By Christian Moises, News Editor
I wonder if people in New York City feel the same way when they see a movie that was filmed in their city, though they’ve had so many I bet they’ve been over that sensation for years.
I was finally able to see “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” on Sunday and have a feeling I’ll probably see it again, not only because it was that enjoyable but because I spent so much time determining every location in the New Orleans scenes — which is the majority of the movie — that I feel I may have missed some of the movie.
It’s been a while since we’ve had a major movie filmed primarily in New Orleans, so it was really interesting — and instilled a sense of renewed pride in me — to see so many sites I pass every day in a movie that will be seen worldwide.
Except for the periodic reminders of Katrina — I don’t want to ruin the movie, but with production interrupted by the storm this was to be expected — the movie was a great plug for New Orleans.
Despite the fact the movie shows a New Orleans from yesteryears — and before Katrina — it still showcases our city and what people for the most part come here to visit.
CityBusiness Staff Writer Emilie Bahr recently wrote about the TV commercial market and the benefits it brings to the city. Referring to a Lyrica commercial that is less than 1 minute long showing an elegant couple strolling through a sparkling French Quarter, riding a streetcar, browsing shops and holding hands outside Jackson Square, Jennifer Day, director of New Orleans’ Office of Film and Video, said, “To buy that type of exposure would cost us millions of dollars.”
I’m curious to see what the nearly three-hour “Benjamin Button” will do for the city.•
3 responses so far ↓
olegonzo // Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 5:33 am |
It would be nice to be able to quantify what the movie does for the city, because we have been able to quantify how much the state gave to Brad Pitt to produce the movie: $27 million in tax credits that the producers of the film sold off and turned into direct cash infusion of Louisiana funds. Frankly, the state is selling New Orleans short. Instead of giving money to Hollywood, why not actually use the money to make New Orleans a safer place for people to make movie in. If you do that, they will come because there is no other city in America that has this kind of back-drops. It’s a very cynical, pathetic thing to believe that taxpayers have to pay people to come to NOLA to film footage.
NEW RULE: Every time local media ballyhoos this Brad Pitt film, it should be incumbent of them to also point out that this movie was made through socialist principles of government-funded film-making.
Wendy King // Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 5:20 pm |
I’ve seen the Lyrica commercial, and I look forward to seeing more ads like it being filmed in our city. At the very least, people will get the message that a) New Orleans is no longer under water;
b) most of the city is open for business; and
c) this is a great place to visit, no matter what your state of mind (or body) is.
At least, we’ll have another drama series, Treme, being filmed in our city, and, with any luck, it won’t get shut down by a strike, the way “K’Ville” was, after less than one season’s worth of episodes.
coffee // Saturday, January 17, 2009 at 6:47 pm |
i was pleasantly surprised to find out that F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote the short story upon which Benjamin Button (the movie) was based, then mention this in the opening credits