Hollywood Returns to Big, Easy Incentives
"Deja Vu," a big flick starring Denzel Washington and Val Kilmer as time-traveling FBI agents, returned to New Orleans this week to begin shooting. The film was supposed to have started shooting back in October, but had to be postponed because of the extreme hurricane damage.
Instead of seeking an alternate (more expensive) location, the production put itself on hold until New Orleans was ready for it to come back. Even if that meant losing some crew members who may have gotten other jobs since October, the 25% Louisiana film tax credit made it all worth it.
In fact, the "Deja Vu" script was revised to include the Hurricane Katrina disaster! Director Tony Scott said, "For me it's the third character in the movie." Goes to show that scripts will get rewritten just so productions can take advantage of shooting in cheap, incentive-rich locations.
On a related note, plans were announced this week to build a massive film studio complex in the town of Robert, Louisiana, which is about 50 miles from either New Orleans or Baton Rouge. According to the Associated Press, the planners of this project, called "Louisiana Cinema City Studios," said that the complex would include "a film laboratory, production offices and a five-star suite hotel, a day-care center and health club. It will also include eight Hollywood-style sound stages and four broadcast stages that will cover a combined 250,000 square feet." Ho, da buggah!
>> Hollywood goes back to the Big Easy [Reuters, 2/2/06]
>> La. Town to Get Film Industry Complex [AP, 1/31/06]
RELATED POSTS:
>> LA vs. L.A.
>> The Golden Age of Louisiana
>> The Truth About Louisiana
>> Hurricanes & Movies
Instead of seeking an alternate (more expensive) location, the production put itself on hold until New Orleans was ready for it to come back. Even if that meant losing some crew members who may have gotten other jobs since October, the 25% Louisiana film tax credit made it all worth it.
In fact, the "Deja Vu" script was revised to include the Hurricane Katrina disaster! Director Tony Scott said, "For me it's the third character in the movie." Goes to show that scripts will get rewritten just so productions can take advantage of shooting in cheap, incentive-rich locations.
On a related note, plans were announced this week to build a massive film studio complex in the town of Robert, Louisiana, which is about 50 miles from either New Orleans or Baton Rouge. According to the Associated Press, the planners of this project, called "Louisiana Cinema City Studios," said that the complex would include "a film laboratory, production offices and a five-star suite hotel, a day-care center and health club. It will also include eight Hollywood-style sound stages and four broadcast stages that will cover a combined 250,000 square feet." Ho, da buggah!
>> Hollywood goes back to the Big Easy [Reuters, 2/2/06]
>> La. Town to Get Film Industry Complex [AP, 1/31/06]
RELATED POSTS:
>> LA vs. L.A.
>> The Golden Age of Louisiana
>> The Truth About Louisiana
>> Hurricanes & Movies
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posted by mynette at
5:13 PM
