FILMING LOUISIANA

FOBURG FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES THE FIRST YEAR OF FOBURG FILM FESTIVAL, New Orleans

2012-01-10T15:46:00.000-08:00

Contact: Jonathan Isaac Jackson

Foburg Film Festival Director

504.307.7609

americannewwave@gmail.com
http://foburgneworleans.com/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

FOBURG FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES THE FIRST YEAR OF FOBURG FILM FESTIVAL*

NEW ORLEANS, LA – January 1, 2012 – foburg Festival announces the implementation of its first film festival as an addition to the 3rd year of foburg’s music festival.

foburg is a 3-day alternative music and film festival on March 9-11, 2012 in 15 venues on and around Frenchmen Street in the greater Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans. foburg features rock, indie rock, and alternative artists from the greater Gulf South and national touring artists on their way to SXSW in Austin TX, which is the following week. foburg also helps revitalize a once-thriving, historic Frenchmen Street by drawing fans of a less “traditional” genres of music to its venues. Foburg 2011 featured 15 venues, 125 bands, and crowds approaching 10,000 people.

foburg.film concentrates on the film portion of foburg, providing a lineup of films that will encompass music, an independent spirit, and visual flair. foburg.film festival hopes to be what any major film fest is when they begin, allowing indie filmmakers to expose their films to a market that caters to independent thinking.

The Fest will consist of a three day lineup, comparable to the music fest. The first day will feature the first 2 hour round of short films, produced from around the world, as well as right here in New Orleans. The second day will consist of the screening of our 24 hour music video festival, which will pair music bands and filmmakers together to make a music video in 24 hours to compete for a top prize. The last day will consist of the second short film block, and an outdoor screening of a film on Frenchmen Street.

Submissions are now open until February 13th, 2012 (Visit foburg.film on Facebook for submission inquiries). For further information for foburg.film Festival, please visit: http://foburgneworleans.com/
or contact: Jonathan Jackson at 504.307.7609 or americannewwave@gmail.com

foburg.film on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/foburgfilm-Festival/285701291450736
Foburg.film Festival Promo Videos:

“My Favorite Things” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H65RvzlOY8g
“Submission” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT7F8yEtkeU

FilmingLouisiana Films for January 2012

2011-12-31T13:49:00.000-08:00

2011 was a great year with over 100 films being produced in Louisiana earning it the top spot to film in America. 2012 will be no different. With a 100 million dollar Tom Cruise movie coming as well as Tom Hanks, and Tarentino films in the works, 2012 will be huge year for Louisiana with no end in sight. Congratulations Louisiana on making Film Production in Louisiana the best in America.
Christopher Moore

Gettaway Baton Rouge. getaway.film@gmail.com
Cutter, Baton Rouge. lana@one-eyed-dog-films.com
Django Unchained, New Orleans. djangoprodoffice@gmail.com or supercoolresumes@gmail.com
Ender's Game New Orleans. egmovie@gmail.com
The Host Baton Rouge and New Orleans. host.resumes@gmail.com or fax resumes to 225.952.9030.
Now You See Me New Orleans. nowyouseeme2011@gmail.com
MaerskAlabama (A CAPTAIN’S DUTY) New Orleans. maerskmovieresumes@gmail.com
Rugaru New Roads, Greensburg, and Maurepas. rugaruproductions@gmail.com
Synergy Baton Rouge and New Orleans. synarchy@digitalmediala.com
Horizons Baton Rouge and New Orleans. craterlakeprods@gmail.com
Breakout Kings (SEASON 2) Baton Rouge. breakoutkingscrew@gmail.com
Broken City New Orleans. brokencityproduction@gmail.com
Common Law CBS New Orleans. commonlawresumes@gmail.com or fax resumes to 504.731.3588.
Dog Fight (AKA SOUTHERN RIVALS) New Orleans. rivalsresumes@gmail.com
The Iceman Shreveport. iceman.production@gmail.com
King Dog Baton Rouge kingdogthemovie@gmail.com
Schism New Orleans. schismfilm@gmail.com
Snitch Shreveport. snitchmovie@gmail.com
Treme (SEASON 3) HBO’s television series Treme (Season 3) New Orleans. blowndeadlineprod@gmail.com .
Zomie Plantation St. Amant/Gonzales info@huzemedia.com
Kane & Lynch Louisiana

Pitch Baton Rouge, pitchperfectoffice@gmail.com
Thicker Lousisiana
Hemlock Drive Louisiana
Tarantula New Orleans
Silver Cord Louisiana
The Summoning Baton Rouge
Asleep at the Wheel New Orleans
Hysteria Louisiana
Room and Board New Orleans
72 Hours New Orleans
I Walked with a Zombie New Orleans
Unraveled Baton Rouge
Playing with the Enemy Shreveport
The Boys Club Folsum
Some Stars Fall New Orleans
Dead Serious New Orleans
Verdigris New Orleans
Moments of Life New Orleans

Louisiana # 1: Top 10: United States of Production

2011-12-31T13:18:00.000-08:00

As runaway production took a toll on the U.S. in the 1990s, the country fought back by introducing its own competitive incentives. By 2010, 46 U.S. states and territories had introduced individual tax credit and rebate programs and saw an estimated $60 billion in television, movie and video production revenue. Once a year, P3 Update lists 10 states in the nation that offer the most attractive combination of tax incentives, crew base, talent pool, infrastructure, accessibility, significant production revenue and overall popularity among filmmakers.

1. LOUISIANA

Louisiana was the first state on the scene to adopt tax incentives, which sparked a trend across America. More and more filmmakers are now heading to Louisiana where business has been booming. “I’m thinking of moving down there myself,” declares Filmmaker Ron Carr. “The state has a good film base and a lot of stages.”

The state currently offers motion-picture productions a 30-percent transferable credit on total in-state expenditures, with no cap and a minimum-spending requirement of $300,000. For productions using in-state labor, Louisiana offers an additional 5-percent labor-tax credit on the payroll of employed residents. Louisiana is currently nine to ten crews deep, a nearly 400 percent increase since 2002. “We have seen a 22-percent growth in the industry’s workforce each year,” says Louisiana Entertainment Film Director Chris Stelly. “In addition, our infrastructure continues to mature at an exponential rate and a film of any size can spend 80 to 90 percent of their budget in Louisiana. We offer basically everything a production could want or need ─ from processing to trucks, as well as stages, to high-end visual effects.”

According to Stelly, after a big 2008–09 fiscal year, when the state saw $494 million in production, fiscal year 2009–10 drew $674.1 million in direct spend thanks to over 100 productions. Big-budget features like The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Battleship, Green Lantern and Battle: Los Angeles have kept Louisiana busy. And, as of May 2011, the state had received 41 applications, which is comparable to 44 applications received at this time last year.

Stelly says that the state’s productions are usually comprised of feature films, such as Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and 21 Jump Street, but also include top TV series, most notably HBO’s “Treme” and season two of “Memphis Beat.”

In addition to the southern hospitality, Louisiana’s success is largely due to the state’s ability to attract repeat business with its attractive incentive programs, deep crew base and abundance of studio facilities. “We have established both stability and credibility,” says Stelly, “and our incentive program is easy to maneuver. All of this keeps production coming back.”

2. ILLINOIS

Illinois’ five-deep crew base is only one of the reasons the state was added to the P3’s top-10 roster. It’s a good thing because productions have flooded the Prairie State in recent years — and they keep coming back.

The Illinois Film Office reports that the state saw $161 million in spending in 2010 — a 54-percent increase from 2009 — and over 8,000 production jobs. This activity comes in light of an already successful year, during which Illinois hosted big-name productions like Contagion (starring Matt Damon and Kate Winslet), Transformers: Dark of the Moon and The Dilemma. In 2010, Chicago alone saw six TV pilots, including Fox’s “The Chicago Code” and Showtime’s “Shameless.” In 2011, several TV pilots shot throughout the state, including NBC’s “The Playboy Club” and CW’s “Cooper and Stone.” Currently, the state is hosting more TV pilots, including “Boss” (starring Kelsey Grammer), and Zack Snyder’s big-budget feature Superman: Man of Steel is slated to begin filming in Illinois this summer.

The state’s incentive program includes a 30-percent tax credit on all qualified local expenditure, including postproduction. An additional 15 percent is available on salaries for individuals living in an economically disadvantaged area. Unfortunately, the state’s tax credit applies only to wages of up to $100,000 and excludes nonresidents. In late March, there was a possibility that the state would introduce a five year sunset clause to its incentive program, but last-minute political maneuvering succeeded in extending this to ten years — effectively saving the program until 2021.

Finally, Illinois’ infrastructure is rapidly developing. In May, the city celebrated the opening of Cinespace Chicago Film Studios, which, when fully built, will hold 1.2 million square feet of space.

3. FLORIDA

For a long time, Florida boasted having one of the largest production-crew bases in the country, but, according to Communications Coordinator Colleen McClure of the Florida Governor’s Office of Film and Entertainment, the state has fallen in rank in recent years. This was partly due to a growing number of competitive domestic incentive packages and crewmembers moving to Louisiana when its production increased.

But the Sunshine State is fighting fire with fire to become an incredibly strong contender. With the recent passage of its Film & Entertainment Industry Financial Incentive Program — which offers $242 million in transferable tax credits over five years — Florida is seeing its crew base restored as production grows. This is bolstered by a robust incentive package that includes a 20-percent base transferable-tax credit for total expenditures associated with Florida businesses and resident wages. Combining additional bonus opportunities, including “Family-Friendly” and “Off-Season” perks, can increase the credits up to 30 percent of the total Florida spend. The savings continue for qualified productions that receive sales-and-use tax exemptions on the purchase or lease of certain items used in filming.

Recent Florida productions include Transformers: Dark of the Moon, A&E’s “The Glades” and season four of USA Network’s “Burn Notice.” McClure reports that production revenue for fiscal year 2010 sat at $760,722, 482, and, as of May 2011, the amount was $981,059,895 for fiscal year 2011. These numbers don’t lie: The heat is definitely on in Florida.

4. GEORGIA

Since 2008, Georgia has offered a transferable flat-tax credit of 20 percent on qualified in-state “base investment” for qualifying productions spending a minimum of $500,000. In addition, there’s the possibility to receive another 10 percent if production activities include a “qualified Georgia promotion,” which is a promotional logo in the production. If this 30-percent total transferable-tax credit hasn’t substantially cut costs, a qualified production can enjoy the state’s Sales & Use Tax Exemption, which is a point-of-purchase exemption on sales tax that can help save as much as 8 percent on equipment purchases and rentals.

Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment Office Director Lee Thomas praises the program for helping to boost production in the state. More than 274 productions shot in the Peach State from July 2010 through April 2011 to bring in more than $589.2 million in Georgia investments. These projects have generated an economic impact of $2.1 billion. In 2010, the state saw the filming of motion pictures like Footloose, Wanderlust, The Change-Up and Fast Five. Currently, American Pie 4 Presents: Family Reunion, the Farrelly brothers’ The Three Stooges and the hit AMC series “The Walking Dead” are shooting in Georgia.

Georgia’s film-industry infrastructure is undergoing serious growth as well. The state recently saw the opening of a Panavision in Atlanta, while the well-known Turner Studios holds six purpose-built studios with five HD control rooms. Raleigh Studios Atlanta is spread over 120 acres and holds four stages, while EUE/Screen Gems has taken over the old Lakewood Fairgrounds in Atlanta and just completed a 37,500-square-foot soundstage.

What else makes Georgia one of the country’s best places to shoot? Thomas reports that Georgia’s crew base, once around two to two-and-ahalf deep, has grown to around six to seven deep. “[We have] crew depth combined with the infrastructure, temperate climate, the world’s busiest airport, great incentives, diverse locations and a great quality of life,” explains Thomas.

5. CALIFORNIA

According to California Film Commission Director Amy Lemisch, the Golden State hosts nearly 200 feature films every year along with countless TV series, commercials and documentaries. “California has moderate weather with 315 sunny days per year coupled with the deepest and most talented labor pool in the world,” boasts Lemisch. “In addition, the state offers over 500 stages and the most advanced and diverse range of postproduction facilities found anywhere.”

Lemisch celebrates the California Film & TV Tax Credit Program, which provides a nonrefundable tax credit of 20 to 25 percent for eligible feature films with budgets between $1 million and $75 million; and TV series, TV movies and miniseries with an appropriation of $100 million per year for five years through 2014. Independent features under $10 million are eligible to receive 25 percent and may transfer their credits. Credit is applied to below-theline spend, including postproduction and visual effects.

International Location Manager Bill Bowling will be the first to tell you that California, once again, has become a top-10 contender. “We’re seeing a stronger interest in keeping production in California [now more] than ever, which has led to a big upswing in the state’s popularity,” explains Bowling. He attributes this increase to the savings made by working at home versus extensive traveling in addition to the states successful incentive package.

California offers assistance from numerous film offices throughout the entire state. “Filmmakers work closely with our network of 50-plus regional film offices taking advantage of the diverse landscape of California,” says Lemisch. Placer-Lake Tahoe Film Office Director Beverly Lewis takes pride in what the northern part of the state has to offer. “I am very aware that the California incentives made the difference when it came time for [productions] to select locations, and the local spend is welcomed back,” she says. Since then, qualified productions like HBO Films’ Cinema Verite, Jackass 3D and Disney’s upcoming fall release The Muppets have filmed in her area. Other recent productions shot throughout California include David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, HBO’s “Entourage” and the new ABC series “Scandal.”

6. CONNECTICUT

Connecticut’s current tax credit of up to 30 percent is still going strong. To qualify, 50 percent of principal photography or 50 percent of post must be done in the state, or at least $1 million in postproduction expenditures must be in-state. The tax credits for film and digital animation are tiered based on local spend from 10 to 30 percent. The credit is 10 percent for expenditures between $100,000 and $500,000, and there’s a 15-percent credit for expenditures between $500,000 and $1 million. The credit is 30 percent for anything above $1 million.

The big news out of the Constitution State is the recent release of Blue Sky Studios’ first animated feature made entirely in Connecticut. On the smaller screen, Showtime’s “The Big C” has returned to shoot its second season, as has “Are We There Yet?” for TBS. Other noteworthy productions include feature films like We the Peeples and We Need to Talk About Kevin, starring John C. Reilly and Tilda Swinton. “Our incentive program has been successful in bringing significant production and infrastructure expenditures to the state, with over $200 million in spending in 2010,” says George Norfleet, director of the Connecticut Office of Film, Television & Digital Media. “And we expect to exceed that number in 2011.”

The small state of Connecticut packs a big punch in the category of infrastructure, largely thanks to the fact that it shares a crew base with New York. The N.Y. IATSE Local 52 has over 3,400 members and includes Connecticut within its five-state jurisdiction. Moreover, the state has at least seven great studios, including Sonalysts, Connecticut Film Center, Sono Studios and Palace Digital Studios. And Norfleet reports that CT Studios plans to begin construction on a multistage facility in 2011.

7. NEW YORK

The Empire State and especially the city of New York know a thing or two about television and film production. According to the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment Commissioner Katherine Oliver, more than 100,000 New York City citizens work in the industry while the city houses over 4,000 local ancillary businesses — everything from digital effects companies to prop houses — playing a supporting role for filming in the city.

In all, New York has more than 100 production facilities, stages and video studios throughout its boroughs, amounting to around 900,000 square feet of stage space. All this capacity helps to bring about $5 billion worth of production to the city’s economy annually. Despite its global recognition, the state, like any other, still has to offer productions a good deal.

It currently offers eligible productions an up-to-35-percent fully refundable tax credit. And there’s plenty of money to go around, as the program holds about $420 million a year up until 2014.

Just last June, Oliver and Mayor Bloomberg hosted the sixth annual “Made in NY” Awards to honor those who have helped contribute to the city’s burgeoning entertainment industry. And these awards are well deserved: In 2010, over 230 feature films and primetime TV series were shot in New York City.

8. UTAH

The Beehive State has been busy and it looks like it might get busier — Utah Governor Gary R. Herbert signed groundbreaking tax-credit legislation in May for the state’s film industry, effectively increasing the tax rebate from 20 to 25 percent. The program has no sunset provision and requires a minimum of $1 million in-state spend. The legislature also approved an ongoing tax-credit fund of $6.8 million. “[The incentive] will enable us to position Utah and its talented motion-picture and digital-media work force to compete on a global basis for the film and digital-media industries,” announced Herbert. Since the fund was created in 2004, 65 film projects have already received funding.

According to Utah Film Commission Director Marshall Moore, a total of 19 productions took advantage of the incentive in fiscal year 2010, producing 1,188 production jobs and accounting for 502 production days. For fiscal year 2011 (as of May 2011), the state has about 14 productions taking advantage of incentives, accounting for 431 production days. Utah is currently three “A” crews deep and offers an excellent, constantly growing infrastructure that includes studios like Stone 5 Studios in Provo and Metcom and Salt Lake Studios in Salt Lake City. With so much happening, along with a political establishment that’s very supportive of the industry, Utah is now the state to watch in 2012.

Director Danny Boyle’s Academy Award nominated 127 Hours took advantage of the fund in 2010 as the production filmed on location in Moab and on stages in Salt Lake City. And Walt Disney Pictures’ John Carter filmed for 45 days across Utah, specifically in Delta, Hanksville, Kanab, Moab and Big Water.

9. NEW MEXICO

New Mexico is well known for titanic production houses like Albuquerque Studios, I-25 Studios, Garson Studios and Santa Fe Studios (the latter set to open in August 2011). “These are great stages [and] definitely one of the most popular reasons for shooting in the state,” says Location Manager Bill Bowling. The Land of Enchantment is home to approximately 20 stages ranging in size from 2,000 to 48,000 square feet. The state offers an enticing incentive package as well. Qualified productions can receive a 25-percent tax rebate on all direct expenditure. In addition, New Mexico has a Film Investment Loan Program as well as a Film Crew Advancement Program that offers a 50-percent wage reimbursement for on-the-job training.

Things weren’t looking great for the state in March when New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez targeted the incentive program with cuts, ideally wanting the rebate to be decreased to 15 percent. In the end, however, the state senate voted to keep the 25-percent rebate intact. And, according to New Mexico Film Office Deputy Director Jennifer Schwalenberg, an annual cap was placed. “[They] placed a ‘rolling cap’ of $50 million per fiscal year,” she says. Governor Martinez would do well to understand how important television and film production has become for New Mexico in recent years, as the state has hosted numerous big-budget features, such as Cowboys & Aliens, Fright Night and Thor, as well as AMC’s Emmy-winning series “Breaking Bad.”

10. MICHIGAN

Just based on numbers alone, Michigan is in a league of its own. Productions can receive a tax credit of up to 42 percent of qualifying direct production expenditures in “core communities,” which include 136 locations throughout the state. (The figure is 40 percent in other locations.) The massive incentive program requires a minimum in-state spend of $50,000, and there’s a $2 million salary cap per employee on each production.

According to Michigan Film Office Communications Advisor Michelle Begnoche, the state’s budget has passed and is on Governor Rick Snyder’s desk. He is expected to sign the bill, which would set next year’s funding for new projects at $25 million. “Prior to the fiscal year 2012 budget, we had no annual allocation from the legislature,” explains Begnoche. “The incentive is also no longer a tax credit; rather it is an allocation that will not be tied to the state’s business-tax structure. While we now have clarity on what our funding level will be, work is still being done to determine how best to administer the incentives within this new framework.”

According to Chris Baum, Film Detroit Senior VP and Government Relations Chair of Michigan Film First, a group of the state’s largest film and TV industry stakeholders is working with key legislators to revise the incentive program further. “Michigan Film First has hired the top lobbyists in Lansing to help key supporters in the legislature draft a new bill that will adjust the incentive and raise the cap, allowing us to sustain our terrific moment from the last three years,” Baum explains. Last year, the Detroit area welcomed the HBO series “Hung” and ABC’s “Detroit 1-8-7” as well as many feature films, including Real Steel, The Double, A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas, Salvation Boulevard, Machine Gun Preacher and Scream 4.

The Wolverine State has been working hard to build up the infrastructure needed to increase production. Perhaps the best example of the changes taking place is Raleigh Michigan Studios. Located on the grounds of the former GM Centerpoint truck plant and office complex in Pontiac, the new $80 million film studio is comprised of seven crisp soundstages and over 360,000 square feet of office space. The studio is already hosting the preproduction of Disney’s The Wizard of Oz prequel Oz: The Great and Powerful, which will receive approximately $40 million in incentives and is set to be one of the largest features to ever shoot in the state.

When you look at the big picture, you can see how big of a role the industry plays in each state’s economy. And film office representatives are pressured to show a positive ROI on incentives, so these programs fluctuate from time-to time. High incentives and a deep crew base are only two portions of the total package needed for states to make P3’s annual list of top-10 U.S. locations, an informative guide that filmmakers worldwide can rely on.

Story from: http://www.p3update.com/

Productions for October 2011 Filming Louisiana by Christopher Moore

2011-10-13T19:02:00.000-07:00

Kane & Lynch Louisiana
Breakout Kings New Orleans, breakoutkingscrew@gmail.com
Broken City New Orleans, brokencityproduction@gmail.com
Dogfight (aka Southern Rivals) New Orleans, rivalsresumes@gmail.com
The East Shreveport, the.east.movie@gmail.com
King Dog Baton Rouge, kingdogthemovie@gmail.com
Pitch Baton Rouge, pitchperfectoffice@gmail.com
Snitch Shreveport, snitchmovie@gmail.com
Treme New Orleans, blowndeadlineprod@gmail.com
Zombie Plantation St. Amant/Gonzales info@huzemedia.com
Caged Shreveport, cagedllc@gmail.com
Common Law New Orleans, commonlawresumes@gmail.com
G I Joe 2 New Orleans, 2gijoe@gmail.com
Thicker Lousisiana
Hemlock Drive Louisiana
Tarantula New Orleans
Silver Cord Louisiana
The Summoning Baton Rouge
Asleep at the Wheel New Orleans
Hysteria Louisiana
Room and Board New Orleans
72 Hours New Orleans
I Walked with a Zombie New Orleans
Unraveled Baton Rouge
Playing with the Enemy Shreveport
The Boys Club Folsum
Some Stars Fall New Orleans
Dead Serious New Orleans
Verdigris New Orleans
Moments of Life New Orleans

The Big Fix Opens 22nd Annual New Orleans Film Festival Friday October 14th

2011-10-13T18:28:00.000-07:00

The Sundance Award Winning Filmmakers behind the movie FUEL will screen "the greatest uncover-up movie" of the decade when The Big Fix receives its North American premiere as the Opening night Film of the 22nd Annual New Orleans Film Festival. Directed by Louisiana native Josh Tickell and produced and co-directed by his wife and filmmaking partner Rebecca Harrell Tickell, The Big Fix is part daring journalism, archival investigation and eco-horror story. See http://neworleansfilmsociety.org/festival.
Through interviews with scientists, government officials, journalists (including Rolling Stone's Jeff Goodell who examined the Gulf spill in his article 'The Poisoning'), activists (Peter Fonda, Amy Smart and Grammy-winner Jason Mraz who also contributed an original song), New Orleans attorney Stuart Smith and Gulf States natives, The Big Fix recounts the events surrounding the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico. The Big Fix reveals the powerful political and corporate system that put profits over the health and long-term sustainability of people and the environment.
The Big Fix explores the complicit behavior of the US government in the long-term use of the chemical dispersant, Corexit 9527, a known hemolitic (blood thinner). In an unexpected twist of fate, Co-Director/Producer Rebecca Harrell Tickell became severely ill after being exposed to the oil and Corexit mixture while filming. Like many of the residents of the gulf south who have experienced blood in their urine, skin lesions, and other blood-related disorders, Harrell Tickell's condition persists.
A rough cut of The Big Fix received critical acclaim this year as the only documentary in Official Selection of the Cannes Film Festival. European audiences were stunned to see evidence suggesting the Macondo well site is still leaking oil. Now LSU and other researchers confirm it.
Contact: Ray Costa Costa Communications

rcosta@costacomm.com (323) 650-3588

New Orleans Film Fest: Jolene Pinder (504) 309-6633

Also: C. Brylski/H. Harper (504) 897-6110 or (504) 289-0499

SOURCE Attorney Stuart Smith

'Shark Night 3D' features uncomfortably toothy effects

2011-09-01T09:16:00.000-07:00

By Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY

LOS ANGELES – Actress Sara Paxton was fine about shooting her scenes with an animatronic great white for Shark Night 3D.

By Steve Dietl, Relativity Media

Dodge maul: Sara Paxton tries to avoid a predator in Shark Night 3D, which features animatronic sharks that are a far cry from Jaws.

That is, until she ran into the injured onset publicity photographer.

"He was bleeding everywhere, on both legs," Paxton recalls.

"I was like, 'Dude, what happened? Did you fall off the boat?' He told me that the shark bit him."

Yes, the shark with whom Paxton was soon sharing a scene. She recalls director David Ellis' voice being piped underwater, urging her to get closer to her well-toothed co-star.

"I was so scared," Paxton says. "I was like, 'This shark is literally going to rip my throat out.' It was so close to me. I prayed, 'Please, God, do not let me die today.' Fake shark. Not a good way to go."

Steven Spielberg's 1975 shark classic, Jaws, might have made it feel unsafe to go into the water. But technological advances in the animatronic world have made the screen creatures so terrifying — complete with a full set of actual shark teeth for the first time — that filming alongside them can lead to real-life panic.

Dustin Milligan fights two robotic sharks in Shark Night, which opens Friday and gorily portrays a shark invasion into a Louisiana saltwater lake.

He admits that the terrified look he frequently has on-screen isn't acting.

"These sharks are really, really scary. And the real shark teeth?" he says, shaking off the image. "Totally unnecessary, if you ask me."

Oscar-winning special-effects guru Walt Conti has pushed the technology of these creatures into a new realm with films such as Free Willy and Deep Blue Sea.

They're so lifelike, precautions are necessary to protect the people who work with them, he says.

"They're just as powerful as real sharks," Conti says.

The photographer in question simply got too close while the creature was thrashing about.

"He got nicked a little bit," Conti says, adding that a few others got "body slammed" by the shark's tail when they weren't respecting the machine's personal space.

"You have to remember, these are not stuffed animals," Conti says.

Although Jaws might forever reign at the top of the shark movie heap, its famously glitch-prone film sharks are almost prototypes for the free-swimming, fully mobile creatures of today.

"It all started with Jaws 35 years ago," says Conti, who calls the work "revolutionary."

"But it really is a Model T to Ferrari comparison. Ours are as highly tuned and powerful as a Ferrari."

Driving machines that bite.

"But there were only kills on-screen," Conti says with a laugh. "No humans were killed in the making of this film."

You're gonna need a bigger screen . . .

Shark Night 3D brings three animatronic bad boys to the screen:

Swimming great white: This remote-control creature was built to show the shark's swimming skills and signature snap turns, with titanium bones and skeleton for balance. It appears in the scene just before a great shark battle. It has the teeth, but it's a movement specialist. "This is the setup shark," says the movie's animatronic effects supervisor, Walt Conti. "He's all grace. The big challenge is getting him to swim just right."

Hammerhead: Hammerhead teeth are difficult to find. This set came from a private Australian collector and the 13-foot shark was built to scale. The shark required three people at the controls for its shallow-water fight scene: one each for the tail, the head and the body. "That shark can do some damage," says Sinqua Walls, the actor who fights the beast. "I cut my hands tussling with it. I didn't even want to get close to the teeth."

Attack great white: The big baddie of the film is seen in an attack scene featuring Paxton. Conti found the perfect set of teeth from the California Academy of Sciences natural history museum. "It was a pristine set from the 1970s," he says. "They could open about 18 inches, enough to get around someone's torso." (The teeth are on full display in the movie's early trailer.) The 12-foot, 1,000-pound beast required two remote handlers when fighting. Its best feature: the complicated, subtle jaw action in every bite. Says Conti, "It's state-of-the-art chomping power."

2011-07-05T15:34:00.000-07:00

Leatherface 3D, Shreveport LA leatherface3D@gmail.com

Kane & Lynch, Shreveport, LA ecallais@millenniumstudios.net

Freelancers, New Orleans, LA

Fire with Fire, New Orleans LA firewithfireresumes@gmail.com or fax to 504.525.8380

The Third Act, Alexandria LA

The Paper Boy, New Orleans LA paperboy.resumes@gmail.com

Parker aka Flash Fire, New Orleans LA parkerresumes@gmail.com

Dirt Road, Lafayette LA.

21 Jump Street, New Orleans LA 21jumpstreetresumes@gmail.com

Billy the Exterminator Season 4, Shreveport LA

Dark Tales of El Diablo, West Monroe LA darktales@spleefilms.com or fax to 504.324.0658.

