Part of the Loop 303 remains closed through until Wednesday night for filming of the new Transformers action movie.
The Arizona Department of Transportation gave the makers of “Transformers 5: The Last Night” a permit free of charge to spend almost a week filming in the northwest Valley. State officials said hundreds of people working on the film are helping boost the local economy.
But despite offering one-of-a-kind settings such as the Grand Canyon and Sedona, most of Arizona’s movie-making business has disappeared in recent years.
For example, a high-end movie about Prescott’s Granite Mountain Hotshots started production this week in New Mexico.
When Arizona closed its state film office, New Mexico capitalized, said Randy Murray, a small business owner, producer and director
“We have become a flyover state,” Murray said. “They are loading up their trucks and they are driving through Arizona. They’re getting on their jets and they’re flying to New Mexico, and we’re just watching them go past."
“Spare Parts” is another example of movie based on Arizona events that was shot in New Mexico, Murray said. The movie is about the Phoenix high school team that beat out M.I.T. in a robotics competition.
Actors like John Wayne once lived in Arizona to be close to movie sets, and former Arizona Gov. Jack Williams made it a point to court Hollywood decades ago. Arizona lost its status as a destination for filmmakers because of the Great Recession and politics, Murray said.
“It was a tool that certain politicians used to take back to their base and say, ‘I stood up to Hollywood and they’re not coming here anymore,"’ Murray said. “And that may have got them votes, but it was bad business for Arizona.”
Murray said he’s hopeful that will soon change. He thinks reopening the state's film office and hiring a commissioner would help Arizona attract more big-screen productions.
ADOT said it regularly issues permits to film in the highway right-of-ways. To get a permit, movie makers have to accept all legal liability and financial responsibility. They agree to leave the highway in as good a condition as it was before to filming, as well as cover any repair or restoration costs. The production has to also pay for traffic control, including law enforcement.
