It seems that everyone here on campus is frustrated by the university’s recent decision not to let HBO film episodes of Girls this summer. Angry posts have ravaged social media and online publications, culminating in a petition to allow the series to film here. While the petition almost has all the signatures needed, and I doubt that it will change the decision, there needs to be more thought put into why the university made the decision in the first place.
And it is definitely not just about disruption. I am from Ohio, where taxes on filming are cheap and images of downtown Cleveland pretending to be New York or Chicago are rampant. Being so close to the city, filming no doubt overflows into my neighborhood. My high school has been featured in a variety of movies and due to my proximity, I have fell victim to the inconveniences, which are probably, at their worst, blocked off roads and large crowds of people glimpsing into actors’ trailers. Honestly, they weren’t so bad compared to the excitement of my city appearing in mainstream films. Just as I would be excited to see Girls filmed in my new home here in Iowa City, showing off the incredible Writer’s Workshop that too few people know about. Especially if filming would take place over the summer, the disruption level would be minimal.
After the initial wave of articles challenging the university’s decision, it came out that there might be more than just disruption of campus activities at stake: namely, the script painted the university and program in a negative light. Knowing Girls, you’d also know that nothing ever seems to work out perfectly for Hannah Horvath—why should the internationally recognized workshop be unique? It seems that most of the students here are proponents of the idea that any publicity is good publicity. It does not seem likely that production giant, HBO, would want to rewrite a script so they can stay truthful to the location, they’ll just film somewhere else. And, yes, that means another place will be called the University of Iowa and will still receive the bad rep, but the administration can defend their decision publically, and prove that the show did not film on campus, and does not accurately represent the school, nor its programs.
There is also the issue of the supposed publicity and support the filming would bring the theatre and film department here. I’m not sure what people are expecting, but I sincerely doubt anyone is going to be “found” by being an extra or grip. Yes, using the university’s resources would bring relief and possibly funds to both departments, but my intuition is that HBO would bring their own equipment and use the film school as merely storage; and the extras, well, what says they have to be theatre majors? I am a film major, and while I dream that our department receives recognition, it doesn’t always work that way.
And Girls will still be filming in the city, just not on campus. The beneficial economic boost of filming will go to the city, not the university. The connections that people want to develop will still be possible with a little more work. I am skeptical of the benefits the show would provide for the university and students even as a fan of Girls. But, like everyone else, we’ll just have to wait until next January to find out.