Sons of Guns Season 2, Baton Rouge LA

No One Lives New Orleans LA, harryknapp@gmail.com

The Stuart House Recordings New Orleans LA irondragonfilms@gmail.com

The Baytown Disco, Slidell LA

Headshot, New Orleans LA headshotfilm2011@gmail.com.
The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

The Loft, New Orleans loftproduction@gmail.com
Freelancers, LA
Universal Soldier, A New Dimension, Baton Rouge

Thicker, Louisiana

Silver Cord, New Orleans

Tarantula, New Orleans

Downers Grove, Louisiana

Asleep at the Wheel, New Orleans

72 Hours, New Orleans

Room and Board, New Orleans

No One Lives, New Orleans

The Summoning, Baton Rouge

One Small Life, New Orleans

Dirty Movie II: The Student Film New Orleans

Playing with the Enemy, Shreveport LA

Unraveled, Baton Rouge

Substance, Matairie LA

Carmilla: The Homecoming Louisiana

The Boys Club Folsom LA

Extraordinary, Baton Rouge

Verdigris, New Orleans

Moments of Life, New Orleans

Lay the Favorite, New Orleans LA

Treme Season 2, New Orleans, LA blowndeadlineprod@gmail.com

Cogan's Trade, New Orleans LA coganstrade@gmail.com

Alien Tornado Lafayette LA

Memphis Beat Season 2 New OrleansLA, LaPlace memphisbeatresumes@gmail.com

Dark Circles, Baton Rouge LA darkcirclesproductions@gmail.com

Stash House Baton Rouge LA fax resumes to 225.757.6258 with attention to STASH PRODUCTIONS.

Chris Stelly Named Louisiana Entertainment Interim Executive Director

2011-07-05T15:22:00.001-07:00

By Louisiana Entertainment

Chris Stelly Named Louisiana Entertainment Interim Executive Director

Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Stephen Moret has named Christopher Stelly, Interim Executive Director of the Office of Entertainment Industry Development also known as Louisiana Entertainment, effective immediately upon Sherri McConnell’s resignation.

Over the last four years, Stelly has served as the Director of Film and TV where he has overseen exponential growth in the state’s film incentive program, developing it into a productive, credible and stable engine for Louisiana’s entertainment industry. When Stelly joined the department in 2004, Louisiana’s motion picture tax incentive program saw fewer than 35 applications a year. In 2010 alone, Stelly oversaw 141 incentive applications, with more than 100 productions underway in the state that year. Based on numbers of applications, the program is already predicted to outpace 2010 this year. In addition to administering Louisiana’s progressive and innovative tax credit program, he has become an invaluable technical asset to entertainment companies seeking to produce and to establish new businesses in the state.

A native Louisianan, Stelly is a dedicated supporter of the state’s continuously growing role in the global entertainment economy.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Sherri McConnell, Louisiana Entertainment Executive Director, Leaving Post

After more than four years of working as LED’s Executive Director of the Office of Entertainment Industry Development, Sherri McConnell is leaving the post effective July 1.

Under McConnell's leadership, the industry has flourished, experiencing its fifth consecutive year of double digit growth. The office's holistic approach, supported by innovative programs and marketing efforts, has driven the development of an industry that creates over $1 billion of economic impact annually. In addition, McConnell spearheaded the development of a comprehensive, long-range strategic plan that has become the roadmap for the development of a sustainable entertainment economy in Louisiana (Building a Permanent Entertainment Economy). Today, Louisiana's entertainment programs are recognized as the gold standard in the industry and have been emulated by 40 other states nationwide.

Upon her departure from Louisiana Entertainment, and after some well deserved time off, Sherri McConnell will return to private consulting with a focus on creative industry development. Mac and Associates Consulting will launch at the end of the month. Sherri can be reached at sherri@sherrimcconnell.com.

That’s entertainment by By Jeff Roedel

2011-05-02T09:44:00.000-07:00

Sherri McConnell helped the state film program overcome the scandal of her predecessor Mark Smith pleading guilty to taking bribes.

In the three years since an investigation into her predecessor’s malfeasance dragged her staff in front of a grand jury to explain the state’s tax credit program, Louisiana Entertainment Executive Director Sherri McConnell has turned the office into a dependable and well-respected generator for hundreds of millions of dollars in direct investment in the state from multiple creative industries.
McConnell is working to mature Louisiana Entertainment into a globally-respected brand like Campbell’s Soup or Coca-Cola, assembling easily recognizable products—the results of companies using Louisiana Economic Development’s progressive incentive programs to produce film, music, digital interactive and live performance projects within the state. If she has her way, soon every CD, video game box, theatre playbill and movie-credits sequence for projects made using the state’s tax credits system will bear the Louisiana Entertainment logo for all to see.
It’s an ambitious push—and one that requires significant investment from the state—but McConnell’s office is gaining cheerleaders from the private sector who continue to bring repeat business to Louisiana.
Last fall, one studio executive behind Sylvester Stallone’s new action flick The Expendables raved about the advantages of shooting here. “I think this is our thirteenth film in the state,” Diego Martinez of Nu Image/Millennium films told Variety. “The cooperation you get here is always incredible, and the Louisiana Film Office is really there for you. The incentives don’t hurt either.”

Mark Smith

A long talk and a cigar

It was June 1, 2007, when McConnell and her staff—Chris Stelly, Amber Havens and Alex Schott—sat together with former Film Commission head Mark Smith and then-LED Secretary Michael Olivier inside a waiting room of the Hale Boggs Federal Building on Poydras Street in New Orleans. Unlike Smith, McConnell wasn’t on the hook. She was there to provide answers. A federal grand jury wanted details of the inner workings of LED’s film incentives program.
At one point, Olivier looked at each one of them and uttered the words McConnell had been dreading: “We have to shut this program down.”
When she returned to Baton Rouge, McConnell learned that while they were answering questions in front of the grand jury, the FBI raided the New Orleans offices of LIFT, a powerful production company that was doing roughly 30% of the film business in Louisiana.
The incentives legislation Louisiana pioneered in 2002 was just five years old, but with the FBI cracking down on Smith’s relationship with LIFT, it would be a fight for the current staff to keep it.
Days later, McConnell invited Olivier to her Baton Rouge Garden District home. They sat on her back porch for hours. He listened and puffed a cigar as she gave him the talking points. It was there, looking out at McConnell’s quaint, beloved flower garden, that the Louisiana film industry was saved. Olivier agreed that under McConnell’s leadership, the state Entertainment Office could not only continue, but thrive.
After the FBI raids, Smith was charged with misappropriating state tax credits. In 2009, Smith would be sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay a $67,500 fine for accepting bribes from New Orleans attorney Malcolm Petal, the founder of LIFT, who received undue tax credits through Smith in exchange for the bribes. Petal was sentenced to five years and ordered to pay $1.35 million in restitution.
Last summer, before he was to report to prison, Smith walked into the Entertainment Office that had soldiered on through the firestorm he created. It was the first time McConnell had spoken to Smith since the investigation began. He got choked up.
“I can’t condone what he did—clearly it was a terrible thing—but I also think he feels that way too,” says McConnell, 53. “I think he’s a good guy who did a bad thing. And it made it really hard to do our job, too, for a while there. But you know, it was almost a relief in the industry when all that came down. It was like, ‘Okay this is done. The rumors can stop, and we don’t have to talk about it anymore. We can carry on.’ It was a new day.”

The red-headed stepchild

Patrick Mulhearn has overseen a business boom at Celtic Media Centre and Raleigh Studios since becoming director of operations at the expansive film facility off Airline Highway in 2009. He began his career in movie production in 2006 as the business development officer for the state film office just six months before Olivier hired McConnell. Smith had left the film office for the private sector. Without a director, the office was something of a rudderless ship.
“(We were) like the red-headed stepchild of state government,” says Mulhearn. “We were all squeezed into the music director’s office. Then we were moved to an old library storage space with all this junk furniture. It took us six weeks before we got Internet and phone service connected. Nothing was taken seriously.”
At the South by Southwest Music, Film and Interactive Conference in Austin this year, McConnell’s team hosted an industry reception, and debuted her department’s overhauled Web site.
Chris Stelly, now director of film for the state, says the office was not a top priority for LED simply because of the nature of the industry.
“We were growing fast, and a new growth industry, so I think there was a lack of understanding about what we were doing,” Stelly says. “Part of our mission is to convince people that this is really economic development, not just movie stars and photo ops.”
What’s worse, the office was being inundated with applications for tax credits from illegitimate enterprises and even real estate developers looking to use the film incentives to help fund non-film-related structures. When these applications were declined, many turned into resource-sucking lawsuits against the state. As recently as last year, McConnell expressed frustration about the amount of energy and focus her office had to spend discrediting a pile of bogus applications.
“There were so many people looking for loopholes where loopholes simply did not exist,” says Amy Ferguson, a New Orleans-based communications specialist who does public relations work for LED. “Thankfully, that’s all in the past.”

Sherri Mac

“That was some brave woman—just going for it,” McConnell says, recalling a photo taken of her mother in the middle of the Saudi desert in 1955. McConnell’s father was an engineer for a multinational firm, so she spent her youth living wherever he was building a factory or plant: Lebanon, Egypt, Pakistan, Canada. At 15, McConnell attended boarding school at Herringswell Manor in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England. At 16, she transferred to Western High School in Las Vegas. “Yes, that was a culture shock,” she says. “Going from owning my business to working in government was another.”
In 2002, while running a successful government relations firm in Baton Rouge, McConnell took interest in Louisiana’s first film incentives bill. She followed it through the legislative session that year, until it became law. In 2005, when the Legislature passed a similar program for sound recording, McConnell began doing pro bono work for the state’s entertainment industry. “My guts told me this was an industry that could grow,” she says.
After she met Mark Smith and offered to pitch in, he invited her to a locations trade show in Los Angeles. “The Louisiana booth was not impressive, to say the least, but everybody at that show was headed towards it,” McConnell says. “All the questions there were about our program. We were the rage.”

McConnell meeting with her film and television director, Chris Stelly.

Back in Baton Rouge, McConnell assisted music producer Johnny Palazzotto’s launch of the Baton Rouge Blues Foundation and worked as a consultant for Celtic Media Centre, representing its interests to the state while the group’s soundstages and offices were in early planning and construction phases. Unlike some lobbyists, she managed to make few enemies. Everyone seemed to like “Sherri Mac.” Through Celtic, McConnell met LED Secretary Michael Olivier. During lunch at the Little Village in fall 2006, Olivier asked McConnell to lead his Entertainment Office.
“We needed credibility and common sense,” says Olivier, who now works as CEO of the Committee of 100 Louisiana. “From the business side to the legislators, Sherri knew all the players and knew who was legitimate and who wasn’t. She understood not only the elements, but most importantly the intent of the incentives program.”
McConnell arrived for duty in February 2007. There she found details on certain projects were scant. Other files were nonexistent. Though no one had explicitly stated it, she had been branded a fixer. “We were immediately taken more seriously,” Mulhearn says. “Sherri saw problems and knew how to work the higher-ups.”
Two months later, the legislature passed 25% incentives packages for the live performance and digital interactive sectors.
McConnell’s greatest victory came in 2009 when budget crises and recession fears abounded, yet the state legislature granted her motion picture incentives program permanent status and upped the tax credit from 25% to 30% on in-state expenditures with a 35% payroll credit available for all Louisiana hires—a powerful nudge for Hollywood to use local crews.
“It’s amazing we increased the incentives when we did, and Sherri deserves a lot of the credit for that,” Mulhearn says. “Had she not been there, the whole thing might have blown over.”
Michael Arata, a film producer and attorney who serves as chairman of the entertainment arm of the Louisiana State Bar Association, says it was a hard-fought victory for the Entertainment Office, one that could not have been possible without McConnell’s legislative acumen.
“She knows the legislative process, and the state’s legislators trust her,” Arata says.
Building trust in other ways, McConnell brought clarity and transparency to the office through tighter rules for each sector’s incentives program. She then convinced Olivier to grant her directors’ positions unclassified status, giving her the budgetary elbow-room to make the key hires she needed to effectively grow her staff. In 2009 she hired Elliott Adams away from Portland-based CD Baby and Philip Mann—a veteran stage producer with years of Broadway’s business side to his credit—to run the digital interactive and live performance programs, respectively.
With McConnell taking the lead, the entertainment office staff began working as a single unit for the first time. “It became anesprit de corps where everyone gave input—a real team effort,” Stelly says. “Sherri brought her experience from the private sector and reinvigorated the office.”
“If we can only get industry people down here, they’ll come back,” McConnell says.

Under my umbrella

The synergy created by collecting the state’s incentive programs for film, music, interactive and live under the banner of Louisiana Entertainment had lasting effects both internally and externally for McConnell’s office. Until then, each sector had been kept, in McConnell’s words, to its own “silo.”
“No one else had her kind of vision,” Olivier says.
Now, thanks to new infrastructure projects attracted by sound recording incentives, movie studios can more easily use Louisiana’s music incentives program, administered by longtime music director Lynwood Ourso, to record soundtracks for films at another 25% discount. Convergence like this is the industry buzzword, McConnell says. One video game company is looking to produce a Wii game in Louisiana based on Broadway dance numbers in Louisiana. Another wants to score live music for its game titles.
With states like Georgia and Michigan starting to chase Louisiana’s heels for movie productions, in 2008 Louisiana still received more applications than anyone but California and Texas. So McConnell began using the fees her office collects from those applications to pay for promotion and marketing efforts so she could continue outpacing the competition.
That fund has contributed to the office’s two critically acclaimed pre-Grammy Awards events in Los Angeles in 2009 and 2010. Both were equal parts raucous concert and Mardi Gras party, where all of Louisiana’s food, culture, celebrities and entertainment opportunities were on glorious display. Last March, Louisiana Entertainment sponsored receptions and exhibits at South By Southwest Music, Film and Interactive Conference in Austin.
There, McConnell and her team debuted an overhauled website, new logos and a series of temporary tattoos with clever slogans like “Shoot Dat!” and “Sheauxtime!”—all part of an energetic rebranding effort McConnell conceived and outsourced to TILT, a cutting-edge Baton Rouge design firm.“Our challenge was to show the world that Louisiana supports the entertainment community—not only with tax credits and incentives but through our wealth of homegrown talent,” says Scott Hodgin, co-owner of TILT. “The look took on a feeling of handmade and authentic. Whether we spray-painted the logo on a beaten-up wooden background on the website, or developed custom, hand-drawn temporary tattoos for their debut at South By Southwest, we wanted everything to have an authentic feel.”
Louisiana Entertainment’s new branding effort includes attention-grabbing ideas like these temporary tattoos custom-made by Baton Rouge design firm TILT.

It is working.

Through June, Louisiana Entertainment had received more than 80 applications for film projects.
While rebranding helps lure outside producers, projects like HBO’s immediate-hit Treme and blockbuster-sized films like Battle: Los Angeles and Green Lantern, both McConnell and Stelly understand the importance of fostering the state’s indigenous film industry. “Otherwise, what’s left if the tax incentives are ever taken away?” McConnell asks.
More local film companies with projects ranging from $300,000 to a few million are benefiting from the incentives and finding a niche.
“The state film office turns things around fast, always gets back to you, and they answer questions,” says Daniel Lewis, a Baton Rouge native and COO of Active Entertainment in Lafayette. “They spend time nurturing smaller companies like ours, and that says a lot about Sherri and Chris’ leadership. They bring the same level of excitement and work ethic to the small-budget productions as they do to the big-budget movies.”

Billion dollar baby

In June the Entertainment Office released a new strategic plan. In the fourth paragraph of the 29-page document, McConnell clearly states her goal: “Bring in $1 billion of direct economic impact to a state whose homegrown professionals, artists and musicians can remain and build creative careers that flourish.” Having hauled in $1.9 billion in investment based on the state’s $700 million dollars in tax credits since 2002, $1 billion annually is a big number but not an inconceivable mark, says McConnell. With state budget cuts common and the looming economic impact of the BP oil leak unknown, however, the Entertainment Office may have to try to get there without significant increases in funding or staffing.
A year after Louisiana passed its landmark film incentives program, Bill Richardson, the newly elected governor of New Mexico, launched his own efforts to draw productions away from nearby California. New Mexico’s state film office now maintains a dozen full-time employees—more than twice that of Louisiana—yet still falls behind our state in total annual productions. “Sherri’s office is clearly running circles around New Mexico,” Lewis says. “It’s amazing the amount of work that gets done in that office with such a small staff.”
McConnell recognizes Louisiana cannot compete with powerhouses California and New York for crew base or infrastructure, but says that need not stop the state from chipping away at their lead.
“It’s just about recognizing the need to do it,” McConnell says. “If we can only get industry people down here, they’ll come back. The creativity and culture in our state sells itself.” Anyone who followed the Saints charge to Super Bowl victory or has taken notice of Make It Right’s progress in the Ninth Ward knows Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have made New Orleans their adoptive home long after The Curious Case of Benjamin Button wrapped in 2007. Earlier this year, Scarlett Johansson and husband Ryan Reynolds purchased a home near Lafayette and Dockside Studios, where Johansson recorded her debut album Anywhere I Lay My Head.
With Hollywood superstars not only shooting movies and riding in parades here, but buying homes, too, and Louisiana Entertainment closing in on a half-billion dollars of investment annually—a figure Pixel Magic in Lafayette and Blade Studios in Shreveport should boost in 2011—McConnell’s job has become less about putting out fires and more about staking a claim of permanence for entertainment as an industry. That claim seemed so perilously unlikely three years ago as her staff waited to appear before a grand jury. “We came this close,” McConnell says, her thumb and index finger only centimeters apart.
McConnell’s battle is no longer one for respect but for patience—patience among LED officials and private investors to stay engaged in her growing industries before her office makes a statement no one will be able to ignore: $1 billion every single year.
“I’m probably the most impatient of the bunch, so (patience) is an internal struggle for me,” McConnell says. “We’ve come a long way in three years, but I’m not satisfied.”

http://225batonrouge.com/news/2010/sep/01/s-entertainment/
source 225

Fairfield Studios launch their Best Screenplay Annual Competition

2011-04-20T07:43:00.001-07:00

In celebration of the budding successes and mounting presence of the movie and entertainment industry in the Shreveport-Bossier area, Fairfield Studios launched the first annual Shreveport-Bossier Best Screenplay Competition, encouraging local talent to make their voices heard.

The contest website, www.sbshortfilms.net, drew an astounding 80,000 hits during the mere three months of competition, offering up a delicious grand prize for emerging screenplay writers. Not only would the winning script be produced by Fairfield Studios, but then also publically premiered at Shreveport‟s own Robinson Film Center and entered into film festivals across the country.

Fundraising is underway at Kickstarter with very generous incentives. Donors can also donate through the Bossier Arts Council and qualify for tax credits.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/419421736/best-screenplay-annual-competition .

Grand Prize went to “Lobster Boy,” written by Terry Kendricks, whose showstealing screenplay went on to steal the stage once again, when announced to a live crowd during Shreveport‟s Red River Revel, in October 2010. Additionally, Mary Kim Sipes‟ screenplay, “Izzy‟s Christmas Wish” grabbed the People‟s Choice Award.

Production for Lobster Boy is scheduled for May 2011.

Contact details

Email:

clint@fairfieldstudios.com

Website:

http://Fairfieldstudios.com

Office:

Fairfield Studios

Location:

1510 Fairfield Avenue, Shreveport, LA 71101

FilmingLouisiana Productions for April, 8, 2011

2011-04-08T12:25:00.000-07:00

Playing the Field, Shreveport, LA ptfproduction@gmail.com
Kane & Lynch, Shreveport, LA ecallais@millenniumstudios.net
Freelancers, New Orleans, LA
Medallion, New Orleans LA medallionresumes@gmail.com
The Third Act, Alexandria LA
Dirt Road, Lafayette LA.
21 Jump Street, New Orleans LA 21jumpstreetresumes@gmail.com
Billy the Exterminator Season 4, Shreveport LA
Dark Tales of El Diablo, West Monroe LA darktales@spleefilms.com or fax to 504.324.0658.
Sons of Guns Season 2, Baton Rouge LA
No One Lives New Orleans LA, harryknapp@gmail.com
The Stuart House Recordings New Orleans LA irondragonfilms@gmail.com
The Baytown Disco, Slidell LA
Headshot, Louisiana
The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
Freelancers, New Orleans LA
Universal Soldier, A New Dimension, Baton Rouge
Thicker, Louisiana
Silver Cord, New Orleans
Tarantula, New Orleans
Downers Grove, Louisiana
Asleep at the Wheel, New Orleans
72 Hours, New Orleans
Room and Board, New Orleans
No One Lives, New Orleans
The Summoning, Baton Rouge
One Small Life, New Orleans
Dirty Movie II: The Student Film New Orleans
Playing with the Enemy, Shreveport LA
Unraveled, Baton Rouge
Substance, Matairie LA
Carmilla: The Homecoming Louisiana
The Boys Club Folsom LA
Extraordinary, Baton Rouge
Verdigris, New Orleans
Moments of Life, New Orleans
Lay the Favorite, New Orleans LA
Treme Season 2, New Orleans, LA blowndeadlineprod@gmail.com
Cogan's Trade, New Orleans LA coganstrade@gmail.com
Abraham Lincoln-Vampire Hunter, New Orleans LA alvh2011@gmail.com
Alien Tornado Lafayette LA
Looper, New Orleans LA looperllc@gmail.com or fax to 504.525.1857.
Memphis Beat Season 2 New OrleansLA, LaPlace memphisbeatresumes@gmail.com
Dark Circles, Baton Rouge LA darkcirclesproductions@gmail.com
Stash House Baton Rouge LA fax resumes to 225.757.6258 with attention to STASH PRODUCTIONS.
Ghostbreakers, Shreveport production@slowchildrenonline.net

"Meanwhile, Back at Cafe Du Monde..."

2011-04-06T22:50:00.001-07:00

"Meanwhile, back at Cafe Du Monde...", the food monologue show, April 26, 2011 at Ernest Orleans Restaurant. Monologue presenters include:

Chef Ernest Palmisano -Owner/Chef of Ernest's Orleans Restaurant - Growing up Ernest was raised in his Father's restaurant that was the legendary place to see and be seen in downtown Shreveport - the kind of place where people dressed for dinner. His stories are entertaining and not to be missed along wiht the amazing buffet of the favorite dishes that make Ernest's Orleans the best restaurant in Shreveport! You don't want to miss the marinated crab claws! His beautiful wife, Tina Marie, has been in the show twice has been influential in the success of "Meanwhile, Back At Cafe Du Monde..." - you don't want to miss her famous tamales!

Diego Martinez - President of Millennieum Films - Attended the University of Southern Mississippi where he studied Film Production, near his native New Orleans. After college he started and headed an Internet Service Providing company, one of the first in Mississippi. In 1998 he moved to Medellin, Colombia where he taught English for five years. Diego returned to Louisiana to pursue his passion for film production. After working on a number of productions as an Art Department Coordinator, Diego made the transition to Production Supervisor on three Millennium Film projects. In June of 2008, Diego joined Nu Image/Millennium Films as President of Millennium Studios, and as Executive Producer overseeing Louisiana productions. Currently, he is responsible for the construction of the new studio facility being built in the Ledbetter Heights neighborhood in Shreveport with a grand opening in March.

Robert Darrow - Shreveport Little Theatre's Managing and Artistic Director - earned his MA in Liberal Arts from LSU-S in 2002 and a BA from Centenary in Theatre/Speech and Eduction in 1981. He attended Circle in the Square in NYC. In 1990, Darrow helped establish The Philadelphia Center, a non-profit, social service agency and served as its executive director for the first five years. He began his career as a child actor, appearing in over 100 local productions and has directed over forty productions. In March of 2011, Darrow completed a decade's long quest of rebuilding the Shreveport Little Theatre after two fires destroyed the original historic structure.

Ryan Glorioso - Casting Director/Owner - Glorioso Casting - After graduating with a BA in Theatre from Louisiana’s Northwestern State University in 1996, Ryan relocated to L.A. where he worked as an actor for 8 years. Ryan established his career in casting and became a member of the Casting Society of America in Louisiana's blooming film market. Just four years after establishing his company, Glorioso Casting, Ryan stands as a constant and respected member of Louisiana's film community. Some projects recently cast locally by Glorioso Casting include; The Expendables, Butter, Super, Straw Dogs, Leaves of Grass and Wonderful World. Two of Ryan's films premiered at The 2010 Sundance

Tom Pace - A returning emcee, Tom has been in the Shreveport shows from the first show on September 2010 and is one of the biggest fans and supporters of "Meanwhile, Back At Cafe Du Monde..." since he was born in New Orleans where eating at Cafe Du Monde. was a weekly event!

Deborah Allen - Artist, Writer and Blogger - Presently contributing writer for the Film Industry Trade Magazine, Filming Louisiana, contributing writer for Shreveport Blog. Board member for Hope for the Homeless, and Board member for the Youth Action Group, Young Unique Positive People, Member of the Highland Restoration Association and Case Manager of the Philadelphia Center.

Sandy Davis - Director of Homeland Security - Bossier/Caddo Parish Returns for his 3rd time as a headliner to "Meanwhile, Back At Cafe Du Monde...." a favorite of audiences as his stories of cooking as a fireman keep audiences in hysterics!

Rob Jenkins - Based out of Shreveport, LA Rob Jenkins is the busiest full time magician in the state doing on average 8-10 shows per week. He has been a full time comedy/magic professional since 1998 and has been featured at the Nations top Comedy Clubs and Casinos. Rob headlines Las Vegas 3 times per year and is often called upon to consult some of the biggest names in magic. Rob will be featured in the new Motion Picture "Leaves of Grass" starring Edward Norton. He can also be seen on A&E's "The Exterminators".
website: http://www.robjenkinsmagic.com

Peggy Sweeney-McDonald - Creator/Producer of "Meanwhile, Back At Cafe Du Monde..." is very excited to return to one of her favorite venues! The Shreveport shows have been very special as they welcomed us with open arms from the first show! Tina and Ernest Palmisano have become dear friends along with all the other fabulous headliners and emcees who have blessed our shows in Shreveport! So excited about the new headliners, Debbie Allen, Ryan Glorioso, Diego Martinez and Robert Darrow! This will be a very special evening!

Tickets $40 Plus tax and gratuity includes delicious dinner buffet and the show! Reservations Recommended - Call (318) 226-1325. Doors open at 6:30pm for dinner and show begins at 7:30pm

For more information www.meanwhilebackatcafedumonde.com or call Peggy Sweeney-McDonald 310-709-2851 or email - peggy@superstareventsla.com

ONE WITH THE ANIMALS by Christopher Moore

2011-04-04T19:10:00.000-07:00

Starting out on this gloomiest and cold of days I knew even the drizzle could not ruin this day for me. I picked up a new friend who I wanted to set out on this adventure with me. Coffee in hand, satellite tuned in to some good music, navigation telling me to tread south; we were on the road. Conversation for the drive was about Sunday drives, but this was Saturday and I was excited about what was in store for us. The navigation spouting off turns and commands making us completely miss our destination but I had a co-pilot, and she immediately took the helm and found this hacienda de los Lobos.

We were first greeted by a three legged dog and my thoughts went to “what did I get me and my co-pilot into?” Soon we met up with one of the trainers Matt Martin who quickly pointed out how the inauspicious canine lost his foot. Just as I suspected, a small run in with a wolf, but wait we were here to see these very malicious wolves ourselves, and would meet the same fate? Soon out of the woods comes a tall brunette named Tracy Oliver who quickly moved over to a cage with 3 wolves and she goes right to work, no play, with these callous creatures. I was asked to step right into the cage of death and that is where my thoughts changed. Why is this wolf licking me, and why is this wolf lying down and letting me scratch its belly? Also, why is it that my co-pilot is outside the cage where it is safe? I had it all wrong; these animals were gentile, much like a playful Fido. That was no mistake; they were trained by the best, Sid Yost and fellow trainers, Matt, Tracy, and JJ Engel. I could tell these animals were trained with love and respect.

Sid Yost is no stranger to animals he owns Amazing Animal Productions which owns the animals and holds the licensing for the animals in Louisiana and Animal Actors Worldwide which handles agency work and the locally and federally licensing. Both companies’ affection train studio animals for motion picture and television production and Sid, Tracy JJ, and Matt do just that; train and love.

To understand how Sid got to this ranch in North West Louisiana I must first backtrack to his humble beginnings. It has been a long road for Sid who got his start when he decided to write the first book in 1977 on ferrets called “What’s a Ferret” and introduced ferrets to the United States which made him responsible for the indoor ferret craze in America. Some call Sid “the father of ferrets”. A short time after Sid’s love of animals convinced him to buy a ranch in Colorado and he went a little bigger. He bought his first two African lions for pets. A local store owner and friend asked if he would consider putting the lions in a water bed store commercial. The owner, who was a friend, was not doing so well at the time so Sid said he would help because that is the kind of guy he is. Within a couple of years the friend had a dozen stores because the lions were in all of his commercials and a light bulb went off in Sid’s head. Around the same time Sid got a call from Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, Marlin Perkins and Jim Fowler to train animals with them and do some shows which Sid welcomed; the stars had aligned.

