Tuesday, February 11, 2014

The dinosaurs are coming. "Jurassic World," by Daniel Dupont

The dinosaurs are coming. "Jurassic World," Universal Pictures' long-awaited "Jurassic Park" sequel -- and the subject of months of rumors and speculation -- will shoot in New Orleans for 11 weeks starting June 2, according to the latest production update from the Louisiana film office.
The local shoot will be preceded by six weeks of filming in Hawaii -- four weeks in Oahu and two weeks in Kauai -- according to the Oahu publication  Midweek  (and called to our attention by  ComingSoon.net).
The start of production will mark the end of a tortuous road to reality for the film, which was originally scheduled to shoot last summer in Baton Rouge  before being postponed  to give filmmaker Colin Trevorrow, then the newly announced director of the project, time to rework the script and prepare for what is expected to be an effects-heavy shoot. Then, earlier this year,  rumors surfaced  that the project would move down Interstate 10 to New Orleans, although the studio at the time declined to comment on the possibility of that.
Now, with the confirmation from the state's film office of the project's move, the New Orleans area has landed its second high-profile sequel in just a few weeks. In mid-January,  "Terminator 5" was confirmed  to be bringing Arnold Schwarzenegger and company to town for an extended shoot. Filming on that Paramount-backed project is expected to last from April 21 to Aug. 1.  
Other major projects on the horizon for the New Orleans film industry are Warner Bros.' Will Ferrell comedy "Get Hard," set to start filming on March 17; and Relativity Media's Nicholas Sparks-penned drama "The Best of Me," starring James Marsden and set to start March 6. In addition, Twentieth Century Fox's "Fantastic Four" reboot is expected to shoot in Baton Rouge starting March 24.
As for "Jurassic World," the studio to this point has been tight-lipped about plot details. In addition, it hasn't confirmed any cast, although Bryce Dallas Howard has said she has signed on to the film. Chris Pratt and Jake Johnson are also reportedly involved in the project.


Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Filminglouisiana Productions for January 2014

These are the productions set for Louisiana 2014.  


Pre-Production

The independent feature film Bad Ass 3 starring Danny Trejo and Danny Glover will shoot February 3rd through March 1st in Baton Rouge. Please send resumes to crewBA3@gmail.com.
The independent feature film Cat Run 2 will shoot January 13th in New Orleans. Please send resumes tocrew@foremostpictures.com.
Fox feature film Fantastic Four starring Michael B. Jordan will begin shooting March 24th in Baton Rouge. Please send resumes to henrystreetresumes@gmail.com.
Warner Bros. feature film Get Hard starring Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart will shoot March 17th in New Orleans. Please send resumes to hazardousresumes@gmail.com.
Warner Bros. feature film Midnight Special starring Kirsten Dunst and Michael Shannon will shoot January 20th for 40 days in New Orleans. Please send resumes to midnightspecial.resumes@gmail.com.
Itaca Films feature film Mind Puppet will shoot March 10th in New Orleans. More information will become available as this production develops.
Sycamore Pictures feature film Mississippi Grind starring Ryan Reynolds and Sienna Miller will shoot January 29th- March 6th in New Orleans. Please send resumes to msgrindprod@gmail.com.
Paramount feature film Terminator 5 starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Emilia Clarke will shoot April 21st to August 1st in New Orleans. Please direct resumes to terminator5vista@gmail.com.
The independent feature film The D Train is scheduled to shoot February 10th for 23 days in New Orleans. Please send resumes to dtrainprod@gmail.com.
The independent feature film Wraith, will shoot February 3rd-28th in Kenner. Please direct resumes towraithmovieproduction@gmail.com.
The independent feature film Zipper will shoot January 21st- February 21st in Baton Rouge. Please direct resumes to hushproductionsllc@gmail.com.

