Local film crews look forward to busy year in growing industry

NEW ORLEANS- A New Orleans neighborhood has been transformed this week, complete with a mini-mart where the old St. Roch market once stood.

It's gotten neighbors talking.

"When I first rolled up and I saw them doing that, I was like, 'Oh, they're getting ready to open the market back up!' I didn't know what was going on," said William York, a resident of the St. Roch neighborhood.

Turns out, it's all for Mark Wahlberg's new movie, "Contraband." Set in Panama, the movie's being shot in the Crescent City.

"I'm loving every minute of it. It's revitalizing the neighborhood, the city. The economy's going to get better. As you know, all we do is hospitality, but this is something else that we can do," said York.

It's just one of the movies being shot in New Orleans this year. A few of the movies on slate for 2011 include "Cogan's Trade," starring Brad Pitt. 21 Jump Street will be shot in New Orleans in April. And Miley Cyrus is in town this week shooting "So Undercover."

According to New Orleans film commissioner Katie Gunnell, more movies are being made now in Louisiana than California. Thirty-five feature films were shot last year in New Orleans alone, bringing in nearly $300 million. Compare that to just three movies in 2002, the year Lousiana's tax incentive program began.

It's been a big boost for local actors like Clay Chamberlin.

"I came down here because of the tax incentive, so thank you politicians," said Chamberlin.

While the tax incentive is a big draw, many say New Orleans' unique culture is also big plus.

"We love New Orleans," said Contraband's publicist, Wendi Laski. "The people are so nice and so accommodating. It's been incredible."

"And then add in the fact that we have world class hotels and restaurants and shopping, and it’s an easy place to spend a couple months," said Gunnell.

Stars like Jeremy Piven have been spotted at Hornets games and it's become almost commonplace to see production trucks around the city. And that means jobs for local crews.

"I was planning on just going to California and working," said local film grip Jimi Ryan. "But it was so busy here, I was able to stay and just keep working here, and not leave the state."

"It's been unbelievable," said Chamberlin. "I didn't have to move to California. Dreams have come true every single day for years now."

Still, crews say the local industry has some unmet needs. Right now, they say there's no local wardrobe or prop house.

"It's better than six years ago," said Ryan. "There's more infrastructure, but there are still things that need to be done."




by Monica Hernandez / Eyewitness News

New Year for Filming Louisiana

Sid Yost(right) and trainers with Wolf from Amazing Animals.





This year should be as stellar as last if not better. Many productions carried over through the holidays into the new year. The most talked about film of course would be the Twilight Series filming in Baton Rouge through this winter into the spring. Battleship is another film that is getting a lot of attention in Baton Rouge. New Orleans has Looper staring Bruce Willis filming and 21 Jump Street. Shreveport has Kane and Lynch and Playing the Field. Many past productions are now in theaters including Season of the Witch, The Mechanic, and soon coming out is Battle Los Angeles.

With all the productions filming in Louisiana many new companies will be calling Louisiana home including Blade Studios which will cater to the film and recording industry and will be the premiere recording facility in the state. Millennium Studios in Shreveport will be opening soon and will be a full service movie production studio. Moonbot Studios that opened in the Fall 2010 will concentrate on animation. Amazing Animal productions which is a full service film animal supplier and trainer who handle anything from wolves to lions, tigers and bears. If you need a film animal for commercial or movie Sid Yost and Amazing Animals are the ones to call and now they call Louisiana home.


Over 140 movie applications have been filed for 2011 so there could be plenty of movie action for Louisiana this year. Every year for the past 5 years have been better than the last which says a lot for filming in Louisiana and film crews in Louisiana lending their talents to make this state the best state to film in.
Having all this action in the state makes it one of the most interesting state for film with no end in site.

This will be the year in which Louisiana makes a name as the state for film production and make people outside of Hollywood realize that not only can you come to Louisiana to film but the crew you need is already here ready to work and already working.

