Printable VersionIn the business of tourism, image is everything.
“It’s clearly a genre that is not meant to be taken seriously,” said Lake Havasu City Convention and Visitor’s Bureau President/CEO Doug Traub. “It’s a make-believe story, and clearly anybody that sees the film is going to know that. Obviously we don’t just have one sheriff and we don’t just sit around waiting for spring breakers to come in. We’re a vibrant destination and spring breakers are one component of that.”
“Piranha 3D” released nationwide to mostly positive reviews but placed only sixth at the box office with roughly $10 million domestically following its premiere Aug. 20. The film, which focuses on the fictitious spring break town of Lake Victoria, features spring break partiers being attacked by man-eating piranhas. Filming took place almost entirely in Havasu and lasted through summer 2009. Rough estimates indicated that the filming brought nearly $18 million to the city’s economy, and Lake Havasu Marine Association Executive Director Jim Salscheider said that’s where people should focus.
“That saved a lot of jobs and gave a tremendous perspective on this town,” Salscheider said. “Whether someone likes (the movie) or doesn’t like it, it absolutely helped us from that point of view. If you can see it beyond the gore and the partying in the movie, it was great for this city.”
Salscheider said he’s confident that people seeing the film won’t shy away from visiting and actually might be encouraged to look into the city.
“I think it will draw more attention, frankly,” he said. “I can’t imagine anyone will take it seriously. Hopefully it will draw attention to our beautiful lake. I hope it’s not a negative influence and honestly I don’t think it will be.”
Lake Havasu Hospitality Association Executive Director Greg Tryon, who helped coordinate this year’s spring break program known as “Hook It Up,” agreed, but added that “Lake Victoria” is no Lake Havasu.
“I really don’t think Lake Havasu is that crazy at that level that’s shown in the movie,” Tryon said. “I think we’re more stabile than that and I think they blew it up because it was a movie. But I think we can have some fun, too, and I think that’s why people enjoy coming here.”
Traub said the spring break scenes might share a few things in common with the reality but there were still “numerous differences.”
“I think both towns looked absolutely beautiful and they sure look the same,” Traub joked. “For the most part, you see young people observing the law and having a good time in the movie. However, morally, if you see people wearing less than full body armor, you may be offended. … I would agree that it was way overblown because it was a movie and again I wouldn’t take it seriously.”
Another possibility, however, is that people avoid the lake in the same way millions avoided the oceans near Martha’s Vineyard, where the 1975 film “Jaws” was filmed.
“There are definitely some parallels to the reaction after ‘Jaws,’” Traub said. “But in a movie with killer fish and a police officer using a chainsaw or a boat propeller to fend them off, I think there’s your clear tip-off of where the parallels end. … A shark is one thing, but prehistoric killer fish aren’t ever going to attack our city.”
You can contact the reporter at nbruttell@havasunews.com
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