{"id":181648,"date":"2025-08-28T05:39:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T05:39:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/181648\/"},"modified":"2025-08-28T05:39:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T05:39:13","slug":"time-to-ketchup-filmmaking-in-san-diego-is-on-the-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/181648\/","title":{"rendered":"Time to ketchup: Filmmaking in San Diego is on the \u2018Attack\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Actress Noor Razooky (center) shares a laugh with fellow cast member Myrna Velasco (left) while promoting Attack of the Killer Tomatoes Organic Intelligence at the 2025 Comic-Con convention. Photo by Michael Howard<\/p>\n

Taking yourself too seriously isn\u2019t generally a thing when you\u2019re an actor playing a role in a film where tomatoes are the antagonist. Just ask Zachary Roozen who plays \u201cChad\u201d in \u201cAttack of the Killer Tomatoes Organic Intelligence,\u201d the franchise\u2019s fourth sequel release slated for October 2025.
\u201cChad lives in the moment,\u201d Roozen explains while signing autographs at this year\u2019s Comic-Con in San Diego. \u201cHe\u2019s not really forward thinking,\u201d he adds, then pauses. \u201cOr backward thinking,\u201d he says thoughtfully. Not letting the listener ponder on that too profoundly, he continues. \u201cThere\u2019s something beautiful about him \u2013 like a Golden Retriever. He\u2019s present wherever he is, and he\u2019s present with who he\u2019s with.\u201d Roozen looks puzzled like he\u2019s not sure where he\u2019s going with this line of thinking. \u201cHopefully on screen, you\u2019ll have a laugh at his expense,\u201d Roozen smiles.
Laughing at one\u2019s own expense is clearly a key aspect of this franchise. Despite winning the Film Consortium San Diego\u2019s Lifetime Achievement Award this past June, writer and executive producer Costa Dillon does not suffer serious questions about the upcoming film.
\u201cAnyone attempting to find a message in this film will be shot,\u201d he joked when asked about the film\u2019s identity. What about the plot then? \u201cAnybody attempting to find a plot in this film will be banished,\u201d he doubled down.
And talking to cast members, the light-heartedness is contagious and palpable. Hometown San Diego native Noor Razooky who plays \u201cAngela\u201d jumps in on the action. \u201cThe best part [of having been cast] in my role is being a character in this world, this playful world \u2013 one that allows you to not take it so seriously,\u201d she reveals.
But in the world of filmmaking, what is being taken seriously is San Diego\u2019s real push for Hollywood dollars. With the recent signing of California\u2019s bill AB 102, Governor Gavin Newsom increased film tax credits from $330 million to $750 million, more than doubling the incentive in one sweep. The increase was geared toward enticing big-budget filmmakers back to the state.
Before the signing of this bill, filmmakers had been fleeing to more economically attractive states like Georgia and Illinois\u2014where there is no cap on how much a single film can earn in tax incentives. Even with this recent increase in tax incentive dollars, California still does cap a film\u2019s tax incentive amount to $54 million per project.
Still, that\u2019s some pretty pennies. And not to be overlooked in the scramble for Hollywood dollars, Escondido native Aaron Roberts has begun building the infrastructure necessary to lure the money here. Last year he launched the Chula Vista Entertainment Complex (CVEC) where filmmakers, actors, editors, graphic artists and creatives of all types will be able to support big-film production on two campuses boasting 75,000 and 90,000 square feet. Phase one of that project will be located on the second floor of Chula Vista\u2019s new library building, where the 75,000 square foot second floor is reserved for creative space.
\u201cWe\u2019re going to fill that space with a whole bunch of amenities that the creative community desires,\u201d Roberts told the Escondido Times-Advocate back in March. \u201cLike audio video podcast rooms that are set up and turnkey ready to go, 10 to 15 foot LED walls, meeting rooms, photography rooms, places to do voice-overs. Kind of anything that would be maybe a little harder for your independent creative to have access or to come up with the capital for.\u201d
Roberts, an Escondido Charter High School graduate, is in the forefront leading the charge for Hollywood dollars, saying the region might have been overlooked previously, but the time is right for filmmakers to look again to San Diego..
\u201cThere\u2019s so much within [San Diego] county that I think is kind of untapped potential that\u2019s just waiting for the right opportunity,\u201c Roberts pointed out.