This had a snowball effect for Sid, and before he knew it he had over 80 animals and a full private zoo with lions, tigers, bears and wolves. While training his animals at his zoo, he soon got a call from the largest animal movie companies in Los Angeles called “Gentle Jungle” who bought him out to California in the early 1980’s to bring his training skills to train their animals. Sid became one of the top 10 trainers in the country. He was a working trainer for years in California though the competition for animals in film was fierce so Sid wanted to make a move.

The tax incentives then made Sid think about taking his experience somewhere else and Louisiana seemed like a good move. He and his trainers were brought out by ABC and FOX for the short lived series The Gates and for six months they worked their wolves’ deer and birds of prey. Even though the show did not make it Sid and his trainers fell in love with the area and the people so they decided to make it home. Since Louisiana was a virtual untapped market and they were getting offers from major movie productions, commercials and television shows it seemed like a good move.

Now back present day, Amazing Animal Productions is the only full service animal company in Louisiana. This move has kept them moving from one film to the next nonstop since their arrival. Some of the industry top crew has moved to Louisiana and this has allowed Sid to work with some of the best.

My favorite part of the day and I believe my co-pilot would agree, was getting to watch the six wolf pups that were six weeks old get their first real taste of food other than their mothers teat. They were gentle and sweet and it was hard to imaging in no time these would be the future wolves you will be watching in some movie starring Nicolas Cage or “place said actor’s name here”. We also got to meet a few other animals like a trained fox? Yes, I said it, a trained fox that also does a real treat to its own food, but we will not talk about that right now. Trained birds, they have them too, crows, a falcon, a hawk this place has it all.

Of course my morbid curiosity goes straight to the thoughts of scars on the trainers. Sid does this with passion and has paid for it dearly. He was a pioneer in training that always comes with a price. There were no books written on training wild animals so you learn by mistakes. 100 bites later he says he has not been bitten in the past 10 years. His wounds would include 3 fingers sewn back on after a bite from an African lion. He has been picked up by a 10 foot Kodiak bear and thrown against a wall leaving puncture wounds in his shoulder. Sid has endured a bite from an alligator doing a Kodak commercial which left him with 72 stitches in the back of his leg but he says that comes with the job. I am doing an interview and I have not been bitten once, my job must be much less dangerous or they have something in store for me. Not only do they train the animals they also do all the stunts with the animals, which must include bites and scratches. Amazing Animal trainers has 8 trainers right now who also work as stunt double’s who take “Hits” which is anytime someone on film is attacked or brutalized by an animal.

The list of animals that Sid handles are Lions, Tigers, wolves, bears, elephants, giraffes, camels, zebras and all kinds of horses and virtually any other kind of animal you can think of. The only thing that Sid does not work with is Killer whales and dolphins; they just don’t work with Marine life. If they don’t have it they can get it and train it. “One of the things about the animal business is that you may not own all the animals but you better know where to get them. Some animals have to have special permits and so you have to know the people who own them and have the permits to have them to get here. One example is we get a lot of calls for penguins which require special permits as do otters.”

Amazing Animals can be seen in Cowboys and Aliens, Bless me Ultima, Book of Eli, Spy Next Door, TheCourier, Season of the Witch, Transit, Haunting in Georgia, Contraband, Year One, The Gates, and the Jack Ass movies. In addition, there is great interest in a pilot show for Sid one being the Real Animal House that is being shopped around. There is always great interest in Amazing Animals because of the fact that they put their life on the line everyday with these animals and that when they have free time they like to spend their time goofing around and “punking” others while on the set and off. The team also just got the green light for 13 episodes to be filmed on the ranch and on set which should be a real treat for everyone; I know it will be a treat for me because I found some new friends at Amazing Animals. Not only did they make me and my co-pilot feel more than welcome they gave us some new understanding of what it is they do, not just train animals, but show you how to interact with wildlife and humans alike.

The tax incentives were secondary to coming to Louisiana. They were already in four other states they were working in with incentives before they moved into Louisiana. Sid will admit in some states the incentives have not worked. In some states they offer incentives and then they just give you an IOU. “Louisiana is a little different what they mean is what they say.” He says they are honest and their integrity is that what they say is what you get. That is what is brining the business into the state. The Gates got them here, but the people kept them here. They love filming in Louisiana because you can be anywhere in the state within 6 hours. They love working with the film offices that really take care of them and the wildlife fish and game who help them as well.

Sid still says the favorite part of his job is that he is an above average animal lover and he loves training with his animals through the method he developed over 30 years called “affection training” using love patience, calmness, consistency, with mutual understanding and respect. Working with his animals and teaching others to work with his animals. Working on the set is great also but coming home and working with his animals with no pressure is still his favorite part. You can tell the love that is between the animals and the trainers, I felt at real peace once I got to know each of the animals that they train and that is exactly what they do; make you feel the same as they do.

“We are always looking for interns and volunteers; it takes about 140 plus hours to train someone the skills.” They would like also to join a union which at this point does not recognize them. One of the biggest things Sid wants production companies to know is that Hollywood does not need to bring the animals from California. “We have everything you need here. We have the animals locally and in the state, and we can help Hollywood who is coming out here to take advantage of the tax incentives to give them a honest reason to use us as the local company as part of their tax incentives. Let us be the local company you hire. We will provide the same expertise and we deliver results, not excuses.”

As me and my co-pilot loaded up the car for our venture back to the real world, I realized I did not go to Amazing Animals for just an interview and a couple of snap shots. I went to meet real nice people who train animals and who have a passion for what they do. I was taught by the trainers about each and every animal that I met and found out about each their individual personalities and quirks. As for me, I think in one single great day, the bad weather did not matter, the cold did not matter, the warmth from that trip me and my co-pilot had experienced made us one with the animals, if only for a day.

Amazing Animal Productions

Sid Yost

http://www.amazinganimalproductions.com/

Story by Christopher Moore

Shreveport's Millennium Studios opens

2011-04-04T19:02:00.000-07:00

http://www.shreveporttmes.com/

Actors Jessica Biel and Gerard Butler, center, pose with Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover, Bossier City Mayor Lo Walker and others at the grand opening of Millennium Studios today in Shreveport. / Adam Kealoha Causey/The Times

Hundreds poured into Millennium Studios this evening to celebrate the $10 million-plus facility's grand opening. A VIP reception that started at 4:30 p.m. included appearances from actors Gerard Butler and Jessica Biel, in town to shoot Millennium feature “Playing the Field.” Local politicians and state officials praised the complex as the anchor for what will become a revived Ledbetter Heights neighborhood.
Construction on the 53,000-square-foot project started in December 2009, allowing the company to take advantage of state film tax credits. Millennium rents the property from Shreveport for $1,200 a year.

Worldwide FX studio, the smaller and western-most building on the 6.7-acre plot, already is open. About 70 graphic designers and other special effects artists are at work there.

Written by

From Staff Reports

Battle lines being drawn by By Jeff Roedel

2011-03-21T10:52:00.000-07:00

By Jeff Roedel Tuesday, March 1, 2011
From: http://225batonrouge.com
Picture Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

In the wee small hours of Feb. 25, 1942, dozens of air-raid sirens cried out over Los Angeles County. It had to be the Japanese. Officials ordered a complete blackout of the city as the 37th Coast Artillery Brigade pumped more than 1,400 rounds of heavy anti-aircraft artillery shells at what were thought to be enemy aircraft. Several hours later, after the shooting stopped, the Secretary of the Navy declared the incident a false alarm.

Anyone who’s visited the World War II Museum in New Orleans knows well that our post-Pearl Harbor nerves were fried. The overnight assault made front-page news the following morning, but even at the initial rush, commentators suggested a cover-up was underway. Now, a few modern UFO hunters believe that what the Coast Guard encountered that night actually was some type of alien spacecraft. Known as the Great Los Angeles Air Raid or the Battle of Los Angeles, this bizarre WWII footnote is the folkloric inspiration for Columbia Pictures’ contemporary science fiction war movie Battle: Los Angeles, in theaters March 11.

There are no false alarms in Battle: Los Angeles, and this time, the threat is shockingly real and absolutely foreign. Though the film is set on the West Coast, Baton Rouge doubled for parts of the California capital for budgeting purposes when several sequences large and small were lensed here more than a year ago. A stretch of Florida Boulevard was closed for three days, and so was the Bet-R Store near the Perkins Road overpass. Our airport substituted for a California military base, and Spanish Town played host to an alien ground assault. Our iconic state capitol even got a fleeting glance in the first trailer.

Amy Mitchell Smith, head of the Baton Rouge Film Commission, says Battle: Los Angeles already has made an impact on the city’s film industry—long before its release.

“When it comes to enormous studio productions, the pool of decision-makers who green light these shows is very small,” Smith says. “Producers and studio execs behind Battle: Los Angeles were very pleased with the success and ease of filming in Baton Rouge. They became advocates for filming here to other studio execs and top-level producers.”

The extraterrestrial invasion film stands a good chance of becoming the biggest box office draw Baton Rouge has ever played a major part in—until The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn arrives this fall. And the cast loved it here. Aaron Eckhart of The Dark Knight and Thank You for Smoking fame ran the University Lakes. Tough girl Michelle Rodriguez, known from Lost and The Fast and the Furious, shook her boots and spun records at Spanish Moon.

After a few weeks, hearing explosions or seeing plumes of smoke and flashes of light outside their offices and their homes became normal to some Baton Rougeans. Others earned small roles in the thriller and got a taste of Hollywood magic in the making.

Baton Rougean Matt Maurel earned an extra’s role as a Marine in the film.
Matt Maurel, 28, got a “high-and-tight” haircut and Marine gear to play a soldier commanded by Eckhart’s gritty captain for attack scenes filmed at the airport.

“We were put in a real Osprey [helicopter] and told to run out and look up to the left as if there was an alien ship or huge explosion in the sky,” recalls Maurel, who works for the state. “We had to sprint 100 yards in full gear and do that about 15 times.”

Eckhart, a photographer in his spare time, took several minutes to compose shots of Maurel’s unit prior to the scene rolling. Later Maurel met the star during a break. Maurel almost earned a speaking role, but he was passed over because the vest he was given did not match those given to soldiers of his rank, and the film’s Marine liaison noticed.

“Wardrobe didn’t have time to get a new one over to me, so they chose someone else,” Maurel says. “I’m not looking to make a career out of it, but it was a fun experience, and I’d do it again. I’ll probably just be a blur of camouflage in the background somewhere.”

Battle: Los Angeles arrives in theaters March 11. battlela.com

Autistic Louisiana Student Enters Film Festival

2011-03-15T19:48:00.000-07:00

The first annual R-Squared Film Festival 2011 is underway in Monroe, LA, and currently has over 300 students from Northeast Louisiana ready to submit their films.

These students represent Ouachita Parish, Union Parish, Morehouse Parish, Lincoln Parish, Monroe City School District, the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts, the University of Louisiana at Monroe, and Louisiana Tech University. Students are competing in teams of five students or less to create a original, short film of any genre, 10 minutes of less. Perhaps one of the most special aspects of the festival comes out of West Ouachita High School.

Aaron Husar is a graduating senior, actor and has Autism. Husar is a key member on one of West Ouachita's five teams competing in the festival, and does not consider Autism to be a obstacle, in fact, it is an opportunity.

The winners of the R-Squared Film Festival will receive hundreds of dollars in gift cards, trophies, plaques, an Apple iMac Desktop Computer for their school, and their films will debut on KARD FOX 14.

For more information on the festival, other entrants, or R-Squared Productions, contact Christina M. Porter, R-Squared Productions Associate Producer at 318-323-6900 or www.r2films.net

Filming Louisiana Sent out to Production Companies and hits SXSW.

2011-03-09T20:11:00.000-08:00

Filming Louisiana Magazine and database has been printed and has been shipped out to production companies throughout the United States. In addition Filming Louisiana will be hitting SXSW this year again and will be distributed in Austin at the Film, Interactive and Music conference and festival. This year SXSW will be the biggest conference and will encompass over 9 days of fun.

This magazine issue will catch you up on Millennium Studios build in Shreveport and their soon to open studios plans for the future.

Sid Yost of Amazing Animals will teach you how to handle wolves and other animals with his 30 years of training film animals for commercials, TV, and film productions.

Wayne Douglas Morgan shows us how to keep on top in Louisiana film and what keep him going in the industry as a mover and shaker.

We also catch up with the newly open Blade Studios which was on the cover of the last issue as well as an interview with Darryl Jones of the Rolling Stones while he is laying down his tracks for his first solo album at the new studio.

Filming Louisiana has over 3500 contacts of Louisiana film Crew, Services, talent and Locations in our great state. Please remember that if you plan on a production in Louisiana, check out our wonderful Louisiana talent that we have to offer in our great state instead of bringing in crew. Also if you hire local you can get an additional 5% back in tax incentives so, HIRE LOCAL.

Check out the new magazine as well as get ready for our summer issue coming out soon.
Our website which is also searchable for crew is www.filminglouisiana.com

Louisiana won 'Battle: Los Angeles,' thanks to tax credits

2011-03-09T20:07:00.000-08:00

By RICHARD VERRIER
Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES - In the upcoming movie "Battle: Los Angeles," L.A. represents the last stand for humankind in a fight against invading aliens.

The action-packed film, however, was mostly shot in the other LA: Louisiana.

Having Baton Rouge and Shreveport stand in for Santa Monica, Calif., and L.A. might seem as preposterous as aliens attacking the city.

But several factors drew filmmakers to the Bayou State, chief among them a generous film tax credit.

"Obviously, the tax incentives were huge," said Jonathan Liebesman, who directed the $75-million film from Columbia Pictures, which shot 13 weeks in Louisiana in late 2009 and received a tax credit of nearly $15 million. The movie, which stars Aaron Eckhart and Michelle Rodriguez, premieres Friday.

Louisiana offers a film tax credit of up to 35 percent of production costs, whereas California's program provides a maximum credit of 25 percent and excludes movies with budgets above $75 million. Louisiana officials also offered something L.A. officials couldn't: shutting down a freeway overpass for 30 days to stage a massive explosion and gun battles.

"The kind of movie we were making, we really needed to be able to shoot in locations that would have been impossible to shoot in L.A.," producer Neal Moritz said. "I could never have shut down the 405 or the 10 for weeks like we did in Louisiana."

"Battle: Los Angeles" is the latest and perhaps the most embarrassing example of how L.A. has been losing feature production to more than 40 states that offer more attractive film tax credits and rebates. While on-location filming activity in L.A. County climbed 8 percent last year, it was down 62 percent from its peak in 1996, according to FilmL.A. Inc.

Louisiana was one of the first to adopt generous film tax credits in 2002 and remains the busiest hub for production outside L.A. and New York. Last year, $674 million was spent in the state to make about 100 commercials, TV shows and movies, including the Peter Berg-directed film "Battleship" and "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn." That was up from 70 projects and spending of $361 million in 2009. Beyond attracting films, the state has also built up its own industry, with 15 soundstages and enough workers for 10 film crews at once.

"We're in a fortunate situation because we're one of the oldest and most stable tax credit programs in the nation, and we have a really diverse landscape," said Christopher Stelly, who heads the state film office.

"Battle: Los Angeles" was among the largest features to be shot in the state. With a crew of about 200 people and 3,000 extras, the film contributed about $46.5 million in spending to the state, Stelly said.

Except for the movie's opening sequences at Camp Pendleton and the alien beach attack in Santa Monica, 90 percent of the film was shot in Louisiana's capital, Baton Rouge, and Shreveport in the northwest part of the state. Several large sets, including a replica of a Santa Monica apartment complex, were built in Baton Rouge. The state Capitol filled in for City Hall in downtown L.A., and the historic neighborhood known as Spanish Town doubled for Santa Monica and Venice.

Using green-screen technology and computer-generated effects, scenes filmed in Louisiana were combined with digital aerial photos of the Southland to create the illusion that all of the action was taking place in L.A. The crew also placed palm trees where needed to look more like Southern California.

"We felt we could conceal a lot of locations and get away with it," Liebesman said.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/08/2103533/louisiana-won-battle-los-angeles.html#ixzz1GANc7eeQ

Ready, set, go

2011-02-20T22:40:00.001-08:00

http://225batonrouge.com/news/2011/feb/01/ready-emsetem-go/

Ready, set, go
By Jeff Roedel |
Tuesday, February 1, 2011

There was a time when the Hollywood trades did not bother printing the name “Baton Rouge.” If an in-state film was not shot in New Orleans, then according to Variety or The Hollywood Reporter, it was simply made somewhere else “in Louisiana.” Change has come, though, and it is due in large part to the relentless efforts of the Baton Rouge Film Commission.

After Katrina temporarily shut down the New Orleans film industry in 2005, eyes turned swiftly toward Shreveport and Baton Rouge as new Hollywood hubs for using the lucrative tax incentives for film production that Louisiana had enacted just three years prior. That fall, Mayor Holden’s trip to Los Angeles to tell studio executives that Baton Rouge was A) dry, and B) open for business did more than just help reel in new prospects. Just a year later it attracted the city’s best prospect, someone to not only manage but leverage the attention the city was beginning to get.

A former veteran of Oscar-factory Miramax Pictures, Amy Mitchell Smith took office as director of the Baton Rouge Film Commission in January 2007. According to some of the group’s founding members, the commission had a reserve of enthusiasm but lacked direction. “As a commission, we were floundering somewhat,” says Stacy Simon, director of projects at Baton Rouge Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. “We needed someone like Amy.”

When Smith arrived, she inherited one Word .doc.

“It was kind of a makeshift local crew list, and that was the extent of it,” Smith says. “That and a cubicle right next to the receptionist at CVB.”

Still effectively connected with the CVB, but now joined by Katie Harvey—another New York transplant and a former post-production supervisor—the commission is a full-time staff of two tasked with selling the city as a filmable and hospitable location, then uncoiling the logistical challenges presented by the productions that say yes.

It’s a job that doesn’t watch the clock. Inside her office or out of it, Smith has to be always on, always available and always ready to meet needs, whether it is finding the perfect room or exterior location for a scene or presenting local traffic engineers with the production details they need to see before they can initiate a road closure.

Smith’s favorite films of 2010
...
Lovers of Hate

I saw the premiere of this IFC release at South by Southwest last March. It was made for less than no budget by up-and-coming director Bryan Poyser. This is one of the most inventive and hysterically awkward stories of a love triangle I’ve ever seen.
“The $600,000 productions get just as much attention as the $100 million production,” Smith says. “There’s goodwill to that, but the bottom line is the indie filmmaker of today could be your mega-blockbuster filmmaker of tomorrow. So when they have a really good experience in a market, they can end up being loyal to that market and laying permanent roots here, and we end up with our ‘Soderbergh’ back in Baton Rouge or growing our own ‘Robert Rodriguez.’”

Melinda Walsh is an actress and marketing specialist who has been on the Baton Rouge Film Commission Advisory Board since Mayor Holden founded it in 2006. She now chairs the group that advises Smith’s commission. Walsh has seen the monumental cultural change Smith’s work has helped trigger locally.

“There’s definitely been a shift,” Walsh says. “Baton Rougeans are more film-friendly now because they see the positive economic impact of having movies made here. And they are more understanding when they hear, ‘You’re going to hear gunfire in your neighborhood today, but don’t worry; it’s not aimed at you, and it’s not even real.’”

Part of that economic impact can be felt in the hospitality sector. According to Simon, who coordinates lodging for film productions and helps the commission scout locations with CVB colleague Kristen Maurel, the film industry was responsible for the city-parish booking an additional 22,000 hotel room nights in 2009.

Since last fall, Celtic has added 83,000 square feet of stage space on three new soundstages and another 25,000 square feet of production office space on its 23-acre lot.

Smith’s goals for 2011 are to formalize and streamline the city’s permit process for film production and to land a TV series for Baton Rouge.

Five years after New Orleans suffered a setback with Katrina, the city is back on its feet and home to one of the most talked-about series on television, HBO’s Treme. Film Commission member Mari Kornhauser is now a staff writer on the show, and Smith knows that dramatic television is more than just home to some of the best creative writing today. It is also a fast track to longevity for a market like Baton Rouge.

“Production work can be transient work,” Smith says. “But if we’re able to bring a television series here to Baton Rouge, and that pilot gets picked up by a network that commits to stay in this market, that’s a huge goal for this office, especially now that we’ve laid a strong foundation and proven ourselves.” filmbatonrouge.com

Help Keep Louisiana Filming.

2011-02-20T22:38:00.000-08:00

Louisiana Entertainment "Has your business picked up because of the local entertainment industry? From hardware stores to laundry services to restaurants - We want to hear your stories!!!"

SOURCE: http://www.facebook.com/louisianaentertainment

I also say we need to do same thing share and prove ourselves in dollars and cents: What has the movie industry done for us as individuals, allies, and businesses in dollars? in order to prove that the movie industry has massive long lasting ripple effects and that it is good for our state. The Legislators, The Budget/Administration, and Governor need to know this, and we need to do this in order to prepare us to contact our State Representatives and Governor with a personal note with your own testimony from we their Constituents.

Therefore I am setting our May (or Extra Special meeting if have to depending on Session) meeting within two months which will be a Night of Testimonies "What Has the Movie Industry Done for You in Dollars and Cents?", which I like to do in form of a Show, Talk Show, and/or a Townhall style. I invite anyone and everyone with a camera to come and film and take notes.

I target the what it is done for you indivdiually and your family and to get your friends and businesses to do the same, then eventually get the Parishes and Communities to do same. Individual Testimony.

I will invite the Leaders, Organizers, Press and Players by to collect, render and view our/their Testimonies. This goes for Producers, Crew, Actors, Standin, Extras, Music, and Allies: Locations Property and Real Estate, Cleaners, Stores, Party Stores, Grocery Stores, Hotels, Beds & Breakfasts, Houses, Offices, Governments, Boat Companies, Restaurants, Chambers, Magazines, Advertisers, Automobile Dealers, Warehouses, Schools, Community College, Acting Coaches, Classes, Beauty Parlors and Barbers, Vintage Stores, Associations, unions, Clubs, etc. I ask you and to ask all those you know to in any business or individuals involved in movies to come and share your testimony.

We also need to prepare a Thesis like document to feed and invite people to also video/film their testimonies to upload to site or link on YouTube, etc. and render such in form a show along with. In order to prepare-just in case we have to-BE PREPARED to go to Baton Rouge, I plan to deliver in May/June and eventually may have to present to the Constituents, Lobbyists, Legislators, and Governor.

We need to centralize all Replies and Testimonies in one place, so I ask everyone to either post their testimonies here on our Message Board and/or on the new Facebook Site we created, and to do video's and post on YouTube, etc. and apply and share hotlink to such.

http://www.facebook.com/louisianaentertainment#!/LaFilmIndustry

I also suggest to students as a good topic for a doctoral dissertation or masters thesis in finance, budget, government, political science, and history.

We also need to inventory any and all schools that offer classes regarding film industry in front and behind the camera, such as NIMS, BPCC, the community colleges, privates, proprieties, etc. as we need to collect and share their testimony so we can stand and support them and thus expand our careers and industry.

Questions, please reply here, on the site, or contact me at lasunshinebr@yahoo.com or 225-235-7879 .

Susie

New Orleans Actors have it going on

2011-02-03T10:30:00.000-08:00

Shanda Quintal NOARC

"According to the state’s Office of Entertainment Industry Development, more than 100 productions in the state wrapped in 2010 (click to see list) with more than 50 percent of all productions made by companies based in Louisiana. Based on applications filed with the state, the combined total budgets of all the Louisiana projects exceeded $1.4 billion, the statement said.

I'm blown away, I'm in awe, and I'm proud to be here at this time.

When I moved back in 2007, there were more than 40 projects shot here in Louisiana. The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons had just wrapped that spring and I was duly impressed with my home state. I had been gone 10 years and I couldn't believe that a film of that size and caliber had been shot here.

And now that's a regular thing, here. Which means that opportunities for actors are here, too. And the types of roles are also opening up for actors. Two to three years ago, around 90% of the roles were 1-4 line day players. Now supporting and lead roles are also being cast in Louisiana. A high-profile MOW (movie of the week) project that is in pre-production now is looking for leads here in Louisiana.

We're doing it, guys. We have really and truly earned the moniker, HOLLYWOOD SOUTH. And it's a amazing time to be here.

THE EXPO

The Expo was incredible. I had a good time and I hope you had a good time, too. You can see pix on the New Orleans Resource Center's Facebook page.

CASTING DIRECTOR WORKSHOPS

Lori Wyman - Lori is the Casting Director for both "Burn Notice" and "The Glades" and she brings in actors from all over the Southeast region. Her ONE DAY SEMINAR/WORKSHOP on AUDITIONING FOR FILM AND TELEVISION takes place THIS SATURDAY, January 29. Check out her YouTube auditioning for film and television videos. Call the office to register 305 354-3901.

Ryan Glorioso - Louisiana Casting Director for "The Expendables," "Vampires Suck," "Butter," "So Undercover." The class will cover improv work, on-camera scene work/auditioning techniques, and video audition dos and don’ts. Actors attending will be sent a scene to prepare for the workshop on February 13th. Ryan's workshop is currently full, but if you'd like to get on the waiting list, please click here.

ACTING COACHES AND UPCOMING CLASSES (my, my the list has grown...)

Casey Groves - 917-969-8698, caseydgroves@gmail.com - Casey just started his Auditioning for Film classes at del Corral this week and it's possible to still join. Monday or Wednesday evenings.

Daniel Dupont - 504-722-2229, daniel@danieldupontacting.com - Offers on going weekly classes. Two classes in New Orleans (Saturday and Tuesday) and Baton Rouge (Sundays).

Douglas Griffin - act@douglasmgriffin.com - Check to see when his next week program begins.

Dean West - mtbactor@gmail.com - Offers a Basic Technique Class. Will also be holding an on-camera auditioning technique and scene breakdown workshop at the end of March.

Garrett Prejean - 504-218-0055, info@ElmTheatre.org - Offers Beginner, Acting 1 and Acting 2 classes and workshops. Website lists class schedule.

Jaqueline Fleming - 504-849-9020, jaqsactingstudio@yahoo.com - Ongoing scene study for kids and adults. Also offers auditioning technique, improv and on-camera workshops.

Jennifer Schemke - 310-467-0996, jenniferschemke@gmail.com - Adult Beginning Improv, Teen Improv, and a Scene Study Basics and Beyond class. All three beginning in early February.

Jerry Katz - 225-614-6601, please use contact form on his website to email - Ongoing scene study. Classes in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Jackson, MS.

Lance E. Nichols - lnichol619@earthlink.net - 4 weekend "Acting for the Camera" workshop beginning April 3rd at The People Program in New Orleans. Detailed information will be released in February.

Veleka Gray - actorsalliance@earthlink.net - Offers classes in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Covington. Classes include showcase with agents and casting directors.

Break a leg, folks."

http://neworleansactors.org/

Baton Rouge Film Commission Receives Economic Impact Report $196M Spent in Baton Rouge

2011-02-03T10:28:00.000-08:00

Motion picture productions filming in the Baton Rouge area spent an estimated $196 million here in 2010 and accounted for 33,500 hotel and motel room nights, according to an economic impact report released to the Baton Rouge Film Commission Tuesday.

In all, 26 films and television projects were made in Baton Rouge last year, resulting in an estimated Louisiana payroll of $116 million.

"Our Baton Rouge Film Commission has done a tremendous job selling our city as a great place for production," said Mayor-President Melvin "Kip" Holden, "and they have set even higher goals for the future."

Holden said Baton Rouge Film Commission Executive Director Amy Mitchell-Smith works closely with his office to aggressively pursue projects and overcome any obstacles which could send film productions to another city.

"With our success, Baton Rouge is building an experienced workforce that makes filming here even more attractive to the television and movie industry," Holden said. "Although the state tax credits help, we still have to be creative enough to show that Baton Rouge can provide diverse locations, top notch infrastructure, and the ability to manage the logistical challenges that arise with projects of all budgetary ranges. This year, Third Street was transformed into a street in Hong Kong and the city-parish provided a location appropriate for a NASA laboratory, which showcases our wide range of capabilities; but we still compete every day to be successful with this industry."

Nearly two-thirds of the local spend for 2010 came from two blockbuster projects – the vampire-themed fantasy romance, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn,” and “Battleship,” a science-fiction thriller based on the popular Milton Bradley board game.

According to the state Office of Entertainment Industry Development records, “Battleship” spent an estimated $67.6 million in Baton Rouge in 2010, and had a Louisiana payroll of $37.7 million.

The state records show that Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn had an estimated local spend of $65.5 million in the Baton Rouge area in 2010, and is estimated to spend another $32.7 million in 2011 as it continues filming here.

"What sets Baton Rouge apart is our continued passion and commitment to the motion picture industry," said Mitchell-Smith. "As a result our film commission office is extremely responsive in catering to the vast needs specific to each and every production."

