TV action show set for filming

Sonya Padgett

Thursday, July 15, 1999 | 10:52 a.m.

Hollywood is coming to Henderson.

"The Strip," a Warner Brothers Television action show, will use a building in the Wagon Wheel Industrial Park as its home base and film episodes throughout Henderson starting in August, city spokeswoman Vicki Taylor said.

Warner Brothers signed a six-month contract with the city, renewable for up to 12 additional months, Taylor said. The studio will pay the city $11,700 a month, which will go into the general fund.

The City Council is scheduled to vote on the agreement at Tuesday's 7 p.m. meeting.

This is a good deal for Henderson, Taylor said.

Essentially, the studio is leasing a building from the city and will have to pay for additional services not offered to other residents, such as fire protection for shoots involving flammables or ambulances.

"If they need anything standing by, they have to pay for it," Taylor said. "Anything that might intrude on public safety... we will handle it the way we do a special event" by requiring a fee to issue a permit.

The television show will give Henderson's economy a boost in the form of new jobs and publicity, Taylor said.

The Nevada Film Office vigorously promotes the state as a production site, hoping to attract movie and television companies, a spokesman for the local branch of the office said.

"The best thing that can happen for Nevada is for long-term things like this to come here. It's an incredible boost for the economy," spokesman Edward Harran said.

From July 1, 1998, to June 30, 1999, 500 productions -- including commercials, films and music videos -- generated more than $79 million in revenues, Harran said. That's almost double the $51 million in revenue from the previous year.

Southern Nevada is making a respectable name for itself in entertainment circles, Harran said.

"We are not going to overtake Hollywood, but we are becoming a sought-out destination for these companies now," Harran said. "The really cool thing about these companies coming in here is that they're learning we're more than just neon.

"More (studios) are coming here for our natural resources ... Red Rock, Mount Charleston, the Valley of Fire."

The executive producer of Warner Brothers' movie "Lethal Weapon 4" had such a positive experience in Southern Nevada that he vowed to base a television show here, Harran said.

The show is about two Las Vegas policemen who are approached by a casino mogul to be his private investigators, Harran said. The main characters are loosely based on the two lead characters of the "Lethal Weapon" movies.

The pilot, starring Sean Patrick Flannery, was filmed in Las Vegas earlier this year, Harran said. He didn't know if Flannery "The Strip's" production site, would also be in the series.