Many students who walk past the Student Recreation and Wellness Center on their way to class every day may not realize that they are walking in the footsteps of the actors from “American Pie.”
Across from the rec center, the George Allen Field is spacious with lush green grass and has a view of the iconic Walter Pyramid and water towers of Cal State Long Beach.
About 13 years ago, the “American Pie” actors used that field to play a choreographed game of lacrosse. In the movie, this is the most important game for Chris Ostreicher, played by Chris Klein, and, as the players run down the field, the audience gets a glimpse of two water towers in the background that any CSULB student could recognize.
In August 2011, not many people were in school or on campus when the “Get Geller” episode of “Dexter” was shot, according to Jason Kaplon, location manager for the Showtime series. He said the students walking through the shots and in the background of the shots were not real students but were background actors.
Three different venues were used for the filming.
Two scenes used the north entrance of the University Student Union and the concrete and brick pathway in front of it.
In this scene, the USU is supposed to be a lecture hall. The sign above the entrance, which normally reads “University Student Union,” read “Brunner Hall of Science” in the episode. Other than the change to the sign above the entrance, everything else in the scene looks exactly as it does normally on campus.
Two scenes used the Beach Auditorium, but the red seats, red carpet and stage were played out to be a lecture hall.
The last location, and the only to be filmed at night, was the south turnaround outside the McIntosh Humanities Building. The fountain in front of this building can also be seen in the shot. Kaplon said that only a few signs needed to be covered up to film in these locations.
However, CSULB wasn’t the only option for this episode of “Dexter.” University of Southern California, University of California, Los Angeles, Long Beach City College, Wilson High School and the high school where “Glee” is filmed were also considered.
Ultimately, Kaplon said the show chose CSULB because of its exterior areas.
“We love shooting in the city of Long Beach,” Kaplon said. “It’s easy to double for Miami.”
Kaplon said that the staff in charge of handling films on campus was extremely accommodating. However, the process these movies and television shows take to film at CSULB is not a simple one.
According to the CSULB website for event services, locations on campus that are restricted from filming are various art sculptures, dorms, Brotman Hall, mail services, the dance studio, undeveloped areas and restrooms.
In order for anything to be filmed on campus, a location manager has to work with event services, tour the campus, fill out a facility lease with insurance coverage and facility use requirements, have scripts reviewed and approved by the office of public relations and maybe even work with a venue manager for specific use requirements for a location, according to Mishelle Laws, assistant vice president for administrative and event services.
On top of that, there is still money to be paid. Kaplon said it cost them between $10,000 and $15,000 to film on the campus for 14 hours.
“It was worth it though,” Kaplon said.
According to Laws, filming permits for third parties cost $500 for every four hours of filming in addition to other costs based on the venue and the number of participants.
“Filming is treated like any other rental of campus facilities, ” Laws said. “We minimize operational disruptions to the campus community by scheduling filming at times and locations that take into consideration the campus academic activities.”
One of the more recent movies to be filmed at CSULB was “Moneyball,” starring Brad Pitt. The movie was filmed at Blair Field, its locker room, its coach’s office and Parking Lot 20, behind the Residence Dorms, for about a week in July 2010.
Cameron Ungar, associate general manager for the athletics department at CSULB, said that filming “Moneyball” at Blair Field has made others visit for media launches, but it hasn’t “done a whole lot to increase our filming chances.” Ungar said that it does help to have “Moneyball” on CSULB’s résumé.
“It’s a great thing to talk about when showcasing the department and facility to any interested parties,” Ungar said in October 2011. “I also think it helps elevate our status as an athletic department in some ways.”
Ungar said that the amount of things filming at CSULB athletics facilities has stayed steady at about 10 to 20 filmings each year.
Ungar also said that most of those are commercials and that there are usually more things filming at the track or near the pool during an Olympic year, like 2012.
The Walter Pyramid has also been a venue to many films and TV shows – “Star Ship Troopers,” “Red Belt,” “Space Jam” and “Make it or Break it.”
According to Laws, ESPNU filmed at the Beach Circle and the Friendship Walk, and “CSI Miami” filmed at the Art Department Gallery and the Central Quad.