Filming Louisiana production info for January 2011

2011-01-24T14:18:00.000-08:00

These are the films that in pre-production in the State of Louisiana.

Ghostbreakers, Shreveport, New Orleans, production@slowchildrenonline.net
So Undercover, New Orleans
The Fishies, New Orleans
Treme, NewOrleans, blowndeadlineprod@gmail.com
Mean Cusine, Shreveport
Medallin, New Orleans, medallionresumes@gmail.com
21 Jump Street, New Orleans
Memphis Beat, New Orleans,
Bad Girls Club Season 7, New Orleans
Cogan's Trade, New Orleans, coganstrade@gmail.com
Looper, New Orleans, looperllc@gmail.com
Contraband, New Orleans, contrabandresumes@gmail.com
Hound Dogs, New Orleans
7 Below Zero, New Orleans, sevenbelowzero@gmail.com
D&D 3, Baton Rouge, dnd3movie@gmail.com
Piranha 2, New Orleans
So Undercover, New Orleans, soundercovermovie@gmail.com
The Haunting in Georgia, Baton Rouge higproductions@yahoo.com
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, New Orleans, alvh2011@gmail.com
Kane and Lynch, Aka Playing the Field, Shreveport, ecallais@millenniumstudios.net
The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, New Orleans
Downers Grave, Louisiana
Thicker, Louisiana
Tarantula, New Orleans
72 Hours, New Orleans
Meeting Evil, New Orleans
Silver Cord, New Orleans
Rook, Shreveport
Asleep at the Wheel, New Orleans
Room and Board, New Orleans
The Summoning, Baton Rouge
The Town that Dreaded Sundown 3D, Baton Rouge
Unraveled, Baton Rouge
Office Paranormal, Louisiana
Playing with the Enemy, Shreveport
The Boys Club, Folsom
Substance, New Orleans
Verdigris, New Orleans
Six Little Indians, Baton Rouge
Carmilla: The Homecoming, Baton Rouge
Moments of Life, New Orleans
The Body Escort, Louisiana

Local film crews look forward to busy year in growing industry

2011-01-24T14:17:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-16T20:54:00.000-08:00

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"

2010-12-23T10:18:00.000-08:00

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

2010-12-22T10:21:00.001-08:00

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

Yet another great Louisiana film "All American Orgy"

2010-11-22T21:42:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-22T21:33:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-03T09:38:00.000-07:00

'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

Read more: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118026268.html?categoryid=13&cs=1#ixzz14EphS7A1

Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman, Stars talk about new film, and Shreveport.

2010-10-24T19:24:00.000-07:00

By Donecia Pea • doneciapea@gannett.com • October 24, 2010
Ben Mendelsohn (L), Nicole Kidman (Ctr), and Nicolas Cage (R) in a scene from Joel Schumacher's TRESPASS. (Alan Markfield/Nu Image Inc./Millennium Films)

Scenes of a brutal home invasion and violent hostage situation contrast sharply against the quiet, relaxed pace of the Shreveport-Bossier City area.
However, Hollywood heavyweights Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman, along with the rest of the cast and crew, have danced between those worlds for more than nine weeks while filming the new thriller "Trespass."
The Nu Image Inc./Millennium Films production, directed by the legendary Joel Schumacher, has been filming in Shreveport since late August and wraps up this weekend.
Much of the film was shot on a set inside the Shreveport Convention Center and in the Cross Lake area.
The film is produced by Oscar winner Irwin Winkler and David Winkler, of Winkler Films, along with Ron Besson, with Avi Lerner as executive producer.
"Trespass" is the harrowing story of a wealthy husband and wife, portrayed by Cage and Kidman, who are suddenly taken hostage by four brutal perpetrators. However, complications arise and unravel a story of betrayal and deception.
"I think that's probably most of our fears. That, in the middle of the night, you're going to wake up and there's somebody in your house or apartment. And we've seen it in all the news stories," Schumacher said. "And it's a question of why are these people breaking in on this night and how did they know to do this at this time. Then, there are secrets that lie in Nic and Nicole's marriage and the daughter has a secret life as well. And there are many secret lives among the criminal family, plus there are cross connections between both families. So it becomes a psychological thriller."
The whole story takes place over the course of a day, but the subject matter is so heavy at times that even an Oscar-winning actress like Kidman can have a hard time turning it off.
"I came downstairs the other night, and I was crying, and my husband was like 'Why are you crying?' and I realized it's getting to me. The violence and abuse that I'm shooting on camera must have somehow permeated into my mind off the set," Kidman said. "And he just held me, which was really sweet. I thought I had it delineated, like that's my work and this is my home life, but I guess it kind of got to me."
Fortunately for both Kidman and Cage, real life hasn't been nearly as scary, just maybe a little hot.
"It's very hot here in the summer, though," Kidman said. "I live in Nashville and it's pretty hot in Nashville, but not as hot as it is here. However, right now, it's beautiful."
The "Moulin Rouge" star has been living here off and on with her family, which includes her country music star hubby Keith Urban, and their baby daughter, as well as two children from her previous marriage to actor Tom Cruise. "Trespass" marks the second film in Shreveport for Cage who filmed "Drive Angry" earlier this year.
Stars collide
"Trespass" pairs Kidman and Cage together for the first time, an experience they've both enjoyed.
"Nicole is someone I've admired. I think she's a very mysterious and memorable actor and I wanted to work with her," Cage said. "The chemistry has been great."
Kidman is equally as fond of Cage. "He's just been a delight. He's very charming and I find him lovely to be around and I really think I've bonded with him. I really like him and I'd like to do something else with him," she said.
Besides the two Oscar-winning actors, the film also showcases a cast of fresh talent, including 15-year-old Liana Liberato, who stars in "Trust," which is the second film by "Friends" actor-turned-director David Schwimmer and recently received a lot of buzz at the Toronto Film Festival. In "Trespass" Liberato plays the role of Kidman and Cage's daughter.
"I've worked with some pretty big actors, but they've been in a lot of films that I haven't been able to watch because I'm so young. So, they're like normal people to me and since I've know them for so long, they're like my family," Liberato said.
The cast is rounded out by "My Boys" actress Jordana Spiro, "Twilight" and "Burlesque" star Cam Gigandet, and veteran Aussie star of "Animal Kingdom" Ben Mendelsohn.
"We have some supporting characters in the movie that are new and the bar was set very high with Nicole and Nic there, but our cast stepped up to it," Schumacher said.
Both Cage and Kidman said the chance to work with Schumacher is what brought them on board. They each share friendships with him that span more than a decade.
"I wanted to work with (Schumacher) and I just thought ('Trespass') was almost operatic in its style. It's a home invasion movie, but it takes a lot of twists and turns," said Kidman, who worked with Schumacher on the popular "Batman Forever" film in 1995.
Cage last worked with Schumacher in the 1999 film "8mm."
"I was very happy with what we achieved in that film and the results of that movie became something of an international cult film, which appeals to my taste," he said.
For Schumacher, it was a chance to work with friends again.
"They're both extraordinary professionals. They're never late, totally prepared and they never flub a line "» Nic is a consummate gentlemen and he doesn't gossip and Nicole and I have been friends a long time and know about each other personally as well," said. "So I was working with friends, which was wonderful and then they're very talented."
Home away from home
Kidman said she's enjoyed making Shreveport home during her time here.
"I've been to see the movies a lot at the (Louisiana Boardwalk) because I love to see movies. And I've being staying at (Cross Lake) and it's so pretty out here," she said.
Cage has gotten comfortable as well.
"It's a nice place to make a movie, especially if you have family. It seems to be very kid-friendly. Good schools and nice parks and places to go," Cage said. "The science museum is wonderful. So we've had two very good experiences here, my family and I."
Schumacher, who filmed both "The Client" and "A Time to Kill" in the South, said he always has a good time in the South and Shreveport was no different.
"I love the manners. My friends call and say 'How is it down there?' and I tell them, they have the most beautiful manners in the world. You hold the door open and they say 'Thank you.' People tell you to 'Have a nice day' and they mean it!"
Both Schumacher and Cage especially have enjoyed the food. Cage named the local restaurants among some of his favorite spots in town. "I've really enjoyed Ernest's and I've enjoyed Bella Fresca and Chianti and Wine Bistro. And Athena is nice. There's a Japanese restaurant here that we go to very often, also," Cage said.
Schumacher named Ristorante Giuseppe, Chianti, Superior Steakhouse and a few other places among his favorites. "(The Village Grille) wow, it's quite an elegant place, which is not my style usually, but they sure put on a good meal and it's a beautiful place. And Imperial Cathay, now that's really good Chinese food. It doesn't feel like it's been sitting in a pot for a week. When I work in the South, I try not to gain 15 pounds because everything is so tempting," Schumacher said with a laugh.
Kidman said she's especially impressed with the burgeoning film industry.
"I've been in New Orleans, but I hadn't been here. "» Yeah, I'd like to do another film here. I had no idea so many films were made in Shreveport. I'm just shocked. There's a coffee shop at the Hilton that I always go to and on the wall there are all of these photos of so many actors who have been here. I saw Hugh Jackman's picture on the wall and I called him the other night and was like "I didn't know you'd been here!'" Kidman left the coffee shop with a parting gift. "I gave them a photo so now I'm on the wall too."
"We've had a good time and I just want to say thank you to the people of Shreveport for being so welcoming," she said.

Filming Louisiana for October 18,2010

2010-10-17T18:41:00.000-07:00

>From the Rough, New Orleans, fromtheroughproductions@gmail.com
The Lucky One, New Orleans, theluckyoneresumes@gmail.com
Thicker, Louisiana
From the Rough, New Orleans
Carjacked, Baton Rouge
The Summoning, Baton Rouge
Dragon Eyes, Baton Rouge
Carmilla, The Home Coming
The Boys Club
Unraveled, Baton Rouge,
Dead Serious, New Orleans
Six Little Indians, Baton Rouge
Moments of Life, New Orleans
Killer Joe, New Orleans, killerjoeresumes@gmail.com
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1, Baton Rouge
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2, Baton Rouge
Power of Few, New Orleans, prod@steelyardpictures.com
Battleship, Baton Rouge, hopperBR@gmail.com
Shark Night, Shreveport, chumproductionsllc@gmail.com
Columbiana New Orleans, colombianaus@gmail.com
Tresspass Shreveport, tpproductionsllc@gmail.com
Cold to the Touch, more soon
Looper, new orleans
Office Parinormal, Louisiana
Book of Life, New Orleans
Dead Serious, New Orleans
The Town that Dreaded Sundown, Baton Rouge
The Blind Bastard Club, New Orleans
The Body Escort, Louisiana
Storm Bringer, Lafayette, 337.706.8971
The Grief Tourist, New Orleans, tgt.productions@gmail.com
Chasing the Hawk New Orleans wwenolallc@gmail.com
Selma, New Orleans selmafilms1965@gmail.com
Imagination Movers Season 3, New Orleans, imaginationmovers1@earthlink.net
The Chaperone, New Orleans, wwenolallc@gmail.com
Billy the Exterminator, Season 3, Shreveport, bpecasting@gmail.com
The Black Ghost, New Orleans thefirsthurd@yahoo.com
Ghostbreakers Tv Shreveport, Baton Rouge, New Orleans production@slowchildrenonline.net
Fury, Baton Rouge furyresume@gmail.com fax 225-906-0466
The Fields New Orleans, gideonproductions2010@gmail.com
Brawler New Orleans, office@brawlerthemovie.com
The Big Valley, Baton Rouge, sanford2hampton@aol.com
Shark Night 3D, Shreveport, info@afterdarkfilms.com
Dead Mans Gold, Louisiana
The Boys Club, Folsum Louisiana info@gravityfilms.com
The Courier, Baton Rouge info@filmsinmotion.com
The Leaving, New Orleans
The Americans, Shreveport, Attention James Gerrick cygnetfilm@yahoo.com
Frightland, Baton Rouge brandon@saintsinnerent.com
Pray for Light, info@firesatmidnightfilms.com
Living with Leroy TV Baton Rouge Sound only k2.miket@gmail.com
Court 13, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Houma LA Murder through the eyes of a child, New Orleanscresent.city.film@gmail.com
The Coffin, info@glassasylumprods.com
Scratching the Surface, New Orleans sts.nola.crew@gmail.com
Unraveled, Baton Rouge
Mysterious Island, Baton Rouge
Transit, Baton Rouge
Silver Cord, Baton Rouge and New Orleans, silvercordcv@aol.com
Seconds Apart, Hammond
Moma's Little Baby, Louisiana
Swamp Shark, Lafayette, jobs.bulletfilms@gmail.com
The 13th Gate, Louisiana
Change of Heart, Shreveport more to come
Victim 34, Baton Rouge
Verdigris, New Orleans
The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, New Orleans
I wanna dance, New Orleans floyd@imi-world.com
Two Wolves, Baton Rouge info@rememberdreaming.com
The Gatekeeper, New Orleans, info@lightwaveent.com
Kane and Lynch, Louisiana
The Night Can be Measured
Remnants New Orleans
10,000 doors, October in New Orleans
Troll, Baton Rouge
A War Within
Hallow Point, Baton Rouge
Playing with the Enemy, Shreveport
The Work, in Meterie
Without Fear, New Orleans
Difficult Death, New Orleans
The Ledge, Baton Rouge

FilmingLouisiana Magazine and Phoenix Underground Host Film Mixer.

2010-10-05T16:28:00.000-07:00

Friday October 8th, join Filming Louisiana Magazine for a night of Networking and fun presented by the Phoenix Underground. The Party starts at 9:00PM with an open bar till 10PM complimentary h'orderves and a tasting provided by Chambord Flavored Vodka and Gentelmen Jack Tennessee Whiskey. This is a great chance to mingle with other film professionals. Don't forget your business cards either. We also will be giving away a full page ad in the Upcoming Filming Louisiana Magazine 2011 winter issue which is a $1500.00 value.

Christopher Moore
FilmingLouisiana Magazine
Phoenix Underground

All you will need to do is show up at 9pm and we promise a good time. Meet your local friends who work in the Louisiana Film Industry and network with people you may not know. There will be food, drinks and prizes to win so have fun and we hope to see you there.

FilmingLouisiana Magazine

www.filminglouisiana.com

The Phoenix Underground
www.thephoenixunderground.com

Movies Filming Louisiana for September 15, 2010

2010-09-15T13:47:00.000-07:00

Filming Louisiana style: Movies keep rolling into the South and there is no end in sight. Keep up the good work Louisiana crews!

From the Rough, New Orleans, fromtheroughproductions@gmail.com

The Lucky One, New Orleans, theluckyoneresumes@gmail.com

Killer Joe, New Orleans, killerjoeresumes@gmail.com

The Power of Few, New Orleans, prod@steelyardpictures.com
Battleship, Baton Rouge, hopperBR@gmail.com
Shark Night, Shreveport, chumproductionsllc@gmail.com
Columbiana New Orleans, colombianaus@gmail.com
Tresspass Shreveport, tpproductionsllc@gmail.com
Cold to the Touch, more soon
Twilight, Baton Rouge
Office Parinormal, Louisiana
Thicker, Louisiana
Book of Life, New Orleans
Dead Serious, New Orleans
The Town that Dreaded Sundown, Baton Rouge
The Blind Bastard Club, New Orleans
The Body Escort, Louisiana
Moments of Life, New Orleans
Storm Bringer, Lafayette, 337.706.8971
The Grief Tourist, New Orleans, tgt.productions@gmail.com
Chasing the Hawk New Orleans wwenolallc@gmail.com
Selma, New Orleans selmafilms1965@gmail.com
Imagination Movers Season 3, New Orleans, imaginationmovers1@earthlink.net
The Chaperone, New Orleans, wwenolallc@gmail.com
Billy the Exterminator, Season 3, Shreveport, bpecasting@gmail.com
The Black Ghost, New Orleans thefirsthurd@yahoo.com
Ghostbreakers Tv Shreveport, Baton Rouge, New Orleans production@slowchildrenonline.net
Fury, Baton Rouge furyresume@gmail.com fax 225-906-0466
The Fields New Orleans, gideonproductions2010@gmail.com
Brawler New Orleans, office@brawlerthemovie.com
The Big Valley, Baton Rouge, sanford2hampton@aol.com
Shark Night 3D, Shreveport, info@afterdarkfilms.com
Dead Mans Gold, Louisiana
The Boys Club, Folsum Louisiana info@gravityfilms.com
The Courier, Baton Rouge info@filmsinmotion.com
The Leaving, New Orleans
The Americans, Shreveport, Attention James Gerrick cygnetfilm@yahoo.com
Frightland, Baton Rouge brandon@saintsinnerent.com
Pray for Light, info@firesatmidnightfilms.com
Living with Leroy TV Baton Rouge Sound only k2.miket@gmail.com
Big Red, New Orleans wwenolallc@gmail.com
Court 13, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Houma LA Murder through the eyes of a child, New Orleanscresent.city.film@gmail.com
The Coffin, info@glassasylumprods.com
Scratching the Surface, New Orleans sts.nola.crew@gmail.com
Unraveled, Baton Rouge

Mysterious Island, Baton Rouge

Transit, Baton Rouge
Silver Cord, Baton Rouge and New Orleans, silvercordcv@aol.com
Seconds Apart, Hammond
Moma's Little Baby, Louisiana
Swamp Shark, Lafayette, jobs.bulletfilms@gmail.com
The 13th Gate, Louisiana
Change of Heart, Shreveport more to come
Victim 34, Baton Rouge
Verdigris, New Orleans
The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, New Orleans
I wanna dance, New Orleans floyd@imi-world.com
Two Wolves, Baton Rouge info@rememberdreaming.com
The Gatekeeper, New Orleans, info@lightwaveent.com
Kane and Lynch, Louisiana
The Night Can be Measured
Remnants New Orleans
10,000 doors, October in New Orleans
Troll, Baton Rouge
A War Within
Hallow Point, Baton Rouge
Playing with the Enemy, Shreveport
The Work, in Meterie
Without Fear, New Orleans
Difficult Death, New Orleans
The Ledge, Baton Rouge

Educational partners, film industry pros to offer job training workshops

2010-09-15T13:35:00.000-07:00

***MEDIA ADVISORY***
Educational partners, film industry pros to offer job training workshops

SHREVEPORT, LA – A two-part workshop focused on film industry training will begin July 31 at the Robinson Film Center. The first session, called “Introduction to Film Production,” will be taught by movie producer Michael Flannigan and held at the film center. The second session, beginning September 11, is called “Getting Your First Job in the Film Industry.” It will be led by leaders in the Shreveport-Bossier film industry, including Lampton Enochs (producer/unit production manager), Cyndi Brenner (unit production manager) and Seth Hansen (assistant director). This session will be held at Southern University at Shreveport Metro Center.
The workshops are funded by the City of Shreveport and the United Way of Northwest Louisiana in partnership with the film center; the Consortium for Education, Research and Technology of North Louisiana (CERT); Southern University at Shreveport; Louisiana Production Consultants; Millennium Films’ Studio Operations; and CoHabitat Shreveport.

At a press conference at 1:30 p.m. July 9 at the Robinson Film Center, the film industry leaders were joined by Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover to discuss these new training opportunities.
The workshops are designed for people seeking jobs in the movie and TV industry or for those contemplating a transition to film work from their current trade.

“It is with great pride that we can say today that our local and area film production has increased tremendously this year,” Mayor Glover said. “With our new film workshops, there is no question that we will grow even more and with classes taught by renowned local film professionals such as Mick Flannigan, will only boost us up to another level."

“Breaking into the industry is competitive, and it’s important for job-seekers to know how to present themselves to potential employers,” Flannigan said. “In these workshops, we will offer them a detailed overview of what kinds of jobs are available. We will explain how a movie production really works day in and day out. And we will offer insights into what they need to know to be successful.”

About Michael Flannigan
While heading up Nu Image/Millennium Films’ operations in Shreveport, Flannigan produced or executive produced seven movies in the area. Projects included “Cleaner” (2007) starring Samuel L. Jackson, “Mad Money” (2008) starring Katie Holmes, and “Beyond a Reasonable Doubt” (2009) starring Michael Douglas. Flannigan was central to developing plans for the Millennium Ledbetter Heights Film Studio, which is currently under construction in Shreveport. Flannigan left Millennium Films in 2008. He currently lives in Shreveport and is leading a film investment fund.

Course offerings
Sessions will take place between 9 a.m. and noon Saturdays. Each multi-week session is open to 40 students. The first session, “Introduction to Film Production,” will take place July 31, August 7, August 14 and August 21 at the Robinson Film Center (617 Texas St.). It will be led by Flannigan. Students will be required to purchase the textbook “The Complete Film Production Handbook” (4th ed.) by Eve Light Honthaner. Cost is approximately $40. There are no additional fees for this course.
Students can register for the first session between July 9 and July 27 by calling (318) 737-1145 or emailing course@productiontown.com.

Students can register for the second session between July 8 and September 2 by calling at SUSLA at (318) 670-6696.

The second session, “Getting Your First Job in the Film Industry,” will take place September 11, September 18 and September 25 at the Southern University at Shreveport Metro Center (610 Texas Street). Course instructors are Lampton Enochs (producer/unit production manager), Cyndi Brenner (unit production manager) and Seth Hansen (assistant director), who are industry professionals living and working in the Shreveport-Bossier City area. They will provide an in-depth look at skills needed to land jobs in or as – the production office, accounting, animal trainers, art department, production design, set decoration, props, sound, special effects, camera, casting, catering/craft services, costume, electric, grip, locations, set medic, post-production, hair and makeup, and more.

Applications for both sessions also can be found at the Robinson Film Center (617 Texas St.), its website (www.robinsonfilmcenter.org),http://www.robinsonfilmcenter.org/education/18-education/575-educational-partners-film-industry-pros-to-offer-job-training-workshops

room 104 of Southern University at Shreveport’s Metro Center, and CoHabitat Shreveport (610 Commerce Street).

If you have any questions about the program, please contact Alexandyr Kent, RFC’s Director of Education and Community Outreach, at akent@robinsonfilmcenter.org or (318) 459-4123; or Yolanda Gilyard, director of workforce development at SUSLA, at (318) 670-6673

Filming Louisiana Magazine Summer Issue.

2010-08-29T20:09:00.000-07:00

Filming Louisiana Magazine has gone out to production companies in New York and Los Angeles as well as to Louisiana production offices, film studios, film offices and film Professionals.

Our summer issue cover story is about Blade Studios in Shreveport being constructed for music production and movie post production. The wave studio and R2 productions is also covered in this issue as well as Glorioso Casting.

There are over 3000 contacts in our database for production companies to use for our Louisiana crews and services. Our website also has a search able database at www.filminglouisiana.com and grows daily.

We are now progressively working on our Winter 2011 issue so we are looking for some great articles as well as new advertisers. It is never too early to discuss advertising for 2011.

This year Louisiana again looks like it may break previous records for productions filmed in Louisiana. It has really been a great year for productions and it seems to get better everyday with no signs of slowing in the near future.

We would like to personally thank all of the Louisiana crews, services, talent and locations that have helped mold this state into one of the best places to film in the country. Production numbers have increased and there are some great productions slated to finish out this year.
All crew members should pat themselves on their backs for making all of the Louisiana film industry one of the greatest.

Also, on a side note we should all look at Katrina, which could have wiped out the industry as a whole, changed the south but at the same time spread the industry throughout the State of Louisiana. In a strange twist of fate Katrina gave a new industry to many cities who may have never participated in film production. We would like to say that Katrina did destroy lives, jobs, property and everything else you can imagine but through the ashes of disaster Louisiana does and will continue to prevail. Please think about all those who died in Katrina on this 5 year Anniversary of the greatest natural disaster in the United States!

Christopher Moore

Blade Studios Story for FilmingLouisiana Magazine, Poster Children!

2010-08-17T21:54:00.000-07:00

Poster children,
how incentives brought these guys together.

Written by : D. Wade Shemwell

One summer in the mid 80’s, I was sitting on the floor of my room in my mother’s Broadmoor Shreveport home, my Japanese Strat in my lap, ear to an old vinyl record player, doing my best to get my beginner guitarist fingers to play something close to what Alex Lifeson was doing, when a friend bursts into the room and, talking over Rush’s 2112, starts telling me about a drummer he’d seen several days before. “This guy is incredible. His name is Brady Blade, Jr., and you are definitely going to hear more about him,” he announced, and then proceeded to rifle through my new albums.
Several months later, I finally met Brady through some mutual friends, and after hanging out and talking with him for a while, I thought that he was a personable and sincere guy. He didn’t have the attitude of the drummers I’d known to that point in my life, so how good could this guy really be? Then I heard him play.
While Shreveport has a long and prestigious history of musicians and artists who either: got their start here, resided here, or honed their craft here, Brady Blade Jr. is among those rare artists who have risen to a professional and artistic level equaled by very few in the area. The Blade brothers were already well known to any aspiring musician or music fan who kept abreast of the local eighties music scene, but no one could have predicted that they would rise to such high levels of fame. The older brother, Brady went on to become a platinum producer, Grammy winning performer, and one of the most sought after drummers in the business. He’s spent the last fifteen years playing all over the world with the likes of Emmylou Harris, Jewel, Bob Dylan, The Indigo Girls, Dave Mathews, and many others.
Blade was barely twelve years old when he first started to feel a true passion for music, and he recalls countless hours of watching and learning from the drummers that played for his father’s church, the Mount Zion Baptist Church in Shreveport. He would often sit in with the band on drums between services and remembers it as a time of inspiration and learning. A truly defining moment in his youthful development as a musician occurred a year later when the Reverend Al Green arrived to perform at his father’s television show, The Hallelujah Train without a drummer. The search for a replacement was fruitless, and knowing they couldn’t go on without a drummer, the Pastor Brady Blade Sr. spoke up for his adolescent son Brady. Al Green agreed.
“I got to play on TV with Al Green,” recalls Blade. “He paid me, like 200 bucks, which at that time, was a hell of a lot of money. I was a thirteen year old kid… and I was like, I think I need to go down this path. ”
This inspirational event occurred during a period of time when his younger brother, Brian, was starting to fall in love with Jazz, so Blade was literally surrounded by a variety of musical influences. “Then, of course, my brother, Brian…He started playing drums around the age of 7, but you could tell that even at that age, he had something going on. He would stay camped out in his room listening to John Coltrane and Chic Corea records... but for him to actually grow up and play with Chic Correa…you know man. Cool stuff.” Cool stuff reserved for a select few talented individuals like the Blade brothers. I’m still waiting for a phone call from Rush.
Cut to a few years later, as a student at Shreveport Magnet High School, Blade says he honed his skills in the school’s award-winning jazz band, directed by Dorsey Summerfield Jr. He also played in Summerfield’s professional jazz group, The Polyphonics, which gave him the opportunity to play with some older, more experienced musicians. Blade cites this experience as being one of the most influential and rewarding periods of his developing musical career.
It wasn’t long before Blade got his first big international break: he was recruited by Miki Honneycutt to play drums on a German tour. The teenage musician met a girl while there and opted to stay in Europe for the remainder of the summer after the tour was finished.
“They (the band) weren’t sure if they should leave me alone without supervision, but I said ‘I’ll be fine. Just give me my money and I’ll see you when I get back,’” Blade laughs.
Blade spent the next couple of years at college, a period of time that he describes as “rather mundane.” All this changed when he received a call from the funk/soul/rock band, The Killer Bees. Some older music scene aficionados will remember The Killer Bees, co-founded by Shreveport native Papa Mali, as a regular on the local bar scene.
“I went and auditioned for the band and ended up moving out to Texas,” says Blade. “I started touring a lot with those guys, all over the States.”
After several years on the road, Blade became more involved in the business side of the music industry and was traveling more often as a manager than a performer, when an offer from a top act brought him back to the drums for his first major tour. “I was traveling a lot as a manager, but as a player, I got my first big tour in 1995 with Emmylou Harris, and it just went nuts for the next eight, nine, ten years, with constant touring around the world… numerous times.”
Blade became a permanent member of Harris’ touring band, Spyboy, and still credits his time with the artist as some of the best experiences as a musician. “I would have to say that the person who took the biggest chance on me ever, was Emmylou Harris… she became not only a mentor, but a great friend as well. She’s the sweetest, nicest lady I’ve ever met… She’s so talented and creative. She’s had a series of bands, but we were the most radical band she’s had, a bunch of crazy guys looking like the freakin’ Fat Albert Cosby kids, but I think that’s what made the music work . . . and we were the smallest band -- a three piece band sounding like ten guys or something . . . and it’s safe to say that we never played the same set twice in those nine years.”
In 1998, Blade got a phone call from Jewel’s management, asking him to come out to L.A. for an audition, and after a few months of rehearsal, the band embarked on the “Spirit” tour. Jewel was at the height of her popularity, and the tour was one of the most successful of the year, but the show they played at Woodstock ’99, in front of 250,000 people, was undoubtedly one of the highlights. “That was a hot summer for her, very hot…We flew in (to Woodstock), because we were on tour, and we were back stage hanging with the (Red Hot) Chili Peppers, and that was the first time we got to meet those guys. I mean we’d seen them around L.A., but … And then we had to leave for another show, but after we left, all hell broke loose. I’m kind of glad we had to go to that next show.”(Soon after Blade and the band left, some rowdy concert goers started numerous fires which eventually led to massive destruction of property and large scale looting. The scene became so chaotic and dangerous, that a large force of New York State Troopers, local police, and various other law enforcement agencies were eventually called in to restore order.)
Blade’s next opportunity to collaborate with a major artist occurred while he was playing an outdoor ‘summer series’ show with Emmylou Harris and Spyboy in Seattle. Dave Mathews walked on stage, picked up a guitar, and sat in with Emmylou and the band for a few songs. Backstage after the gig, Mathews approached Blade and told him, “I really like the way you play…We have some plans for you.” Blade remembers thinking to himself, “Oh yeah, you have the best drummer in the world (referring to Carter Beauford of the Dave Mathews Band) and you’re going to call me? Right! ”

