Director moves home and work to Oak Park

THAT'S A WRAP-Oak Park's newest resident and fan, Chad Sahley, is bringing television production business to the community as well as moving his young family out here from the Westside. The producer/director recently shot a series of commercials for Playhouse Disney in his new neighborhood and hopes to bring more work to the area. Oak Park's newest resident is bringing more than just his family to town-he's bringing his work along, too.

Chad Sahley, a director and producer, closed escrow on his new home this week, just days after wrapping a series of commercials for the Disney Company. Sahley said he hopes the commercial shoot is just the first of many that he can bring to Oak Park.

"When Disney asked where I wanted to do my next shoot and I said 'Oak Park,' they said, 'Where?'"

Sahley said, "When I brought them out here, everybody said how beautiful it was. I said, 'This is Oak Park. This is my new home.'"

Oak Canyon Community Park at Kanan Road and Hollytree Drive was the chosen spot for Sahley's shoot for Disney's commercials promoting Hispanic Heritage Month. More than 150 people were on the set.

"We had every ethnicity, every country in Hispanic culture . . . Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Spain, Mexico, anything you could think of," Sahley said. "People from everywhere were there with their kids. There was a huge group out there."

The product of the two-day shoot, seven 10and 30second spots showing Latino families from all over the world, will air throughout September on Disney's Playhouse Channel.

Now that Sahley and his family, which includes two children, ages 5 and 8, are planting their roots in the Ventura County community, Sahley said he's committed to bringing more work to his new town. With projects shooting almost exclusively in Santa Monica and other West Los Angeles locations, Sahley said he would rather "bring the money into the Oak Park community."

Coming from Santa Monica, the director said he's decided that the industry obsession with the West Side is not making much sense to him any more.

"In Santa Monica, a house- a shack, really-is $1 million," Sahley said. "When you pay that kind of money you think you'd be living large, but I have homeless people walking around the street. People keep bragging about the West Side. But I'm really excited about Oak Park."

Sahley directed the commercials through Hieroglyphic Productions, which he established with producers Curt Apanovich and Yvonne Troxclair in 1996The North Hollywood-based company also works with ABC Television, BBC InternationalDreamWorks, Warner Bros. and other firms, creating everything from commercials to music videos.

"Entertainment is an exciting business," Sahley said. "One day I hope to be doing bigger things, but right now, we are having a lot of fun doing what we are doing."

Sahley and his company seem to be on their way, filming a music video with Wilmer Valderrama last week and seeing the DVD release of their first feature film in June.

Focused on the comedy explosion that came out of Boston in the '80s, "When Stand Up Stood Out" features Janeane Garofalo, Denis Leary, Colin Quinn, Paula Poundstone, Steven Wright, Lenny Clarke and others. It became available on DVD on June 20.

Sahley has nothing but great things to say about his family's new home base.

"We couldn't get over how great it is in Oak Park," Sahley said. "We drove through the neighborhoods and the schools are fantastic. And you can actually have a backyard.

"It has that small town feel, but you are only 30 minutes away from the city. It's a whole different world, like a utopia."