Film ranches cater to directors’ evolving appetite for fresh locations in proximity to Hollywood.
Steve Arklin on set in Santa Clarita. Photo by Mike Baker
In Ventura County, there is Big Sky Movie Ranch in Simi Valley. The Antelope Valley has Four Aces and Club Ed, with their collection of diners, motel rooms and gas stations.
But it’s in the Santa Clarita Valley where the biggest concentration of ranches is found. There are eight movie ranches located within the city boundaries, and in total, more than a dozen scattered throughout the Santa Clarita Valley. These include the Golden Oak Ranch, owned by Walt Disney Co. on nearly 900 acres along Placerita Canyon Road; Blue Cloud Movie Ranch; Melody Ranch Motion Picture Studio; Rancho Maria and Sable Ranch; and A Rancho Deluxe, on 250 acres just up the road from Golden Oak.
Last year, FilmL.A. counted 38,284 production days of location filming in the city of Los Angeles, unincorporated L.A. County and other jurisdictions. It was the second-highest total on record, with 2016 the highest with 39,627 shoot days. FilmL.A. President Paul Audley credited the state’s production tax incentives for bringing out-of-state productions back to L.A. and for enticing new productions to remain here.
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