Santa Anita gets good “Luck”

Santa Anita Park and Arcadia got some more good news today: HBO has picked up the Michael Mann-directed drama series pilot “Luck” for at least seven – nine original episodes to be shot at Santa Anita beginning as soon as September during the Oak Tree meet, with pre-production potentially beginning at the track as early as mid-August.

Dustin Hoffman will be working regularly in Arcadia at Santa Anita Park this fall on the new HBO series "Luck."

The unusually expensive pilot featuring high-profile industry players behind and in front of the camera (well in excess of $10 mil., according to sources) for the provocative series about the people involved with horse racing starring Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte, Dennis Farina, Kevin Dunn, and Santa Anita Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens was shot at Santa Anita in April, as well as other Arcadia locations, including Rod’s Grill. The pilot and series are not expected to debut until late 2011 at the earliest.

Shooting such a high-profile series — all the actors from the pilot are expected to return for the series — will likely mean dozens of additional daily jobs for locals and hundreds of sporadic jobs for extras during production that could run for several months. It will also mean hundreds of thousands of dollars and maybe much more in additional revenue for Santa Anita, which can use the income after emerging from bankruptcy protection earlier this year and facing what may be the final year of Oak Tree Racing this fall, which pays more than $4 million per meet to Santa Anita.

HBO’s greenlighting of the series and the commitment to Santa Anita by writer David Milch and director Michael Mann, the latter of whom fell in love with Santa Anita when he shot a pick-up scene for his “Public Enemies” last year, is great for everyone involved, said Pete Siberell, director of community services and special events at Santa Anita.

Siberell has shepherded dozens of productions at Santa Anita, from “Seabiscuit” to two recent seasons of the Animal Planet reality series “Jockeys.” But “Luck” is the biggest production to be shot at the track during live racing and the storyline is expected to bring more awareness and interest to the struggling horse racing industry in general.

“This is great news and it couldn’t have come at a better time,” Siberell said. “Horse racing is experiencing many challenges and now, more than ever, we need to be reaching out to new people in a creative and innovative way. ‘Luck’ is going to generate a lot of buzz and it is going to get people talking about racing and about Santa Anita—which is fantastic.”

“Filming will be great for Santa Anita and the film industry overall by keeping important filming jobs in southern California,” added Arcadia City Manager Don Penman.

The show’s Emmy-winning writer and longtime thoroughbred aficionado and horse owner David Milch, represented by Arcadia Councilman Mickey Segal’s Century City accounting firm Nigro Karlin Segal & Feldstein, said during his address at the annual Mayor’s breakfast in April that he loved Santa Anita and hoped the pilot would be picked up for a series so he could spend more time in town. He pledged a donation of $10,000 to the Arcadia Coordinating Council’s Campership Fund.

“Michael Mann delivered a pilot from David Milch’s brilliant script that took our breath away,” Michael Lombardo, president, HBO Programming, said in today’s announcement by HBO. “We are truly excited that these two artists, and our extraordinary cast headed by Dustin Hoffman, will be bringing ‘Luck’ to life.”

Although HBO did not announce the number of episodes or any specific shooting schedule other than to begin production this fall, it’s believed that producers want to be shooting during the Oak Tree meet that starts Sept. 29. With each one-hour episode typically a 12-day shooting process with six weeks of prep, work on the series may be getting underway in about a month.

Like the pilot, production costs for the series are expected to be more expensive than typical one-hour dramas. In the first place, there are an unusual number of high-profile names involved with the project — Mann will likely hand off episode directing duties but will still be a producer of the series. Secondly, it is typically more expensive to shoot in California and Los Angeles than other states and other countries, where many TV shows are produced. Third, shooting on location is always more expensive. And finally, there are many extra costs associated with shooting at a horse race track with thoroughbred horses, especially during live racing competitions.

Site fees alone will generate hundreds of thousands of dollars for Santa Anita. Although “Luck,” by committing to a Monday – Friday production schedule that could run as long as September through April, or at least March – June, will get a price break off the typical day rate for TV shows and movies that can run as high as $20,000 – $25,000 per day, it will still be a hefty incremental income for Santa Anita.

In addition, Siberell said there are many other costs the series will cover, such as additional emergency equipment — horse and people ambulances, workers to man starting gates, catering, etc. Extra expenses will also include paying as many as 200-300 extras for certain scenes, daily production crews of at least 150, and anywhere from 25-50 daily jobs for extra security staff, track maintenance, tractors and water trucks; horse exercisers, trainers, ambulance drivers, etc.

And Mann (“Miami Vice,” “The Insider”) has a reputation for going so far to create the most authentic atmosphere that he even likes to hire real veterinarians and ambulance drivers for those roles.

He also prefers to shoot when there are real crowds watching real racing, which will happen on Wednesdays – Fridays during Oak Tree Racing in October and the Santa Anita Meet January – April. Although sets are technically closed, oftentimes the public will easily be able to see camera crews and maybe catch a glimpse of some familiar stars during races and sometimes at Clockers’ Corner during morning workouts. Nolte, who plays an old-school trainer, is expected to be a frequent celebrity on set. Many of Hoffman’s scenes for the pilot in April were shot at the Beverly Hilton and downtown restaurants, but the production is said to be looking for local warehouse space to create stages to keep all shooting closer together. Hoffman plays a mobster who has been released from prison as the pilot for the series begins; Farina is his driver who becomes a horse owner.

Stevens plays an aging, street-smart jockey’s agent, while local jockey Chantal Sutherland plays an horse exercise rider.

More scenes are expected to be shot at Rod’s Grill, where actor Dunn and his degenerate foursome gather to try to figure out the Pick Six winners.

The logistical challenges to accommodate such a large production are formidable, particularly during racing and even during year-round morning workouts. During production of the pilot Mann wanted to shoot not only in the grandstands and on the track but also in the barn area and right in the middle of the stable, all of which can be very disruptive.

And yet, “We never heard one bad word from horsemen during the pilot,” Siberell said.

Disney movie "Secretariat" opening Oct. 18

Santa Anita will do its best to capitalize on the marketing opportunities tied to “Luck.” Fate seems to be falling in favor of the track this time around as compared to “Seabiscuit” which wound up opening in theaters during the Del Mar racing season. Not only does it appear that “Luck” may debut on HBO and run its first episodes during the 2011-12 Santa Anita meet, the new Disney horse race legend movie “Secretariat” is slated to be released in theaters Oct. 8 during the Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita where present-day undefeated horse legend Zenyatta may make another run about the same time and while “Luck” is expected to be in production. It would seem to be a perfect storm of promotional opportunities.

Also starring in the pilot are John Ortiz, Richard Kind, Jason Gedrick, Ritchie Coster, Ian Hart, Tom Payne, and Kerry Condon. Jill Hennessy guest stars.

Mann and Milch also serve as executive producers on “Luck,” along with HBO’s Carolyn Strauss. Hoffman wearing the additional hat of producer. Henry Bronchtein is co-executive producer.

— By Scott Hettrick