Louisiana: The New Hollywood?

Hollywood has slowly been downsizing and there are many films that are being shot in many different locations throughout the country. Louisiana is near the top of that list of where it's at in the film industry as of late.

"Earthbound" with Kate Hudson, Whoopi Goldberg and Treat Williams wrapped just last week, and the film was shot almost entirely in New Orleans. The film was an eight week shoot that provided extra work for many people. The work is long but fun and although you aren't really allowed to talk to the actors for the most part, you will rarely be as close up to them as when you are an extra or background actor.

New Orleans has also been shooting the HBO series Treme and is gonna be casting for a new Fox series called Delta Blue. The city was recently host to True Blood for a few weeks as well.

Green Lantern is just starting shooting in New Orleans as well. The film will require at least several hundred actors to help make up the green core as the Green Lantern comic books state. Red with Bruce Willis will shoot for two weeks in Louisiana starting next week. However, that isn't the best part about the movie industry in Louisiana. Unfortunately some New Orleans residents have been complaining about the number of films shot there, not realizing how important it is to help bring funding back to the city. Films are a major industry for New Orleans these days.

A brand new state of the art studio is being built in Baton Rouge and will boast about eight different production stages. This studio will house enough sound stages to house several different movies at a time, or can be used to film plenty of different scenes for a large production.

On the casting side, Baton Rouge is home to the movie called The Ledge with Liv Tyler. Val Kilmer will also be involved. Northern Louisiana is no different Shreveport is the home of a large studio started by super couple Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore and is filming Drive Angry with Nicholas Cage right now.

Believe it or not, this is just a smattering of what Louisiana is doing with movies right now. The state film commission has made a huge effort to bring money in through movies with generous tax breaks and the low cost of living is helpful. The landscape of Louisiana is also ideal for movies because of the swamps, old houses and plantations and pine forests, along with pasture and farmland. This gives the state a good variety of topographic elements. This helps keep Louisiana in a good economic condition by bringing revenue and business to the state.