Locals headed to Hollywood for statewide movie industry award ceremonies

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - El Dorado County and the South Shore are a big part of the Hollywood scene with movies, television shows and commercials filmed often in the area. It takes a lot of partners to make location shoots successful and to recognize those that go above and beyond to make filming successful the California On Location Awards (COLA) are given out.

The COLA nominations were announced this week by the Film Liaisons in California Statewide (FLICS) and one will find nominees from the county and South Lake Tahoe.

Many of those being recognized for their location professionalism were involved with the 2017 shooting of the season opener for the popular television show Modern Family.

Mayor Pro Tem Tom Davis is nominated in the public employee category for his continuous work with the film industry in finding the perfect South Lake Tahoe locations and crews when projects are filmed in the area.

"Tom has been doing this for decades," said El Dorado County film Commission Executive Director Kathleen Dodge of the El Dorado County film Commission. "I can call him at any time with what we're looking for. Tom has been an advocate and supporter of the film industry for many, many years. He always asks, 'How can I get the community involved?' He always takes the call from Hollywood."

Another area nominee is Deputy Greg Almos of the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office (EDSO). Almos handled the lake needs of the Modern Family film crew, from helping with safety needs to helping with their finding the right spot to use for filming.

"It is a privilege working in Lake Tahoe as it provides diversity from the normal routine," said Deputy Almos.

EDSO has two other nominations, both for Michael Dennis for his location work for the department's reality television show.

"This is a prestigious award," said Dodge. "People are nominated from throughout the state of California. El Dorado County has nominees in four categories. It's amazing and exciting! It is extremely rare to have so many nominees from one area."

Location managers in the industry make the nominations and all nominees are invited to the COLA awards in Hollywood December 16. Both Almos and Davis plan on attending along with Brian Hansen of the USFS Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.

Hansen was nominated for his work on many projects in handling the permitting requirements for each location on federal lands. The specific project for his nomination was Modern Family but Dodge says he goes above and beyond on all location requests. Hansen was instrumental in issuing the filming permits and also helped with monitoring the filming and making sure everything moved smoothly.

He is currently on his honeymoon in Italy so it is unknown if he'll be headed to Hollywood for the awards ceremony which is by invitation only and attended by over 500 people.

Other area nominees:

Location Manager Reality Television: Daniel Meincke for the Jay Leno's Garage episode shot in Placerville. They did a story on a man who built a wood-burning car engine.

Location Team Reality Television: Brook Parsons for the Total Divas episode shot in South Lake Tahoe.

Public Employee - State: Stacy Beard of Sierra Parks Foundation for her helping with permits on Modern Family and other film projects.

Location Manager Television 1/2 Hour: Jordana Kronen of FOX for the filming of Modern Family in South Lake Tahoe.

A past winner was Tim White from Lake Tahoe won a COLA award in 2017 for his still photography. He is also a location manager and project scout.

The full list of COLA award nominees from California:

Location Manager Feature Films Studio:
Captain Marvel – Ilt Jones
The Children – Adam Robinson
Ant-Man and the Wasp – Dan Cooley

Location Manager Feature Films Independent:
Ballbusters – Stan Bautista
Biochemistry – Michael Wesley
Bird Box – Boyd Wilson

Location Manager Television 1 Hour:
Westworld - Mandi Dillon
Sharp Objects – Gregory Alpert
9-1-1- Heather Haase

Location Manager Television 1/2 hour:
Modern Family – Jordana Kronen
The Mayor – Jennifer “JJ” Levine
The Kids Are Alright – Chester Wong

Location Manager Reality Television:
Jay Leno’s Garage – Daniel Meincke
Sheriffs of El Dorado County – Michael Dennis
Top Gear – Matt and Joy Thayer

Location Manager Commercials:
2018 Kia Sorento: Geoff Juckes
Walmart – Flint Maloney
Nike Choose Go! – Michael Levy

Location Manager Stills:
Calvin Klein – Brenda Ferrell
Chevy vs. Ram – Ken Brubaker
American Express: Don’t Live Life Without It – Brenda Ferrell

Location Team Feature Films: Studio:
Triple Frontier – Catherine Kagan
Captain Marvel – Ilt Jones
Wine Country – Caleb Duffy

Location Team Feature Film Independent:
Gloria – Michael Edward Smith
Untitled Sia Project – Rick Schuler
Bird Box – Boyd Wilson

Location Team Television 1 Hour:
9-1-1 – Heather Haase
This Is Us – Steve Weissberger
Bosch – Robert Paulson

Location Team Television 1/2 Hour:
GLOW – Ralph Coleman
The Kids Are Alright – Chester Wong
Camping – Nancy Haecker

Location Team Reality Television:
Total Divas – Brook Parsons
Sheriffs of El Dorado County – Michael Dennis
Top Gear – Matt Thayer

Location Team Commercials:
ATT FirstNet – Frank Yoshikane
Fruit of the Loom – Brian Bird
Nature Valley – Weston Marsh

Public Employee - City:
City of Lake Tahoe, City Council – Mayor Pro-Tem Tom Davis
Burbank Unified School District – Kathy Yeager
City of Los Angeles, Dept. of Public Works – Mark White

Public Employee - County:
LA County Fire – Captain Cesar Cano
LA County – Gary Smith
El Dorado Sherriff's Office – Deputy Greg Almos

Public Employee - State:
State Parks – Stacy Beard
State Parks – Dena Bellman

Public Employee - Federal:
US Forest Service – Brian Hansen
FAA – John Blanco
Nation Parks Service – Michelle D’Ulisse