Filming

The independent feature 99 Homes starring Michael Shannon and Andrew Garfield is filming November 18th through December 20th and from January 6th-12th in New Orleans. Please send resumes to99homesresumes@gmail.com.
Fox television series American Horror Story: Coven starring Jessica Lange and Zachary Quinto is filming until January 15th in New Orleans. Crew resumes should be sent to ahs.office@tvbyfox.com and casting resumes to rpmcasting@gmail.com.
Fox feature film Salem starring Shane West is filming November 4th through May 2014 in Shreveport. Please direct resumes to breakoutkingsllc@gmail.com.
This is a list compiled from the State Film Office www.louisianaentertainment.gov

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Darryl Jones teams up with Blade Studios to record his newest solo project

Originally published in April 2011, exclusively for "Filming Louisiana Magazine".

Darryl Jones has spent a lifetime creating an amazing footprint on American Jazz and Rock and Roll history, playing with the likes of Miles Davis, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen, Herbie Handcock, Eric Clapton, Charles Earland, Joan Armatrading , Philip Bailey, and Madonna, As an actor he has appeared in three films, "Bring on the Night" with Sting, "The Father Clements Story" with Laurence Fishburne and Louis Gossett, Jr. and "Village Of The Damned" with Christopher Reeve. Darryl also composed the original soundtrack for the film, "Love Jones."
Darryl Jones

Recently he was in Shreveport recording his solo project at the new Blade Studios. Filming Louisiana was able to catch up with him, while owner of Blade Studios, Brady Blade was laying down the drum tracks on what will be a highly acclaimed album.

So what brings you to Shreveport?

The fabulous, incredible Blade Studios. Brady has been a friend for a long time now and hes been telling me about the studio. I mentioned to him I was recording some music, and he said, :Well come on down. Of course having him on drums is just incredible. And the studio is amazing, with every amenity, every technological wonder that musicians know and love. And I am told there are a large number of great musicians, locally like a gentleman, Dave Moore played some incredible harmonica for us. Of course I should have known, being so close to New Orleans and the whole music scene.

What are you recording now in Blade Studio?

This is music that I have been working on writing and have been putting together for the last 10 years or so. I'm not done a record of my own, and so this is my freshman attempt. I grew up in a two radio household, my father was listening to early Miles, Oscar Peterson, Count Basey was one of his favorite. And my mom was listening to James Brown, Sly Stone Benton and Curtis Mayfield. So this dispersed music for my first record is really very much a product my childhood. There are definite jazz influences , but my music is definitely influenced James Brown, Curtis Mayfield, Sly Stone, and Jimi Hendrix. When I first started to play, some of the music I was taught to play on bass, was Led Zeppelin, the Stones, and the Staple singers. So really it is an amountisation of a lot of that stuff; an influenced of all of those things.

How did you get your start? Did you go out and buy a bass? 

My dad was a drummer, never professionally, but he played in high school, and he played in the service a little bit in jazz bands. So for years of him not really playing drums in the house, but using practice pad and just warm up his hands , I became interested. When I was seven or so, he started teaching me how to hold drum sticks and basically taught me how to read music. And then a couple of years later I saw a neighborhood friend, who lived a couple of doors down play in a talent show.. I remember I didnt even know, they were very secretive about it, and no one even knew that they even had a band. It was the guy who lived down the street from me, and the guys from my play leaders who were a little bit older than me, and at the end of this talent show, and the curtain opens and is this band, I know all of the guys that were playing. I had no idea that they were musicians. But the guy who was closest to me, Angus Thomas, was playing a guitar. I didn't even know it was a bass guitar. And it hit me like a shot. I decided and I am sure in that moment, that's what I wanted to do.

Was it a “if he can do it, I can do it moment?

Not so much that, but it was the response of the crowd. And I just thought to myself when I saw him doing it, that's it. That's what I want to do. The next time I saw him, I asked him to teach me to play. And he said “do you want to play the lead guitar, or the bass guitar? And I asked, “Well, what do you play?” And he said. Well I play the bass. And I said, then that's what I want to play as well. And that's how I became a bass player”

So how did your audition come about for the Stones? Did you have to go through a regular audition?

