Paramount Ranch looks for sequel

Venerable movie set hopes to rebuild



FIRE ASSESSMENT— David Szymanski, left, superintendent of the National Park Service Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, joins park service volunteer and movie historian Mike Malone on a damage inspection tour of Paramount Ranch. IAN BRADLEY/Acorn Newspapers

FIRE ASSESSMENT— David Szymanski, left, superintendent of the National Park Service Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, joins park service volunteer and movie historian Mike Malone on a damage inspection tour of Paramount Ranch. IAN BRADLEY/Acorn Newspapers

Paramount Ranch, a spot straight out of the Wild West, finally met its match. But even though the historic film set featured in old movies and new television shows was almost destroyed in the recent fire, park officials are confident the popular old venue will make a comeback.

The Woolsey fire destroyed a saloon, jail, sheriff’s station and other structures on the 750-acre lot. Paramount’s iconic chapel and train station were the only structures left standing when the smoke cleared on Nov. 10.

The National Park Service announced last week it was launching the Paramount Project, a campaign to rebuild the movie-set town that stood as a reminder of rural Agoura’s place in cinematic history.

Hollywood movie magic is known for bringing back the past, and the western town that was built over 60 years ago may soon reappear as it once was.

The National Park Service, which has owned the land since 1980, has yet to receive offers to rebuild the property, but Hollywood types familiar with the site have already reached out to express their concern over its destruction.

HBO, which filmed the popular series “Westworld” there, is said to be interested in helping with reconstruction.

“The lucky thing about Paramount Ranch is that it was a movie set. We’re really hoping to reach out to the movie industry, to set designers and constructers to put it back together again. It’s a little easier than rebuilding homes,” said David Szymanski, superintendent of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area during a recent visit to the site.

“We’re looking to raise funds, and through philanthropy or raising funds we hope we can engage some of these set designers. . . . If we want it to be an authentic movie place, what better way than to have the set designers themselves build it,” he said.

As a federal employee, Szymanski can’t solicit donations, but his agency works with the Santa Monica Mountains Fund, a nonprofit group that supports efforts to protect the habitat of the mountains and pays for scientific studies of the surrounding ecosystem.

Szymanski said he hopes to have at least part of the town rebuilt within 24 months.

“There may be certain features such as restrooms and other things that are not operational. It’s unclear what we’ll have for utilities. But as far as having a western town in place on roughly the same footprint as the old western town, that should be completed,” Szymanski said.

“One of the things we’ll be putting in for funding through the National Park Service is—most all of our utilities are from the Paramount era. Even prior to the fire we had planned to ask for money to upgrade those. That’s an expensive, very unsexy project but needed—water lines, electricity, sewer,” he said.

The Paramount Project is a campaign to tap into the creativity and resources of the entertainment industry, which has used the location for over 90 years. Szymanski hopes to build a temporary set while plans are finalized for permanent, and more fire-resistant, structures.

“Even if we don’t receive any offers, we’d love to meet with those folks to make sure that the location works for them. This place only works if people want to film here, so at the very least we’d love to work with them to build a new set,” he said.

Paramount Pictures originally bought 2,700 acres of Rancho Las Virgenes land in 1927 and built several large-scale sets on the ranch. Since then, all of those sets have been torn down except for the western town that stood until it burned in the Woolsey fire.

The location has been the site of more than 300 productions, including the popular TV show “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.” Scenes from the film “American Sniper” were also produced there and so were segments from hundreds of other movies, television shows and commercials.

The National Park Service bought the land in 1980, but the movie ranch had fallen into disrepair. NPS staff restored the site to its former glory based on photographs from the way it looked in the 1950s when westerns were king.

Hollywood icons Cecil B. DeMille, Bob Hope and Clint Eastwood are among those who made use of the film property.

It has since been listed in the National Register of Historic Places.