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Welcome to the latest edition of our film office newsletter!
It's been a busy year and we've missed sending these out, but we're back with an action-packed newsletter this month. I urge you to check out some of the best in the business in our awards section below as six people connected to Placer County have been named nominees for the California On Location Awards. A previous edition of this newsletter had an error in the awards section that has since been corrected.
Also, the state's efforts to bring film and tv productions back to California by more than doubling the tax credits could lead to big investments locally. The new $750 million invested in local productions ensures below-the-line jobs and investments will be rooted in California.
Our office also recently had the chance to attend the 2025 LMGI awards in Santa Monica. It was a blast! We returned home inspired by all of the winners and nominees for their creativity and dedication.
We hope you enjoy this month's content below and hope you choose Placer for your future production needs.
– Juli Johnston
Placer County's Film Program Liaison
 California On Location Award Nominations
Nearly a dozen Placer County filmmakers and location managers have been recognized by the FLICS committee for their outstanding work in Film, Commercials, Stills, and TV. The following individuals have earned nominations in the 2025 California On Location Awards:
Stan B – Location Manager for the 2025 film 'No Address'
Lorin Miller – Location Manager for the L.L. Bean photoshoot
Alan Vasquez – EB Winter
Ty Conners – Placer County Employee – Walgreens Commercial
Lauren Shoemaker – CA State Parks employee – Redemption River
Tyler Semons – Location Manager for the 2024 film 'Sacramento'
View nomination details, including categories and other nominees, here.
As they always say at the Academy Awards, 'It's an honor just to be nominated.' The COLA will be held Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025 at the historic Orpheum Theatre in
Hollywood.
A historic expansion of the California Film and Television Tax Credit Program is expected to benefit Placer County as productions seek out locations to take advantage of new savings.
The move more than doubles the program’s annual funding—from $330 million to $750 million—and introduces key updates to keep production, below-the-line jobs and investments rooted in California.
READ MORE
We were honored to attend the 12th annual @locationmanagersguild international Awards and join our fellow FLICS members this past weekend in Santa Monica!
We enjoyed celebrating the art of location management and the opportunity to connect with emerging film offices and location managers from around the globe. Congratulations to all of this year’s winners!
Our office was proud to be a sponsor of the event and we shared a special promotion video during the ceremony. WATCH IT HERE
If you missed it, the awards ceremony was livestreamed on YouTube and recorded. VIEW IT HERE
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Placer County film office liaison Juli Johnston recently earned the designation Certified Film Commissioner from the Association for Film Commissioners International, a specialized screen sector organization that is formally endorsed by the government.
Established in 1975, AFCI enables film commissions to draw international attention to their region to bring successful productions to life. The organization represents a growing number of city, county, state, regional, provincial and national film commission members on six continents. With this new recognition, Placer will now be listed on the AFCI Global Directory for producers and executives.
Johnston started working in the film industry in 2004 and has been with Placer County for the last 20 years. Her work has generated tens of millions of dollars for the local economy through film, TV and photography productions. Most notably, Placer has hosted big-name brands like Chevy, Apple, Sony, Northface, Honda, Toyota, RAM, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Lucid Motors, Nikola and Walgreens, among others. A few of these recently appeared in Super Bowl advertisements!
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Hollywood made its way to Placer in 2001 to film ‘Dragonfly,’ a supernatural thriller directed by Tom Shadyac from a screenplay by Brandon Camp, Mike Thompson, and David Seltzer based on a story by Camp and Thompson.
Kevin Costner plays Dr. Joe Darrow, a grieving doctor being contacted by his dead wife through his patients’ near-death experiences. Susanna Thompson plays Dr. Emily Darrow, who dies when a bus is hit by a landslide in Venezuela and plunges into the river below. But her body is never found by the authorities.
That’s when Placer becomes home to a harrowing river stunt.
READ MORE ABOUT DRAGONFLY
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The Placer County Film Office serves as the liaison between film and related media production companies and local businesses, agencies, communities and residents. The film office is recognized as the regional filming partner for Placer County by the California Film Commission and the office is a charter member of the Film Liaisons in California Statewide, a nonprofit professional membership organization. Learn more at filmplacertahoe.com.
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