Almost two years later, Mathews did call, and a few days later, he and producer Stephen Harris flew Blade out to Seattle to work on some rough sketches of about five or six songs. Bassist Tony Hall was soon added to the mix and the three musicians jammed and collaborated to develop the new material. Blade then had to leave for New Zealand to honor a previous production engagement, unsure whether the project would continue. Then several months later, soon after arriving back in the States, he received another call from Mathews asking him to come back to Seattle. The songs they had been working on earlier had really developed into something special. They eventually became Dave Mathews and friends’ platinum debut solo album, Some Devil. The band made its public debut as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live in November of 2003, and then continued on a twelve-stop tour in the winter of 2003 and 2004 including Bonnaroo.
For the past decade, Blade has continued to build an impressive resume, traveling and playing with various artists and celebrities around the world. He recalls the first time he played with Bob Dylan as one of the few times that he may have been star-struck. “I was flying from Stockholm to Frankfurt for the job, and I’ve never really been freaked out about a gig before, but after thinking of all of the songs that Bob Dylan has written…and then I thought, what am I going to wear?” laughs Blade.
Blade has also appeared on television several times, true to his father’s legacy. His drums have been heard with various artists on some of America’s most popular entertainment hours, playing for shows such as Saturday Night Live, the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and most frequently, on The Late Show with David Letterman.
“I’ve gotten to know the (Late Show) band over the years. Will Lee, Paul Shaffer, Anton Fig and those guys are my friends now after all of these years. Paul Shaffer calls me the biggest whore in the business.”
Such a back-handed compliment from a friend can only be a testament to the prolific and wide-ranging experiences Blade has had over his career. It would seem like such a busy performance schedule would leave little time for other business ventures, but Blade has managed to continue and excel in his work as a producer and writer. He has largely been focused on working with new acts, developing their song-writing and ultimately producing and recording with them. He has had a number of major successes, particularly in Australia and New Zealand, where his work has featured prominently in their national music charts.
While he resides primarily with his family in Stockholm, when he isn’t traveling, performing or recording around the globe, Blade spends time at his home in Shreveport. He has never forgotten his roots, and when he was recently given an opportunity to bring the connections he’s made in the music, television, and movie industries back to his home town, he decided to act. He entered into a business venture with partner Scott Crompton, to open a professional recording facility in Shreveport. “We both recognized that if Shreveport can do what they’ve done with film, with little or no film history, then there’s going to be something going on with music. We define the Shreveport music scene as inertia, and inertia is just energy that doesn’t move, but once you push inertia, it becomes energy in motion”.
While Blade is a native of Shreveport, Crompton has made it his adopted home. Born in Montgomery Alabama after both parents immigrated from England, Crompton was six years old when he scored his first paying gig, playing an organ outside one of the old organ stores for a mall opening. The next few years, Crompton started playing a variety of weddings, and eventually ended up playing the theater pipe organ all over the country. “I was OK at it, but I think it was more of a novelty…”, he recalls, “I mean, here’s this nine year old kid playing the organ…and I used to have to stand on the pedals and play at the same time.”
For the next decade, Crompton gave up music altogether and focused on motorcycles instead. It wasn’t until he was a high school senior that his musical passion was reignited, when he saw a friend playing guitar and harmonica. He asked to borrow the guitar and was soon busy learning how to play. “The music part was easy, but I had to learn how to become a guitar player…and being a guitar player in college is pretty cool.”
This time he stuck with music and soon formed a new band called Blues Old Stand, which is still together today. The band, named for a small town in their native Alabama, has toured nationally and played in Europe. Crompton and the band have been playing the regional scene long enough to have witnessed a great deal of change in the music world.
“I remember playing gigs with Dave Mathews, when he just Dave Mathews by himself with a guitar… back in the late ‘80s”, recalls Crompton.
Shortly after moving to Shreveport to work in the film business in June 2008, Crompton began to network around town and shares his interest and vision with new friends. Once he mentioned that he was a musician, they suggested that he seek out Brady Blade. Crompton was aware of Blade’s extensive background as a drummer, but had no idea that Shreveport was his home town, or that he had just recently returned. Crompton finally caught up with Blade at the Robinson Film Center and introduced himself, but was taken by surprise when he was met with a giant bear hug and a smile. “I wasn’t just meeting Brady Blade ‘the drummer’, I just knew right away that I had just met such a good, loving, solid guy.”
The two discussed their shared interest in music, production, and tax incentive opportunities and ultimately decided to open a state of the art studio here in Shreveport. With Blade’s musical knowledge and connections combined with Crompton’s extensive understanding of Louisiana tax incentives and business savvy, they hope to repeat the incredible success that the movie industry has experienced in Shreveport -- this time with music.
Blade Studios is currently under construction, and will be located inside the Biospace 1 building at the Intertech Science Park in Shreveport. “Music has always been my passion, big time. So, it’s been my dream to have a business, within the music business. At one point, I got a job offer working at a record label, and I was so excited until I went up and spent a couple of days with the people. Then I realized that was exactly what I didn’t want to do. I didn’t want to be in the (business side of the) music business, I wanted to be in the music business with artists. …and that’s a tough thing to get in to. But it’s all worked out now.”
Blade’s experience has afforded him the knowledge of what works, and what does not, so the idea was to provide a facility with all of the tools that would allow the artist and producer to be productive and creative. Blade will be heading up the creative side of things and will be working both as an artist and a producer to bring people here to Louisiana. Crompton will essentially handle the business side of the facility, make the deals with local businesses, and provide Blade with a facility to implement his experience and talent as a producer. There will be some degree of job crossover from time to time, and both are capable of handling either side of the operation. Crompton also looks forward to producing the occasional project, and plans to stay actively involved in the creative side of things.
Both partners acknowledge that the Louisiana tax incentive program has been a major factor in the decision to invest in the local community. The tax incentives not only help bring in the initial investment, but will allow the studio to present national, and international recording artist with a compelling reason to bring their business to Shreveport. This is money that would certainly be spent somewhere else, because until now, there has been no local facility able to accommodate and attract artist on this level.
“My family and I are the poster children for the Louisiana tax incentives. We are invested in this community. We live and own property in this community, and now we are starting a business here. This never would have happened if it were not for the incredible tax incentives offered for the film and music industry. It’s a feature of our state, and it ultimately ends up benefiting the artist” says Crompton.
One of Blade’s concepts, that truly elevate this facility from others, is that it be a full service production company that caters to the artist’s every need. If an artist decides that Blade Studios is place they want to record, then the company will provide every possible amenity and convenience. This includes everything from airfare, hotels, meals, and transportation, to musicians, equipment, entertainment, and even day care. “We’ll provide anything they could possibly want,” says Crompton.
When an artist concludes the recording process, they will write just a single check for all services that have been provided, so there will be no need to keep up with receipts or micromanage any aspect of the project. The studio will also make the application with the state for the tax incentive and the balance will be returned to the client in the most convenient manner for the individual. (The state offers a 25% production credit on any recordings made in the state of Louisiana as long as they spend over the threshold of $15,000.) The artist is free from any inconvenient details that might hinder the creative process, and they are free to concentrate on the music.
There is also no shortage of talent on the local level here in Shreveport, but unfortunately, few of the artists that actually make it out of the local and regional scene continue to live and contribute to the community. Now Blade is bringing his success and experience back home.
“All of this (local) talent is moving away…And I’ve been thinking about the ‘Shreveport Beatdown” (the concept of not being able to succeed and make a living in the arts locally), and why is that so? … I mean we live in a great place and the grass is always greener…We have everything we could possibly need here and we do want to instill some more pride (in the community), and we want to start with the musicians,” says Blade.
“In addition to the national and international acts that we’ll be trying to attract, it will be fun to work with the local input as well… and we’ll be offering deals to our local constituents so we can assist them…Collectively as a team, hopefully we can provide some sort of guidance for all of us. Because that’s what this scene’s been missing for a long time.”
A cohesive unit of Shreveport musicians could work together to build a stronger, more collaborative music scene, which would not only help more local bands get noticed, but would ultimately be beneficial to the entire artistic community.
Blade Studios was designed by renowned studio architect Russ Berger, head of the Russ Berger Design group, who is responsible for some of the best rooms in the country. The group has completed over 2500 projects from coast to coast, including NFL Network, Sweetwater Sound, UNLV broadcast facilities, World Wrestling Entertainment Studios, and many others.
The facility features two large volume studios each complete with world-class, ambient spaces in order to provide the best possible acoustic properties for a variety of projects. The client areas offer an assortment of professional amenities, including lounges, kitchens, private office suites, conference rooms, work stations, private restrooms, showers, and even a dark room. Every service is designed to provide the highest levels of productivity and creativity, in a comfortable and relaxed environment.

Studio A features a 1350 square foot live room, with four isolation booths, and a 500 square foot control room. The main console is a Solid State Logic Duality, and the control room is well stocked with various pieces of both vintage and cutting-edge gear. Studio B is a state of the art ADR room, featuring 400 square foot live room, one isolation booth, and a 525 square foot control room. This room features the only commercially licensed Digidesign ICON console in Louisiana and is also filled with various outboard gear.
The spaces were designed to meld comfortable, creative surroundings with superior sound quality. The facility was designed with all of the anticipated needs of the film and television industry in mind. Both studios are wired for video, so a production team could theoretically score, record and mix both the soundtrack and effects for a project in studio a, concurrently while ADR and editing were underway in studio B. The facility will also incorporate high-speed net interconnectivity to ensure that even if a director, actor, or any member of the production team can’t physically be present for a session, work will proceed on schedule. The addition of a professionally designed, full service audio complex, will give film production companies a viable option to moving all post-production back to the west coast.
The facility’s projected opening date is slated for Early 2011 but the team has already started booking, and the first major talent to record at the new studio is slated to be Universal recording artist and Shreveport native, Brian Blade. Crompton and Blade hope that the realization of this studio will be the key to making Shreveport an internationally recognized hub for both the film and music industries.

For Booking:
BLADE Studios
2031 Kings Highway
Shreveport, Louisiana 71103 USA
Phone: 318.213.0777
www.bladestudios.com

August 14, 2010 Filming Louisiana Productions

2010-08-14T13:07:00.000-07:00

The Gates, Shreveport thegatesproductions@gmail.com
Season of the Witch, Shreveport
Battleship, Baton Rouge, hopperBR@gmail.com
Shark Night Shreveport, chumproductionsllc@gmail.com
Columbiana New Orleans, colombianaus@gmail.com
Tresspass Shreveport, tpproductionsllc@gmail.com
Cold to the Touch, more soon
Twilight, Baton Rouge
Office Parinormal, Louisiana
Thicker, Louisiana
Book of Life, New Orleans
Dead Serious, New Orleans
The Town that Dreaded Sundown, Baton Rouge
The Blind Bastard Club, New Orleans
The Body Escort, Louisiana
Moments of Life, New Orleans
Storm Bringer, Lafayette, 337.706.8971
The Grief Tourist, New Orleans, tgt.productions@gmail.com
Chasing the Hawk New Orleans wwenolallc@gmail.com
Catch 44, Shreveport, catch.44movie@gmail.com
The Power of Few, New Orleans more soon
Selma, New Orleans selmafilms1965@gmail.com
Imagination Movers Season 3, New Orleans, imaginationmovers1@earthlink.net
The Chaperone, New Orleans, wwenolallc@gmail.com
Billy the Exterminator, Season 3, Shreveport, bpecasting@gmail.com
The Black Ghost, New Orleans thefirsthurd@yahoo.com
Ghostbreakers Tv Shreveport, Baton Rouge, New Orleans production@slowchildrenonline.net
Fury, Baton Rouge furyresume@gmail.com fax 225-906-0466
The Fields New Orleans, gideonproductions2010@gmail.com
Brawler New Orleans, office@brawlerthemovie.com
Lockjaw Baton Rouge, lockjawprod@gmail.com
The Big Valley, Baton Rouge, sanford2hampton@aol.com
Shark Night 3D, Louisiana info@afterdarkfilms.com
Dead Mans Gold, Louisiana
The Boys Club, Folsum Louisiana info@gravityfilms.com
Battleship, Baton Rouge hopperbr@gmail.com
The Courier, Baton Rouge info@filmsinmotion.com
The Leaving, New Orleans
The Americans, Shreveport, Attention James Gerrick cygnetfilm@yahoo.com
Frightland, Baton Rouge brandon@saintsinnerent.com
Flypaper, Baton Rouge flypaperfilm@gmail.com
Pray for Light, info@firesatmidnightfilms.com
Living with Leroy TV Baton Rouge Sound only k2.miket@gmail.com
Big Red, New Orleans wwenolallc@gmail.com
Court 13, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Houma LA Murder through the eyes of a child, New Orleanscresent.city.film@gmail.com
The Coffin, info@glassasylumprods.com
Scratching the Surface, New Orleans sts.nola.crew@gmail.com
Death House, Baton Rouge k2.miket@gmail.com
Unraveled, Baton Rouge
Red, New Orleans, redneworleans@gmail.com
Silver Cord, Baton Rouge and New Orleans, silvercordcv@aol.com
Seconds Apart, Hammond
Moma's Little Baby, Louisiana
Swamp Shark, Lafayette, jobs.bulletfilms@gmail.com
The 13th Gate, Louisiana
Change of Heart, Shreveport more to come
Victim 34, Baton Rouge
Verdigris, New Orleans
The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, New Orleans
I wanna dance, New Orleans floyd@imi-world.com
Two Wolves, Baton Rouge info@rememberdreaming.com
The Gatekeeper, New Orleans, info@lightwaveent.com
Kane and Lynch, Louisiana
The Night Can be Measured
Remnants New Orleans
10,000 doors, October in New Orleans
Troll, Baton Rouge
A War Within
Hallow Point, Baton Rouge
Playing with the Enemy, Shreveport
The Work, in Meterie
Samuel Bleak, Houma
Without Fear, New Orleans
Difficult Death, New Orleans
The Ledge, Baton Rouge

Versatile Louisiana becomes 'L.A. South' for movie shoots

2010-08-04T20:10:00.000-07:00

USA Today Article Versatile Louisiana becomes 'L.A. South' for movie shoots

http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2010-08-03-louisianafilm03_CV_N.htm

By Claudia Puig, USA TODAY

Hollywood is eternally searching for the filmmaking Shangri-La. In the 1990s, filmmakers often traveled to Canada. But that eventually became less fashionable, and these days the industry is migrating in a different direction — to Louisiana. "L.A. South" has become the go-to spot for shooting movies.

Even before the economic recession hit Hollywood, the state of Louisiana had been quietly gaining stature as the place to make quality movies and stretch dollars.

"We have the largest number of productions outside of Los Angeles and New York City," says Chris Stelly, director of film for Louisiana Entertainment, a division of the state office of economic development.

"Like Vancouver used to be 'Hollywood North,' Louisiana's the hot spot now," says Patrick Lussier, director of Drive Angry 3D, a supernatural road movie starring Nicolas Cage and Amber Heard, opening in February.

The state subbed for Texas, Colorado and New Mexico in Drive Angry, Lussier says.

The consummate versatile character actor, Louisiana has also played Utah, Washington, D.C., and London. "The film industry wants to find places it can reinvent and make look like anything it needs," Lussier says. "There's a lot of opportunity do that in Louisiana."

Movies shooting in Louisiana range from mega-budget blockbusters to quirky indies. Films shot this year include testosterone-fueled action-adventure The Expendables, which opens Aug. 13, and the comic book-inspired The Green Lantern, due in 2011. The low-budget horror film The Last Exorcism opens Aug. 27, and the big-screen version of the 1960s TV show The Big Valley arrives next year.

And the films cross all sectors, from Oscar bait to tween phenomena. The much-nominated The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was shot in New Orleans in 2008, and Breaking Dawn, the fourth installment in the hugely successful Twilight series, films this year in Baton Rouge.

In 2009, 60 films and TV shows shot in Louisiana. By mid-2010, 85 productions have already signed on, Stelly says: "We're well on our way to having a record-breaking year."

New Orleans as Anytown, USA

The boom is most visible around New Orleans. In 2009, 22 movies and TV shows filmed there. Records have already been broken in 2010; by July, 24 projects had shot there.

"We're way ahead of the curve in the New Orleans region," says Katie Gunnell, interim director of the city's Office of Film and Television. "The city has seen an incredible bump in applications for 2011 as well."

Across the state, work is consistent and year-round, despite hurricane season and blazing summer temperatures. "We've maintained 20 to 25 productions at any given time during the year," Stelly says. "We've doubled for New York City, Los Angeles, the Northwest, basically Anytown, USA."

Those who have shot there point to several factors contributing to the region's appeal: diversity of scenery, financial incentives and proficient crews.

"You can get an 1800s look, you can get a Parisian look," says Todd Lewis, producer of The Chaperone. "You can get suburbs, you can get the country. It's got a little bit of everything." His movie, out next year, is one of several Louisiana-based films funded by World Wrestling Entertainment and featuring wrestling stars, in this case Paul "Triple H" Levesque.

Director Rod Lurie was looking to duplicate rural Mississippi in Straw Dogs, a remake of the 1971 classic coming out next year. He did so in and around Shreveport. "They really do have it all there," he says. "You can go anywhere from swamps to beautiful rivers to cities to football stadiums. We were able to shoot the entire film within a 10-mile radius."

Jonah Hex, the supernatural action thriller in theaters earlier this summer, used New Orleans to double for the Old West.

Though producer Andrew Lazar initially had reservations about shooting a Western in Louisiana, his concerns disappeared when he considered the obvious. "The French Quarter hasn't changed much over the years, so you don't need a lot of set dressing," Lazar says. "We just put some dirt on the road and we were back in the 1870s."

Says Lussier: "New Orleans has so many looks. You can get a European look, and it also has an unmistakable feeling of the American frontier. It's such an amazing city unto itself. Why not take advantage of it?"

Filmmakers say it's hard to go wrong with scenery like this.

"Wherever you point the camera, you have a beautiful and picturesque set design," says Daniel Stamm, director of The Last Exorcism. "And the atmosphere does something for the actors. It's so old world. We shot at a plantation, and the smell and the sounds of the floorboards did something to the atmosphere that's tangible, that you wouldn't get in L.A. on a soundstage."

Stamm's horror movie was enhanced by the surprise appearance of a toothy visitor.

"We were shooting in the Ninth Ward (an area in New Orleans hard-hit by Katrina), and you could still see the waterline in this old plantation," Stamm says. "One day, we couldn't shoot for three hours because an alligator had crawled on set. That does something to the team, something you can't fake."

Tax incentives best in USA

The hauntingly creative vibe may be palpable, but the bottom line is equally alluring.

The state offers the most competitive economic and tax incentives of any in the country. A system of financial perks was enacted after Hurricane Katrina destroyed $81 billion in property and killed 1,836 people in 2005.

"We approached it like a business, and it keeps (filmmakers) coming back, based on our reliability and stability," Stelly says. "For every dollar you spend in the state, we'll give you 30% back (in rebates). And we give you an additional 5% for hiring Louisiana residents on productions."

Tax incentives can be sold as credits or used to offset personal or corporate income tax, he says.

"As things get more expensive, you have to go wherever you get the budget relief," Lussier notes. "You can no longer use Mulholland Drive for your backwoods road movie."

There is also the sense among filmmakers that they are helping an area that sorely needs a hand in bouncing back from one of the worst natural disasters in history.

"Louisiana has been through so much, and I'm glad to be able to make a film there," says Nicole Kidman, who is shooting the 2011 film Trespass in Shreveport this summer with Nicolas Cage.

"The economy desperately needs the film business," Lurie says. "And it's fantastic watching people get employed. We hired a thousand people to be extras and put a couple of hundred bucks in their pockets, and that's helpful to the economy. The film commission is among the most proactive I've ever seen."

Between that obliging spirit and the financial incentives, Lurie says, "It doesn't pay to make movies in Los Angeles anymore. You can save too much money by going out of town."

Crews with skill, enthusiasm

Shooting movies outside Hollywood is certainly not new. But the more common scenario is to shoot segments in distant cities and use Hollywood studios as a base. As more films are shot in Louisiana, the ancillary businesses and infrastructure associated with the industry — post-production centers and soundstages — are also increasingly cropping up.

Every Hollywood-based filmmaker interviewed spoke glowingly of the local production personnel and regional actors.

"Because of all that's being shot there, local crews get better and better," says Ken Zunder, cinematographer for The Chaperone. "You get a lot of crews that are very savvy here. It's not like going to, say, Detroit."

The combination of skill and energy is something particularly appreciated by those coming from Hollywood.

"In L.A., everyone is exhausted by the film business, with all the noise and shooting at night," Stamm says. "Down there, everyone is not jaded. There is still an enthusiasm about the whole thing."

So much enthusiasm, in fact, that some Los Angeles residents have moved south with the jobs.

Producer Joshua Throne made several films in the state, the latest being The Expendables. He has homes in both Louisiana and Los Angeles. Throne's next project is The Technician, co-starring Kevin Bacon and Kurt Russell, which will shoot in Louisiana in January.

"There's such a zest for life here," he says. "There's lots of good food, good people, wonderful history, and it still has the Southern charm."

Lewis and his wife also have made the move to New Orleans. "I love L.A., I really do," he says. "And I'm sorry that productions are running away from L.A., but this is a really easy and cost-efficient place to make movies."

Ed Borasch Jr., a property master, moved from Southern California. "I have to go where the work is," he says. "It's just so much nicer and quieter here, and the traffic's not as crazy, and the people are super friendly. You feel like you're welcomed here. I lived in Los Angeles for 15 years, and that was a great run for me, but the work dried up, and now my time is here." Meanwhile, he's gotten married, had a baby and laid down roots.

'A sexy city'

Some stars have bought homes in New Orleans in recent years, including Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock and Cage, who has shot several movies there.

Actress Annabeth Gish shot two films in New Orleans this summer. The first was The Fields, co-starring Sam Worthington and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and the second was The Chaperone.

"So much is happening in New Orleans," says Gish, who's married to stunt coordinator Wade Allen. "It's been a long time since I or my husband shot in Los Angeles. You'd think with Arnold (Schwarzenegger) as our governor, we'd be bringing movies back to L.A.

"But one of the great things about coming here on location is you feel like you're paying back the debt the country owes by being here and feeding the economy. And it's a character in its own right, so saturated with culture and flavor. It's a sexy city with so much history — a little hot, though."

Hollywood types are never shy about complaining, but except for occasional remarks about the searing summer heat, no one has a negative thing to say about the southward migration. "The love affair is on," Lussier says. "When filming starts going to a place, there's a real excitement. You can feel that, and it can be very productive for both sides."

Ties between Canada and Hollywood grew frayed as resentment mounted over film crews taking up so much space in cities like Vancouver and Toronto. Will Hollywood and Louisiana maintain a lasting romance?

"It'll be interesting to see if seven or eight years down the road, people get tired of road closures and the novelty of having movies come to their town," says Lussier. "For now, it's great. Hopefully, it will last a while."

Battle Los Angeles; Maybe Battle Louisiana?

2010-07-25T23:56:00.000-07:00

The citizens of Los Angeles, Calif. are about to go to war against the aliens that have invaded their great city in the new film 'Battle: Los Angeles,' and ET's with the actors of the film's Marine platoon as they spill some set secrets.

Aaron Eckhart revealed to ET at the 2010 Comic Con event that though the movie is set in L.A., it was actually filmed in Louisiana. "We filmed it in Louisiana in the middle of summer. It was quite a physical and mental experience. ... L.A., Louisiana," he says of filming the movie in the South.

Aaron described the film: "It's an alien invasion movie meets a war movie. Aliens, for some reason, have come out of the Santa Monica bay to come take over Los Angeles. It's a global invasion and the first strike is in Los Angeles. ... We're a platoon of Marines that goes in and takes care of business."

Michelle Rodriguez refers to her costar Eckhart as "one awesome cat." However, Michelle didn't seem too confident that he'd be able to battle aliens in real life. "He's so sweet!"

Eckhart plays the leader of the platoon but told ET that he doesn't think that he'd be able to fend off aliens in real life. "I'm not sure if we could take on aliens. We could take on Canadians," he said jokingly.

'Battle: Los Angeles' hits theaters March, 2011.
http://www.etonline.com/news/2010/07/89406/

True Money by By Stephanie Riegel

2010-07-14T19:41:00.000-07:00

Greater Baton Rouge Business Report

Straw Weisman was looking for a place to film The Big Valley, a big-budget film version of the 1960s TV Western, he chose Baton Rouge, not exactly a dead ringer for 19th-century Stockton, Calif.

While Louisiana’s capital city might lack mountains and tumbleweed-swept desertscapes, it has several things that were more important to the West Coast-based movie producer: namely, tax incentives, a state-of-the-art studio and a local industry that’s willing to bend over backwards to make his job as easy as possible.

“Baton Rouge is on the verge of becoming the next major film town in America,” Weisman says. “The facilities are here, the infrastructure is here and there is a we-can-help-you-get-it-done attitude that is extremely conducive.”

Weisman isn’t the only person to notice.

No less than four major films are being shot here this summer, and the sight of film crews setting up lights and cameras on street corners has become almost as common as sightings of Patrick Dempsey, the handsome Grey’s Anatomy star who has dined at local restaurants and regularly exercised at University and City Park lakes for the past two months while on location for the filming of Flypaper.

All this movie business is adding up to big business for the local economy, though exact numbers are hard to come by. Dozens of service-related companies have sprung up in the past couple of years to provide everything from transportation to lighting and gripping. Other companies—stunt agencies, caterers and sound-effects specialists—have relocated from big-movie markets such as Los Angeles and south Florida.

Even local companies with no previous connection to the entertainment industry suddenly are finding a new market for their products and services.

ON THE SET: True Blood, the HBO series starring Anna Paquin as a telepathic waitress and Stephen Moyer as the vampire with whom she falls in love, filmed on location last summer in the Capital Region. Director Michael Cuesta (above, right) talks on the phone as grips set up the room for filming in Baton Rouge.

“It’s not a large portion of our business yet,” says John Holmes, whose Holmes Building Materials is supplying lumber and hardware for the construction of sets at Celtic Media Centre. “But it’s a special niche where we can do very well.”

The trends are positive, but those in the industry say Baton Rouge has not quite arrived as a full-service, movie-making destination. The city still lacks a critical mass of post-production facilities, particularly in the visual-effects arena. For a number of reasons, producers still do the bulk of their editing, mixing and special effects closer to their homes in Los Angeles or New York.

“A lot of the people who come here don’t have all the connections or the confidence that this is a good place to do post-work,” says Jerry Gilbert, whose firm Post Digital does audio effects for movies. “It’s starting to get there, but it’s not there yet.”

Hooray for Hollywood South

When the state first created the tax incentive program that would come to be known as “Hollywood South” in 2002, Baton Rouge was barely on the map as a movie-making destination. New Orleans was thought to be the star attraction among the state’s major cities, not only because it was the biggest city with the deepest talent pool, but because of its rich architectural offerings.

But Shreveport and Baton Rouge quickly caught up, especially after Hurricane Katrina forced production crews doing business in the Crescent City to move elsewhere in the state.

Of the 15 movies currently in production in Louisiana, six are being shot in New Orleans, four in Baton Rouge, three in Shreveport and two in Lafayette. The studios have played a huge role in attracting the talent that has helped the industry to grow.

This is particularly true at Celtic, which now is the state’s largest movie studio, with five soundstages totaling 140,000 square feet and more than 65,000 square feet of office space that it leases to dozens of small service companies.

RANCH HANDS: Construction crews at Celtic Media Centre begin work on the set of The Big Valley, the big-screen adaptation of the 1960s TV series about a wealthy ranching family and its conflicts.

The Big Valley and Battleship, Universal Studios’ big-screen adaptation of the Milton Bradley board game, are being filmed at Celtic. What’s more, an even bigger motion picture is said to be closely eyeing the facility for a shoot this fall.

