Hollywood of the South

What other city offers moss-draped trees, exquisite homes from the late1700's, a trained workforce and great tax advantages? Film your next movie on the streets of New Orleans and leave the fake stuff at home.

New Orleans offers a city with many varied looks: Greek Revival mansions, modern skyscrapers, a beautiful old business district, Depression-era cast-iron details, post-war suburbs in the all-American style, The French Quarter. Wander through the cobblestone streets and above ground cemeteries, or film a movie in a home that is graced with spiral staircases and French bronze chandeliers. Or drive 20-minutes from downtown and enter a swamp filled with wildlife and foliage unlike anywhere else.

" This city offers more in terms of beauty, the industry's most advanced technology, a trained and talented labor force, and basic creativity than any other city in the country," says Stephanie Dupuy, director of the Office of Film and Video. "New Orleans supplies it all, plus the cast and crew have so much fun living here during the filming."

The new Nims Center Studios New Orleans offers state-of-the art facilities in which to build sets, create animation, and film a feature. Visit: www.Digitalcinemastudio.com to see what incomparable opportunities this center offers filmmakers.

The Film Incentive legislation, begun in July, 2002, provides tax incentives for the production of films and video in Louisiana. Advantages like the sales and use tax exclusion, the labor tax credit, investor tax credit and more.

In 2002 HSI Productions, one of the largest independent producers of videos and commercials agreed to collaborate with the New Orleans-based Louisiana Institute of Film Technology to produce $100 million in video and film projects over a five-year period.

For decades, New Orleans has been the setting of great classic movies: Live and Let Die, Interview with a Vampire, King Creole, Angel Heart, Easy Rider, The Pelican Brief, JFK and more. Most recently, John Grisham's Runaway Jury was filmed along the streets of the French Quarter and uptown.

For more information on filming your next movie in New Orleans, call Stephanie Dupuy, director of the Office of Film and Video, (504) 565-7557 or Fax: (504) 565-8108 Email: sdupuy@mayorofno.com or visit: http://new-orleans.la.us.