Two of the guys who got me interested in playing rock and roll are Charley Drayton and Steve Jordan, and they were both musicians for Keith Richards solo band project, the X-Pensive Winos. About six years before the Stones things happened, I met Keith Richards,. I was really taken by that record, Talk is Cheap, because it was rock and roll, but it was modern rock and roll, and funky, so it kind of changed my mind, because up until that point, I was kind of known as more of an electric jazz musician. I played with Miles, and a band called , Steps A Head, as well as those kinds of bands like Herbie Hancock, more known as an electric jazz band. At that time I just remember mentioning to those guys with Keith, I would love to play bass if anything opens up. A friend of all of ours, Jerome Smith, got that gig playing bass with the X-Pensive WinosWhinos. I remember thinking, well that's great, I've have a few really big breaks and was glad for Jerome .A few years later , someone called me on the phone, and said Bill Wyman is leaving the Stones. I didn't say anything and he said, Should I get Mick's management's number for you?. I said, well yes I think you should. He did so and I called and I said I heard there might be some auditions and if there is, I would love to get on the list. A number of months passed and I got a call from him.

When did you meet the Blade Brothers? How did that come about? I can see you would run in the same circles. 

I think I met Brady first. I was on tour with the Stones a couple of tours ago and in in Sweden. He called me up and said I live here, lets go out and have some lunch and talk, and we did. And that's when I got to know him, and really just liked him as a person. Brady said, when I get ready to do something, I'm going to give you a call. And there's an artist he produced over there, and he produced a couple of record with her, Bridgette Demeyer she as going to work on a record, and I was in LA, she was recording in Los Angeles, and he said why don't you come up and work on this record? And that when we first worked together, 5 years ago. Brian I met I probably met in the jazz circles somewhere but I didn't play with Brian until a gig in Berlin about 5 years ago. One of the sax players, Tim Ries, who plays with the Stones has done a record of Stones songs but with Jazz arrangements called, The Rolling Stones Project, went on to do a world wide project as well with a much wider array of musicianss, such as Milton Nascimento and Eddie Palmieri We were doing gigs between Stones gigs and Brian came out and played in Berlin. And that's the only time I have played with Brian. Hes a fabulous musician, both he and Brady are, in their own way. Both are incredible.

During these interviews, I'm sure you are asked a lot of the same questions. What question would you like to be asked that no one has ever asked you before?

You know its funny because, I cant think of anything like that off the top of my head except That is really a good question! One thing I will say this, something that is a little bit disturbing to me, is questions where I feel like I have to defend the Rolling Stones. Why would anyone have to defend the Rolling Stones? I was in Japan they asked me what do you think about Charlie Watts trying to play hip hop on Bridges to Babylon and I thought that's really not a great question when you really look at the history of hip hop music , coming from James Brown or drummers like Al Jackson on Love and Happiness, Take Me To the River, by Al Green.

What do you consider your shining moment?

If I had to choose one thing, I would have to say playing with Miles Davis, that would be it. Because not that playing with the Stones, Herbie Hancock or Madonna weren't really incredible moments, its just playing with Miles, both prepared me for the other jobs and also having Miles Davis name on your resume. Is an incredible calling card. I'm told that when I went in to audition for the Stones, at the first audition, Keith asked one of the guys that works for them, Who are we having in today on bass? And he said Daryll Jones. What a minute I know Darryl Jones from Charlie and Steven's friend, Darryl Jones. Well I know him but who has he played with? Hes played with Miles Davis. Apparently Keith said, Well I guess we should have a listen then! So even for a person like Keith Richards, its impressive enough to garnish some kind of respect. Yes, I would saying playing with Miles Davis.

What is your favorite song and why?

