The whole world's watching the cameraman
May 15, 2008 11:07 AM   Subscribe

Does anyone know of an online source for what movies are filming at any given time in New Orleans (and where)?

There's a movie filming in my building right now. I'm curious enough to have asked a few people and spent 15 minutes Googling, but neither my schedule nor my level of curiosity is consistent with more extensive inquiry into this particular film. Still, I come across enough film shoots in New Orleans that I'd love to know if there's a source that would let me quickly identify them.

(I'm not in the business, so I'm not looking for job postings. I just like movies and am curious about the goings on in my city.)
posted by lionelhutz5 to Media & Arts (10 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
The Louisiana Film Office should have all the information you need.
posted by dersins at 11:17 AM on May 15, 2008


Response by poster: Dersins: Thanks. The Louisiana Film Office's site is very close, but not quite what I was hoping for. Putting aside its very frustrating and unnecessarily complex interface, it seems to list only the titles of the movies filming, rather than their specific locations in the city. I suspect that any sort of official site would probably be limited in the same way.
posted by lionelhutz5 at 11:27 AM on May 15, 2008


technicaly imdb.com should be able to help you out but they don't separate the currently in production flicks by city or studio. but since the data is there, you might ask them to build a subpage for that data... try the forums.
posted by krautland at 11:54 AM on May 15, 2008


(imdb will however be able to give you details with just the name of the flick or a couple key people, which you should be able to get given that they're shooting in your building)
posted by krautland at 11:56 AM on May 15, 2008


Every time I've been curious I've just asked the security guard overseeing the filming. They're always happy to tell you. Was he/she not one of the few people you asked?
posted by kingjoeshmoe at 12:03 PM on May 15, 2008


Response by poster: Kingjoeshmoe: The best the security guard could do was: "I think it's a movie."

Krautland: Both imdb and the Louisiana Film Office would work, I think, if I knew the actors/directors. They tend not to be especially visible except during the short bursts of actual filming. Unfortunately, I rarely have enough time to hang out on the set until someone recognizable emerges. My building, meanwhile, has 36 floors. The key people are not really lingering in the lobby.

Sorry to keep shooting down well-intentioned suggestions. The key here is that I am just curious enough to ask the question here and to make use of an easy resource if someone knew of it. Anything that requires more committed sleuthing or staking out the set isn't really what I'm after.
posted by lionelhutz5 at 12:14 PM on May 15, 2008


kingjoeshmoe, I find that sometimes they will tell you untrue stuff just to f*ck with you,though.
posted by radioamy at 12:29 PM on May 15, 2008


I would call the Louisiana Film Office and ask where they get it. Information design and delivery is not easy so the website just may be teh suk. The news media always has this stuff which is why they can tell you what streets are closed and when. However, the likes of WWL/WDSU/WVUE/WGNO may not get the information well ahead of time. I imagine film companies would prefer to lessen the likelihood of large crowds.

Interesting side-note: I believe the movie filming in New Orleans these last couple of weeks is a Jim Carrey movie. It has no official title. It's working title is "I Love You Philip Morris." The reason I happen to know this is a dear friend's son is the double for Mr. Carrey.
posted by tcv at 1:39 PM on May 15, 2008


when they shoot in a place like LA or NYC, they usually have to file highly-visible notifications on doors and light poles announcing that a certain area will be closed off/inconvenienced by a production. you should be able to find out from those what this project is.

imdb doesn't just give you an answer based on the director or film title. the credits there are exhaustive, so dp, chef or some guy doing grip work will lead you to the right project as well. this however will not work if the production turns out to be a music video or commercial or a minor college production without any kind of SAG/AFTRA/DGA representation.

anyway, here's what you do: find a college-aid kid running around like a headless chicken, wearing a walkie-talkie set. the youngest, most unimportant looking person. that's usually a PA. ask them what the title is. ask them about the director. they will probably tell you. can you see from any truck what studio is producing this? take whatever you can to imdb and start cross referencing.

and again... try the imdb forums. give them a bit more information on this stuff and you will get an answer.

(you could also ask nikki finke but I don't know if she'll get back to you.)
posted by krautland at 2:46 PM on May 15, 2008


You must work close to me, I am surrounded by film shoots right now! Can see the ILYPM shoot from my window. Plus there's the Chess and Patriots movies being filmed in my neighborhood, as well as The Librarian 3 (this one makes me laugh.) And Robosapien. And 12 Rounds.

I'm pretty sure that there's some website that lists what's filming in NOLA, but I just can't find it right now.
posted by pyjammy at 12:07 PM on May 16, 2008


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