While Louisiana’s film industry has experienced constant growth in the last decade, the spotlight has rarely been on the state itself.
But in the last five years, thanks to a slew of dramatic events and the popularization of south Louisiana’s rich mixture of nature and culture, the state has become a favorite setting for national artists, especially in film and television.
Whether in feature films like “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” TV shows like Fox’s canceled “K-Ville,” HBO’s “True Blood” and “Treme,” or documentary films about Hurricane Katrina and the oil spill, Louisiana has become one of the most recognizable places in popular culture.
Practical reasons, like the state’s heavy tax incentives for film production, make New Orleans and south Louisiana a prime dramatic backdrop, according to University professor and screenwriter Zack Godshall.
“The tax cuts have created a convenient excuse for these filmmakers to come here,” Godshall said. “But they come here for practical reasons and find themselves inspired by the atmosphere in the region.”
Godshall, who has written for two films set in the state, also credited Louisiana’s recent major events like Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Saints’ Super Bowl victory and the fallout from the BP oil spill for creating a backdrop for any writer or filmmaker.
“Louisiana has been on the country’s mind a lot in the last five years, and it has become a place where some of the most important events have taken place,” Godshall said.
Jon Bowermaster, an award-winning documentary filmmaker and former National Geographic reporter, premiered his film, “SoLa: South Louisiana Water Stories,” last week at the Manship Theatre.
Bowermaster noted the challenges of capturing Louisiana’s vivid coastal and aquatic culture but said the people in the state make any artist’s job easier.
“There’s such a fantastic intimacy among people and the culture here in Louisiana,” Bowermaster said. “And that will make an impression on anybody filming in the state.”
The documentary, which focuses on the connection and history between Louisiana people and its many bodies of water, spends more time analyzing the interplay between nature and Louisiana culture than focusing on recent catastrophes like Katrina and the oil spill.
“I wanted to come here and make something specifically non-Katrina and non-political,” Bowermaster said. “But even that was difficult to avoid since the [oil] spill, which caused us to go back and take in that angle of the story.”
Mari Kornhauser, University professor who recently began work as a screenwriter for HBO’s hit show “Treme,” which is set in New Orleans during the aftermath of Katrina, cautioned against making too much of Louisiana’s recent spotlight.
“Some of these things are always inherently tied up in trends,” Kornhauser said. “I think that Louisiana has always been a draw for artists, though, going back to Tennessee Williams or Truman Capote.”
Kornhauser also said the industry’s increased filming in the state, along with a filmmaker’s responsibility to setting, are reasons for Louisiana’s inclusion as a setting.
“As much as the setting will play a part in any story, the success of a setting’s portrayal will usually end up being more about the filmmaker or director’s attention to detail,” Kornhauser said. “If they really focus on being accurate, then the place almost doesn’t matter.”
Kornhauser said her preferred method involves “keeping Southern accents out of anything.”
On the other hand, Bowermaster said he found himself inspired by his encounters in south Louisiana.
“When you can come to a place and you’re immersed in this remarkable culture and tradition, it’s pretty difficult not to draw on that,” Bowermaster said.
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Contact Chris Abshire at [email protected]