Published March 2001

Everett hotel fits
the bill for film

By John Wolcott
Herald Business Journal Editor

“I love this hotel,” said a grinning Jim Gulian, sitting in what used to be the lobby of the restored Monte Cristo Hotel in downtown Everett. “Hotels are hard to find for filming. If you can find one, you have to convince them to sell you their space for a day. Most of them just won’t even close down for you, even for money.”

Gulian and partner Bob Johnson own Media Partners in Seattle, a corporate film company that specializes in lively, humorous, right-to-the-point films that businesses buy for human resource programs, motivational gatherings and employee retention.

In February, Gulian and his crew of nearly 50 converged on the grand old hotel for five days, taking over offices, the lobby, the ballroom and the Everett Center for the Arts gift store to film the story of a hotel manager who unwittingly alienates his employees.

The film, “Keeping the Good Ones,” offers ideas for employers to help keep top employees by simple actions such as showing an interest, being concerned and listening.

Gulian has produced nine films already, packaging them with workbooks and other training materials for sale to businesses that want to improve productivity, employee relations, employee retention and motivation.

The classic film in Gulian’s business is “Fish,” a motivational film shot at Seattle’s Pike Place Market, featuring the famous fish-tossing scenes so familiar to tourists and local residents who visit the market.

Tossing fish takes enthusiasm, strength, focus and teamwork — elements that businesses want to instill in their employees.

With 20 years of corporate filming to his credit, including product launches for Microsoft, Gulian now produces his own corporate management and training films. But finding suitable locations can be challenging, said Gulian, who stayed at the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel in Everett during filming.

“A location manager found this for me (because the Everett Film Office had promoted it as a filming site).

“In the ballroom, the first day, we built several offices for a few scenes. Then, we shot in the lobby. Then, the arts center gift store became our hotel gift store. The restaurant area became our crew break room, makeup area and staging area for equipment,” he said.

In the hotel’s kitchen, another site that’s difficult to find for filming, actor Jose Abaoag was directed in his chef’s role by Michael Bond.

Then, the action moved outside to the alley where the chef arrived for another scene in a late-model red sports car rented from a local auto dealer for the day.

“The Everett Film Office has really helped us with arrangements for the shooting, securing the location and working with the city. It saved us from trying to find a kitchen, for instance, which sometimes means finding a restaurant that will let us in late at night when they’re not too busy. This setting has worked out perfectly for us,” he said.

Everett Film Office Director Lanie McMullin said she’s eager to find more corporate film companies like Media Partners.

Promoting movie locations in the city helps to bring money into the community, she said, in this case, helping the Everett Center for the Arts, which depends on renting space in the hotel for revenue.

“I don’t think there’s an alley, tavern, building or neighborhood in Everett I haven’t seen in preparing for movie promotion work,” McMullin said. “Every place I see now is an opportunity for a film company.”

More information about Media Partners is available by calling 206-682-2261 in Seattle, sending e-mail to jim@media-partners.com or visiting the corporate film company’s Web site at www.media-partners.com.

Related story: Everett Film Office boosts economy by luring "The Fugitive" to the area

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