I always like playing any ballad with Miles, there was a tune called and its funny that you mentioned that, because it the same reason I love playing Midnight Rambler with the Stones, because its a little bit unscripted. You have to listen to whats being played. You have to listen to a certain groove and Miles would play a particular melody and then it would lead us to a change, so it really meant you had to be paying attention and listening. And he would play the song so beautifully and the same thing is true with midnight rambler, its one of those songs that is unscripted. When Keith plays this one lick, we go into this change, and Mick sings this and then we go there. Its really an improvisation on stage, so everyone is forced to listen in a more deep way and that in itself creates a certain atmosphere on stage. So, Midnight Rambler with the Stones. And with Miles its the song about John McLaughlin's former wife, Nadia...
Blade Studios


Is there an artist you haven't played with you would like to share a stage with?

I really feel like the most exciting thing for me right now is what I am working on, to be preparing to put my own band on stage and to lead that band, that's whats the most exciting right now. Obviously there are millions of musicians I haven't played with that I would love to play with, but in terms of a band? I'm exciting about getting my band up and out.

What else is on your musical bucket list? Or even acting?

I am very much interested in being involved in acting again, Its been a number of years since I have acted, I am very much into those character actors that get lost in the parts, they are not in the movie for the whole movie, they are there only for a couple of scenes. You think to yourself who was that? I remember watching Paul Sorvino or watching Henry Kissinger in Oliver Stones movie, Nixon, and I watched half the movie before I realized that was Paul Servino playing Playing Henry Kissinger, I love that kind of acting and those kinds of roles.

Well you know Louisiana is the place now to be now, we are filming everything, like True Blood, Treme, as well as top box office movies.

I wanted to be a part of Treme so much! I wanted it to be in a part of Chicago. And also I am interested .and have been talking to and interested in building guitars. I've had a signature model with a guitar company and we have now moved and we are looking for a new builder and manufacturer, but that's something I am interested in doing as well.

Will you be playing locally? I know there was a gig that was recently canceled? That would have been exciting times for Shreveport

You know we are going to do it, its not canceled its postponed So we are going to be back down here, I mean this studio I cant say enough about it. And also Shreveport looks like its a swinging town, and there's clubs opened all night, so yes we will be back here.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

A Calculated Push Into Entertainment Lifts ‘Duck Dynasty’ Family’s Fortunes

 

Art Streiber/A&E
The Robertson family in a scene from Season 3 of “Duck Dynasty.”
 

Forget the ZZ Top beards and the Bayou accents, the Robertsons of West Monroe, La., are a family of traditional American entrepreneurs: ambitious, rich and spectacularly successful.
A&E
Willie Robertson is the star and a driving force behind the A&E Television Networks blockbuster “Duck Dynasty.”
Rick Wilking/Reuters
Willie and Korie Robertson at Walmart’s annual shareholders meeting. The retailer carries “Duck Dynasty” merchandise in six separate departments.

