Why Louisiana?

Well tonight movie fans I watched another episode of Treme, and the season premiere of True Blood season 3. In the midst of this two hour session on HBO I stopped and pondered all the film industries leaps and bounds in Shreveport, New Orleans, and Monroe area.
Millennium Studios is building a new studio in Shreveport, while New Orleans/Baton Rouge area is being flooded with movies both in production and in preproduction. Everything from large productions like Green Lantern to smaller productions like The Gates(abc) and Blood Curse are being shot around the state and I am amazed at the opportunities that are abound at the moment and for that moment I was just kind of wondering why? Why Louisiana?

If you asked financial experts they would say because the state of Louisiana is one of the first in the union to offer production companies a tax break to tempt them to bring their multimillion dollar affairs to our great state. If you asked a lover of the state it could be because no where in the world can you get such a rich change in environments and surroundings, from rich lush forests to flooded swamp lands, Louisiana is a rich world of wonder for the artist with the careful eye for scene locations.

Now I have lived in and loved the south for many many years. I have enjoyed, suffered, and endured the countless moods, people, cultures, and rights and wrong that go hand in hand with living in the south. If someone asked me why Louisiana? I would answer them, where else in the world can you get this kind of passion, hatred, rich diversity and culture. Since hurricane Katrina movie stars like Brad Pitt, Nic Cage, John Goodman and many more have planted their flags in our red clay soil and have been vocal about their support of a state that has found itself teetering on the edge of success and utter disaster. The personal struggle of the Louisiana people has been made public plot of movies, televisions series, and countless other outlets of expression until we are standing to be the new Hollywood of the south.

Is this a curse or a blessing? It could be both. People are rolling in for movie roles as extras and the hyped chance of being discovered, industries are pulling out but film industries are pushing in, there is a fountain of money but can it be available to anyone? The answer isn't clear. While on a movie set I watched electricians, cooks, plumbers, welders, and carpenters work for nearly thirty dollars an hour, plus time and a half for over time. Extras made anywhere for sixty to three hundred dollars a day (depending on what you were doing) and everyone is foaming at the mouth for the opportunity to be successful. But every dream is a double edged sword. Union is the word one must know if they want to work on a set and time and place is everything about getting discovered. Either road is filled with pits labeled failure or ropes leading to fame, all you have to do is give it a go.

Now if you want to be an extra, go to gloriosocasting.com , fill out a resume and give it a whirl, they will call you back and you could be the next Sean Connery. There is also another casting company in Baton Rouge, and another in New Orleans, but I am not as familiar with them so I can not endorse them, but I will say the opportunity is otu there if you want it, just as the opportunity to fail if you do take the chance.

So back to the question, Why Louisiana? Who knows, there are a million and one reasons why, but none of them matter. The southern film movement is here and it is in full swing. My advise to anyone wanting to break in, make hay while the sun shines and let's see how the dice roll.

Just my thoughts.
J.