ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the concept of city as backlot through the lens of on-location filming markets in North America and, more specifically, the role that San Diego plays within these markets. It seeks to contextualize the idea of city as backlot by linking it to the North American film production industry and the ever-changing distribution of location production, or 'on location' filming. The chapter provides a history of location production in San Diego in which focus on factors that led to the formation of the San Diego Film Commission in the 1970s and its role in hosting one of the largest independent film production studios in the United States. While San Diego's most memorable starring roles include the movies Some Like It Hot, Top Gun and perhaps Anchorman, it is depicted far more frequently in television shows and movies. Locations are catalogued by their look and accessibility to filming rather than by their actual function in everyday social practice.
