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George Clooney, Tom Cruise, Denzel Washington, Tom Hanks and Eva Longoria: all of these stars have beaten her to the punch. Washingtonians will go on with their day, unimpressed by this statuesque blonde gracing D.C. with her presence - there will be more celebrities to follow, no doubt.
At least that's what the D.C. Office of Motion Picture and TV Development would like to ensure. Responsible for enticing Hollywood production companies to use the buildings and streets of D.C. for their movies, the office handles on-location needs for productions.
"D.C. is one of the most recognizable cities in the world," said Crystal Palmer, director of the Office of Motion Picture and TV Development. "We have the technical base here to handle all forms of production."
Part of the reason GW was chosen for "The Visiting," a remake of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," was because the writer was familiar with the area. The cast and crew will be filming at various locations here for nearly a month.
"We help (the filmmakers) in every phase - from script, to the location, to when they arrive and begin shooting," said David Cuozzo, production assistant at the Office of Motion Picture and TV Development. "We want to help the community as well, and get them involved. We try to make (a film) the best experience for residents and for tourists when they're in town."
Filmmakers can fill out paperwork as few as 72 hours before arriving on set in D.C., and filming permits are provided at no cost.
"Even though we don't make any profit from the permits, we get a lot of revenue in the hotels, catering, production staff and things like that," Palmer said.
Washington, D.C., has plenty of famous filming sites - after all, the White House, Capitol and the monuments on the Mall provide an ideal backdrop for any movie with a political theme. It's no surprise that films such as "All the President's Men," "Nixon," "Forrest Gump" and "The American President" used locations in the area for their outdoor scenes. Other movies have found the landmarks of the city to be a nice supplement as well.
