L.A. film permit rules anger location managers

Talk about mixed messages.

Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to take a series of steps aimed at helping the film and TV industry. They pledged to reduce parking costs and install electrical utility outlets in frequently used locations to eliminate the need for generators. And they agreed to at least explore idea of  offering a business tax break for productions that shoot in the city, dovetailing recent decision by the state Legislature to adopt film tax credits.

The incentives were recommended in a recent report requested by Council President Eric Garcetti after the ABC television show "Ugly Betty" moved its production from LA to New York last summer.

"We need to do what we can to keep production where it belongsin the entertainment capital of the world,'' Garcetti said in a statement.

But even as Garcetti touted the vote in a press release, location managers and others in the industry were fuming about city plans to impose a raft of new restrictions on film permitting. The proposed rules are aimed at balancing the needs of filmmakers with the concerns of residents, who've complained loudly in recent years about excessive filming in their neighborhoods and a lack of enforcement of film permits.

But critics say the proposed rules only make filming in the city less attractive. For example, a filmmaker would have to wait 5 days before he could close a street for a film shoot. FilmL.A., Inc., the nonprofit group that coordinates film permits, typically requires 72 hours notice, but makes exceptions depending on where the shoot is occuring, and the needs of filmmakers.

"There is too much rigidity here for us to be able to get our jobs done,'' said Ed Duffy, business agent for Teamsters Local 399, which represents location managers, casting directors and studio drivers. "Filming is not an exact science. We do things in a very rapid fashion and things change constantly for us."

Location managers will take their concerns to City Hall on Tuesday, when the City Council will discuss the propsed new rules.  Expect a large turnout.

-Richard Verrier

Botswana is the real star of HBO’s ‘No. 1 Ladies’

The opening moments of “The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency” (7 p.m. Central Sunday, HBO, two stars) contains some of the most gorgeous imagery you’re likely to see on television this year. As the camera swoops over an African landscape, animals roam and flock; majestic serenity pervades the scene. Those opening minutes certainly made me dream of taking a vacation in Botswana.

 
What follows is a faithful adaptation of the debut novel in Alexander McCall Smith’s series of popular novels about the first female private detective in Botswana.

But perhaps the adaptation is too faithful. What comes across as charmingly spare on the page frequently ends up lacking complexity on the screen. And if you’ve read the novel, the first of the six-part “Ladies” TV project will contain few surprises. It can actually be quite slow going at times.

On other networks, there are examples of terrific performers elevating what could have been prosaic fare. In the NBC show’s early going, Damien Lewis made “Life” watchable even when the plots were somewhat formulaic. And Ian McShane’s forceful charisma has given the new NBC drama “Kings” more of an impact than it would otherwise probably have.

Unfortunately, “Ladies” star Jill Scott lacks that kind of presence.

Best known as an R&B singer, Scott is competent and certainly gives her all to the role of Precious Ramotswe, a plucky and resourceful detective whose observational skills and knowledge of human nature help her crack cases.

But there’s very little subtext in Scott’s performance. Given that the books from which the TV show are derived are so slight to begin with, this show is often less than the sum of its parts.

Still, the African landscape and the supporting performers are all draws. In particular, the excellent Lucian Msamati gives nervous vulnerability to J.L.B. Matekoni, the owner of a local car repair shop and Ramotswe’s eventual suitor. Desmond Dube brings light comic relief as the owner of a hair salon next to Ramotswe’s office. And as the detective agency’s high-strung secretary, Anika Noni Rose gets maximum comedic mileage out of her role.

As befits a project that was directed by Oscar winner Anthony Minghella and produced in part by Oscar winner Sydney Pollack (both of whom died last  year), the pilot episode of “Ladies” gets the details right and looks quite handsome.

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