LSU assistant professor of screenwriting Zack Godshall’s movie, “Low and Behold,” portrays the human aspects of a natural disaster.
“Low and Behold,” filmed in 2006, monthsa after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, was Godshall’s first film out of college and was released in 2007. For the 10-year anniversary of Katrina, the Manship Theatre is screening “Low and Behold” at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
The part-fiction, part-documentary film tells the story of Turner Stull, played by Barlow Jacobs, an insurance claims adjuster sent to New Orleans after Katrina wrought havoc on the city.
Along the way, Stull meets Nixon, a resident of the city, and joins him in the search for his dog, Crunchy, who had been missing since the storm. Nixon becomes Turner’s partner who helps him with realty claims in return for giving Nixon rides around the city to find his dog.
The film’s story and its fictional characters were influenced by Jacobs’ personal life. Stull’s character was conceived after Hurricane Wilma hit Florida and Jacobs went to the affected areas to work as an insurance claims adjuster. Nixon’s character was based on people whom Godshall and Jacobs saw on TV during the news coverage of hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma.
Godshall said Nixon was based partly on someone the team saw on the news. The man being interviewed could not focus or answer questions asked.
“The man did not know where in the world his family was, he had this glazed look in his eye and he just walked away,” Godshall said. “It was a scene that struck us and stuck with us.”
Godshall said the inspiration behind Nixon’s lost dog came from the many people who lost their pets during the storm.
The team traveled to Lakeview and St. Bernard Parish to document people’s stories and experiences during the storm. Godshall said securing locations was one of the most difficult parts of filming. The crew was looking for specific kinds of houses, and one of the hardest parts of production was finding the homeowners.
He said that they had to find neighbors and churches that knew who owned the homes. Describing the film’s goal of trying to find the human aspects surrounding the storm made homeowners more willing to lend their houses to the film, Godshall said.
The interview-style scenes transition into the film by having the shots look as if Jacobs is speaking to them from the insurance claims adjuster’s perspective.
“Some of the people from the documentary portions of the film were people we knew beforehand and we set up interviews for them to talk to us,” Godshall said. “For some of the people, we were shooting in a neighborhood and we would see some people sitting in a pickup truck and ask them to tell their story for the camera.”
Godshall said one example in the movie is two guys talking about how they were evacuated from the city and found each other in Dallas.
Along with the heavy topic of natural disaster, “Low and Behold” includes humor to lighten the otherwise dark themes of the film.
“There was a lot of sadness and tragedy and despair while we were filming and we thought that one of the most attractive things about New Orleans is the blend of tragic, absurd and comedy happening at once,” Godshall said.
Godshall said finding humor in the events was the crew’s way of dealing with the tragedy, and because the humor is based around character interactions and not poking fun at the storm, humor fits into the film.
Since the storm, Godshall said he has revisited the locations the team filmed to see how much progress has been made. He said the progress was greater in some areas than in others. Godshall said he has been to some of the neighborhoods where they filmed, and there are no longer piles of trash or debris; however, there are still some areas in Lakeview and the Lower 9th Ward that are still empty.
Godshall said he’s still proud of the film and he’s happy it is finally receiving a wider release than before, thanks to Sundance’s recognition.
Prior to the Sundance release online this year, the film had only been shown twice — once in Baton Rouge and once in New Orleans. Godshall said because “Low and Behold” was one of the first movies filmed about Katrina, it is bittersweet to watch again. The actor who played Nixon, Eddie Rouse, has since passed away.
Godshall said the film changed his life, and because of that, he is excited to show it to more people.
Admission to “Low and Behold” at the Manship Theatre is $6.50.
LSU assistant professor reflects on his Hurricane Katrina inspired film
August 30, 2015
More to Discover