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Top 10 Cities to Make Movies 2007
MM's seventh annual countdown of the 10 best cities to live, work and make movies in 2007
(Page 4)
6. Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
Last year: Unranked
“Red Carpet Treatment—No Red Tape”
The moviemaking boom in Shreveport-Bossier City began when tragedy struck with Hurricane Katrina, after many displaced films set to shoot in southern Louisiana were forced to look for locations up north. From this disastrous event came an unforeseen rainbow: Ten films have wrapped shooting in Shreveport in the past year, most notably Andrew Davis’ The Guardian (Kevin Costner was reportedly so happy with this area after his experience making The Guardian that he moved his upcoming project, Mr. Brooks, to Shreveport as well) and FX’s “Thief,” which prompted its Emmy-award winning star, Andre Braugher, to label Shreveport “the new hub of filmmaking in Louisiana.”
“From scouting locations and logistics through wrap of production, the Shreveport-Bossier Film Office ensures personal service and a successful shoot for the production companies,” says film office executive director Betty Jo LeBrun-Mooring. “We assist and provide preliminary research/development per script requirements. Once location requirements are determined, location photographs are shot specifically for that project. The film office also provides technical assistance and logistical support.”
All city-owned buildings are free for filming in Shreveport, and Louisiana offers a tax credit of 25 percent on any production investment made in the state over $300,000. The city also recently built a brand-new sound stage called Stageworks in downtown Shreveport and is home to the Louisiana Wave Studio, the only computer-controlled wave-making facility designed specifically for moviemaking in the U.S. Built for The Guardian, the tank is 100 feet long, 80 feet wide and eight feet deep and contains approximately 750,000 gallons of water.
The coming year sees a whole new slate of films scheduled to begin shooting in Shreveport: From Scott Marshall’s Working Girl-remake Blonde Ambition, starring Jessica Simpson and Luke Wilson, to George Gallo’s romantic comedy Homeland Security, starring Antonio Banderas, Colin Hanks and Meg Ryan. “We have the most diverse locations—from swamps to Kentucky horse farms to antebellum style homes,” says LeBrun-Mooring, when asked to explain her city’s filmic popularity. “The Shreveport-Bossier City area can duplicate the look from the jungles of Vietnam to New England colleges, to the cowboy look.”
Recent Films: Factory Girl, Mr. Brooks, Homeland Security, Blonde Ambition
Shreveport On Film: Interview with the Vampire, The Guardian
Film Festivals: Louisiana Film Festival, New Orleans Film & Video Festival
Film Education: Centenary College of Louisiana, Tulane University, Louisiana
State University
Film Organizations: Robinson Film Center
Contact: Shreveport-Bossier City Film Office
629 Spring Street
Shreveport, LA 71166
800/551-8682
www.shreveport-bossierfilm.com
7. Memphis, TN
Last year: #10
“A City of Character—and Characters”
“When my wife and I decided we wanted to do a documentary about people permanently affected by Elvis Presley,” says Altered by Elvis co-director Jayce Bartok, “we knew we would be in Memphis for most of our interviews. We soon discovered that Memphis had more to offer than just Graceland. We filmed in places like Wild Bill’s Juke Joint and the J&J Bar and Grille, where the ‘fee’ for filming an interview was a bar tab, which is by far the most original and character-rich find we’ve seen in all of our filmmaking experience.”
Memphis is well-known for being the home of the blues and rock n’ roll—Johnny Cash, B.B. King and Elvis Presley all launched their careers in the city—but in the past couple of years, Memphis has also defined itself as one of the country’s top independent film locations, luring productions like James Mangold’s Oscar-winning Walk the Line and Craig Brewer’s Black Snake Moan to the area with its use of what Memphis film commissioner Linn Sitler calls “soft” incentives.
Black Snake Moan was given the Pyramid, an incredible arena, for free as a soundstage to keep the film from going to Georgia, according to Sitler. “Depending on availability and a film’s projected economic impact/number of local hires, government-owned office space is [also] offered rent-free. Walk the Line, Hustle & Flow, Let’s Ride and several smaller projects have recently benefited from this program.
“Over the last few years,” Sitler continues, “a movie theater—Studio on the Square–was built specifically for screenings of local independent films. There, for minimal prices, first-time moviemakers can hold ‘professional’ screenings of digital productions. Often, ads are placed and long runs for some films have even sold out.”
