Research Questions - SF and Oakland (Hayward, Concord: credit, houses, neighborhoods)

[JonathanLB]

These are kind of bizarre questions, so bear with me here because it's for a spec screenplay that needs to be set in the Bay Area. I've lived in LA, Portland, and now I live in Las Vegas Metro (Henderson), been to SF many times (I'm a die-hard 49ers fan, and I guess... I will end up being both 49ers and Raiders this year), but my knowledge of much of the city is low (a previous best friend and my sister have both lived in SF and / or Oakland, funny enough). I was hoping some of you people really familiar with the whole area could help me out a little bit.

The main character is the top marketing exec for a large and growing tech company, only relevant because he would be very wealthy already. He lives in a modern style house (think glass, concrete, steel, clean lines, etc.), so he's not going to be in an older neighborhood, maybe he custom built this home? What are the kinds of neighborhoods someone like that might be in? It's ok if you think massive budget, like his house could be anywhere from $4-5M to $15M, the plot would justify it. There are a lot of great views to be found in the hills, right? So he would probably have a view of some sort with an expensive house...?

His best friend is just a normal, working class guy, actually he's kind of a hick, he's a fish-out-of-water sort who loves his hunting, guns, fishing, and beer. He seems like he should be living elsewhere, but these two go way back and from what I understand, there is a lot of good fishing not far from SF. Where does a guy like that live? Where would he feel at home? For the sake of argument, he could be a well paid construction foreman, electrician, or something like that, he makes good money by flyover state standards but by SF standards he is solidly middle class, at best. He might even be lower middle class, but in the plot, he has a house however modest it might be. That house could be far away from the city center, it's not relevant to the story except that someone could drive to it in the middle of the night in an hour or so.

In another part of the story, these two flee together over into Oakland, and they eventually end up at a friend's house that has a more dilapidated feel, it's fine, but it's a single story Ranch-style home, modest, maybe 3 bedrooms, 2 bathroom kind of situation. Is there some area or neighborhood of Oakland that's a bit out of the way, a bit further out, that might have something like that?

It's also somewhat relevant though not a huge deal, how long would it take to go from Salesforce Park to such a house described above in Oakland? Are we talking a 30, 45 minute drive? An hour drive? Any information is helpful. I think having a grasp of the locales is important, even if a producer were to take the script and eventually film it in mostly another city, at least you have clear descriptions of what something should look like and an understanding of the realism.

[clongirl]

You might some renovated modern style houses in Telegraph Hill, Presidio Heights, Clarendon Heights, The Marina, maybe South of Market (those would be more converted warehouses). Most neighborhoods in the City are older with the exception of Mission Bay (but you'll generally only find high rise type buildings there).

Working class folk--gosh-- probably out in the East Bay, like Concord, Martinez, or even further out near the Delta--small towns towns like Rio Vista, Brentwood, Oakley. There's also the North Bay--cities like Vacaville/Fairfield/Suisun

Oakland--hmmm--you don't really find those CA ranch style houses so much but Hayward or San Lorenzo, a little further south kinda fits the bill on that sort of vision.

On a decent traffic day, it could take 40 minutes to an hour to Hayward. Less if going to Oakland

[TashaPosh]

Originally Posted by JonathanLB

Research Questions - SF and Oakland



Any information is helpful. I think having a grasp of the locales is important, even if a producer were to take the script and eventually film it in mostly another city, at least you have clear descriptions of what something should look like and an understanding of the realism.

Are you doing all this "research" for yourself....are you a producer or writer? As somebody that has a view in a neighborhood near Sf....some of it totally comes off as stalkerish in a forum IMO.

[JonathanLB]

clongirl, that's extremely helpful to know, because every city has its own style. Even here in Vegas, if you want a modern-style home, it needs to be brand new almost. Blue Herron was building modern homes dating to about 2008, but they build so few houses, there aren't many on the market. Now, all of the builders are doing that pretty much but that'd be more like 2016 or 2017 to present. In Portland, you'd find a lot of craftsman style homes, some Victorian, and further out in the suburbs older ranch style homes are not too tough to find. I think even plenty of those to the North and SE. Every city has its unique characteristics. So maybe my working class guy is somewhere out in a smaller town further away, that might make the most sense, he commutes for the jobs he gets.

TashaPosh -- I have no idea how you could get that, how on earth could someone "stalk" you by asking about neighborhoods?! I'm a DGA Director and writer, yes, I have both written and directed a movie that I served as producer on as well (uncredited, we already had 3 producers who wanted the credit there and I really don't -- I prefer writing and directing, produce by necessity). I have produced more than 1,000 videos through my company, though, including music videos, training videos, corporate videos, event presentations, tours, short films, animated explainer videos, product launches, etc.

I got a lot of benefit from City Data posters as well with other projects, when I was researching parts of NYC, Italy, and pre-WWII history for another script. This is the first script I've ever set in SF; the last I was working on was in Huntsville and Birmingham, largely because of the number of defense contractors in Huntsville and my protagonist works for a defense contractor, thus the location. SF is the most obvious place to set a story based around a tech company, not to say it couldn't be Seattle though or even perhaps Portland.

[gone down south]

It's stalkerish because you never mentioned you were writing a screenplay until the last sentence.

[JonathanLB]

Originally Posted by gone down south

It's stalkerish because you never mentioned you were writing a screenplay until the last sentence.

I didn't? That's fascinating. So you can't read, I take it? What are you doing on a forum? READ the FIRST sentence -- "These are kind of bizarre questions, so bear with me here because it's for a spec screenplay that needs to be set in the Bay Area."

Please, for the love of god, DO NOT vote if you cannot read.

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by JonathanLB

The main character is the top marketing exec for a large and growing tech company, only relevant because he would be very wealthy already. He lives in a modern style house (think glass, concrete, steel, clean lines, etc.), so he's not going to be in an older neighborhood, maybe he custom built this home? What are the kinds of neighborhoods someone like that might be in? It's ok if you think massive budget, like his house could be anywhere from $4-5M to $15M, the plot would justify it. There are a lot of great views to be found in the hills, right? So he would probably have a view of some sort with an expensive house...?

Upper Fillmore could be a great setting for a tech exec. It is an older neighborhood but has a lot of style unlike SOMA which is rather sterile.

Do a Google search for 2755 Fillmore to see what $14M buys in that neighborhood.

Originally Posted by JonathanLB

His best friend is just a normal, working class guy, actually he's kind of a hick, he's a fish-out-of-water sort who loves his hunting, guns, fishing, and beer. He seems like he should be living elsewhere, but these two go way back and from what I understand, there is a lot of good fishing not far from SF. Where does a guy like that live? Where would he feel at home?

I suggest researching Pacifica and looking at some of the modest 1,000 sq. ft. ranch houses by the beach in the Linda Mar area.

https://www.pierfishing.com/pacifica-pier/

[TashaPosh]

Originally Posted by JonathanLB

TashaPosh -- I have no idea how you could get that, how on earth could someone "stalk" you by asking about neighborhoods?! I'm a DGA Director and writer, yes, I have both written and directed a movie that I served as producer on as well (uncredited, we already had 3 producers who wanted the credit there and I really don't -- I prefer writing and directing, produce by necessity). I have produced more than 1,000 videos through my company, though, including music videos, training videos, corporate videos, event presentations, tours, short films, animated explainer videos, product launches, etc.

Oh...because stalkers make up stories & identities. So...I asked what you wanted detailed information about neighborhoods with views near Sf for.

[rca215]

Working class buddy definitely needs to live on an "anchor out" in the Richardson Bay!

[rca215]

Although I guess 'driving' to his boat might be a bit of a challenge.