Despite protest stickers urging our southern neighbors to “Keep L.A. 100 Miles Away,” the Hollywood film industry thrived in Santa Barbara County last year, putting a combined $46 million into the economies of the City and County of Santa Barbara. One hundred forty-seven separate productions spent a total of 476 days filming commercials, television shows, feature films, and various still-shot operations. Thanks to productions like Grindhouse and Pirates of the Caribbean III, 2006 marked the biggest local Hollywood splash since Sideways filmed in 2003.
