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Filmmaking industry goes pro in Boston – Metro US

Filmmaking industry goes pro in Boston

With five movies shooting simultaneously in Boston last year — including “The Zookeeper” with Kevin James — colliding schedules and endless meetings turned the city into a zoo.

But as film season returns this year, city officials are more prepared to handle the onslaught. Officials studied best practices of permitting from New York and Los Angeles after streamlining the process by gathering representatives from various departments for weekly meetings.

“We decided ‘Hey, let’s sit down together and … make decisions on the spot’,” said Julie Burns, director of the Mayor’s Office of Arts, Tourism and Special Events.

“I was making five different appointments in a course of a week,” Location scout Hyunsoo Moon, said, before the city entered the moviemaking big leagues. But the recent changes have everyone excited to start.

“We’re … looking forward to the warm weather,” Burns said.