And that was true even before they were television stars.
They certainly are stars now — the subjects of the biggest reality show hit in the history of cable television, “Duck Dynasty,” which has shattered ratings records this summer, reaching a high of 11.8 million viewers for the season premiere this month.
But in the more contained world of ducks, guns and camouflage gear, the Robertsons were already celebrities thanks to the family’s core business: sales of duck gear, especially duck calls.
Now the range of merchandise attached to the Robertson name is so vast — shirts, caps, coolers, books, edibles, hunting gear of every kind — that keeping track of it has become almost impossible, said Willie Robertson, scion of the Robertson clan and president of the Duck Commander company.
Last week, he was at the corporate headquarters of Walmart and was surprised to see his face on a garden gnome. “I knew I had a Chia Pet and a bobblehead and an action figure,” Mr. Robertson said by phone. “I didn’t know I had a garden gnome. That’s awesome. I guess Pez dispenser is the last weird thing I have to see myself on.”
Chances are that pitch will come shortly. “Every day I get pitched on this, pitched on that,” Mr. Robertson said. “It’s like you’re living in a movie.”
That movie is mostly a creation of Mr. Robertson and his family, a conscious dive into the entertainment world that has lifted a regional business into an international phenomenon. The show is seen in more than 100 countries, drawing strong ratings on networks from England to Latin America.
The show does well across this country, though as might be expected, it fares best in the South, with Atlanta, Knoxville, Tenn., Charlotte, N.C., and Birmingham, Ala., among the top locations in ratings.
“I thought we were booming before,” Mr. Robertson said. “Booming is a relative term.”
The family-owned business has private sales figures, but Mr. Robertson offered some indications of the level of growth. “I’ve seen figures of 2,200 percent growth,” he said.
“You couldn’t chart it as far as where we have had business growth. It’s bursting at every level, every store.”
Sales of duck calls to actual hunters are now a minority, he said, with the dominant buyers being people who “put it on their desk and toot on it.”
Sarah McKinney, a spokeswoman for Walmart, said the company’s stores across the country stocked “Duck Dynasty” merchandise in six separate departments.
T-shirts featuring “Duck Dynasty” characters are now the top sellers, Ms. McKinney said, among women and girls as well as men. And sales of “Duck” back-to-school material have soared this year, she said.
“Duck Dynasty” began on the A&E network after some members of the family appeared for three seasons on an Outdoor Channel show tailored more specifically to actual duck hunting. David McKillop, the general manager of A&E, said the network viewed a tape and realized the potential for his channel was in the family interaction.
After what he called “a vision meeting” with Mr. Robertson, A&E commissioned two pilots. The second ended with a scene of the family gathered around the dinner table.
That clicked. A&E saw an overarching theme: “A cross between ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’ and ‘The Waltons.’ ” A family dinner would cap each episode, Mr. McKillop said. “It would be like, ‘Goodnight, John-Boy.’ ”
Willie Robertson is not reticent about his own role in building what is now an imposing duck-centric empire. The family business was started by his father, Phil, a Louisiana football standout who translated an obsession with hunting ducks into the now enormous duck-call business.
Willie Robertson credits some of his business acumen to experience he gained in his 20s after he left the family company to run a children’s camp business.
“I was able to watch the family business from afar,” he said. “I was able to come in with a lot of energy and a vision for growing it even bigger.”
When Mr. Robertson returned to Duck Commander, he realized his father had created a strong brand, but “he had pretty much run out of ideas,” Mr. Robertson said.
“He didn’t know how to take it to the next level, and it might have started a downward slide, like a lot of family businesses do.”
Mr. Robertson had a personal interest in entertainment, especially comedy. He was a fan of “Saturday Night Live.” He watched “American Idol” to determine what it was that attracted huge audiences.
He saw the large Robertson brood as a family of characters. The first show on the Outdoor Channel (called “Duck Commander”) was focused heavily on hunting, but Willie Robertson steered it toward purer entertainment.
“I heard you should edit for women and children,” he said.
The concept for the new show would center on “family and funny,” he said. “I’m sure if you just saw headshots of us you wouldn’t deduct that was going to come out of that.”
But he had to overcome one area of opposition. Phil Robertson, the patriarch, did not want to do the show. “He said, ‘I’m already as famous as I want to be.’ I explained to him: ‘Phil, this can expand your platform to talk about the things you like to talk about.’ ”
Those things, for the most part, are faith-based. Phil Robertson is increasingly dedicated to preaching, something he has mentioned he would prefer to be doing with most of his time. (Last week, a YouTube video posted in 2010 went viral, showing him denouncing abortion rights during a guest speaking appearance.)
“We’re believers in the Lord,” Willie Robertson said. “We think he set this all up for us.”
But A&E is not looking for a religious show. “The show is not about their beliefs,” Mr. McKillop said, with emphasis.
Mr. Robertson generally agrees. He says he has had to remind his father that he is not “Pat Robertson — and this is not the ‘700 Club.’ It’s a comedy show.”
Mr. Robertson added, “If you find something attractive about our family, how we stay together and eat dinner together and laugh and have fun, you may want to keep some of these principles in mind. We’re Christians, that’s part of the package. But if that doesn’t turn you on, fine. If you just want to laugh at it, that’s O.K.”
Given the potent appeal of “Duck Dynasty,” the prospect for many more seasons — and merchandise sales — seems promising.
Adam Hanft, a brand strategist, suggested the Robertsons have some important decisions to make. “Do they want to be a trend or a long-term brand?”
The latter requires “strategic thinking,” he said. “You’ve got to learn to say no when everyone wants more of you.”
A&E certainly wants more “Duck Dynasty” — fast. The network has managed to churn out four seasons of the show in just 18 months. Mr. McKillop said, “We’re in a great place with them for multiple more seasons.”
Mr. Robertson said: “At first the money was a big factor. We all love making money. But at some point I don’t know how much you need. The cool part is that unlike other entertainment genres, we’re always in this together as a family.”
 