Come to Louisiana and make this home to your next production!

Downtown Baton Rouge Gets Its Close-up in "Battleship"

07 December 2010
By Rebekah Allen, The Advocate

Sichin Li-McCall shivers in an alley under a heavy coat Monday morning in 45-degree weather. Her face and clothes are lightly spotted with dirt.

A voice booms to clear the set, and she sheds her coat.

“Ready, action,” the voice says.

A giant dust cloud erupts behind Li-McCall, filling all the corners of the alley. Li-McCall runs frantically ahead of the dust cloud along with dozens of other people.

The dust clears, and Li-McCall walks casually back to her spot in the alley and replaces her coat, before she does it all again.

Baton Rouge resident Li-McCall spent Monday morning working as an extra for the movie “Battleship,” a Universal Pictures production, with an estimated budget of $70 million, according to documents filed with Louisiana Entertainment, the arm of the state’s economic development division responsible for awarding tax credits to the films produced in Louisiana.

The scene is intended to reflect an alley of downtown Hong Kong, but locals may recognize it as the Third Street entrance to the Shaw Center for the Arts disguised with some Chinese flair.

“Battleship,” to be released in May 2012, is the largest budget movie to film in Baton Rouge, said Katie Harvey, project manager with the Baton Rouge Film Commission.

The movie is directed by Peter Berg, director of “The Kingdom” and “Hancock,” and features pop music star Rihanna, Oscar-nominated actor Liam Neeson, from “Schindler’s List,” “Batman Begins,” “Taken” and “The A-Team,” Taylor Kitsch, from “Friday Night Lights,” and Alexander Skarsgard, from HBO’s “True Blood.”

None of the stars were involved in the downtown shoot on Monday.

The movie is based on the classic Milton Bradley warship guessing game, except in this version naval forces are uniting to fight an alien attack.

In the movie, an alien space craft enters Earth’s atmosphere and breaks into pieces making impacts across the globe, said R.J. Mino, production manager for the second unit, which mostly handles special effects.

The scene shot Monday, which took hours to set up, multiple takes and could cost up to $100,000, will last only a couple of seconds in the finished product, Mino said. The scene depicts people in downtown Hong Kong running away from a dust cloud kicked up from the space craft’s impact. A green screen will be used to superimpose images of buildings crashing down behind the people running away.

Li-McCall, who is an elementary school French tutor, said her 10-year-old daughter takes acting classes at the Celtic Media Centre, which is also housing “Battleship” and “Breaking Dawn” film productions.

She said she was picking her daughter up from the class one day when she was asked if she would be interested in participating as an extra in the film.

She said later this month she’ll film another scene as a NASA worker.

“I don’t usually like sci-fi movies, but I will definitely watch this one,” she said.

“Battleship” began filming in Baton Rouge on Oct. 21, said Ernie Malik, a spokesman for the movie. He added that staff have been in the area since before June setting up and building scenes.

About half of the filming took place in Hawaii, and the remainder was filmed in Baton Rouge. Mino said most local scenes were filmed in the Celtic studio, but there were also recent shots on the U.S.S. Kidd, which was subbed in for the U.S.S. Missouri, and in a Port Allen field, which will double as Scotland highlands, Malik said.

About eight downtown businesses were rented Monday to film the scenes and close the street, including the downtown lobby of the Shaw Center, where the camera crew worked.

David Briggs, executive director of the Shaw Center, said downtown business owners have been supportive of being able to lend their shops to the movie, and were fairly compensated for doing so.

“Everyone’s pretty much on board,” he said. “It’s bringing a lot of attention to Baton Rouge and Louisiana and it’s bringing in a lot of money for the economy.”

Mino said there are about 300 people working in Baton Rouge for the movie, which wraps Dec. 17.

The Shaw Center location was chosen because it has a modern look that could represent downtown Hong Kong, Malik said.

