Amid much secrecy, Madonna chose the Cuddeback Dry Lake Bed in the Indian Wells Valley region of Ridgecrest to film a musicvideo for the first single release of her new Maverick album. The single, entitled "Frozen" will be released Feb. 18, and the as-yet-untitled CD/cassette album will be released March 3.
Film commissioner Ray Arthur said the set was closed to all but the crew and Bureau of Land Management officials. "The production company, Black Dog Films, was very concerned about security for Madonna and her family, based on the stalking problems she has experienced in the past," Arthur explained.
Arthur noted that the crew of 60 added more than Hollywood flash during their weeklong stay. Disposable income, money spent locally at area businesses, amounted to an estimated $120,000 which gives '98 filming a jump start for the new year.
To boost that start, BLM field office manager Lee Delaney and Ridgecrest film commissioner Ray Arthur signed a new co-operative agreement to replace and augment a three-year- old memorandum of understanding. Delaney and BLM resource manager Greg Thomsen supervised the memorandum so that the permit application process is shared with the local film commission.
"We realized that filming was a growing industry in our community and we saw an opportunity to create a relationship that would be mutually beneficial and serve the best interests of Ridgecrest," said Delaney. Commercial filming throughout the Indian Wells Valley has been one of the few consistently bright lights in the community's economy for the past six years. Fifty percent of the area's filming is on BLM land.
Patti Stolkin Archuletta, the director of the California Film Commission, describes the Ridgecrest Film Commission as always at the forefront of innovation, making film permitting in the area as easy and accessible as possible. To that end, Arthur said plans are in the works to put the complete film permit application on their Internet homepage to shorten the process and decrease the expense.
The City of Ridgecrest has an offer they hope film production companies won't refuse. About two dozen '50s- and '60s-era houses, including a motel with several small buildings, are scheduled for demolition. For the modest fee of roughly $4,000 per, Arthur invites any film's cast and crew to pick a house, "then burn it down, blow it up or run it over."
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