Producers like Weisman say that while the Baton Rouge movie industry is impressive for a market this size, Celtic is the jewel in the crown because it offers so much to productions like his.

Not only does Celtic have soundstages, but it has a backlot, where The Big Valley is constructing an entire western town. That’s the reason Weisman ultimately chose the city over New Orleans or Shreveport when deciding where to film.

“Celtic has really posed a unique opportunity for us,” he says. “They were willing to support us more than any place we’ve ever seen.”

Trucks, sounds and stunts

Perhaps the most encouraging detail about the activity at Celtic and other studios is the effect it’s having on the local economy at the ground level. For one thing, it’s creating new businesses. Dozens of startups have been formed to respond to the needs of the growing industry.

Take Hollywood Trucks. Barely 3 years old, the company is an entertainment transportation fleet that provides everything a movie production might need, from a 15-passenger van that can take a crew to scout locations to star trailers and generators. In its brief history, the company has grown from seven vehicles to 250, and revenues are expected to top $5 million this year, up from $1.3 million last year.

“It’s exceeding everyone’s expectations,” Hollywood Trucks owner Andre Champagne says.

Building Studios is another startup that’s performing ahead of expectations.

HEARING FOOTSTEPS: Building Studios specializes in Foley sound effects, which are incidental, real-world sounds that are specific to the on-screen action, such as the click-clack of footsteps or the squeak of an opening door.

The firm does audio effects like dialogue replacement, taking dialogue that was recorded in a noisy environment, re-recording it in a studio, and then dubbing it into the film. The company also specializes in Foley sound effects, which are incidental, real-world sounds that are specific to the on-screen action, such as the squeak of an opening door or the click-clack of footsteps.

“The growth has been absolutely astounding,” says Mike Russo, who worked on his first movie just two years ago and has done dozens since.

Entertainment-industry service companies also are relocating here from other cities.

Post Digital is a case in point. The firm was based in Culver City, Calif., for 15 years and still has a studio there. But Gilbert moved to Baton Rouge in 2006, and he doesn’t regret the decision.

“I was worried at first there wouldn’t be enough work for me to make a living, and it was rocky at first,” he says. “But now it’s gotten to the point where I’m constantly busy.”

There’s enough movie work in the market to attract even super-specialized niche companies like stunt agencies. Two have announced in the past few months they’re relocating here, including Stunts 305, which was previously based in south Florida.

Owner Jay Amor is a 20-year industry veteran who has appeared in commercials, episodes of Miami Vice and movies like Bad Boys II and True Lies. Like Weisman, he was attracted to Louisiana by the tax incentives, but settled on Baton Rouge because of the people he’s met in the local industry.

“There’s really a great group down there,” says Amor, who hopes to complete the move this fall. “It’s a nice area, and there are great facilities.”

The magic of movies

Just as significant as the film industry’s impact on startups and newly relocated companies is the effect it’s having on existing business. Companies that never thought they’d benefit from the movie industry suddenly are finding a new niche.

Holmes Building Materials, for example, has been in existence for more than 50 years, supplying lumber and materials to commercial construction sites. The company developed a relationship with Celtic when the studio was under construction, and it has been involved in building sets there ever since.

The Celtic account is particularly lucrative, not so much because of the materials that Holmes sells to the set crews, but because of the service the firm provides. Construction crews on movie sets work under tight deadlines and typically don’t have time to run to a home-improvement store every time they need a nail gun or a gallon of primer. That’s where Holmes provides a value-added service.

ALIEN SHOOTOUT IN PRODUCE: Cliff Boulden, co-owner of Bet-R-Store near the Perkins Road overpass, shut his neighborhood grocery store for five days last winter for the filming of an alien shootout in Battle: Los Angeles.

“We visit them literally on a daily basis to see what they need,” Holmes says. “When they’ve got to have something, they’ve got to have it right now.”

Other local businesses are benefiting in unexpected ways.

Bet-R-Store, a locally owned neighborhood fixture that sits in the shadow of the Perkins Road overpass, was the scene last winter for an alien shootout in Sony Pictures’ Battle: Los Angeles. For nearly five days, the store was shut down while crews transformed it into the scene of a bombed-out battleground, complete with charred vehicles in the parking lot, black tarp on the windows and packaged food strewn about the aisle floors.

Manager and co-owner Cliff Boulden says the experience was exciting and worth the hassle from a financial standpoint. Sony Pictures paid the store more than what it would have made in five typical days of business, in addition to what it earned selling groceries to the crew each night after shooting was finished.

The production team also was extremely professional, and it restored the grocery store to its former condition inside and out after the shoot. Still, if Boulden was asked again to close the store for a movie production, he doesn’t know that he would, primarily because of the disruption it posed to his regular customers.

“It was a lot more inconvenience to our customers than I realized,” he says. “I didn’t realize how much people really needed and valued our store.”

The Baton Rouge Film Commission is trying to help other local businesses get a piece of the action with its preferred vendor list. Vendors on the list agree to give a discount to customers associated with the movie industry in return for a hoped-for increase in business. So far, it’s making at least a small impact on some businesses.

Lee Porche, owner of Angel Paws Pet Sitter, recently got her first client from the list. She’s keeping the puppy of a man who’s working on one of the movies currently in production. She picks up the pet every morning, and she keeps it until he’s done with work for the day. The gig is great for Porche, not in the least because it’s expected to last several months.

SOUND GUY: Mike Russo of Building Studios worked on his first movie in Baton Rouge just two years ago and has done dozens since then.

But not every firm on the list has benefited. Kay Wilbert is disappointed her Denham Springs-based Professional Limousine Service hasn’t gotten any extra business from the local movie industry. But she’s not giving up.

“We really want to market to them more and participate with them,” she says. “We did actually get a call from one of the studios, but they needed a black hearse, and ours is white.”

To infinity and beyond

While the movie industry can come to Baton Rouge and find top-of-the-line soundstages, experienced stunt men and pet sitters for their stars, there’s still one thing in short supply: post-production facilities that specialize in visual effects.

Even the industry’s biggest cheerleaders concede Louisiana is sending too many of its productions back to the East and West coasts for the lengthy and lucrative post-processing, which includes editing, mixing, dubbing and a host of special effects.

“That’s really where the state needs to focus,” says Patrick Mulhearn, director of studio operations at Celtic. “That’s the big chunk of the budget we’re not getting enough of.”

It’s not that there aren’t experienced firms doing high-end effects. There are several on the audio side, according to those in the industry. And there are a few on the visual side as well. Digital FX, for instance, does work for clients all over the world, and it recently announced that its new Digital Intermediate post-production suite, the only such facility in the Gulf South, helped the firm land a job doing post-work on a feature entitled I Spit on Your Mother’s Grave.

EAT MORE CHICKEN: A sign at the Raising Cane’s location on Corporate Boulevard encourages Grey’s Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey to stop by for for a Cane’s accessory while in Baton Rouge for the filming of Flypaper.

Why there aren’t more examples like that is largely attributable to the drawn-out nature of post-production work. Pre-production typically takes two or three months, and filming can be done in as little as four to six weeks. But the post-production process can stretch on for months and even up to a year, during which producers and editors typically like to go home.

“Production people are nomadic and will go anywhere to shoot,” says Gilbert. “But post-production people are working for 10-20 weeks in a little room, and they want to be at home, which is L.A. or New York.”

As the industry matures, more executives and creative types are expected to follow. But those in the industry say it will take time to build up a real, full-service, post-production industry here.

“There has to be a good reason for a director and editor and assistant editor and producer to camp out hundreds of miles from home for several months,” Weisman says. “The industry is looking at whether it makes sense to do that here.”

Weisman and others believe the post-segment of the market will continue to grow. The question is by how much, and whether it will be enough to propel Baton Rouge to the next level in the movie industry.

“I don’t think it’s going to be long because there’s so much work to be had here you’re going to see relocations,” Mulhearn says. “It’s only a matter of time, but it’s a chicken-and-egg kind of thing.”

Twilight movie to be filmed in Baton Rouge

2010-07-11T19:28:00.000-07:00

Twilight movie to be filmed in Baton Rouge
Posted: Jul 09, 2010 8:48 PM CDT
Updated: Jul 10, 2010 5:43 PM CDT
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Part of the next two "Twilight" movies about supernatural teen romance will be filmed in Baton Rouge.

Summit Entertainment LLC has confirmed that it will produce the two parts of "Breaking Dawn" in Baton Rouge and Vancouver, British Columbia.

Spokesman Hans-Dieter Kopal told The Advocate that the studio hasn't made any other decisions - including the starting date, how much will be shot in each city, and whether interior or exterior shots will predominate in either.

Summit hasn't indicated what the production budget will be, but the company has said it expects to use more complex effects.

Filming of the "Breaking Dawn" movies will take one year and the release date for the first of the two films will be Nov. 18, 2011.

'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn' casting and auditions underway in Los Angeles

2010-06-23T09:49:00.000-07:00

The much anticipated casting process for "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn" is now getting underway in Los Angeles, on the heels of the world premiere of “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse”, which will take place in Los Angeles on Thursday, June 24th.

PRLog (Press Release) – Jun 19, 2010 – The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn will be released as two separate movies, Breaking Dawn Part I has a release date of November 18, 2011, and a summer 2012 release for Breaking Dawn Part II is being targeted. Director Bill Condon will shoot the two films back to back.

Breaking Dawn II will be released in 3-D, however no decision has been announced about Part I. A 3-D film can be created in two ways. One is to process the film in post-production editing using CGI for 3-D effects. The other method is to shoot the film with special 3D cameras, such as the film Avatar was done using Sony HDC-F950 3-D cameras. It is not known which method Condon will use, but it is highly likely he will shoot using the special 3-D cameras since the effects are far superior.

Filming begins November 2010, and it now appears likely that shooting will take place in the state of Louisiana. There is a very large amount of filming that takes place in Louisiana due to the large tax credits that the state offers the studios. Louisiana offers a 30% transferable incentive for total in-state expenditures related to the production of a motion picture. The budget on both parts of Breaking Dawn will be substantially greater than the previous installments in the series, therefore Summit Entertainment would benefit greatly by filming in Louisiana, and low key negotiations with the state film commission are taking place.

Information about auditions and submitting a photo and resume to casting directors can be found on the following blog post:

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Auditions

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-42949-LA-Acting-Audit ...

The film's extras will be hired near the shooting locations throughout filming.

AB Media Publishing was founded by entrepreneur Alan Baltes in 2004 and has since become a major force in the Internet Publishing arena. With websites ranging from acting and entertainment, to finance and cooking, AB Media continues to offer rich content

Filming Louisiana June 16, 2010

2010-06-16T17:12:00.000-07:00

The Gates, Shreveport thegatesproductions@gmail.com
Cold to the Touch, more soon.
Catch 44, Shreveport, catch.44movie@gmail.com
The Power of Few, New Orleans more soon.
Selma, New Orleans selmafilms1965@gmail.com
Imagination Movers Season 3, New Orleans, imaginationmovers1@earthlink.net
The Chaperone, New Orleans, wwenolallc@gmail.com
Mighty Fine, New Orleans mightyfineneworleans@gmail.com
Billy the Exterminator, Season 3, Shreveport, bpecasting@gmail.com
The Black Ghost, New Orleans thefirsthurd@yahoo.com
Ghostbreakers Tv Shreveport, Baton Rouge, New Orleans production@slowchildrenonline.net
Fury, Baton Rouge furyresume@gmail.com fax 225-906-0466
The Fields New Orleans, gideonproductions2010@gmail.com
Brawler New Orleans, office@brawlerthemovie.com
Lockjaw Baton Rouge, lockjawprod@gmail.com
The Big Valley, Baton Rouge, sanford2hampton@aol.com
LouisianaShark Night 3D, Louisiana info@afterdarkfilms.com
Dead Mans Gold, Louisiana
The Boys Club, Folsum Louisiana info@gravityfilms.com
Battleship, Baton Rouge hopperbr@gmail.com
The Courier, Baton Rouge info@filmsinmotion.com
The Leaving, New Orleans
The Americans, Shreveport, Attention James Gerrick cygnetfilm@yahoo.com
Frightland, Baton Rouge brandon@saintsinnerent.com
Flypaper, Baton Rouge flypaperfilm@gmail.com
Memphis Beat, New Orleans deltabluesresumes@gmail.com
Substance, New OrleansFishies TV New Orleans, Baton Rouge, for sound, animators, and storyboardartist only k2.miket@gmail.com
Pray for Light, info@firesatmidnightfilms.com
Living with Leroy TV Baton Rouge Sound only k2.miket@gmail.com
Criminal Empire for Dummies, New Orleans jess.luebe@live.com
Big Red, New Orleans wwenolallc@gmail.com
Jeff, Who lives at Home, New Orleans jeffbrothersproductions@gmail.com
Court 13, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Houma LA Murder through the eyes of a child, New Orleanscresent.city.film@gmail.com
The Coffin, info@glassasylumprods.com
Scratching the Surface, New Orleans sts.nola.crew@gmail.com
Death House, Baton Rouge k2.miket@gmail.com
Unraveled, Baton Rouge
Red, New Orleans, redneworleans@gmail.com
Silver Cord, Baton Rouge and New Orleans, silvercordcv@aol.com
Seconds Apart, HammondMoma's Little Baby, Louisiana
Swamp Shark, Lafayette, jobs.bulletfilms@gmail.com
Jaws of the Mississippi, Lafayette, jobs.bulletfilms@gmail.com
The 13th Gate, Louisiana
Change of Heart, Shreveport more to come
Victim 34, Baton Rouge
Verdigris, New Orleans
Blood Out, Baton Rouge, Talent talent@filmsinmotion.com Crew info@filmsinmotion.com
The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, New Orleans
I wanna dance, New Orleans floyd@imi-world.com
Two Wolves, Baton Rouge info@rememberdreaming.com
The Gatekeeper, New Orleans, info@lightwaveent.com
Kane and Lynch, Louisiana
The Night Can be Measured
Remnants New Orleans
10,000 doors, October in New Orleans
Troll, Baton Rouge
A War Within
Hallow Point, Baton Rouge
Playing with the Enemy, Shreveport
The Work, in Meterie
Leslie, New Orleans
Samuel Bleak, Houma
Without Fear, New Orleans
Difficult Death, New Orleans
Peril, Shreveport
The Ledge, Baton Rouge

Made in Louisiana by By Todd Longwell

2010-06-03T10:34:00.000-07:00

The Hollywood Reporter
www.hollywoodreporter.com
By Todd Longwell
May 27, 2010, 06:14 PM ET

It was the movie everybody wanted.

From Canada to Mexico, from Shreveport to Sydney, governments and film commissions were angling for Warner Bros. to shoot its new superhero movie "The Green Lantern" on their land -- and spend some of the film's roughly $150 million budget there, too.

For a time, "Lantern" was scheduled to shoot at Fox Studios in Australia, then it was rumored to go north of the border, then south. Finally, the film landed in Louisiana, where it's lensing at Second Line Stages, a new state-of-the-art, LEED-certified studio facility in New Orleans' Garden District.

It's as if Second Line slipped on the glowing emerald ring that gives the film's protagonist his super-human powers.

"(Second Line) is the center of the industry in New Orleans right now," says Sergio Lopez, owner of the New Orleans post facility Storyville, which has a satellite office at Second Line. "There's so much robust activity that it just kind of vibrates from that area. The places around it are being bought up by the film and video industry, from rental space to warehouses; even Sandra Bullock bought a warehouse next door to it."

New Orleans' Second Line Stages

It doesn't hurt that Second Line boasts three soundstages, 73,000 square feet of warehouse space and a five-floor office tower. Nor does it hurt that Louisiana's film and TV production tax credit was bumped from 25% to 30% in July.

Since launching its production incentive program in 2002, Louisiana has become the third-largest film and TV production center in the U.S., behind California and New York, and it shows no sign of relinquishing that title any time soon.

"They were initial leaders with the tax incentives and they have the program down pat," says Ed Spiegel, president of the payroll company Cast & Crew services, which provides tax-incentive consulting services. "They have soundstages and a lot of support facilities. It's easy to do business there, and people like helping out Louisiana. Even right after Hurricane Katrina, people still wanted to go straight back there and film."

In the first quarter, Louisiana hosted 25 productions across the state, including the HBO series "Treme," which last month was picked up for a second season. Current productions include the films "Jeff Who Lives at Home," starring Jason Segel and Ed Helms, in New Orleans; and "Butter," starring Jennifer Garner, in Shreveport.

Things were not so rosy this time last year.

"It was extremely slow in the first half of 2009," says Diego Martinez, president of Studio Operations for Nu Image/ Millennium Films, which has shot 14 films in Louisiana in recent years, including the upcoming Sylvester Stallone actioner "The Expendables" and the recently completed "Drive Angry," starring Nicolas Cage. "You had the WGA strike, a threatened SAG strike and the economic downturn. Then Georgia passed a better incentive (featuring a 30% tax credit) so a lot of people went there."

To make matters worse, the Louisiana credit was scheduled to be scaled back from 25% to 20% in 2010, and then to 15% in 2012.

Because of that, "There was some hesitancy in budgeting things for Louisiana early in '09," says Christopher Stelly, director of film and television for the Louisiana Entertainment Office. Before the change in the law, which upped the credit and eliminated its sunset date, "We had 20 (tax credit) applications for the first six or seven months of '09. After that, we saw 89 applications."

The incentive boost saved the year -- especially for Baton Rouge.

"Shortly after the tax credit was upped, we had HBO's 'True Blood' come through to shoot exteriors for its Main Street-type square in a town just north of Baton Rouge called Clinton, La.," says Amy Mitchell-Smith, executive director of the Baton Rouge Film Commission. "We ended having 26 film and television projects that filmed in our market with a direct spend that was estimated at $72 million, with an economic impact of well over $130 million. It was a big year."

A substantial portion of that came from Sony's apocalyptic sci-fi/action film "Battle: Los Angeles." Budgeted at about $70 million, it shot from September-December at Raleigh Studios' Celtic Media Center in Baton Rouge and on location in Shreveport, where it shut down a freeway overpass for five weeks.

"That would be pretty difficult to do in the Los Angeles area," says "Battle" art director Chris Spellman

"Here people aren't jaded about having to go five minutes out of their way because a film is shooting."

That Southern hospitality is also apparent in other neighborhoods. When executive producer Grant Scharbo approached the developers of upscale gated community Southern Trace, outside Shreveport, about using it as the setting for the ABC supernatural drama "The Gates," he received approval from the club's board before the day was out. And the goodwill continued once production was rolling.

"They all come out to watch us shoot. We shoot there at night and they don't care," Scharbo says. "It's one of the most film-friendly places I've been in my life."

The welcome mat was also put out by David and Margo Myatt, owners of StageWorks of Louisiana in downtown Shreveport, where the production offices and interior sets of "The Gates" are housed. The couple let the show shoot several days of exteriors on their 26-acre estate free of charge, and let them board a cast of wolves on their farm.

A computer rendering of Shreveport's long-awaited Millennium Studios

If there has been one downside for "The Gates," it's the lack of available local crew.

"They're about one or two crews deep in Shreveport, and by the time we arrived two other movies had crewed up," Scharbo says. "You can pull from nearby cities, but both New Orleans and Shreveport were extremely busy, so we had to import a lot of crew from North Carolina, Atlanta and Los Angeles."

That meant a double whammy for Louisiana, with extra money spent on per diems and lodging and fewer tax credits earned for local hires.

Spellman had better luck with "Battle," which was able to hire its entire art department locally, and he was impressed with what he found.

"Every time films come here, the more experienced the local crews become," says Spellman, a New Orleans native who moved to Los Angeles after graduating from LSU.

Of course, the crew members can pick up and follow productions anywhere. Proper soundstages are harder to come by, and they're something most incentive states lack.

"It's not like you can just snap your fingers and warehouses across the city are appropriate for filming," says Jennifer Day, director of the New Orleans Office of Film & Video. "You need sound proofing, air conditioning, etc."

During the past eight years, Louisiana has built an impressive collection of studio facilities which, in addition to Second Line, StageWorks and the Celtic Media Center, include the Nims Center and Beven Street Film Studio, both in Harahan (a suburb of New Orleans), as well as the Louisiana Wave Studio in Shreveport, with an automated 750,000-gallon tank programmed to generate 13 kinds of waves up to 8 feet high.

Millennium Studios will soon be added to that list. Delayed 18 months because of financing difficulties, it finally began construction in Shreveport's Ledbetter Heights in December, and it is scheduled to be completed this year. It will boast two soundstages with two floors of offices and a separate building with a special effects mill, as well as a 10,000-square-foot facility housing Millennium's visual effects company, Worldwide FX.

Stelly is proud to point out the trickle-down effect of all this production, which has impacted not only local hotels and restaurants but also smaller vendors having their first encounters with the entertainment industry.

"A man from a local glass company called me just buzzing," says Stelly, "saying he serviced a motion picture for three or four weeks and made more money than he had servicing some of his higher-end clients for 10 years."

Filming Louisiana for May/ June 2010

2010-05-24T20:44:00.000-07:00

The Gates, Shreveport thegatesproductions@gmail.com
Mighty Fine, New Orleans mightyfineneworleans@gmail.com
Billy the Exterminator, Season 3, Shreveport
The Black Ghost, New Orleans thefirsthurd@yahoo.com
Ghostbreakers Tv Shreveport, Baton Rouge, New Orleans production@slowchildrenonline.net
Fury, Baton Rouge furyresume@gmail.com fax 225-906-0466
The Fields New Orleans, gideonproductions2010@gmail.com
Brawler New Orleans, office@brawlerthemovie.com
Lockjaw Baton Rouge, lockjawprod@gmail.com
The Big Valley, Baton Rouge, sanford2hampton@aol.com
LouisianaShark Night 3D, Louisiana info@afterdarkfilms.com
Dead Mans Gold, Louisiana
Green Lantern, New Orleans, greenlanternfilm@gmail.com
The Boys Club, Folsum Louisiana info@gravityfilms.com
Battleship, Baton Rouge hopperbr@gmail.com
The Courier, Baton Rouge info@filmsinmotion.com
The Leaving, New Orleans
Shotgun Wedding, New Orleans, shotgunweddingcrew@gmail.com
The Americans, Shreveport, Attention James Gerrick cygnetfilm@yahoo.com
Frightland, Baton Rouge brandon@saintsinnerent.com
Flypaper, Baton Rouge flypaperfilm@gmail.com
Memphis Beat, New Orleans deltabluesresumes@gmail.com
First Date Season 4 TV New Orleans k2.miket@gmail.com
Substance, New OrleansFishies TV New Orleans, Baton Rouge, for sound, animators, and storyboardartist only k2.miket@gmail.com
Pray for Light, info@firesatmidnightfilms.com
Living with Leroy TV Baton Rouge Sound only k2.miket@gmail.com
Criminal Empire for Dummies, New Orleans jess.luebe@live.com
Big Red, New Orleans wwenolallc@gmail.com
Revenge of the Bridesmades TV New Orleans rotbridesmaids@gmail.com
Jeff, Who lives at Home, New Orleans jeffbrothersproductions@gmail.com
Court 13, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Houma LA Murder through the eyes of a child, New Orleanscresent.city.film@gmail.com
The Coffin, info@glassasylumprods.com
Scratching the Surface, New Orleans sts.nola.crew@gmail.com
Death House, Baton Rouge k2.miket@gmail.com
Love Wedding Marriage, New Orleans, (504) 525-2946
Unraveled, Baton Rouge
Red, New Orleans, redneworleans@gmail.com
Silver Cord, Baton Rouge and New Orleans, silvercordcv@aol.com
Seconds Apart, HammondMoma's Little Baby, Louisiana
The Sean Peyton Show, New Orleans info@horizonent.tv
Treme, New Orleans, blowndeadlineprod@gmail.com
Swamp Shark, Lafayette, jobs.bulletfilms@gmail.com
Jaws of the Mississippi, Lafayette, jobs.bulletfilms@gmail.com
The 13th Gate, Louisiana
Change of Heart, Shreveport more to come
Victim 34, Baton Rouge
Verdigris, New Orleans
Blood Out, Baton Rouge, Talent talent@filmsinmotion.com Crew info@filmsinmotion.com
The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, New Orleans
I wanna dance, New Orleans floyd@imi-world.com
Two Wolves, Baton Rouge info@rememberdreaming.com
The Gatekeeper, New Orleans, info@lightwaveent.com
Hatchet 2, Louisiana
Kane and Lynch, Louisiana
The Night Can be Measured
Remnants New Orleans
10,000 doors, October in New Orleans
Troll, Baton Rouge
A War Within
Hallow Point, Baton Rouge
Playing with the Enemy, Shreveport
The Work, in Meterie
Leslie, New Orleans
Samuel Bleak, Houma
Without Fear, New Orleans
Difficult Death, New Orleans
Peril, Shreveport
The Ledge, Baton Rouge

Filming Louisiana Magazine Summer issue Deadline closes in.

2010-05-23T12:01:00.000-07:00

If you are familiar with Filming Louisiana Magazine you already know that it is a valuable resource for Production companies to find Louisiana Crew, services, talent and locations. Well, it is about time again for the summer issue to come out and there are advertising opportunities still available.

If you have a profile on the site already you need to log in and make sure you have it up to date because no one can find you if you have old and out dated information on the site. If you need to sign up just go to the site and click register and it tell you step by step what to fill out which only takes a few minutes. It is free so you have nothing to lose if you want to work in Louisiana film.

The Magazine and database goes out to production companies before they get to Louisiana to set up production. If you would like a copy our of last issue to help you make your decision on advertising and to see what our magazine is all about please feel free to email filminglouisiana@gmail.com and someone will get one out to you. There is no charge production companies for our magazine and database! The database comes from the website http://www.filminglouisiana.com/ and if you did not sign up for the free listing you will not be in the magazine database.

You can also search the website http://www.filminglouisina.com/ to find all of our resources and it grows everyday. there are over 3000 resources on the website. Get noticed by production companies and find jobs in Louisiana.

Our next issue will have a great article about about www.bladestudios.com as well as stories about successful companies working in film in our great state.

This is a Louisiana Database and the Filming Louisiana Magazine is printed in Louisiana, keeping all revenue in Louisiana. Just remember, keep it in Louisiana!

Hot Movie Productions Filming in Louisiana including Twilight?

2010-05-20T21:48:00.000-07:00

This summer another Battle will film in Louisiana but not Battle Los Angeles, this time just Battleship which is in pre-production in Baton Rouge. Also on the horizon for Baton Rouge is Big Valley from the TV show of the same name. Kane and Lynch with Bruce Willis and Jamie Fox, a adaptation from video game to movie is looking to film in Louisiana this summer also. The biggest rumor and now possibly the biggest score for Louisiana this year might be Twilight.

The Advertiser opines that Louisiana as a filming location for Breaking Dawn would be good for both its economy and growing experience as a chosen set.

If the production is indeed moved to Louisiana, it would be one of the biggest coups for the state since it launched several tax incentives in 2002 intended to draw film and television projects to the area. Havens pointed out that Green Lantern and Battleship, both of which are expected to be major summer hits, are either filming or in pre-production in Louisiana.

www.NOLA.com also weighed in on the subject with a bit of interesting information:

The second, more telling, development comes in the form of incorporation papers filed last week with the Louisiana Secretary of State's office by an agent for Summit and establishing a new corporate entity called "TSBD LOUISIANA, L.L.C." -- which would seem to stand for "Twilight: Saga Breaking Dawn."

Another company looking to film in Louisiana is Steven Spielberg's Terra Nova TV show which would come out in 2012 but is just in early development. Drive Angry just wrapped in Shreveport.

Crew Call for Low Budget paid gig

2010-05-18T07:24:00.001-07:00

WORK ALERT! SHREVEPORT - CREW CALL - A small film is shooting in East Texas (about 45 minutes from Shreveport) mid June. We're looking and open to ALL CREW including:

Costume Designer
Makeup/Hair
Assistant Directors
Production Designer
Prop Master
Sound Mixer, and so on.

This is a paid LOW BUDGET MOVIE. All interested should email opengatecrew@yahoo.com

Thank you,

Cassie T. Chappell

Shreveport/Bossier Area film industry improves after lull

2010-05-16T09:40:00.000-07:00

Filmmakers work on "Drive Angry" recently on Clyde Fant Memorial Parkway. (Henrietta Wildsmith/The Times)

Northwest Louisiana's film industry appears to be on the upturn following a relatively slow 2009.

Less than halfway through 2010, combined budgets for the Shreveport-Bossier City area's productions are larger than all of last year. That comes out to about $99 million for six television shows and movies this year, according to the Shreveport-Bossier film office, versus $98.2 million for 18 projects in '09.
An increase in the amount of money the state offers companies in the way of rebates is the driving force, experts say.

