01-03-2025
"Sacramento" road-trip comedy latest Hollywood film to boost local economy
SACRAMENTO — A movie shot in California's capital city nearly two years ago is about to hit the silver screen this spring.
The trailer for the road-trip comedy "Sacramento" came out this week and we heard from some locals who were present when Hollywood came to town.
Mermaid Rachel with Dive Bar K Street is one of the local Sacramentans making a cameo appearance in the new movie — with a brief appearance in the trailer.
"We didn't know how much we'd be featured, but to be in the trailer — it's huge," Rachel said.
The film spent two days shooting in the Sacramento area.
"They wanted everyone to be really natural," Rachel said. "They wanted to get the ambiance of these different venues and places in Sacramento, so it was really sort of guerilla filmmaking."
Kayla, a bartender at Dive Bar, was working while the film's star, Michael Cera, shot a scene.
"He was very casual, very relaxed," she said. "He was there to do a job. He was super polite to everybody that was here."
Other filming locations include the Tower Bridge, Old Sacramento, and Gunther's Ice Cream.
"It is amazing. They hit all of the most iconic Sacramento locations," said Jennifer West, Sacramento's film commissioner.
West said this movie could help attract more Hollywood crews.
"This is the best kind of marketing, showing off our as a location destination," she added.
Another movie shot in Sacramento, "No Address," is now playing in theaters. Last year, a big-budget film starring Leonardo DiCaprio spent two weeks in town shooting several action sequences.
"People were flocking to downtown just to get a glimpse of Hollywood," West said. "It's exciting."
The City of Sacramento has set aside money to try and bring more movie shoots to town, which helps the local economy.
"We do have a one-time $250,000 incentive that will launch July 1," West said. "We really need to be competitive and this incentive is going to allow us to do that."
"Sacramento" is scheduled to be released in April, and there's a lot of anticipation to see our city on the silver screen.
"It won't be a problem to quietly watch myself and freak out later," Rachel said. "I'm not going to stand up and scream 'that's me" to everyone in the theater."
Sacramento city officials are supporting a plan by Gov. Gavin Newsom to expand the state's filmmaker tax credit to $750 million in an effort to keep more TV and movie projects produced in California.