The New York Times: A version of this article appears in print on August 26, 2013, on page B1 of the New York edition with the headline: A Calculated Push Into Entertainment Lifts ‘Duck Dynasty’ Family’s Fortunes

FilmingLouisiana September 2013 in Louisiana



PRE-PRODUCTION



FOCUS

 
Warner Bros. feature film Focus will shoot September 16th to November 15th in New Orleans. Please send resumes to nolafocus@gmail.com
 



22 JUMP STREET

 

Sony’s feature film 22 Jump Street starring Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill and Ice Cube will shoot September 28th through December 11th in New Orleans. Please send resumes to 22jumpstreetresumes@gmail.com



MAGGIE

The independent feature film Maggie will shoot September 16th for 5 weeks in New Orleans.



Please direct resumes to Maggie.resumes@gmail.com or Maggie.prod@gmail.com

SALEM

Fox television series Salem will shoot November 4th through May 2014 in Shreveport. Please send resumes to breakoutkingsllc@gmail.com



SELFLESS

End Game Entertainment’s feature film Selfless starring Ryan Reynolds will shoot September 16th for 10 weeks in New Orleans. Please send resumes to selflessprod@gmail.com.



BROCKMIRE

Stone Village Productions feature film Brockmire will shoot September 23rd for 28 days in Baton Rouge. Please send resumes to brockmireproductions@gmail.com
 



FILMING

RAVENSWOOD

CBS Studios pilot and series Ravenswood starring Victoria Justice is filming August 12th through November 20th in New Orleans. Please send resumes to ravenswoodproduction@gmail.com
.



STAR- CROSSED

CBS Studios television series Star Crossed is shooting August 14th through December 12th in New Orleans. Please direct resumes to starcrossedresumes@gmail.com
.



DARK PLACES

Spitfire Productions feature film Dark Places starring Nicholas Hoult and Charlize Theron is filming August 26th to September 29th in Shreveport. Please direct resumes to darkplacesproduction@gmail.com.



AMERICAN HORROR STORY: COVEN

Fox television series American Horror Story: Coven is filming July 23rd to January 2014 in New Orleans. Crew resumes should be sent to ahs.office@tvbyfox.com and casting resumes to rpmcasting@gmail.com
 



LEFT BEHIND

Films in Motion feature film Left Behind starring Nicolas Cage, Chad Michael Murray and Jordin Sparks is filming August 5th to September 12th in Baton Rouge. Please send resumes to leftbehindproduction@gmail.com
 

‘Fantastic Four’ Reboot to Start Shooting in Louisiana This September

‘Fantastic Four’ Reboot to Start Shooting in Louisiana This September

      


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fantastic four reboot Fantastic Four Reboot to Start Shooting in Louisiana This September
Vancouver is a favorite shooting location for many film and TV studios, and Canada has been home to the productions of many of Twentieth Century Fox’s X-Men movies, including the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past. Chronicle director Josh Trank’s reboot of Fox-owned Marvel property The Fantastic Four was all set to head north to Vancouver for the shoot, but the studio has now been tempted away by the state of Louisiana.
Plenty of factors go into the decision of where to shoot a movie, the most obvious one being the look and feel of the locations, but an equally pressing matter being one of budgeting. Luckily, there’s also a lot of incentive for local governments to offer tax breaks that will draw major productions in, as a big film shoot not only provides work for local crew, but also gives a general boost to the state’s economy, and later down the line can draw tourists to the filming locations.