Louisiana, he said, offers one of the best tax incentives in the movie industry. Malik added that with New Orleans, Shreveport and Baton Rouge, Louisiana has a wealth of diversity to offer film makers.

Alex Schexnayder, 22, said he fortuitously got a job on set as a camera production assistant, despite having no film experience.

The LSU creative writing graduate and Donaldsonville native, said he was considering moving out of state for a job before the opportunity arose.

“A few years ago, I would have never expected for me to be working on a movie set,” he said. “But now there are a lot of things happening here in Baton Rouge.”

Season of the Witch Trailer

This scene was filmed in the Hirsh Memorial in Shreveport Louisiana.

Yet another great Louisiana film "All American Orgy"

By Tiffany Snead

No, it's not some sick political slur. It's a movie title, and it was filmed right here in Louisiana.

Andrew Drazek created this movie in November 2008 along with his friends Jordan Kessler and Ted Beck. The three had always wanted to create a movie together. They had been friends for years and were already fans of each other's work.

Kessler had written a script about an orgy and that was the idea the guys decided to roll with.

"The characters and plot were pretty bad, so a few weeks before production started, Ted rewrote it from scratch, keeping only the concept of an orgy." Drazek said.

"All American Orgy" follows three couples as they meet at a lakeside strawberry farm to have an orgy - the main purpose of which is to rehabilitate their stagnant or failing relationships. It's a wild ride, filled with hilarious and ridiculous situations but, as with most ill-conceived ideas, the cracks quickly begin to show." Drazek explained.

Upon moving from Los Angeles to Louisiana, Drazek said he fell in love with Louisiana's natural beauty and culture. The original script used a suburban area as the setting, however, another producer, Brent Caballero, suggested they film at a friend's camp on Lake Verret. Drazek was hooked on the idea.

The filming process was "a great example of independent filmmaking." Drazek explains, "We had two weeks to shoot, very little money, and much of the cast and crew were friends of mine. Shooting on such a small budget and brisk schedule can often make the finished product look cheap and thrown together but everyone involved believed in the script and banded together."

After filming was complete, Drazek took to his bedroom for the editing process.

The film has received enormous recognition, screening at eight film festivals in the United States and Canada.

"Audience members of all ages enthusiastically responded to its dark humor and insightful commentary on relationships and sex. It was at Slamdance (film festival) that the movie was picked up by a distributor who quickly changed the title and put a scantily clad woman on the DVD box who I've never met."

Drazek says that his film isn't to be confused with "National Lampoon" or "American Pie" type movies.

"It's equally raunchy and poignant, hilarious and heartbreaking, with side-splitting dialogue, amazing performances by an ensemble cast, and an unforgettable climax.

"All American Orgy" is available on iTunes, Cox Cable, DVD, OnDemand, Blockbuster, Amazon, Best Buy, and on Netflix.

It's an excellent visual representation of love and life. Oh, and yet another reason Louisiana is steadily becoming the Hollywood of the South.


Originally Published: November 3, 2010

Security at Louisiana Filming Facility Tight, And They Mean Business

Posted by Twilight_News - 16/11/10 at 04:11 pm

Scene, a magazine that covers the burgeoning film industry in Louisiana, interviewed the head of security at the compound where Breaking Dawn will be filming. Coincidentally, the magazine’s own offices are located within the same compound which is comprised of several buildings, over multiple acres, surrounded by a large fence. When talking about dealing with people (fans or paparazzi) crashing the set, they have a zero tolerance policy, and the law to back them up. If ever there was a “don’t try this at home, kids” warning that applied to Twilight filming, THIS IS IT!

“That statute of Louisiana’s criminal law states that, “Unauthorized entry of a place of business is the intentional entry by a person without authority into any structure or onto any premises, belonging to another, that is completely enclosed by any type of physical barrier that is at least six feet in height and used in whole or in part as a place of business.” Those convicted of felony trespass on the studio lot are subject to imprisonment at hard labor for up to six years and a fine of up to $1000.

