FILM: Las Vegas on Location

In cinematic circles, Las Vegas is considered an ideal place to shoot a movie. Of course, the Strip has been showcased myriad times, but the real estate surrounding the neon has also captured the attention of movie makers.

Southern Nevada locales such as Red Rock Canyon, Mount Charleston and the Valley of Fire State Park have been used by filmmakers, who are drawn by the landscape that can be made to look like anything from a Mexican village to Martian terrain. Most recently, Lake Las Vegas Resort, a luxury community and resort in Henderson, was featured in "America's Sweethearts," a Julia Roberts vehicle.

"Locations less known" is the motto of the Las Vegas-based Nevada Film Office, according to Ed Harran, resources coordinator.

"What that means is we're showing producers and directors that we are a lot more than casinos on the Strip. We've got Lake Mead, the Valley of Fire and the Red Rock Canyon, and many unbelievable landscapes," Harran said. "We're really excited when we take a producer or a scout out on tour and they say, `Wow, I didn't know this was here.'

"If they mention `desert' or `western' movie, then we tell them we have so many areas that can pass for the look they want. We have Mount Charleston that can pass for any alpine area. Or, it could be, `We notice you're doing an action movie on water, and we have Lake Mead.' We proactively pursue these features."

Las Vegas was little more than a whistle-stop when it debuted on the silver screen in 1915, according to Gary DuVal, a television engineer and film historian in Reno. DuVal's research, which will appear in an upcoming book about Nevada film history, shows that silent-movie maker J.P. McGowan came to Las Vegas to film four episodes of "The Hazards of Helen," a serial starring his wife, Helen Holmes. The couple and crew had been accustomed to shooting in Glendale, Calif.

"An extended cloud bank sat over Hollywood, so (McGowan) searched for shinier pastures and ended up shooting in Las Vegas," DuVal said.

In the 1920s, Hollywood studio giant Hal Roach branched out to Southern Nevada, where he erected a tent studio at the Home Ranch in Moapa Valley, and shot some westerns in the Valley of Fire State Park.

"He really loved the area. He said it was basically unspoiled," said DuVal, noting that the park continues to be popular among filmmakers.

An ideal locale

The Valley of Fire was also the setting for Roach's "One Million B.C." (1940). The prehistoric epic starred Victor Mature and -- like Roy Rogers' "Heldorado" (1946) and "Bells of San Angelo" (1947) that were filmed in Red Rock Canyon -- was shot in the park to capture "the feeling of isolation; the rugged terrain of being out in the desert," DuVal said.

The filming of "Kiss of Fire" (1955) was considered an industry milestone. DuVal believes the film was the first technicolor production shot in the Las Vegas area and was one of the first films in which a natural setting underwent cosmetic alteration.

"They selected the Valley of Fire because of the bright red sandstone cliffs, (but) the technicolor consultant said the color was too brilliant for the camera. So, the production company used a darker shade of red paint (on the rocks) to tone down the color."

The makers of "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" (1997) used the site as a lair for the nefarious Dr. Evil. The state park has also been used in such sci-fi films as "Total Recall" (1990), "Aurora" (1998), and "Star Trek: Generations" (1994), in addition to such features as "Confessions of a Hitman" (1994), "The Professionals" (1966), "Fatherhood" (1993), "Beer" (1985), "Cherry 2000" (1987), "Iron Eagle" (1986) and "Roadside Prophets" (1992).

Eddie Fickett, owner of Las Vegas Production Services, said the Valley of Fire is second only to the Strip as the most-often used film site.

"It's really versatile because the rock formations are completely unique," Fickett said. "There are portions where it's totally red, and others where it's bright white and yellow. And there are a number of diverse locales in such close proximity."

Myriad locations in one place

Shooting within a tight local radius simplifies a production schedule, according to Kim Houser, head of 24/7 Productions in Las Vegas. She recently scouted sites for a Verizon phone service commercial that required an on-screen image of an open highway spanning the United States. With the exception of San Francisco, Houser found everything she needed in Southern Nevada.

"For Kansas, we went to south Las Vegas; Arizona, we did in Nelson; and Montana, we did on Mount Charleston," she said. "Around here, we can provide everything except a beach. We've got the lakes, we've got a mountain, we've got both old and new neighborhoods, and we've got the farmland on the north side of town."

Twenty-five miles southeast of Las Vegas, the one-gas station town of Nelson accommodated a plane explosion in "3000 Miles to Graceland" (2001) starring Kevin Costner and Kurt Russell. Footage was also shot in Sloan, just southwest of Las Vegas. The landscape there, Houser said, is similar to that in Nelson and answers filmmakers' requests for "something on a highway that is in the middle of nowhere."

"Breakdown" (1998), also with Russell, was filmed at Nelson's Landing and Indian Springs to heighten the fear of being stranded in the middle of a desert. However, the final cut of the film contained a technological twist: the small town (referred to as "Brackett" in the film) that Russell and the three villains look at from atop a hill was added via computer.

Filming at the former Las Vegas Army Air Field was more cut-and-dried for the John Wayne mercenary tale, "Flying Tigers" (1942). The base, since renamed Nellis Air Force Base, was used for the film's aerial battle sequences in Burma, then again in 1953 for the flying sequences in "Sabre Jet," a Korean War story.

Hoover Dam made its film debut in 1933 with "I Loved You Wednesday," then was featured again in 1935's "The Silver Streak," a high-speed Nevada train story. "Fools Rush In" (1997) with Matthew Perry also contained footage of the site, as did "Vegas Vacation," another 1997 production, starring Chevy Chase.

Filmmakers credit local municipalities for making Las Vegas-area roadways available to them. For example, when the makers of "Lethal Weapon 4" (1998) chose a westbound stretch of Interstate 215 to simulate a Los Angeles freeway, the beltway between Pecos Road and Windmill Lane was subsequently closed for two weeks.

"They had to have a freeway they could completely close down, and there are so few of those," Houser said.

In addition, state Route 159 near Red Rock Canyon and a segment of Interstate 15 were used in 1998's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas."

"Pay it Forward" (2000) with Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt was shot in part at Centennial High School in the northwestern valley. The film's director was said to have "fallen in love" with the setting, which Principal Carol Leavitt was delighted to share.

"When (the production team) came to talk to us, they had some specific things they were looking for -- location, surrounding area, things like that. The classroom they used had just the right view they wanted," Leavitt said.

Fickett believes that Southern Nevada's film-friendly nature and versatile real estate will keep the cameras coming.

"The productions have a lot of people on their side when they come here," he said. "And Las Vegas is the greatest backdrop for a story -- there's no place in the world like it."

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