Nationwide audiences received a taste of New Orleans in the movie “Runaway Jury,” which opened Friday. The movie is based on a John Grisham novel of the same name and was filmed entirely in New Orleans and its suburbs.
Stephanie Dupuy, director of the New Orleans Film and Video Commission, said “Runaway Jury” was the first big feature to film in New Orleans since “Double Jeopardy.”
“Many films are shot in Canada because they can make better offers to filmmakers,” Dupuy said.
Fortunately, director Gary Fleder decided against using a Canadian city as a substitute for New Orleans.
“This city is amazing: the color, the architecture, the textures,” Fleder said at a recent New Orleans press conference. “The city has such a great dichotomy of being rich and beautiful but shadowed by a history of corruption and violence. I think the duality of the film was reflected by the duality of the city. The original story dealt with a tobacco case set in Biloxi, Mississippi.”
Production designer Norman Coates said in a phone interview Biloxi did not have the scale for this story to be shown on the big screen.
“We looked at three different cities; Richmond, Va., Memphis, Tenn., and New Orleans,” Coates said. “Ultimately, we chose New Orleans for the location of this film.”
“Runaway Jury” marks Coate’s fifth collaboration with Fleder designing “Kiss the Girls,” “Don’t Say a Word,” “Impostor” and “Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead.” Coates also received an Emmy Award nomination for his design work on Stephen King’s “The Stand.”
Coates said he did not want to show all the traps previous movies had shown about New Orleans.
“I got all the DVDs of movies showcasing New Orleans,” Coates said. “We did not want to show Bourbon Street, cemeteries or parades. We wanted New Orleans to become a character of the film, rather than a caricature.”
The opening of the film shows the beautiful New Orleans skyline including the Superdome and the Mississippi River at sunrise. This all added to the idea that New Orleans is a character.
New Orleans offered many great locations for the filmmakers. The production filmed in the city, Kenner, Harahan and Gretna from September 2002 to January 2003.
One of the pivotal locations for the movie was the new Supreme Court located at 400 Royal St. Coates said this still was under construction at the time of filming, but the City of New Orleans allowed them to complete certain sections for the film.
“We completed the lobby and hallways there,” Coates said. “We wanted to have it so when you look out the jury room, you see the Quarter.”
The Palace Café on Canal St., served as the meeting place between Gene Hackman and Rachel Weisz. From there, the two moved onto the St. Charles streetcar to continue their meeting.
“The difficult thing about shooting on a streetcar is that it’s constantly bouncing,” Coates said. He connected rigs to the streetcar to reduce the bouncing.
Another location featured was John Cusack’s apartment located on Chartres Street near Jason Square. At one point in the movie, someone sets fire to his apartment. For this scene, Coates built the apartment interior at a University of New Orleans warehouse in Harahan.
“We couldn’t set fire in the Quarter, so we had to build the interior at another location,” Coates said. “The ironic thing is that this location is where the fire started that brought down the Quarter many years ago.”
Café du Monde on Decatur served as the meeting place between Weisz and Dustin Hoffman.
Gallier Hall on Charles Ave., is New Orleans’ old city hall, and in “Runaway Jury” it was the ideal location to base Hoffman law firm.
The Esplanade Mall in Kenner also appeared in the movie. Cusack’s character, Nick Easter, works at Gametrader in the mall, and he also eats lunch with friends in the Esplanade mall food court.
Even the library in the Audubon Place home of Tulane University president appears in the film. This location serves as the judge chambers in the movie. According to the Times-Picayune, Coates had to install new doors in the library, which matched those on the courthouse set.
Other locations include the Café Pontalba on St. Peter Street, Napoleon House on Chartres Street, the exterior of the old Wildlife and Fisheries building, the Riverwalk along the Mississippi River and the London Lodge Motel on Airline Hwy.
Not only do the locations make “Runaway Jury” feel genuinely like New Orleans, but other elements do as well.
This movie featured 75 speaking roles and 3000 extras. Many locals were used as extras and some were even given speaking roles.
As part of the agreement to use UNO facilities, the filmmakers had to employ UNO students as interns for the film.
All these elements help make New Orleans seem like more than just a background for the movie.
Weisz said at a recent press conference, “I think it’s more than a beautiful backdrop. It’s a city that has an incredible mystery to it. I don’t think it’s like anywhere else in the South. I don’t think it’s like anywhere else in the world. It’s got its own authenticity.”
Coates said he fell in love with New Orleans after living there more than half a year.
“I would love to come back and film in New Orleans again,” Coates said.
This movie shows the wonders and beauty of New Orleans where other movies fail to represent. “Runaway Jury” is positively New Orleans.