were in Arbuckle on Thursday to promote their new book and future film, “Pinocchio in the Hood,” a modern version of the timeless classic about an errant marionette and his aspiration to become a real boy.

“Kids of all ages and their parents will love this book,” Elliott said.

The release of the book is part of a marketing plan to further develop Sun Classic Pictures, known for its NBC series and motion picture franchise “Grizzly Adams,” as a major producer of family and educational entertainment.

“We want to produce enough good, wholesome entertainment to combat all the bad out there,” said Elliott, an Academy Award nominee for “Soldier of Orange,” and “The Magic of Lassie.”

Elliott said Sunn Classic, which is currently operating out of Palm Springs, has ownership or distribution rights to a number films, such as the full-length, movie version of “DORF, USMC,” to star Tim Conway, who created the DORF character franchise.

Conway, a six-time Emmy winner, known best for “The Carol Burnett Show,” is a member of Sun Classic Pictures’ Board of Directors, as is Arbuckle resident and Emmy winner Marilyn Kennedy.

The Sun Classic Board of Directors is looking to film in the region and scouting areas to build a studio and theme park, possibly in the Arbuckle area.

“Access to a freeway and an international airport makes Colusa County an ideal location,” Elliott said.

Elliott said the studio would mean a $350 million contribution to the  economy, would employ about 2,500 people and would be a way to keep young people interested in the film industry from having to leave the county to find work.

“The studio would have a school where people can learn to become actors, cinematographers and technicians,” Elliott said.

Sunn Classic plans to make family-oriented films for both the theater and the growing Internet market, revitalizing characters like “Hobo Bill” and “Annie Oakley.”

“Kids love that kind of stuff, but nobody is making the product,” Elliott said. 

On Friday, Colusa County supervisors Tom Indrieri and Kim Vann took Elliott and Kelley on a tour of the county, which included areas around Williams, Maxwell, Ladoga and Grimes.

Indrieri said he was excited at the prospects of bringing the movie industry into the county and was delighted that Elliot and Kelley considered Colusa County as a place to make films.

“They were worried about how receptive the community would be to the idea, but I said if they can work side by side with agriculture, they would probably receive great support,” Indrieri said.

Indrieri added that he would continue to promote Colusa County as an ideal location for a studio and movie location, which would revive the county’s former illustrious relationship with Hollywood.

Charles Yerxa, a local expert on Colusa’s film history, said it has been more than 30 years since Colusa’s golden age of filmmaking faded to the backdrop.

Yerxa said Colusa County was the location of “The Warlord,” staring Charlton Heston (1965), “tick…tick…tick (1970), “I Walk the Line,” staring Gregory Peck (1970) “Brother John,” starting Sydney Poitier (1972), “Trouble Comes to Town,” starring Lloyd Bridges (1972), in which they blew up a gas station at the corner of Sixth and Market streets, and Huckleberry Finn, staring Ron Howard and Merle Haggard (1975).

“It was said by the movie people at the time that Colusa looked more like the South than the South itself,” Yerxa said.