Sitler’s attention to detail and service, which includes sponsoring film premieres, fundraisers and marketing campaigns, has paid off. The city now has a $10 million state incentive fund and a state legislation that offers a 15 percent refund to all film companies that set up offices in Tennessee. Interest in Memphis’ South Main Arts District, where many of this year’s films have been shot, is also at an all-time high. Craig Brewer even opened his own production office, funded by Paramount, in the area. “You will never find a more dedicated film commission in the country,” says Brewer. “I try to find projects that must be shot in Memphis, just so I can work with Linn Sitler.
“I had to shoot a real sexy juke joint scene in Black Snake Moan,” Brewer continues. “We shot it in the back of Earnestine & Hazel’s, a downtown bar that used to be a whorehouse. Sam Jackson was singing this raunchy blues song and Christina Ricci’s character had to be drunk and dancing in the middle of this orgy of people on the dance floor. I told the extras, ‘Now look! I could have filmed this scene in Los Angeles or Canada… But I’m filming at home cause Memphis know how to dance. Young and old, black or white—we know how to grind.’ Take after take, that crowd danced their asses off! For me, when it comes to filming in Memphis: I love the city, but it’s the character of the people that truly inspires me.”
Recent Films: My Blueberry Nights, Altered By Elvis, Black Snake Moan
Memphis On Film: Hustle & Flow, Walk the Line, Mystery Train, Great Balls of Fire
Film Festivals: Memphis International Film Festival, Indie Memphis Film Festival, Reel Memphis, Cinema Memphis, Lil’ Film Festival Film Education: The University of Memphis, Digi-Coop
Film Organizations: Live from Memphis, The Memphis Film Forum
Contact: The Memphis & Shelby County Film and Television Commission
50 Peabody Place, Suite 250
Memphis, TN 38103
901/527-8300
www.memphisfilmcomm.org
8. Miami, FL
Last year: #7
“More Than Just Glitz and Glamour”
Almost constant sunshine, late-night salsa dancing, golden-skinned models parading South Beach, heavy Cuban accents and even heavier Cuban food… These are just a few of the images that come to mind after a brief review of Miami’s filmography. Thanks to recent big-budget Hollywood action films like Michael Mann’s Miami Vice and Louis Leterrier’s The Transporter 2, Miami has had its glamorous image cemented on celluloid. But with over 240 feature films produced in 2006, it is the hard work of the Miami-Dade Mayor’s Office of Film & Entertainment (which is comprised of three local film offices) and a large independent moviemaking community that really make South Florida shine.
Director Dave Rodriguez made his latest film, Push, starring Chazz Palminteri and Michael Rapaport, in and around Miami and cites the city’s beautiful locations and venues, including its downtown skyline, as a “major selling point” for many of his cast and crew members. “When we had days off, we were actually partying at some of the locations that we used, some of the clubs such as Crobar [located in the heart of South Beach],” says Rodriguez. “Unlike a lot of locations, where you don’t know what to do on your days off, in Miami there was so much to do—we had Lincoln Road and we had South Beach.”
The three local film offices in the surrounding area, composed of Miami-Dade, Miami Beach and City of Miami, offer free permitting and assistance, including script breakdowns and location photos for moviemakers, not to mention a sales tax avoidance incentive that gives moviemakers a six percent break on items purchased or leased and a 15 percent rebate on Florida production budgets for films that spend at least $850,000 in the state. There are also several new proposals currently in the works for helping independent moviemakers, including a fund to help Florida indie films achieve distribution and a “film-friendly” Website that will allow local moviemakers access to an online database built specifically for them.
Through regular independent film screenings and seminar programs put on by Cinema Vortex, a local art film collective at the Miami Beach Cinematheque, and the Miami-Dade Library’s Wolfson Archive, which houses the largest film and video moving image archive in the nation, as well as the Miami Children’s Museum’s Film Program, local up-and-coming moviemakers are given a variety of options to constantly educate, promote and expose themselves.
Recent Films: Reno 911!, Jackass Number Two, Push, Rude Buay, Miami Vice
Miami On Film: Any Given Sunday, Wild Things, Striptease, Curdled, Bad Boys
Film Festivals: Miami International Film Festival, Miami Underground Film Festival, Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, Miami Latin Film Festival, Miami Children’s Film Festival
Film Education: University of Miami, Miami-Dade Community College, Miami International University of Art & Design, Florida International University
Film Organizations: Miami Beach Film Society
Contact: Miami-Dade Mayor’s Office of Film, Arts & Entertainment
2700 S. Bayshore Drive
Miami, FL 33133
305/860-3823
www.filmiami.org
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This story was published in the Winter 2007 MovieMaker Magazine. The headline was:
MovieMaker's Top 10 Movie Cities '07
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