Industry publications kept the state and area in top five lists for best places to do business, but at one point in 2009, Shreveport had nothing shooting. After steady activity since 2005, when Hurricane Katrina pushed production here from New Orleans, the shortage of productions hurt. Georgia — still considered one of the Bayou State's main competitors — increased its rebate incentive rate to 30 percent in 2008. That drove companies to Atlanta while Louisiana offered companies only 25 percent of the amount of money spent in-state.

Louisiana since has upped its incentive to 30 percent, and Shreveport and Caddo Parish offer smaller add-ons.
"I've been here for five years, and I have been consistently working for five years," said Ryan Glorioso of Shreveport's Glorioso Casting, "but right now it's just extremely busy."

Meeting the bottom line clearly matters. While incentives help, according to Shreveport film director Jeffrey Goodman, a still unrealized cost-cutting opportunity is the availability of local post-production facilities.
That should change this year with the arrival of the long-awaited Nu Image/Millennium Films studio just west of downtown in the Ledbetter Heights neighborhood and Moonbot and Blade studios at the central city Intertech Science Park. "Once those facilities are up and running, I'm not really sure what we're missing," Goodman said. "To me it's just very encouraging to hear about these new infrastructure projects. We've done something right."

The industry's local presence has not affected only directly film-related business.
Cyndi Brenner, unit production manager — the person whose job is to keep a show on budget — for Fox Television Studios' ABC series "The Gates," said her four years here have seen major changes in available temporary living spaces.
Hotels were the main option early on, Brenner said, but now many apartment complexes offer corporate housing, or fully furnished units. Moving into apartments with no furniture or utilities would waste time.
"It would mean us having to go in and baby-sit while the cable guy comes and the electricity gets turned on and all of those things that I don't' have the manpower to do," Brenner said. "But we're willing to pay a certain amount to have it done for us."

Shreveport-Bossier's film office also includes a database of available housing.
The next trickledown effect Brenner hopes for: direct service from Shreveport Regional Airport to Los Angeles.
Shreveport's film commissioner, Arlena Acree, said that since January she's tracked nearly 350 film-related plane trips from here to there. "We definitely are still trying to pursue direct flights to L.A."

While Acree agrees that it's money that brought and has kept the film industry here, there is one perk that seems to have taken a slide. Movie stars used to say the Ark-La-Tex was a respite from the fan and media glare in Hollywood or New York.
But there may need to be etiquette for approaching actors.
"Don't be knocking on their door or making them cookies. Don't put it on Facebook," Acree said. "Actors will be in restaurants or shopping and people come up to them and want to get their picture made. Leave them alone."

What doesn't seem to be a major nuisance for residents, Acree said, is blocking traffic for filming. In recent weeks production has closed sections of major north-south artery Clyde Fant Memorial Parkway.
Last year, the northernmost on-ramp to Interstate 49 was closed for weeks. The city doesn't track its closures, but Acree recalled receiving only one complaint about I-49. "Most of them are maybe a half day or certain hours a day," Acree said. "It doesn't make it that bad."

NOVAC Needs your Help with OIL SPILL CLEAN-UP

2010-05-04T19:47:00.000-07:00

New Orleans Video Access Center and the Barataria-Terrebonne Estuary needs your help. If you live in Louisiana or anywhere along the Gulf Coast you will understand the real need for donations to help clean up oil spill that is hitting the Gulf Coast. If you would like to help out please see the list below.

NEEDED SUPPLIES:
Blue Dawn dishwashing detergent
Absorbent linens (like towels and soft cloth)
Saline Solution
Nylon Pantyhose
Water
Gatorade
Bug spray
Sunscreen
Safety glasses (clear and dark)
Chicken boots
E-tech gloves
Safety utility knives
Dip nets (small mesh)
Pool cleaning nets
Mosquito head nets
Duct tape
Work vests

DATE: Wednesday, May 5- Friday, May 14, 2010

TIME: Monday through Friday, 10 am - 4:30 pm

LOCATION: 532 Louisa Street, New Orleans, LA 70117

Donations will be delivered to the Barataria-Terrebonne Estuary Volunteer Program
http://www.gulfresponse.org/

If you have questions, you can reach us at 504.940.5780

Filming Louisiana productions for May 2010

2010-04-22T23:37:00.000-07:00

The Gates, Shreveport thegatesproductions@gmail.com
Butter, Shreveport butterproductionsinc@gmail.com
The Black Ghost, New Orleans thefirsthurd@yahoo.com
Ghostbreakers Tv Shreveport, Baton Rouge, New Orleans production@slowchildrenonline.net
Fury, Baton Rouge furyresume@gmail.com fax 225-906-0466
The Fields New Orleans, gideonproductions2010@gmail.com
Brawler New Orleans, office@brawlerthemovie.com
Lockjaw Baton Rouge, lockjawprod@gmail.com
The Big Valley, Louisiana
Shark Night 3D, Louisiana
51, Louisiana info@afterdarkfilms.com
Dead Mans Gold, Louisiana
Green Lantern, New Orleans, greenlanternfilm@gmail.com
The Boys Club, Folsum Louisiana info@gravityfilms.com
Battleship, Baton Rouge hopperbr@gmail.com
The Courier, Baton Rouge info@filmsinmotion.com
The Leaving, New Orleans
Shotgun Wedding, New Orleans, shotgunweddingcrew@gmail.com
The Americans, Shreveport, Attention James Gerrick cygnetfilm@yahoo.com
Frightland, Baton Rouge brandon@saintsinnerent.com
Flypaper, Baton Rouge flypaperfilm@gmail.com
Memphis Beat, New Orleans deltabluesresumes@gmail.com
First Date Season 4 TV New Orleans k2.miket@gmail.com
Substance, New Orleans
Fishies TV New Orleans, Baton Rouge, for sound, animators, and storyboard
artist only k2.miket@gmail.com
Pray for Light, info@firesatmidnightfilms.com
Living with Leroy TV Baton Rouge Sound only k2.miket@gmail.com
Criminal Empire for Dummies, New Orleans jess.luebe@live.com
Big Red, New Orleans wwenolallc@gmail.com
Revenge of the Bridesmades TV New Orleans rotbridesmaids@gmail.com
Jeff, Who lives at Home, New Orleans jeffbrothersproductions@gmail.com
Court 13, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Houma LA
Murder through the eyes of a child, New Orleanscresent.city.film@gmail.com
The Coffin, info@glassasylumprods.com
Scratching the Surface, New Orleans sts.nola.crew@gmail.com
Drive Angry, Shreveport, Fax (318) 841-3591, drivenproductionsllc@gmail.com
Death House, Baton Rouge k2.miket@gmail.com
Love Wedding Marriage, New Orleans, (504) 525-2946
Unraveled, Baton Rouge
Red, New Orleans, redneworleans@gmail.com
Silver Cord, Baton Rouge and New Orleans, silvercordcv@aol.com
Seconds Apart, Hammond
Moma's Little Baby, Louisiana
The Sean Peyton Show, New Orleans info@horizonent.tv
Treme, New Orleans, blowndeadlineprod@gmail.com
Swamp Shark, Lafayette, jobs.bulletfilms@gmail.com
Jaws of the Mississippi, Lafayette, jobs.bulletfilms@gmail.com
The 13th Gate, Louisiana
Change of Heart, Shreveport more to come
Victim 34, Baton Rouge
Verdigris, New Orleans
Blood Out, Baton Rouge, Talent talent@filmsinmotion.com Crew info@filmsinmotion.com
The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, New Orleans
I wanna dance, New Orleans floyd@imi-world.com
Two Wolves, Baton Rouge info@rememberdreaming.com
The Gatekeeper, New Orleans, info@lightwaveent.com
Hatchet 2, either New Orleans or Shreveport,
Kane and Lynch, New Orleans
The Night Can be Measured
Remnants New Orleans
10,000 doors, October in New Orleans
Troll, Baton Rouge
A War Within
Hallow Point, Baton Rouge
Playing with the Enemy, Shreveport
The Work, in Meterie
Leslie, New Orleans
Samuel Bleak, Houma
Without Fear, New Orleans
Difficult Death, New Orleans
Peril, Shreveport
The Ledge, Baton Rouge

Blade Studios Opening Soon for Business in Shreveport!

2010-04-14T08:19:00.000-07:00

Blade Studios is in the construction phase and will be opening for business in early fall 2010. Brady Blade Jr. World renown touring drummer and studio musician has come back to his hometown to head up the studio. He has partnered with Scott Crompton, producer, expert Louisiana tax incentives,media developer to form the core of the company.

Brady Blade has toured with Dave Mathew's, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Jewel just to name a few. He has produced Solomon Burke, Bridget DeMyer and many others. The studio has been designed by World Renown Studio Designer, Russ Berger who has over 2500 studio designs to his credit. The studio will feature includes (2) state-of-the-art large volume studios. Each studio's wonderfully crafted world-class ambient spaces provide the very best sonic quality. The client areas including lounges, kitchens, private restrooms and shower, private office suites, conference rooms, workstations and even a dark room, are designed to be inspiring and create the highest level of comfort. Each studio is wired for video and video editing services are available to be used for "making of..."
or web based promotions during and after the production.

In addition to the studio services will include is a full service production company which will maximize the Louisiana cash rebate incentive to clients. The staff will be your concierge. They will assemble every detail of the production including, travel, lodging, transportation and payroll, so that clients can focus exclusively on their project.

Through the Louisiana program, BLADE Studios will provide a CASH REBATE on the following items:
Air reservations (commercial & private charter)
Rental car/limo service
Lodging (hotel/private home)
Food preparation (restaurant/private chef)
Studio rental
Producer/engineer services
Musicians
Equipment rental
Post-production services
Accounting services

Through the Louisiana Entertainment Incentive Program, Louisiana sound recording projects can earn a 25% cash rebate on money spent in Louisiana to complete the recording project. Rebates are available on a number of services. Film audio recording projects earn a 35% cash rebate.

These refundable tax credits are based on total in-state expenditures related to the production of a sound recording.

A refundable tax credit is similar to a direct rebate: the total amount of tax credits earned is paid by the state as a rebate to qualifying participants.

The project must spend at least $15,000 in Louisiana within a 12 month period and provide advance notice of intent to apply for the Sound Recording incentive.

BLADE Studios
2031 Kings Highway
Shreveport, Louisiana 71103 USA
Phone: 318.213.0777
www.bladestudios.com

Latest Ramblings of more filming in Louisiana!

2010-03-31T11:45:00.000-07:00

As many movies come flowing into Louisiana some blockbuster movies are taking up residents in different cities throughout the State of Louisiana. Green Lantern staring Ryan Reynolds has taken over parts of New Orleans and plenty of crew. They will be in the State for around 6 months working on the film. Baton Rouge has Blood Out staring Val Kilmer is kicking off soon as well. Drive Angry with Nicolas Cage is in Shreveport for it's 3rd. week of filming and is expected to be there for two months. The gates series for Fox Television is filming an ABC series in Shreveport and will be there for over 6 months with 13 episodes, Treme in New Orleans will be back again as well as Billy the Exterminator in Shreveport.

With a lot of production crews working there are still plenty of Louisiana production crew members not working; the reason? Many productions are bringing in their own crew all the way down to PA's from out of state which leaves local crew wondering why there are all of these productions in the state and they are sitting at home waiting for a phone call. It does not make a lot of sense for production companies to do so when they have to pay for housing, per diem, food and everything else associated with outside crews. If production companies would hire in state they would receive an additional 5% for hiring local and they do not have to pay for housing and such. Another reason, many production companies get here and say "I did not know that there was a large base of local crew" because they did not do their homework about what is available.

With over 50 productions in the state or planing to film in the state this year, production companies do need to realize that there are thousands of crew members in the state and training programs churning out new certified crew everyday. Production companies can find every kind of service in the state as well as specialized prop makers, special f/x artist, product placement companies just to name a few. If production companies need crew Louisiana has got them and plenty of them. Crew from other states are taking up permanent residents in Louisiana because of the steady work.

If people want to question if the Movie tax incentives have helped the state out just take a drive down Louisiana roads and check out productions in every corner of the state with no end in site. Louisiana is truly the state to film your production in outside of the traditional boarders of old Hollywood. Here are the latest movies ramblings of Louisiana productions.

The Gatekeeper, New Orleans
The Big Valley, Louisiana
Dead Mans Gold, Louisiana
The boys Club, Folsom Louisiana
Samuel Bleak, Thibodaux Louisiana
Asleep at the Wheel, New Orleans
Unraveled, Baton Rouge
The Work, Metairie Louisiana
Substance, New Orleans
The Leaving, New Orleans
Difficult Death, Louisiana

Crew diving into Louisiana lifestyle by Laura McKnight

2010-03-28T09:27:00.000-07:00

By Laura McKnight
Staff Writer for the Houmatoday.com
Published: Sunday, March 28, 2010 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, March 26, 2010 at 2:49 p.m.

MONTEGUT — Ashraf Rijal of New York City gave his first-ever karaoke performance this month, impressing crowds at Flynn Stones bar in Bourg with his rendition of Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through The Grapevine.”
Matt Parker, a Nashville, Tenn. native who lives in New York, plans to bow-fish with a Pointe-aux-Chenes man, and Nathan Harrison of Monticello, Fla., is anxious to tour south Terrebonne Parish waters in a kayak or pirogue.
The three newcomers are embracing local life as part of a growing group of artists taking up residence in Terrebonne sent here to work on a movie.
“It’s kind of like a once-in-a-lifetime chance to come live in a magical place for three months,” said Parker, 33, the film’s line producer. “There are so many things here that you can’t find anywhere else.”
The crew members work for film company Court 13, which plans to begin shooting a feature film in lower Terrebonne late next month. The movie, with a working title “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” tells the story of a young girl whose father starts to die as the world begins to end.
Court 13 established headquarters early this year in the former Cajun Country Stop gas station and convenience store in Montegut. The company is also renting a large garage and housing behind the store, as well as the tract of land on which they sit.
The film crew grew from 10 to about 40 workers in early March, and will expand to about 65-strong by the time filming starts April 28, the film’s producers said
The artists, many in their 20s and 30s, are moving here from spots across the country, often exchanging city homes for trailers and houses along the Montegut area’s bayou side, drawn by the chance to create art together in a unique locale.
“This would be an adventure to live and work in a new place, be around a mightily talented group of people,” Rijal said.
Several said this marks their first trip south of New Orleans, or their first time in Louisiana, but the crew has already formed friendships with locals, bonding over shared boats, boiled seafood and bowling.
“The people you meet are just fantastic,” Parker said.
The film crew puts in long hours, but still finds time to explore local culture and nightlife through visits to bayou bars, Asian restaurants, taco eateries and drives throughout Cajun country. The crew has already developed factions around Houma seafood spots, with some loyal to 1921 Seafood and others to Big Al’s. But the local atmosphere draws agreement.
“It’s so beautiful. It’s good to be by the water,” said Elizabeth McClellan, 23, a Los Angeles native who moved here from Austin to work in the art department.
Rijal, 24, art department coordinator, said despite 12- to 14-hour workdays, the quiet, watery surroundings give his time here a vacation feel.
“It’s a different pace from New York,” he said. “It’s nice to be in a place where folks say ‘hi’ even if you don’t know them.”
Aude Cuenod, 22, of France, said the chance to explore a different part of the U.S. and interact with local residents drew her to join the film’s art department.
“I was really excited about the prospect of working with a group of young artists making a movie about a place, in that place, with the community really involved,” Cuenod said.
Interactions with local French-speakers have sparked cultural curiosity in Cuenod, prompting her to research certain expressions used here.
Harrison, 23, who serves as boats and picture vehicles coordinator, also spoke about the warm welcomes he’s experienced while scouting local communities for boats, animals and other items. Locals often invite him in for coffee and talks about their lives on the water, experiences in storms, fishing-industry issues and land-loss fears.
“It’s a very cool job,” Harrison said. “I love being able to talk to people from this area.”
Harrison said he learned about Cajun culture while studying fiddle music in Nova Scotia. His growing fascination with Louisiana coincided with the making of this film, co-written by his sister, Lucy Alibar.
“People here are really famous for their hospitality,” he said. “You really notice that when you’re borrowing their boats.”
McClellan’s work has her getting to know the culture archeology-style, by digging through trash for art materials.
“It’s an intimate way to connect to the people,” she said.
But she has also experienced local hospitality as residents offer supplies and issue tips.
“The best advice I’ve gotten so far is that if I come across a gator, run from that like I’d run from a wiener dog,” McClellan said, in a zigzag.

Filming Louisiana March 23, updates for productions

2010-03-23T10:23:00.000-07:00

There are films rolling in all around the great State of Louisiana and there will be plenty of work for crew and services who supply productions. This could be one of the best years yet in Louisiana Film. Here are the production listings as of March 23, 2010:

The Gates, Shreveport thegatesproductions@gmail.com
Butter, Shreveport butterproductionsinc@gmail.com
Green Lantern, New Orleans, greenlanternfilm@gmail.com
Shotgun Wedding, New Orleans, shotgunweddingcrew@gmail.com
The Americans, Shreveport, Attention James Gerrick cygnetfilm@yahoo.com
Frightland, Baton Rouge brandon@saintsinnerent.com
Flypaper, Baton Rouge flypaperfilm@gmail.com
Delta Blues, New Orleans deltabluesresumes@gmail.com
LA Art Show, Shrevport laartshowresumes@gmail.com
First Date Season 4 TV New Orleans k2.miket@gmail.com
Substance, New Orleans
Fishies TV New Orleans, Baton Rouge, for sound, animators, and storyboard
artist only k2.miket@gmail.com
Pray for Light, info@firesatmidnightfilms.com
Living with Leroy TV Baton Rouge Sound only k2.miket@gmail.com
Criminal Empire for Dummies, New Orleans jess.luebe@live.com
Big Red, New Orleans wwenolallc@gmail.com
Revenge of the Bridesmades TV New Orleans rotbridesmaids@gmail.com
Jeff, Who lives at Home, New Orleans jeffbrothersproductions@gmail.com
Court 13 Houma LA
Murder through the eyes of a child, New Orleanscresent.city.film@gmail.com
The Coffin, info@glassasylumprods.com
Scratching the Surface, New Orleans sts.nola.crew@gmail.com
Drive Angry, Shreveport, Fax (318) 841-3591, drivenproductionsllc@gmail.com
Death House, Baton Rouge k2.miket@gmail.com
Love Wedding Marriage, New Orleans, (504) 525-2946
Unraveled, Baton Rouge
Red, New Orleans, redneworleans@gmail.com
Silver Cord, Baton Rouge and New Orleans, silvercordcv@aol.com
Seconds Apart, Hammond
Moma's Little Baby, Louisiana
The Sean Peyton Show, New Orleans info@horizonent.tv
Treme, New Orleans, blowndeadlineprod@gmail.com
Swamp Shark, Lafayette, jobs.bulletfilms@gmail.com
Jaws of the Mississippi, Lafayette, jobs.bulletfilms@gmail.com
The 13th Gate, Louisiana
Change of Heart, Shreveport more to come
Victim 34, Baton Rouge
Verdigris, New Orleans
Blood Out, Baton Rouge, Talent talent@filmsinmotion.com Crew info@filmsinmotion.com
The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, New Orleans
I wanna dance, New Orleans floyd@imi-world.com
Two Wolves, Baton Rouge info@rememberdreaming.com
The Gatekeeper, New Orleans, info@lightwaveent.com
Hatchet 2, either New Orleans or Shreveport,
Kane and Lynch, New Orleans
The Night Can be Measured
Remnants New Orleans
10,000 doors, October in New Orleans
Troll, Baton Rouge
A War Within
Hallow Point, Baton Rouge
Playing with the Enemy, Shreveport
The Work, in Meterie
Leslie, New Orleans
Samuel Bleak, Houma
Without Fear, New Orleans
Difficult Death New Orleans
Peril, Shreveport
The Ledge, Baton Rouge

Filming Louisiana Magazine First issue has gone out to Production Companies!

2010-03-11T09:22:00.000-08:00

Much work went into the making of Filming Louisiana Magazine which features the array of Louisiana crew, services, locations and talent. It was made primarily as a database for crew for the State of Louisiana but along with the database there are some great articles about what is going on in Louisiana Film. "The production resource primarily is for industry professionals, not for everyday people but people in the film industry."

There are over 2200 qualified professionals listed in magazine which will help productions find local talent and in turn will keep the jobs in Louisiana. We want production companies to realize that Louisiana has a great talent pool and they don't need to bring crews from out of state to work here.

Filming Louisiana also has a online database which companies can find crews via the internet at http://www.filminglouisiana.com/ .

Louisiana residents who have not signed up for the FilmingLouisiana database can still sign up for the database at http://www.filminglouisiana.com/ and they too can have a free ad in the Summer issue. The deadline for signing up is June 1, 2010 so don't wait or you won't be listed.

The cover story is about Blayne Weaver and Brandon Barrera and their latest movie, 6 Month Rule, filmed in Shreveport with post production in New Orleans. Two Childhood friends who grew up in Shreveport/Bossier City who have come back home for their first film in Shreveport. Blayne and Brandon are known for their first short, Losing Lois Lane and features, Outside Sales, Weather Girl, and The FP which is in post production as well as 6 month Rule.

Christopher Moore

Filming Louisiana, Films for March 11, 2010

2010-03-11T09:12:00.000-08:00

These are the films that are coming to Louisiana as of March 11, 2010. Many productions have hit the ground already. Keep up the good work Louisiana.

Green Lantern, New Orleans, greenlanternfilm@gmail.com
Shotgun Wedding, New Orleans, shotgunweddingcrew@gmail.com
The Americans, Shreveport, Attention James Gerrick cygnetfilm@yahoo.com
Frightland, Baton Rouge brandon@saintsinnerent.com
Substance, New Orleans
The Gates, TV Series, Shreveport
Pray for Light, info@firesatmidnightfilms.com
The Coffin, info@glassasylumprods.com
Scratching the Surface, New Orleans
Earthbound, New Orleans, Fax 504.734.3793
Drive Angry, Shreveport, Fax (318) 841-3591, drivenproductionsllc@gmail.com
Death House, Baton Rouge k2.miket@gmail.com
Love Wedding Marriage, New Orleans, (504) 525-2946
Unraveled, Baton Rouge
Red, New Orleans, redneworleans@gmail.com
Silver Cord, Baton Rouge and New Orleans, silvercordcv@aol.com
Seconds Apart, Hammond
Moma's Little Baby, Louisiana
The Sean Peyton Show, New Orleans info@horizonent.tv
Treme, New Orleans, blowndeadlineprod@gmail.com
The Six Month Rule, Shreveport shpdevelopment@me.com
Swamp Shark, Lafayette, jobs.bulletfilms@gmail.com
Jaws of the Mississippi, Lafayette, jobs.bulletfilms@gmail.com
The 13th Gate, Louisiana
Change of Heart, Shreveport more to come
Victim 34, Baton Rouge
Verdigris, New Orleans
Blood Out, Baton Rouge, Talent talent@filmsinmotion.com Crew info@filmsinmotion.com
The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, New Orleans
I wanna dance, New Orleans floyd@imi-world.com
Two Wolves, Baton Rouge info@rememberdreaming.com
The Gatekeeper, New Orleans, info@lightwaveent.com
Hatchet 2, either New Orleans or Shreveport,
Kane and Lynch, New Orleans
The Night Can be Measured
Flypaper, Baton Rouge
Remnants New Orleans
10,000 doors, October in New Orleans
Troll, Baton Rouge
A War Within
Hallow Point, Baton Rouge
Playing with the Enemy, Shreveport
The Work, in Meterie
Leslie, New Orleans
Samuel Bleak, Houma
Without Fear, New Orleans
Difficult Death New Orleans
Peril, Shreveport
The Ledge, Baton Rouge

Mayday, Bering Sea Will be On Discovery Channel March 3, 2010

2010-03-02T11:04:00.000-08:00

The Discovery Channel will be showing Mayday, Bering Sea this month. It will show March 3, 2010. It was shot in the Louisiana Wave Studio and in Larose Louisiana on a real vessel. I myself had the opportunity along with a great art department of building the Wheelhouse and the Rudder Room for the show. We only had a week to build it so there were a lot of hours put into the build. On the eighth day we had to deliver the Two Large set pieces to the Louisiana Wave Studio aboard two large trucks.

This is when the film crew got started. The wave tank was filled and we set the pieces in place. Amazingly, the Louisiana Coast Guard brought out two separate choppers and did real life simulated rescues for the film. With the wave tank producing up to 8 foot waves you soon forget this is not real. Choppers flying only feet over the tank and waves crashing everywhere with people in the water seemed at times like you were at sea. It was a experience that I will never forget. You can see the detail that went into this recreation as I hope everyone will watch.

On March 23, 2008, the Alaska Ranger sank leaving 47 fishermen helpless in the frigid Bering Sea, a worst ever scenario on the world?s deadliest seas. This is the true story in the words of those who survived, and the heroic account of those who did not. It was the largest at sea cold water rescue in US history. Please don't miss it. I have to say great job again for Louisiana, keep it up.

Christopher Moore
FilmingLouisiana

TV show to film in Shreveport-Bossier City

2010-03-02T10:56:00.000-08:00

From Staff Reports • March 1, 2010 The Shreveport Times.

A new television series from Fox Television Studios will begin shooting in Shreveport-Bossier City on March 29.

"The Gates" is a one-hour drama set to air on ABC. The first 13 episodes will be shot at Stageworks in Shreveport and locations throughout the area.
The show is about a big-city cop who becomes a police chief in a small suburban town, where there is more than meets the eye, stated a news release.
Shreveport-Bossier City's look, film-friendliness and the availability of experienced film crews all played a part in Fox choosing the area for the show.
"We competed with several other cities and states to bring 'The Gates' to this area, and we are hopeful this is just the beginning of a long collaboration with the studio and network," said Arlena Acree, Shreveport Director of Film, in a prepared statement. "'The Gates' will strengthen our local film industry and will continue to drive our crew and vendor base. We couldn't be more thrilled to welcome 'The Gates' to Shreveport-Bossier."

Filming Louisiana, February 15, 2010 Update

2010-02-15T12:35:00.000-08:00

These are the listings as we get them for the second part of February 2010, and more films are coming. Louisiana shows no sign of slowing down in productions coming to the area.

Green Lantern, New Orleans, greenlanternfilm@gmail.com
Shotgun Wedding, New Orleans, shotgunweddingcrew@gmail.com
The Americans, Shreveport, Attention James Gerrick cygnetfilm@yahoo.com
Frightland, Baton Rouge brandon@saintsinnerent.com
Substance, New Orleans
The Gates, TV Series, Shreveport
Pray for Light, info@firesatmidnightfilms.com
The Coffin, info@glassasylumprods.com
Scratching the Surface, New Orleans
Earthbound, New Orleans, Fax 504.734.3793
Drive Angry, Shreveport, Fax (318) 841-3591, drivenproductionsllc@gmail.com
Death House, Baton Rouge k2.miket@gmail.com
Love Wedding Marriage, New Orleans, (504) 525-2946
Unraveled, Baton Rouge
Red, New Orleans, redneworleans@gmail.com
Silver Cord, Baton Rouge and New Orleans, silvercordcv@aol.com
Seconds Apart, Hammond
The Sean Peyton Show, New Orleans info@horizonent.tv
Treme, New Orleans, blowndeadlineprod@gmail.com
The Six Month Rule, Shreveport shpdevelopment@me.com
Swamp Shark, Lafayette, jobs.bulletfilms@gmail.com
Jaws of the Mississippi, Lafayette, jobs.bulletfilms@gmail.com
Change of Heart, Shreveport more to come
Victim 34, Baton Rouge
Blood Out, Baton Rouge, Talent talent@filmsinmotion.com Crew info@filmsinmotion.com
The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, New Orleans
I wanna dance, New Orleans floyd@imi-world.com
Two Wolves, Baton Rouge info@rememberdreaming.com
The Gatekeeper, New Orleans, info@lightwaveent.com
Hatchet 2, either New Orleans or Shreveport,
Kane and Lynch, New Orleans
The Night Can be Measured
Flypaper, Baton Rouge
Remnants New Orleans
10,000 doors, October in New Orleans
Troll, Baton Rouge
A War Within
Hallow Point, Baton Rouge
Playing with the Enemy, Shreveport
The Work, in Meterie
LaLeslie, New Orleans
Samuel Bleak, Houma
Without Fear, New Orleans
Difficult Death New Orleans
Peril, Shreveport
The Ledge, Baton Rouge

Filming Louisiana: North and South go head to head.

2010-02-03T20:13:00.000-08:00

Shreveport, La., turns into 'Hollywood South'

Click the Link above to see MSNBC Story on "Hollywood South" from November 28, 2006.

