We know one big budget Will Smith picture is moving from Georgia to New Orleans, are there more coming as well?
We went right to the source, Carroll Morton, Director of Film New Orleans:
“I don’t have a confirmation of any productions that are moving to New Orleans. But I do know that there are productions here that have scouts that are looking for locations.”
What does that mean? It means production companies from everywhere are looking to film here.
Morton says it’s too early to tell if New Orleans will pick up any productions leaving Georgia, but:
“It will be difficult to know if productions may not have chosen to go to Georgia, may redirect themselves here before they’ve started pre-production or filming,” Morton explains.
“We have been able to host an increasing level of production over the years and build infrastructure to support it,” Morton says. “And coming out of the pandemic, I think most people realize that demand for additional content has exploded.”
Because New Orleans and the state of Louisiana are emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic quicker, film production was able to restart earlier and ride a recovery wave upward with film makers scrambling to film here.
“If you look at Los Angeles, it’s been shut down numerous times, and shut down a number of times in other cities,” Morton says.
This is why New Orleans, as the number #4 film production hub is potentially zooming higher.
“We are able to manage film production and to manage COVID successfully and I believe we will be rewarded for that,” Morton says.
So while the film industry registers its protest against Georgia’s voting right act by relocating productions, New Orleans is ready to spring into ‘action’!!!