“We will absolutely prosecute every person who trespasses,” says Achee. “There have been six who trespassed before and they have all been caught.” When asked how he knew only six had trespassed before, Achee’s answer came quick: “Security cameras. The property is covered with high definition security cameras. A camera mounted on the [main building] can capture the license plate of a car all the way on the other side of the property.” The security camera system video is stored to a source that is backed up offsite. Additionally, the system has a back-up power supply that allows it to continue operating in the event of a power failure.

Achee and his crew of security officers are authorized to detain any trespassers by force until local law enforcement arrives to complete the felony arrest. We asked him if he planned on seeing any young teenage girls arrested, Achee said, “Absolutely. I think of this place as a home. You wouldn’t want somebody trespassing in your home, and if you did, you’d defend yourself. That’s what we’re doing here, it doesn’t matter who it is.”

Schumacher's Shreveport shoot

'Trespass' finds home in Louisiana


Variety Magazine by Iain Blair.

In "Trespass," the Joel Schumacher-helmed thriller set for release in 2011, Nicole Kidman and Nicolas Cage play a couple taken hostage in their own home.

Since the picture is set in the South and required a Southern-type house in which to shoot, filming in Shreveport was an easy decision to make, per the director. "We found exactly what we were looking for," he says. "A beautiful house on a lake."

The perfect location was only part of the attraction. In a few short years, Louisiana has positioned itself as a major film and TV production center that is siphoning off work from the other L.A. -- and other filmmaking hubs.

With the Nu Image/Millennium film's budget set at a tight $40 million, the Pelican state's aggressive 30% transferable tax incentive "was another major factor in deciding to shoot in Louisiana," reports "Trespass" exec producer Avi Lerner. "We've done 15 pictures there and love it."

"The cost of living and housing are more reasonable than in other locations, which all helps the bottom line," adds producer Irwin Winkler, who co-produced with David Winkler and Rene Besson.

Ironically, although Shreveport now boasts several well-equipped studio facilities, including StageWorks and a new $12 million studio built by Nu Image (skedded to open January), the production ultimately opted to build its matching interior sets for the location house in the city's vast convention center. "We needed very high ceilings, and the city offered us the space," says Winkler. "We were able to get it for the five weeks we needed to shoot, as well as all the prep time."

The 50-day shoot also benefited from what the director and producers refer to as "the very high level" of talent now based in the state. "The tax breaks brought the movies and production down there, and those in turn brought the crews and actors," notes Winkler. "So many people have moved there from Los Angeles, because that's where the work is now, so you're getting some of the best technicians in the industry, as well as a great pool of acting talent and great supporting services and infrastructure."

This made the shoot particularly enjoyable for Schumacher, a veteran of some 40 films ("Phone Booth," "Batman Forever"), who's no stranger to shooting in the South. "I shot 'A Time to Kill' in Mississippi and 'The Client' in Memphis, so it's familiar territory to me," he says. "But Shreveport has become a boom town. It's a fantastic place to work. We cast a lot of local talent in smaller roles, and I'd make a movie with those crews anywhere in the world."

"Trespass" reunited Schumacher with d.p. Andrzej Bartkowiak, who shot "Falling Down" for him. "We shot this on 35mm because we wanted to make a real 'movie-movie,' with a big look," he explains. "I'd just done 'Twelve,' and Nicole had just finished a very small film too. I thought, 'Let's do a big scope film,' which is why I chose Andrzej."

The film also reunited Schumacher with his stars -- he directed Kidman in "Batman Forever" and Cage in "8mm." "We're all old friends and have shared ups and downs over the years," he says.

The only disappointment of the shoot so far? "Everyone's hoping for an impromptu show every time (Nicole's husband Keith Urban) visits the set, but he's very shy. Maybe at the wrap party."

Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com



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