With studio complexes at Disney and Universal opening in Orlando this fall and next fall respectively, Florida is in a better position than ever to close the gap that separates it from New York and California — the two states that are busier in terms of TV and film production.

Barbara Paresi, the editor and publisher of the three-year-old Florida Production Directory, is going to make life a lot easier for the producers, directors and TV commercial-makers bound for the state and looking for help with hotels, locations and almost anything else.

This year, Paresi is using a format that is divided into the following categories: pre-production; crews; location and travel; props, wardrobes, and sets; stages and TV studios (with information such as dimensions and diagrams); equipment; film/video labs; miscellaneous; ad agencies and production companies.

Since the Golden Pages ceased publication in 1987 — the yearly publication that roughly performed the same function as the Florida Production Directory — Paresi’s directory has no competition.

Paresi feels the timing is right for Florida. “We have the big boys coming in. They’re getting everything they dreamed of for a fraction of the cost — the same movie that costs $5 million in Los Angeles costs $2.5 million here.”

To accommodate the anticipated workload, movie crews who used to work at the recently sold DEG (De Laurentiis Entertainment Group) studios in Wilmington, N.C., have relocated to Orlando. So have some South Florida crews, Paresi says.

“I’ve lived in New York and Los Angeles. Florida has arrived. It is very exciting. But you don’t get that same feeling about the industry down here as you do in Orlando.”

The next edition of the Florida Production Directory, estimated to be 400 pages and costing $35 through the mail, comes out next January. That means there is plenty of time until the closing date in November for production- related businesses and individuals to contact the directory for inclusion.

Paresi, who plans to relocate to Orlando, can be contacted in Miami at 1-538-FILM.

CHARITY BENEFIT

Here’s a chance to see a potentially enjoyable movie ahead of everyone else and do something nice for Florida college students at the same time. Arthur 2 On the Rocks, with Dudley Moore reprising his role as a wealthy drunk, will be shown at 6:30 p.m. July 5 at the Village Green Theatre, 1880 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd. in West Palm Beach. (It opens in theaters throughout South Florida the next day). Tickets are $25.

All proceeds will go to Florida State University to benefit their educational programs in motion picture, TV and recording arts, and track and field (track and field?).

To purchase tickets in advance, get on the invitational list for a champagne dinner after the movie at $150 per person, or find out more information, call the university’s South Florida office at 832-0266 in Palm Beach, 761-7666 in Broward, or 325-1822 in Dade.

FILM FESTIVAL FRONT

Although Gov. Bob Martinez has yet to sign the recommended appropriation and make the matter official, word is out that the Florida Department of State has made the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival the recipient of $100,000. This welcome amount should relieve some of the financial pressure from the fledgling festival, which is to get under way for the third time this fall.

Another important tidbit will affect festival attendees: The dates have been changed. There was much gnashing of teeth in the past two years with a flood of films and cinema-related events scheduled during Thanksgiving week. The feeling among some critics was that attendance could have been increased if the festival were earlier or later in the fall. Earlier was the option chosen by festival organizers. Mark your calendars for Oct. 29 to Nov. 5, just a couple of weeks after the three-week-long New York Film Festival ends and right in the heart of the big fall movie season.

NEIGHBORHOOD CONCEPT

It’s a truism that the ubiquitous sprouting of video-tape rental stores is heeding — people like to shop close to where they live. The same principle can be applied to movie-theater attendance. A film must be extraordinary to warrant a 30-minute or longer drive to the theater.

No doubt that is what prompted a letter to my desk from Daniel A. West of Deerfield Beach. He writes: “How can I get in touch with someone who may help bring some of the splendid foreign films to the Deerfield Beach area?”

West says that he has attended the Fox Sunrise and the Delray Beach Cinema. But he’d rather keep his theatergoing closer to home and has a good idea to do just that, with the cooperation of a theater manager. West suggests that one screen of a multiplex theater be given over to foreign films. Any takers?

Speaking of foreign films, the Saturday-Sunday morning experiment at the Fox Sunrise is off to a promising start. Last Saturday the theater attracted 72 early risers to its 11 a.m. showing of Sammy and Rosie… Now whether they all enjoyed the controversial British film about societal disruption is another matter entirely.