Sunday, May 7, 2000 | 8:22 a.m.
Just 275 miles separate Los Angeles and the Las Vegas Strip.
But the gulf of understanding between the Hollywood and Las Vegas business communities belies the geographic proximity of the two cities.
It's a tale of two contrasting business cultures: Los Angeles stands as a production mecca for movies and television, while gaming still dominates Las Vegas' economy.
Gaming and film industry officials agree that expanding business ties between the two communities is contingent on increased understanding.
"It's probably fair to say there are many people in both the gaming and film industry who just don't understand each other as well as they could," said Dan Stark, director of marketing for Las Vegas-based casino operator Boyd Gaming Corp.
"I think it's getting better, but there is still some difficulty in bridging the gap between the two communities."
Stark cites his company's positive experiences with on-site film production as examples of how the gaming and film industries can successfully interact.
"We have an eclectic group of properties, including the Stardust, Sam's Town and our downtown hotels, and so we attract various types of production," he said.
"For example, several months ago we had an Acura commercial filmed at the Stardust. The filming was rained out and had to move indoors, so we worked with our slot department to accommodate the required space. That kind of flexibility is needed during on-site filming."
Those courting Hollywood say progress is being made in bridging the gap between the two business communities, but say much work remains.
"There are a lot of huge fallacies that each town has about the other," said Mimosa Jones, chief executive officer of the Entertainment Development Corporation of Las Vegas (EDC).
"But I think there's also a growing realization there are things we can learn from the people in L.A., just as they can benefit from learning about the gaming industry."
The EDC was formed about 16 months ago to promote Las Vegas to Hollywood, while encouraging local government officials to offer greater incentives to attract television and film production.
The nonprofit organization currently has about 100 corporate members, including several large casino operators.
Looking to play matchmaker between the gaming and film communities, the EDC sponsors numerous special events each year. On June 1, several hundred representatives of both business communities are expected to attend the EDC's "Plug-In 2000" conference at the MGM Grand hotel-casino.
Jones said the "learning process" between business leaders in Las Vegas and Hollywood began in earnest over the last two years.
"It wasn't until that time that people started to look at the entertainment industry as a viable secondary economy (for Nevada)," she said. "The fact is there's this $28 billion industry that's just a 45-minute plane ride away."
Last month, some Sam's Town hotel-casino customers saw first-hand evidence of the progress being made in luring television production.
The Boulder Highway casino was the setting for filming of the new UPN game show "Street Smarts."
Charlie Geocaris, director of the Nevada Film Office, said the film and gaming industries have similarities but operate differently.
"Hollywood is really creatively driven, has to rely on scripts, and therefore has to be able to change quickly to adapt to production needs," he said.
"I think people (in the gaming industry) are recognizing that. But we also want them (producers) to understand there's more to Nevada than just the neon. We also have a talented workforce and some wonderful, natural settings such as Mount Charleston or Red Rock Canyon."
Perhaps. But Andrew Jebb, vice president of production for Nash Entertainment, says more must be done if Hollywood production companies are to make the trek across the desert.
"At this point -- if we weren't shooting Vegas as a backdrop -- I wouldn't leave Hollywood and move production there (Vegas)," he said. "The savings just aren't that great yet."
Jebb's company filmed episodes of another new game show, dubbed "I Dare You -- The Ultimate Challenge," at various sites on the Las Vegas Strip.
Although he characterized his company's Las Vegas experience as positive, Jebb said fellow producers often express frustration at a perceived lack of cooperation from casino operators.
"I've heard from various (producer) friends of mine they were turned down by some casinos where they wanted to stage shows," he said. "That's unfortunate, because these productions add significant dollars to the local economy."
By contrast, Jebb said his company seamlessly filmed at a deserted lot across from the Sahara hotel-casino.
"Those folks (at the Sahara) were just great to work with, and the lot fit perfectly with our shoot," he said.
The Nevada Film Office hopes promoting scripts based in Nevada will encourage Hollywood producers to make the trek eastward across the California desert.
For the last 12 years, through its annual Screenwriters Competition, the Nevada Film Office encourages would-be screenwriters to submit scripts based in Nevada; officials hope Las Vegas eventually will serve as more than just a backdrop for film production.
Still, the Las Vegas experiences of independent producer Jeff Kopp are illustrative of the progress made -- and work still to be done -- in bridging the gap between Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
"I worked on a project called Richard Simmons' Dream Maker that we thought would be a natural to film in Las Vegas, a place where a lot of people come to fulfill their dreams," said Kopp.
"We needed to use the showroom of a hotel to film the project, and went around to a lot of casinos and we couldn't find a room to use. We didn't have a huge budget, and the casinos just couldn't provide us the space we required."
But Kopp also worked with Nash Entertainment's "I Dare You" game show, and echoed Jebb's view of that experience.
"It was more like a traditional film shoot, with a location-oriented approach," he said. "We found a site we wanted to use, and the people at the Sahara and Stratosphere were very accommodating."
Kopp said the Strip's current prosperity may account for some of the reluctance of casinos in accommodating the needs of film and television producers.
"We're (production crews) like a 500-pound gorilla coming to stay, and the casinos have to ask themselves whether it's worthwhile right now to accommodate our needs," he said.
"From our side, we have to weigh the benefits of filming in a cool, exciting place like Las Vegas versus the costs of filming there."
The success -- or failure -- of attracting television and film production carries implications for Nevada's economy. Movie and television production added about $79 million to the state's economy in 1999; that figure is expected to surpass $100 million this year.
Hollywood's potential economic impact on Nevada isn't lost on leaders of the state's financial industry.
"In Los Angeles, Bank of America has our media and entertainment group serving that community," said Bank of America Nevada President George Smith.
"Here in Nevada, we see it (film and TV production) as part of the bigger picture. We obviously support diversifying the economy here, and adding more production is part of that. We support the EDC and other, similar efforts because when Las Vegas prospers, so does the bank."
Jay Kornmayer, senior vice president of Wells Fargo & Co.'s Nevada operations, agrees.
"The type and level of jobs created by television and film production are rather significant," he said.
"Our bank plays a leading (financial) role with the gaming sector, and I'd say there's still somewhat of a learning curve between both the casinos and the (Hollywood) producers. As yet, there's not a whole lot of understanding (of each other.)"
Gaming industry representatives say their Hollywood counterparts must also recognize that beneath the neon lights exists a publicly traded, multi-billion dollar industry.
"First and foremost, we are a business establishment," said Hillary Smoot, public relations manager for the Tropicana hotel-casino. "Sometimes people from Hollywood don't realize that right away.
"But there are advantages to having production filmed on your site. We had an episode of the UPN show 'Seven Days' filmed here, and I can tell you it was like a one-hour commercial for the property.
"And for producers, it's cheaper to come to a real casino -- with authentic showgirls such as those at our Folies Bergere -- than to have to stage a fake production elsewhere."
Boyd Gaming's Stark agreed.
"We're business people too, with a fiduciary responsibility to our shareholders to run our business well," he said.
"So when producers say to us 'can you close down the casino for a few hours while we film?,' I don't think they realize the implications of what they're asking."
Still, Stark says those types of requests will dwindle as more production companies and gaming operators interact.
"As with any business dealings, relationships develop and gradually each party comes to better understand the needs of the other."
Phil Levine is a Sun business writer. He can be reached at (702) 259-4068 or by e-mail at [email protected].
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