Head of the SF Film Commission Stephanie Coyote -- who makes $132,000 a year to lure film companies to shoot their movies in our fair city -- got wacked fired yesterday. While Gavin may cite the fact that Coyote wasn't doing her job as well as she could, we (and Matier & Ross) suspect there was a little more to the surprise firing. Coyote is the wife of actor Peter Coyote, who came out vocally in support of Jerry Brown for governor, so we kind of feel like this is evidence of Gavin cleaning house and removing the faces of all who remind him of his failed gubernatorial bid. more ›

We stuck it in Day Around The Bay already, but thought we would let you hash it out here in its own pad, readers. It seems that, according to the preciousness that is Dan Noyes, "the Silent Drill Platoon of the U.S. Marine Corps wasn't allowed to be filmed Sept. 11 on California Street in San Francisco for a segment of its new advertising campaign." more ›

The SF Int'l Film Festival isn't just about great national and international movies -- they've got music events, gala events, talks about the state of cinema, an online presence through SF360.com, and -- what we stopped by to see this afternoon -- a series of panels about the state of cinema today. more ›

Grampa Simpson last year, Gavin appears to be channeling another person at the start of 2007, that of an attendance officer. After complaints were made about attendance problems with various city commissions and problems tracking them, the whip is now going to be cracked whip to make it so City Hall can know who is a flake and who is not. more ›

On Wednesday we relished reading Matier and Ross's column about a brouhaha involving the San Francisco Film Commission. Seems that while shooting days in The City are up, all is not well between the commissioners and the executive director, Stefanie Coyote -- whom loyal SFist readers will remember from her previous brouhaha with deposed Treasure Island impresario Tony Hall over the Rent production. more ›

Holy Cow, has San Francisco actually been able to get something done? A few months ago, everyone was hemming and hawwing about how nobody shoots films here anymore and that the city really oughta make it easier for film companies to come in and do their dirty sinful business. There were new appointments made at the city's Film Commission, and some SF-endorsements from celebrity filmmakers, but back then we doubted that anything would really change. Shooting in SF, we were sure, would continue to present uniquely Sanfranciscian problems. more ›

First we had to deal with the drama of New Yorkers whining over Rent interiors being filmed on Treasure Island, prompting Revolution Studios to assure Gothamist that exteriors would be shot in NYC. Now we have to deal with former Supervisor and current Treasure Island Development Association director Tony Hall whining over Rent interiors being filmed on Treasure Island. No, Tony isn't nostalgic for the East Village of the early nineties -- he's more worried about the production, well, paying the rent. more ›

The crew will be filming in the city through the 23rd. Nancy Hayes is casting the local extras, although casting seems to be complete for now. We wonder where Reese and Mark will be staying -- picket lines better not be crossed or we'll call our friends in the film unions! SFist figures it will be the Clift, but the production could also have rented a house or two for the paparazzi-shy stars. Needless to say, principal photography for this story based in San Francisco will be filmed on sets in Los Angeles. The San Francisco Film Commission is expected to announce that local schlock jock Chris Columbus will be shooting the full production of Rent -- starring one of SFist's favorite Hollywood hotties, Rosario Dawson. The announcement should come in the next week, and bodes well for future big-budget shoots by the Bay. more ›