But Roberts isn\u2019t the only one vying for the dollars. Leo Kats recently purchased the former XETV 6 studios in Clairmont Mesa where he has transformed it into Spark Studio Soundstage featuring a 3,000 square foot sound stage studio, editing bays and event venue focused on attracting the film industry. \u201cWe are definitely looking to increase our participation in the overall film market and this is why we took over the studio,\u201d he said in an email.
Additionally, if you thought San Diego didn\u2019t have the pipeline of artists, creatives and technical craft personnel needed to support big-budget film, think again. With film programs at San Diego State University, University California San Marcos, and Escondido\u2019s own dedicated film university \u2013 the John Paul Catholic University \u2013 there\u2019s already a path to employment in the industry.
And more are coming. Just ask Steph Groce\u2014who is starting IdeaEngine Impact Foundation, an organization built from the ground up to feed the industry. \u201cThe Foundation will work towards funneling more interns into [various productions] for multi-usage media and grips with electrician workforce development,\u201d he told The Times-Advocate via text.
Despite the focus on attracting big money, \u201cAttack of the Killer Tomatoes Organic Intelligence\u201d could very well be an example of the role indie films might play in the shifting filmmaking landscape. An independently produced project, the majority of scenes were shot locally and did not have the financial backing or distribution of major film studios. Yet it was made primarily in the San Diego region, even without the necessary infrastructure a big-production company needs.
The ability to produce and distribute film is fragmenting, becoming decentralized, and more independent. While big-productions bring in the splash and big money, it\u2019s the everyday independent filmmaker who can provide the steady income.
Dillon thinks the change is already happening. \u201cThis story [about making my film independently] is revealing truths,\u201d he said, back in the booth at Comic-Con. \u201cAnd anytime you reveal the truth, it\u2019s dangerous to the people in charge, which I think is why no major studio gave us the attention,\u201d he suggests.
Getting the attention of big studios might not always be possible, but like the killer tomatoes in Dillon\u2019s film, filmmakers are evolving and adapting. Myrna Velasco, the actress who plays \u201cMarina,\u201d said it best when explaining the role tomatoes play in the latest sequel. \u201cThe tomatoes are bigger, better and scarier than you ever imagined. And they\u2019re smarter. Much smarter.\u201d
\u201cAnd they\u2019re hungry,\u201d the actress Smantha Bailey, playing \u201cKate\u201d throws in. Like the tomatoes in the film, indie filmmakers are hungry, bigger, better, scarier and smarter. Asked to expand on the tomato\u2019s human characteristics, Bailey is not one to take herself too seriously either, she simply followed up with, \u201cAnd tomatoes will too-mate.\u201d
Wrapping up their time at the Comic-Con booth, the \u201cAttack of the Killer Tomato\u201d clan gather up for a final photo. Each had words of wisdom to share to the filmmakers, the policy makers, the actors and actresses in the film industry. But it was San Diego native Razooky who summed up the spirit of the group.
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of things that are very serious right now,\u201d she began, \u201cbut try to remember to always have fun. Take care of yourself and leave room for play \u2014 whatever play means to you \u2014 make sure you carve that out into your life. It\u2019s very, severely important,\u201d she said with just a slight, ittsy-bitsy tinge of seriousness.<\/p>\n

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Writer and Executive Producer Costa Dillon (2nd from R) poses for pictures at the 2025 Comic Con promoting his Attack of the Killer Tomatoes Organic Intelligence with actors (L to R) Samantha Bailey, Myrna Velasco, Noor Razooky, Dillon, and Zachary Roozen. Photo by Michael Howard<\/p>\n

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Actor Zachary Roozen signs autographs at the 2025 Comic-Con convention while promoting Attack of the Killer Tomatoes Organic Intelligence. Photo by Michael Howard<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Actress Noor Razooky (center) shares a laugh with fellow cast member Myrna Velasco (left) while promoting Attack of…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":181649,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,3549,7264,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-181648","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-san-diego","12":"tag-sandiego","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-united-states-of-america","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","17":"tag-us","18":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115104786973842422","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181648"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181648\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/181649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}