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Los Angeles type Artist's Loft and Living areas in the Antelope Valley High Desert(see below)
California City goes Hollywood
Studio owner aims to lure movie crews to desert locale
By DEBBY BADILLO, Californian correspondent
CALIFORNIA CITY -- Just waiting for the dust from some paperwork to settle before it becomes official, California City Studios Inc. is ready to roll.
Spread out among 100 acres of prime real estate on Pesch Drive west of town, this is the latest business venture to blossom from the desert scrub.
Owner Russell Michael is moving part of his studio operations here, an expansion that will give him room to build lots of backlot sets and sound stages, and maybe lure more movie or commercial productions to the high desert.
"I want to make it as easy as possible for movie crews to come here instead of going out of state, or even up to Canada," Michael said. "We're pretty much ready to go. I just need to finish up the paperwork."
Later this week the city's Planning Commission is expected to give its blessing to a zone change, creating an industrial site out of a former estate parcel.
Hidden by dips and rolls in the land, the studio site is secluded, surrounded by an unbroken vista of desert, with the Tehachapi and Rand mountains in the distance. The city is virtually undetectable from the studio, adding to the feeling of far away that gives movies their magic.
Construction on a rambling complex, a mixture of permanent sound stages and movable sets, will start in early February.
One of the highlights of the studio will be a huge indoor tank capable of holding 240,000 gallons of water, enough to create a small flood. According to Michael, the only other water sets of this size are in Prague, Czech Republic, and Ensenada, Mexico.
Other planned sets include a military camp, New York City warehouse district, Old West town, gas station, trailer park, farmhouse and barn, a pond surrounded by different types of coastal sections and an area of unique rock formations.
There will also be a prop house, and Michael has committed himself to hiring local workers to build sets and props. During down times -- when there's no filming activity -- he figures he might work out a deal with local contractors to build some of the wood work, like kitchen cabinets, at the studio for new home construction in the area.
But mostly this will be a company dedicated to movie making, with much of the hardware and equipment already here.
"The less they have to bring up from Los Angeles the more likely it is for them to decide to shoot here," Michael said.
In fact, the city's proximity to Los Angeles is one of the studio's biggest selling points, said Kern County Film Commissioner Barry Zoeller. The county is "Hollywood's next-door neighbor to the north," he said.
"What Russell's doing, and the commission as well, is trying to let the industry know we're a viable alternative," Zoeller said. "I really applaud his vision."
Michael isn't abandoning Hollywood altogether. He plans to keep his Los Angeles studio open, although he's already changed its name so both locations are called California City Studios Inc.
The California City site includes an old 1920s homestead, complete with a small house built of railroad ties and a dry well that "whistles" when the wind blows through a harmonica placed inside.
Until a few years ago, visitors to the area regularly stopped to hear the low, steady hum that emanates from the well.
And in just a few months, new visitors will be driving through the huge, metal open work gates Michael sculpted, complete with desert sun and howling coyote.
"It's ready to go, but it will never be finished," Michael said.
"This will always be a work in progress."
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1 ACRE ESTATES ARE NOW IN
THE PLANNING STAGE WITH A TENTATIVE COMPLETION IN THE FALL OF 2004, DRIVING
TWO HOURS NORTH OF LOS ANGELES OR ONLY ONE AND A HALF HOURS FROM THE SAN
FERNANDO VALLEY. THESE PARCELS ARE ALREADY ZONED FOR ARTIST'S LOFT / LIVING
AREAS, WITH WATER, POWER AND TELEPHONE TO PROPERTY. GET IN ON THE GROUND
FLOOR, PRICES WILL BE GOING UP AFTER THE PARCEL SPLIT AND CONSTRUCTION
STARTS. NOW YOU CAN RESERVE YOUR 1 ACRE ESTATE, A SMALL DEPOSIT WILL HOLD
YOUR SITE. EMAIL US
TODAY TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TO VIEW THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT AREA. THESE
ARTIST LOFT / LIVING AREAS WILL GIVE YOU THE PEACE AND QUIET THAT YOU NEED
TO BE ABLE TO BE CREATIVE WITHOUT THE HUSTLE AND BUSTLE OF L.A. LIVING,
THIS AREA IS 5 MINUTES FROM CAL CITY MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, FLY IN YOUR PRIVATE
AIRPLANE FROM L.A. OR WHEREVER, ARRANGEMENTS CAN BE MADE TO PICK YOU UP
AND DELIVER YOU TO YOUR EXCLUSIVE LOFT. PLANS ARE TO BUILD A 4,000 SQ.
FT. ARTIST LOFT / LIVING AREA WITH GARAGE ON EACH ONE ACRE ESTATE, AND
YOU CAN ALWAYS ADD A POOL, TENNIS COURT BECAUSE THERE IS PLENTY OF ROOM,
LET YOUR IMAGINATION RUN WILD!
For more information about Artist's Loft Live and Work Studios, contact Russell Michael send EMAIL.
LINK TO WWW.CALIFORNIASTUDIOS.COM 
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