Thursday, September 4th, 2008

Photo

<p>Students look on as the crew of &#8220;First Daughter&#8221;
preps the shoot. The movie with Kati

Students look on as the crew of “First Daughter” preps the shoot. The movie with Kati

On-campus filming gets mixed reviews

As UCLA students and visitors strolled down Bruin Walk last week, some were greeted by “Dawson’s Creek” star Katie Holmes, but their gaping was quickly interrupted by security guards forcing them around a temporary movie set.

While the film shoot excited many campus pedestrians, some students, particularly those with offices in the neighboring Kerckhoff Hall, said the movie crew filming Fox’s new picture “First Daughter” was “burdensome” and “inconsiderate.”

Seven outreach groups occupy Kerckhoff 408. Community Service Commissioner Justin Schreiber said he was not notified that a film crew would be using that office until the day of the shoot.

“They never asked where things should go,” Schreiber said, referring to the camera crew. “It was just thrown to the side.”

Room 408’s occupants, as well as the tenants of other offices used for filming, received a payment of $300 from Karen Noh, the Associated Students of UCLA’s student union manager, who acted as a liaison between Kerckhoff tenants and Fox.

Noh acknowledged that movie shoots can be inconvenient for some, but added that she always asks office tenants for permission before telling a film company they can use it.

“I have never had anybody say no,” she said.

Though the UCLA Events Office reports that more than 150 film shoots occur on campus per year, Noh said that on average, ASUCLA buildings – including Ackerman, Kerckhoff and Lu Valle – only support one major film per year.

For years, Kerckhoff Hall and its surrounding area have been used in numerous movies, including “Scream 2,” “Old School” and “American Pie 2.”

Noh added that though her office is not in charge of authorizing film permits, she believes UCLA is committed to “scheduling them when regular school sessions aren’t taking place.”

Director of the UCLA Events Office Jack Raab, who is responsible for booking film shoots, was unavailable for comment.

But though few would disagree that there is less traffic on campus during the summer, David Unruh, assistant provost for Summer Sessions, estimated that by the end of summer sessions, 15,200 students would have enrolled in an undergraduate summer class.

In addition to these students, several thousand non-students visit UCLA during the summer for sports camps, conferences and orientation.

For many of UCLA’s summer patrons, the excitement of seeing a movie filmed outweighs the annoyance of taking a detour to get through campus.

“It’s impressive, I’ve never seen a movie being filmed,” said first-year undeclared student Duncan Morrissey, who was confronted by “First Daughter” while attending orientation.

Yet despite the novelty, some students feel the film crews can be bad houseguests.

“They have to realize it’s a school,” said Community Service Commission Evaluations and Reflections Director Crystal Lee, who has an office in Kerckhoff. “It’s not a movie set.”