On Monday, Paramount Television film crews shut down Warring Street to film party scenes for the upcoming season of “13 Reasons Why” at a fraternity house, as previously reported by Berkeleyside.
After speaking with the fraternity and its neighbors, Paramount filed a permit application with the Berkeley Film Office prior to filming, according to Berkeley Film Commissioner Barbara Hillman.
Paramount worked individually with the house for permission to film and for a contract regarding pay, Hillman said. Since the house is owned by its fraternal organization and is not on the UC Berkeley campus, Paramount did not have to contact UC Berkeley administration regarding filming permission, according to Hillman.
“We work with the filming community to keep business in California since we’ve lost so many movies to other states with incentive programs,” Hillman said, noting that the state of California loses revenue when movie studios decide to film outside the state.
“13 Reasons Why” is not the only production to be filmed in Berkeley — “Hulk,” “Parenthood” and “Boys and Girls” have also had parts filmed within the city, according to Hillman.
Julia Merron, a Bay Area resident who frequently finds herself in the Berkeley area, does not believe that the show’s controversial subject matter will impact how people view Berkeley.
“From what I’ve seen, Berkeley has a lot of culture and history. I think it’s great that a major production is being filmed here, especially one that is so popular among college and high school kids,” Merron said.