Shreveport has come a long way since Hurricane Katrina. It is sad that it took a Natural disaster to make North Louisiana a destination for the film industry. Now in 2010, the film industry is not exactly knocking on Shreveport's door. With Super finishing up what they started in Late 2009, and Six Month Rule filming, there is only one other film Drive Angry that has a production office in Shreveport to date. There a few productions slated but no one in Louisiana can compete with the over 30 films going South. Big productions like Green Lantern, Blood Out and Red all in pre-production in South Louisiana are leaving smaller budget films to set up productions in the North.

What is it that South Louisiana has that North Louisiana does not? Well for starters, direct flights to Los Angeles and New York, a variety of choices of Studios and who does not want to work in New Orleans? What North Louisiana does have is "no red tape" for filming. Shreveport bends over backwards for productions like free city water, free permits, lower cost of living, they will close a street with short notice and they also have added incentives for filming above the States 30%. The crew base is pretty good in Shreveport also but without multiple productions going at the same time many crew and services have headed south for non-stop work. Bottom line is that it is easy to film in Shreveport and cost less, but filming in the South lends to the better quality of life while you are there.

One thing is for sure, if North Louisiana can pick up the pace at which it brings productions into Louisiana it could be a force to reckon with. This year will be the tale of the tape. 30% incentives are in place with additional incentives for filming in Shreveport, Caddo Parish and Jefferson Parish, which now means it is time for the Film offices to bring as many films to the region as they can. New Orleans will have no problem filling their schedule and Baton Rouge is not doing to bad. Smaller markets like Lake Charles, Lafayette, Alexandria, and Shreveport need to make a move to become a big player in the crazy game of Movie Making.

Movie and TV industry is getting more local

2010-02-01T17:19:00.000-08:00

By Alexandyr Kent • akent@gannett.com • February 1, 2010

Shreveport.

Picture of Director Jeffrey Goodman watches a monitor during the filming of "The Last Lullaby" in Shreveport. (Greg Pearson/The Times)

Hollywood has been coming to Louisiana for years. Now Louisiana is poised to bring its products to Hollywood.
Of the 11 movie and TV productions that have been shot in northwest Louisiana this year, four have deep local roots.
The emergence of an indigenous film industry is a notable development for an industry that, until now, has been driven largely by Hollywood-based decision-makers.
"The Last Lullaby" was shot in January and February by director Jeffrey Goodman, a Shreveport native who worked in Hollywood but returned home to raise money for and make the low-budget independent feature.
"Secrets from the Heart," a TV pilot and concert series about songwriters, was shot here in April. The series was produced and directed by Nashville music insider Will Mitchell, who was born in Sabine Parish and graduated from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches.
"I grew up coming to The Louisiana Hayride as a local boy. That had a major influence on me."
Though Mitchell is based in Franklin, Tenn., he plans to come back to Shreveport again to shoot more episodes in the Scottish Rite Cathedral.
"As long as that is the best performance hall I can put my finger on, that's where we will be shooting a lot of these shows," Mitchell said. Louisiana's existing tax incentives for the entertainment industry also remain important to decisions about location, he said.
"For Sale by Owner" was shot near Natchitoches and financed by a local start-up company, Port Pictures.
A recently wrapped production, "The Pardon," was made by RiverDream Productions. To make "At Last" in New Orleans in 2005, the company was created by director Tom Anton and local attorney and producer Jim Davis.
Both Port Pictures and RiverDream Productions plan on making more movies here.
"We're going to build our production company here," Davis said. "We're going to improve our pre- and post-production infrastructure. Our long-range plan is to continue to build infrastructure here."
Some former Shreveporters with industry experience are even moving back home.
Seasoned producer and director Jude Gerard Prest plans to set up the main production office of Caddo Street Productions in the Shreveport-Bossier City area soon.
Prest was born in Shreveport but moved away to work in the entertainment industry. For the past 16 years, he has been producing film and TV projects.
"Our plan is to basically relocate the production company out to Shreveport-Bossier and to produce, direct and oversee an ongoing slate of film and TV projects," Prest said. "The concept for us was to keep as much of the production and development as local as possible to the Shreveport-Bossier area."

Filming Louisiana Films, Updated February 1, 2010

2010-01-26T14:37:00.000-08:00

Green Lantern, New Orleans, greenlanternfilm@gmail.com
Shotgun Wedding, New Orleans, shotgunweddingcrew@gmail.com
The Americans, Shreveport, Attention James Gerrick cygnetfilm@yahoo.com
Frightland Baton Rouge brandon@saintsinnerent.com
Substance New Orleans
Pray for Light info@firesatmidnightfilms.com
The Coffin info@glassasylumprods.com
Peril, Shreveport
Scratching the Surface New Orleans
Earthbound, New Orleans, Fax 504.734.3793
Drive Angry, Shreveport, Fax (318) 841-3591, drivenproductionsllc@gmail.com
Death House, Baton Rouge k2.miket@gmail.com
Love, Wedding Marriage, New Orleans, (504) 525-2946
Unraveled Baton Rouge
Red, New Orleans, redneworleans@gmail.com
Silver Cord, Baton Rouge and New Orleans, silvercordcv@aol.com
Seconds Apart, Hammond
The Sean Peyton Show, New Orleans info@horizonent.tv
Treme, New Orleans, blowndeadlineprod@gmail.com
The Six Month Rule, Shreveport shpdevelopment@me.com
Swamp Shark, Lafayette, jobs.bulletfilms@gmail.com
Jaws of the Mississippi, Lafayette, jobs.bulletfilms@gmail.com
Change of Heart, Shreveport more to come
Victim 34, Baton Rouge
Blood Out, Baton Rouge, Talent talent@filmsinmotion.com Crew info@filmsinmotion.com
The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, New Orleans
I wanna dance , New Orleans floyd@imi-world.com
Two Wolves, Baton Rouge info@rememberdreaming.com
The Gatekeeper New Orleans
Hatchet 2 either New Orleans or Shreveport,
Kane and Lynch, New Orleans
Remnants New Orleans
10,000 doors October in New Orleans
Troll Baton Rouge
A War Within
Hallow Point Baton Rouge
Playing with the Enemy Shreveport
Brightland Baton Rouge March
The Work in Meterie
LaLeslie New Orleans
Samuel Bleak Houma
Without Fear New Orleans
Difficult Death New Orleans
The Night can be Measured
The Hungry Rabbit Jumps, New Orleans, Fax (504) 529-8168

New Orleans is snubbed in ranking of best cities in which to make independent films

2010-01-26T14:30:00.000-08:00

By Mike Scott, The Times-Picayune
January 23, 2010, 8:00AM

MovieMaker Magazine has announced its 10th annual list of the 10 best U.S. cities for independent moviemakers to live and work in -- and despite once again attracting record-setting levels of film and TV production in 2009, New Orleans isn't in that number.
The closest city to New Orleans on the list is Shreveport, which comes in at No. 3. Other cities that surprisingly came in ahead of the Big Easy include Stamford, Conn., which came in at No. 6, and Detroit, which landed at No. 8.
Editors at the New York-based trade magazine declined a request for a telephone interview Thursday (Jan. 21), though in responding to an emailed list of questions Friday (Jan. 23), they suggested quality-of-life issues kept the city off the list, noting that it did make the magazine's "short list."
Scott Threlkeld / T-PJames Asmus holds his cell phone up to the camera for a closeup during the 2006 production of the film 'Tug.' "While New Orleans' production activity is surely impressive -- and looks to be just as strong in 2010 -- the list truly is made up of the cities that we feel are the best places for moviemakers to work and live," MovieMaker associate editor Andrew Gnerre wrote. "In other words, as outlined in the article, there are numerous factors that are weighed in addition to production hours. Despite not making the top 10, we were surely impressed by the city's below average cost of living and numerous education opportunities."
According to a news release announcing the list, criteria considered for inclusion in the rankings involved "a swarm of factors: Cost of living, employment opportunities, housing costs, crime rates and quality of life, state and city financial incentives, access to talent, size and closeness of the local moviemaking community, ease of shooting (i.e. amount of red tape), local production resources and movie-related vendors, exposure to other moviemakers and film sets, educational opportunities and number of local screening options, including film festivals."
"There's definitely a possibility of New Orleans making the list in the future," Gnerre wrote in his email. "With an impressive slate of films in place for 2010, the city's steady work on growing the number of soundstages to attract big pictures (which give young and independent moviemakers an opportunity for "hands-on" learning) and Louisiana's strong tax incentive, things are obviously going well for New Orleans' film scene -- which hopefully will place the city back in our top 10 for our 2011 list.
"What local policy-makers need to do to make sure New Orleans' moviemaking community stays on the up and up is to ensure that the state's 30 percent tax credit remains in place, despite budget cuts elsewhere in the country."
Jennifer Day, director of the New Orleans Office of Film and Video, all but shrugged about the city's absense from the list. "I'm not losing any sleep over it," she said, noting that New Orleans has never been included in the rankings in the 10-year history of the list.
"The number of films shot in New Orleans last year alone speaks for itself. We are the proud leader of the Louisiana film industry -- and everybody knows that."
Although it's the big-name, big-budget films -- such as "Green Lantern," "The Expendables," "Jonah Hex" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" -- that get most of the headlines, Day said New Orleans' indie scene is a vibrant one.
"We've got tons of indies -- let me get my list -- there are so many I can't even remember," she said.
Among the independent films that shot in New Orleans in 2009 were "The Somnambulist," "Stewie," "Cotton," "Leonie" and "Dead of Night." Additionally, "Welcome to the Rileys" -- which shot in late 2008 with James Gandolfini, Melissa Leo and Kristen Stewart -- will debut this week at the Sundance Film Festival, and the comedy "Snatched," another local indie production from 2009, will unspool at in conjunction with the Slamdance Film Festival.

The full rankings, which are included in the magazine's Winter 2010 issue, are as follows:
1. Albuquerque, N.M.
2. Los Angeles
3. Shreveport
4. New York
5. Austin, Texas
6. Stamford, Conn.
7. Boston
8. Detroit
9. Philadelphia
10. Seattle

10 Best Cities To Live, Work & Make Movies in 2010

2010-01-24T22:25:00.000-08:00

by Julie Jacobs with Jennifer M. Wood Published January 18, 2010. The Picture is:The Hughes Brothers direct Denzel Washington on the Albuquerque set of The Book of Eli (2010).

Some say that money is the root of all evil, while others hold that evil follows money’s absence. Likewise for today’s independent moviemakers, while some contend that bigger budgets open up more creative options, others maintain that limited budgets have a better chance of generating true innovation.
The latter seems to be proving true in American cities big and small, as increasing numbers of would-be auteurs make the leap from moviegoer to moviemaker. They’re being aided by the low cost of digital technologies, which make the medium ever more democratic at the same time that costs creep lower. The barriers that existed for independent moviemakers just a few years ago have all but disappeared, not only in terms of accessibility to reasonably priced production and post-production equipment, but with distribution opportunities, too. Best of all, freshly minted moviemakers don’t even need to leave home to make cinema happen.
For the past decade, MovieMaker’s editors have paid careful attention to location trends. From recent financial incentives to new soundstages, we have tracked these developments while being vocal proponents of the “backyard/backlot” lifestyle—the idea that one should be able to shoot close to where he or she lives.
We also understand that moviemaking is not a solo enterprise; it’s an endeavor that benefits greatly from the support of like-minded artists. It would stand to reason, then, that moviemakers in traditional “cinema cities” such as New York and Los Angeles might have an edge over their peers in lesser-known production areas. But with previously under-utilized areas such as Shreveport, Louisiana and Albuquerque, New Mexico continuing to climb our “best places” list year after year, the truth is that moviemaking can happen anywhere—as long as there are creative artists willing to make a go of it and a community of supporters happy to nurture their talents.

Here, then, is MM’s 10th annual ranking of the country’s best cities in which to be an independent moviemaker.

1. Albuquerque, NM

2. Los Angeles, CA

3. Shreveport, LA

4. New York, NY

5. Austin, TX

6. Stamford, CT

7. Boston, MA

8. Detroit, MI

9. Philadelphia, PA

10. Seattle, WA

New Films in Louisiana for a New Year!

2010-01-19T17:59:00.000-08:00

Louisiana is looking good for the 2010 year in film. There are many productions on the ground and running for the begining of this new year and the promise of so many more films will keep Louisiana crews very busy. One of the biggest rumors can now be laid to rest that Pirates will not film in Louisiana but instead will go to Hawaii. It was going to be a large production for Louisiana if they got a piece of it but we will not dwell on it. Drive Angry is in line for Shreveport as well as Green Lantern in New Orleans. Here are the productions:

Green Lantern, New Orleans, greenlanternfilm@gmail.com
Shotgun Wedding, New Orleans, shotgunweddingcrew@gmail.com
The Hungry Rabbit Jumps, New Orleans, Fax (504) 529-8168
The Americans, Shreveport, cygnetfilm@yahoo.com
Earthbound, New Orleans, Fax 504.734.3793
Drive Angry, Shreveport, Fax (318) 841-3591
Death House, Baton Rouge k2.miket@gmail.com
Love, Wedding Marriage, New Orleans, (504) 525-2946
Red, New Orleans, redneworleans@gmail.com
Seconds Apart, Hammond
Treme, New Orleans, blowndeadlineprod@gmail.com
The Six Month Rule, Shreveport more info soon
Swamp Shark, Lafayette, jobs.bulletfilms@gmail.com
Jaws of the Mississippi, Lafayette, jobs.bulletfilms@gmail.com
Change of Heart, Shreveport more to come
Victim 34, Baton Rouge
Blood Out, Baton Rouge
The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, New Orleans
I wanna dance ,New Orleans
Two Wolves, Baton Rouge
The Gatekeeper New Orleans
Hatchet 2 either New Orleans or Shreveport,
Kane and Lynch, New Orleans
Remnants New Orleans
10,000 doors October in New Orleans
The Coffin August
Scratching the Surface, New Orleans in march
Troll Baton Rouge
Pray for Light
A War Within
Hallow Point Baton Rouge
Playing with the Enemy Shreveport
Brightland Baton Rouge March
The Work in Meterie
LaLeslie New Orleans
Samuel Bleak Houma LA
Without Fear New Orleans
Difficult Death New Orleans

'Green Lantern' finds its villain

2010-01-12T21:09:00.000-08:00

By Borys Kit
Jan 12, 2010

Peter Sarsgaard is in negotiations to play the villain in "Green Lantern," Warner Bros.' big-budget, Martin Campbell-directed tentpole based on the DC Comics superhero.Ryan Reynolds is starring as Hal Jordan, the test pilot who finds a downed spacecraft with a dying alien who passes him a powerful ring, introducing Jordan to an interstellar police force known as the Green Lanterns.Sarsgaard will play Dr. Hector Hammond, the pathologist son of a senator who is seen as a disappointment in his father's eyes. He becomes infused with psychic powers when he discovers a meteor.The character was created by John Broome and Gil Kane in the early 1960s.Blake Lively has already been cast as Reynolds' love interest, Carol Ferris.The movie is prepping for a March start in New Orleans. Donald De Line and Greg Berlanti are producing.Sarsgaard, who starred opposite Carey Mulligan in "An Education," recently wrapped "Knight and Day" with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. The actor, repped by CAA and Authentic Talent and Literary Management, is shooting the indie thriller "The Ledge" with Terrence Howard and Evan Rachel Wood.

2010 Films are coming to Louisiana!

2010-01-04T20:54:00.000-08:00

Rumors are a buzz but many of these productions are here with offices in the state so soon there will be some contact information for these productions. Louisiana seems to have a slew of productions coming to the state. The biggest rumor, and it still is just a rumor, is that Pirates of the Caribbean 4 might show it's head in Louisiana this year. Drive Angry with Nicolas Cage is going to Shreveport in January which will be filmed in 3D. Green Lantern with Ryan Renyolds is in Pre-Production in New Orleans and will be filming soon. Red with Bruce Willis as well as Kane and Lynch, also with Bruce Willis, will be in New Orleans in early 2010. Having said that, here are some more listings that I have searched the internet and found to either be coming to Louisiana or thinking about coming to Louisiana. You never know until they set up offices which ones of these will actually film in Louisiana.

Here is a compiled list:

Green Lantern, January in New Orleans with Ryan Renyolds
Red in January, New Orleans, Bruce Willis
Kane and Lynch, Bruce Willis, spring
Drive Angry with Nicolas Cage in Shreveport in January
First love, Then Marriage, New Orleans with Jessica Alba
The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, with Jessica biel, New Orleans
I wanna dance ,New Orleans with Paula Abdul
The Gatekeeper New Orleans February, with Ron Pearlman
Hatchet 2 either New Orleans or Shreveport,
Remnants New Orleans
10,000 doors October in New Orleans
The Coffin August
The Six Month Rule, Shreveport, February
Scratching the Surface, New Orleans in march
Troll Baton Rouge
Pray for Light January 2010
A War Within
Hallow Point Baton Rouge
Playing with the Enemy Shreveport in March
Brightland Baton Rouge March
The Work in Meterie La
Leslie New Orleans
Samuel Bleak Houma LA May
Without Fear New Orleans
Difficult Death New Orleans

Shreveport's Millennium Studio back on track

2009-12-17T19:37:00.001-08:00

Posted: Dec 16, 2009 10:06 AM CST

SHREVEPORT, LA (KSLA) – A Nicholas Cage film project set to begin in January starts off what Shreveport hopes is a prosperous year for the city's movie industry.
On Wednesday, Mayor Cedric Glover announced the $8M Millennium Studios project is back on track, with construction work on the studio to begin on December 21.
The 18-month delay in the construction was blamed on difficulty in obtaining the needed financial backing, which was related to the economic downturn seen across the nation.
Shreveport is one of three lenders involved in the Millennium Studios project. One of their requirements was that the studio ensure a certain number of jobs. The new studio should have about 60 jobs, which more than meets the requirements of the city.
Another advantage for the studio is the 30% tax credit available from the state, which now does not have an expiration date.
The Cage project, set to begin work on January 4, is called 'Drive Angry'. It will be the biggest Millennium project to date and will be filmed in 3D.
2009 was a slow year for movie productions in Shreveport. The city said there were 18 total projects with a total budget of just under $100M. The city expects many more projects in 2010, and hopes this is the beginning of an ongoing and more permanent movie presence.

http://www.klsa.com/

Rules set for claiming film credits

2009-12-15T14:16:00.000-08:00

By Mike Hasten • mhasten@gannett.com • December 8, 2009

BATON ROUGE — Louisiana's rules dealing with film industry tax credits are now in writing but the office that handles it is still free to negotiate with applicants.
A joint House and Senate committee Monday gave conditional approval to the rules that members said need "a little tweaking" but no serious alterations.
Sherri McConnell, director of the Office of Entertainment Industry Development within Louisiana Economic Development, said the rules are simply putting into writing what her office has been doing for the past several years.
She said it has been working on the rules for the past three years but "the law kept changing, so we had to start over with new rules to fit the new law." McConnell said her office conducted eight public hearings in 2008 and 2009 on proposed rules but when the Legislature came into session in March, "it changed the law again."
Sen. Robert Adley, R-Benton, said the department needs to "be careful with the language because it could allow two claims on the same expansion."
The rules primarily deal with tax credits for infrastructure improvements — everything from buying trucks to transport movie equipment to building studios.
One of the sticking points was a requirement for "cash or cash equivalents" for infrastructure. Industry representatives said they would have to borrow money and finance some projects, so that language might limit projects to cash-only.
After a discussion, Phyllis Simms of Celtic Studios in Baton Rouge said "the goal is to exclude IOUs and promises," which she agreed was appropriate.
Nick Thurlow, owner of Louisiana Media Production Services, told the panel that the film industry nationwide is looking to Louisiana to adopt the rules so it will know what needs to be done to claim the credits.
"Publish the rules and move on," he said. "These are actually pretty good rules. You don't get $600 million in in-state production with bad rules."
Thurlow, who said he has worked on filming 50 movies and post-production work on 30 filmed outside of Louisiana, said he got frustrated by the committee taking more than an hour "arguing about one sentence in one paragraph."
Panel members ended up changing "shall" to "may" to give the film office flexibility in negotiating with studios and individual business that work with the film industry.
Andre Champagne, owner of Hollywood Trucks of Baton Rouge, said his business started with two people. He now employs 10 full-time and 40 part-time workers with a fleet of 250 trucks, but "we don't have enough vehicles to serve the industry right here."
Hollywood Trucks have been seen all over Baton Rouge in recent weeks as two movies were being filmed at the same time.

Filming Louisiana Magazine and Website

2009-12-07T07:37:00.000-08:00

This year has been a good year for Films in Louisiana. Though the long drawn out process of changing the tax incentives from the dreaded sunset of 2010 to no scale downs and no sunset, set into motion the most impressive incentives in the country. Now Louisiana is the most competitve in the United States and it shows. For the last half of the year movies scrambled to get into the state to take advantage of the new 30% incentive. Two Areas went a bit further with additional incentives locally. Jefferson Parish has an additional incentive on top of the state as well as Shreveport and Caddo Parish which offers the most generous in the State of Louisiana.

With all the incentives and the fact that our crew base and film industry services have grown this year again FilmingLouisiana.com offers crew, talent, services and locations to list themselves for free for industry professionals. With over 3000 services and crew listed it has become a great resource for the State of Louisiana. If you are working in the industry you should be listed. If you have not listed yourself please feel free to do so. Just go to http://www.filminglouisiana.com/ and click register, it is that simple.

We do have a deadline coming up for the listing in our FilmingLouisiana Magazine and resource database. If you are not listed by December 20, 2009 you will not be in our first issue. Everyone who has signed up for the site will be listed for free and we do offer additional advertising for those who would like to stand out. Our rates are affordable and we want to keep it that way.

Please check out our website and also check out our advertising rates if you wish to advertise in our magazine. We are a Louisiana based company and we will keep it here. Our magazine will be printed in Louisiana and I personally work in Louisiana film myself. I am a prop maker and set builder so I understand what is going on in the industry and I personally want to keep films in Louisiana. This is a passion of mine and I want keep the Louisiana film industry thriving in our great state.

Please check out our site and watch out for our FilmingLouisiana Magazine coming out in early 2010.

Director gives Nicolas Cage space to improvise in 'Port of Call New Orleans'

2009-11-19T17:30:00.001-08:00

This is a great story about The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans which opens Friday November 20,2009 and filmed in New Orleans. Nicolas Cage will be back in Louisiana filming The Hungry Rabbit Jumps in New Orleans and then in Shreveport for Drive Angry.

By ARIN MIKAILIAN, Staff Writer

The Los Angeles Independent
Story Published: Nov 19, 2009 at 4:38 PM PST

Werner Herzog creates an unpredictable universe in “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans,” where he puts audiences on a trip at least as intense as the one taken by its drug-addled protagonist.
Opening Nov. 20, the film is set in the mean streets of The Big Easy and follows the story of Terrence McDonagh (Nicolas Cage), a local police lieutenant who always, secretly skims a little bit of the evidence off the top.
Terrence is literally high on a smorgasbord of drugs throughout the movie as he pursues the killer of a family of five.
He gets by with the support of his girlfriend, Frankie (Eva Mendes), a hooker and fellow addict who freeloads off of whatever he brings home for the night in his goody bag.
But the drugs eventually catch up as Terrence begins to notice things that aren’t there and lands in trouble with just about everyone he meets thanks to his erratic behavior.
Some critics are already hailing Cage’s performance as his best in years, mainly because he nailed the portrayal of an addict.
His gradual decline depicts him as an occasional user in the beginning and by the end, his voice is shaky and cracks and his posture becomes noticeably deformed.
Cage said he got drunk for his role in 1995’s “Leaving Las Vegas,” where he played an alcoholic who plans to drink himself to death, a role for which he earned an Academy Award.
This time around he says was completely sober and credits Herzog for giving him the leeway to play Terrence the way he wanted to.
“I just felt I was in the zone,” Cage told a group of reporters at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills. “I came in prepared knowing I had to do what I to do and I thank Werner for letting me go. I didn’t need to be pushed or pulled.”
Outside of Cage’s performance, the whole film is filled with surreal moments that seemingly blend what Terrence is experiencing in his head with his day to day encounters.
You’ll know when you see the lizards.
The end result is a movie that hearkens back to the style of 1998’s “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.”
“It is a demented fantasy which I liked to create,” Herzog said.
The German director said much of that motif came from allowing for improvised dialogue from his cast.
“We always kept things open for the unexpected,” Herzog said. “Nic Cage had complete liberty to have his own voice to improvise. Those are the really convincing and strong moments of the film.”
When asked about his experience about shooting in New Orleans, he said the city that was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was filled with a “strong sense of recovery.”
“I remember very often when we were filming outdoors, people would come by and were like ‘Are you making a movie? Welcome!’” he said. “It’s wonderful, the music is coming back and movies are coming back. … There was a void in New Orleans, it was culture, vibrant culture, that will be the guiding light for New Orleans’ recovery.”
The past few months for Cage have been the toughest in a while for the 45-year-old actor.
Amid a personal financial crisis, his father, August Coppola, died on Oct. 29 at the age of 75.
Many of his other demons are caged in Louisiana, according to Cage, and shooting an entire movie there last year let him “face his fears.”
“I wanted to go back there and confront it,” he said. “I knew I would channel that and it would either be a disaster or something beautiful, so I was up for the challenge.”

Louisiana seeing busy fall filming season

2009-11-16T17:14:00.000-08:00

Good news for the South Louisiana filming. North Louisiana has a slower last quarter but there are a few good productions working before the end of the year. Next year is looking very promising for all of Louisiana.

Source: Greater Baton Rouge Business Report Daily Report

With hurricane season ending, film and TV production in south Louisiana is picking up, and New Orleans is on track to break last year's filming record. David Simon, creator of The Wire and Homicide: Life on the Street, started shooting the first season of his HBO series Treme in New Orleans this month, and actor Jason Statham had a downtown office building bustling with production of a scene for the action thriller, The Mechanic. They are among at least eight film and TV projects in the New Orleans area this fall—and more than a dozen statewide—providing an end-of-the-year boost after a sluggish summer, says Sherri McConnell, head of the state film office. "Summer is usually a slow time for us," McConnell says, citing higher production costs during hurricane season, which runs June 1 to Nov. 30, as a factor. But this year film industry strikes, the economy and uncertainty over the future of Louisiana's entertainment tax credit program were also to blame, she says. Before the state Legislature approved a 5% boost in incentives for movie and TV makers this spring, the 25% tax credit was set to drop to 20% in 2010 and 15% in 2012. McConnell says her office received 25 applications for projects in the first half of 2009, but since July 1 more than 60 have come in. If all the projects get under way before the end of the year, the state might reach its filming record of 84 projects, set last year.

Filming: 2009 Early 2010 in Louisiana. Updated Novmber 19, 2009

2009-10-22T19:17:00.000-07:00

This is what is in Pre Production or Filming in Louisiana during the last months of the year. More to come for the New Year.

Mirrors 2 Filming Baton Rouge more to come
Green Lantern Pre Production New Orleans zmbfilmworks@yahoo.com
Delta Blues Pre Production New Orleans, more to come
Fight or Flight Pre Production Lafayette marquisprod@gmail.com
Shotgun Wedding Pre Production Shotgunweddingcrew@gmail.com
Earthbound Pre Production New Orleans 504-734-3793
The Americans Pre Production Shreveport cygnetfilm@yahoo.com
Treme Filming in New Orleans blowndeadlineprod@gmail.com
Mortician Filming in New Orleans info@filmsinmotion.com
Falling in love Filming in New Orleans fallinginloveproductions@gmail.com
Swamp Shark aka Jaws of the Mississippi filming in Lafayette jobs@bulletfilms.com
The Hungry Rabbit Jumps Filming in New Orleans
Medusa Pre Production in Lafayette jobs.bulletfilms@gmail.com
Brothers keeper Filming in New Orleans
Battle Los Angeles Filming Baton Rouge battlelosangeles@gmail.com
Secretariat Filming Lafayette secretariat.themovie@gmail.com
Monster Wolf Filming Lafayettemailto:Lafayettejobs@bulletfilms.net
The Big Show Project/Knucklehead Filming New Orleans wwenolallc@gmail.com
Ticking Clock Filming
Unearthed Shreveport (Wrapped)
The Mechanic Pre Production New Orleans themechaniceresumes@yahoo.com
Video Girl Filming in Baton Rouge k2.miket@gmail.com
Ultimate MMA Fitness Filming in Baton Rouge k2.miket@gmail.com
Underground Comedy Champs Filming in Baton Rouge k2.miket@gmail.com
Clunkers Filming in Baton Rouge k2.miket@gmail.com
Pregnancy Pack Filming in New Orleans pactproductions2009@gmail.com
Beat the Course Filming Baton Rouge K2.Miket@gmail.com
Chesterfield Pre Production New Orleans chesterfieldfilm@gmail.com
Flag of my Father Pre Production Monroe cheryl@r2films.net
Julia X Filming Shreveport Juliaxproduction@gmail.com
Keep It Together more to come
Super is in Pre Production Shreveport more to come
Drive Angry Pre Production in Shreveport more to come