The Wrap reports that Louisiana’s film production incentive program, which was nearly killed off in a bill that was stopped by the state’s lawmakers, has succeeded in drawing in The Fantastic Four in. Shooting schedules haven’t been officially confirmed yet, but the film is expected to begin production in September, and hopefully this means we’ll soon hear confirmations about the new cast members who will be playing the superhero team.
Girls star Allison Williams was in talks to play Sue Storm earlier this year, and Fruitvale Station lead Michael B. Jordan’s name has been floated as a possibility for Johnny Storm (you may remember that this sparked a little bit of debate), but nothing seems to be set in stone just yet.
Marvel fans in Vancouver who were hoping to catch a glimpse of the rebooted superhero team will no doubt be a little disappointed at hearing this news, but until specific locations are revealed, it’ll be difficult to judge whether the move will be beneficial to The Fantastic Four aesthetically.
Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter Louisiana location Fantastic Four Reboot to Start Shooting in Louisiana This September
An atmospheric Louisiana location in ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’
At face value, the tax credits offered in Vancouver are actually more or less on par with those offered by the state of Louisiana. According to CreativeBC, productions shot in British Columbia receive a 33% tax credit for expenditures in local labor, with a 17.5% tax credit offered to studios who use British Columbia-based facilities and labor for digital animation or visual effects. Comparatively, government site Louisiana Entertainment offers a transferrable 30% tax credit on local expenditures and an additional 5% tax credit for the use of Louisiana labor.
Other films recently shot in Louisiana include Spike Lee’s remake of Oldboy, Hot Tub Time Machine 2 and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. With the threat of the bill to cut incentives out of the way, there will hopefully be more productions heading to the state in the near future.
To all Screen Rant readers – but Louisiana and Vancouver residents in particular – how do you feel about this location move?
_____
The Fantastic Four hits theaters March 6th, 2015.
Source: The Wrap

Pirates put on hold, Entertainment Weekly

Captain Jack Sparrow will not be gracing the big screen again anytime soon.
The fifth installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise was set for a July 10, 2015 release, but due to script and budget issues, Producer Jerry Bruckheimer said today they’ll be pushing the release back at least a year, to the summer of 2016. Walt Disney Studios sent out an update Tuesday specifying that the release date is now listed as “unset” but did not have further comment on the film’s schedule.

Catch Me If You Can scribe Jeff Nathanson is at work on a rewrite of his initial script, but it’s still not in a place that’s workable for a March shoot, Bruckheimer told The Hollywood Reporter. ”We have an outline everyone loves but the script is not done,” he said, adding: “How do you budget an outline?”

Longtime Pirates star Johnny Depp is set to return for the project to reprise his role as Jack Sparrow and to work with a new directing team — Kon-Tiki helmers Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg. There is no word on whether Depp’s busy schedule (he’s set to star in several upcoming films, including Disney’s Into the Woods, their un-dated Alice in Wonderland sequel, and Mortdecai) might exaggerate the delay even further.

“Everybody’s more cautious,” Bruckheimer said, after The Lone Ranger disappointed this summer at the box office. “With any movie, you’re never confident. But it’s a billion-dollar franchise.” The first four films have grossed more than $3.7 billion at the box office.

The fifth film, called Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, was already facing stiff competition from the other planned releases for summer 2015, which include the Man of Steel sequel, Disney’s Star Wars: Episode VII, The Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Pixar’s Inside Out.
“The studio has high expectations for the next film,” a studio insider told EW. “We wanted to make sure we had all the right elements in place before we went forward.”