Mark Smith, former head of state film office, sentenced to 24 months after taking bribes for tax credits

From The Times-Picayune

by Laura Maggi
Mark Smith, the former lead recruiter responsible for recruiting movie companies to make films in Louisiana, will serve a two-year prison term for accepting bribes in exchange for giving lucrative state tax credits to a film producer, a federal judge ruled today.

U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt told Smith that he believed he was "sincerely remorseful," but said that his actions had tarnished the fledgling movie industry. "We live with the damage today," the judge said, as he put the finishing touches on two-year investigation of how the state awarded benefits to the companies that finance entertainment productions in the state.

Engelhardt said in determining the two-year prison sentence, much less than time Smith could have gotten, he balanced Smith's cooperation with federal investigators after his guilty plea in the fall of 2007 against the damage he wrought by accepting cash bribes from a film producer in exchange for doling out too many lucrative state tax credits.

That cooperation led to others being charged in the case: Malcolm Petal, the co-founder and head of the New Orleans company LIFT Productions and other firms and William Bradley, a Hammond attorney. Both men also pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to bribe a state official.

The bribes, worth $135,000, were channeled from Petal to Bradley, a former law-school friend of Smith, who then split the money with Smith. Engelhardt ordered Smith to pay a $67,5000 fine, saying he couldn't allow him to keep the ill-gotten gains.

"The sentence is fair and justified," Smith told the judge at the end of the proceedings. He was ordered to report to prison on August 31.

As the state's film commissioner, Smith had the authority to determine how many tax credits to award to productions filmed in Louisiana. Federal prosecutors have said he gave "way more" tax credits to Petal than he deserved based on how much money he actually spent.

The credits were valuable because upon receipt producers could sell them at a slight discount, meaning that they generated instant cash.

The focus of the investigation was $1.35 million in tax credits received by one of Petal's companies, Break Beat, for filming the 2003 Voodoo Music Festival.

The sentencing today brings the case to a close. Bradley was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Lance Africk earlier this month. Petal received the stiffest sentence, a five-year prison term also handed down by Africk.

Africk said at the time that he gave Petal the maximum sentence because his actions bolstered the state's reputation for rampant political corruption at a time when residents are striving to shed that image.

Former La. film official to be sentenced

From The Daily Advertiser
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge is set to sentence a former Louisiana film commissioner who pleaded guilty to taking bribe money to secure tax credits for a movie producer.

Mark S. Smith faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison when he is sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt.


Smith served as the state's film commissioner from 2003 to 2005. He pleaded guilty in 2007 to taking about $65,000 in bribes to help movie producer Malcolm Petal secure about $1.3 million in state tax credits for filming live music festivals.


Petal was sentenced in April to five years in prison for his role in the scheme. William Bradley, a lawyer who was the middleman for bribe payments to Smith, was sentenced earlier this month to 10 months in prison.

La.'s growing film industry boosts need for student actors

From The Daily Reveille

By Xerxes A. Wilson

At first glance it could look like any library, restaurant, bar or student workplace with people mulling around like any typical day. But after that initial glance, the fabricated nature of the moment quickly becomes apparent.

Movie sets are becoming a more common sight throughout Louisiana, and more students are using the growing film industry as an opportunity to both make ends meet and pursue their dreams.

Many students find the easiest way to get involved in the industry is as an extra, said Andrei Constantenescu, extra casting manager for Glorioso Casting, which is based in Shreveport.

For more, click here.

‘The Collector’ Brings Hard 'R' Goodness

From http://www.rabiddoll.com/node/841

Bringing a visceral edge back to American horror, “The Collector” is a film inspired by the uncompromising early works of such masters of horror as Dario Argento, John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper.

“Saw IV-VI” and “Feast” trilogy writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan co-wrote the film, with Dunstan stepping behind the camera to make his directorial debut. They were at Comic-Con International in San Diego to promote the film’s July 31 theatrical release, and set down Saturday with RabidDoll.com’s Bryant Griffin to discuss the project.

Originally conceived as a prequel to the "Saw" franchise and developed prior to Dunstan and Melton writing their Project Greenlight film "Feast," "The Collector" was sold as a pitch to Fortress Features and subsequently cut as a $5,000 trailer that caught the eye of Dimension Films. With Dimension providing a $3 million budget, the film was born and shot in 19 days in Louisiana.

The film stars Daniella Alonso ("Wrong Turn 2," "The Hills Have Eyes II), Josh Stewart, Michael Reilly Burke ("Ted Bundy"), Andrea Roth, Madeline Zima, Karley Scott Collins, Robert Wisdom and Juan Fernandez.

Stormy Daniels's Political Advisor's Car Blown Up

 

The full video is here:

Film Production Update last week of July 2009

Welcome to (225) 342-FILM, the official hotline of Louisiana Entertainment. Here’s what’s happening for the last week of July 2009:

Pre-Production (9)

The Sony Pictures feature film Battle: Los Angeles starring Aaron Eckhart is in pre-production in Louisiana with shooting scheduled for Shreveport from September 9 - October 9 and Baton Rouge from October 11- December 10. Resumes and inquires are being accepted by fax at (225) 330-6961 (no headshots, please).

The Disney feature film Secretariat starring Diane Lane is in pre-production in South Louisiana with shooting scheduled from September 28 through December 4. Resumes and inquiries are being accepted by e-mail at secretariat.themovie@gmail.com.

The Screen Gems feature film Straw Dogs starring Alexander Skarsgard, James Marsden, and Kate Bosworth is in pre-production in Shreveport with shooting scheduled to begin August 17 for eight weeks. Resumes and inquiries are being accepted by e-mail at strawdogslouisiana@gmail.com.

The independent feature film The Somnambulist is in pre-production in New Orleans with shooting scheduled from August 10 through August 29th. Resumes and inquiries are being accepted by e-mail at tst.nola@gmail.com.

The Nu Image/Millennium feature film The Mechanic starring Jason Statham will begin pre-production in New Orleans on August 10 and will shoot for nine weeks beginning October 14. Contact details are coming soon.

The Films in Motion feature film Wrong Side of Town Part II starring Rob Van Dam and Batiste is soft-prep in Baton Rouge with three weeks of shooting scheduled for late August and September. Resumes and inquiries are being accepted by e-mail at info@filmsinmotion.com.

The Bullet Films feature film Monster Wolf is in pre-production in Lafayette with shooting scheduled from September 21 through October 14. Resumes and inquiries are being accepted by e-mail at jobs@bulletfilms.net.

The Bullet Films feature film Swamp Shark is in soft-prep in Lafayette with shooting in Lafayette scheduled from Oct. 26 – November 18. Resumes and inquiries are being accepted by e-mail at jobs@bulletfilms.net.

The independent feature film Keep It Together will begin pre-production in late August and will shoot for five weeks in the New Orleans area. Details are coming soon.

Now Filming (4)

Horizon Entertainment’s feature film Father of Invention starring Kevin Spacey, Camilla Belle, Heather Graham, Virginia Madsen, Johnny Knoxville and Craig Robinson is shooting in the New Orleans area through July 31. Inquiries are being accepted by e-mail at fatherofinvention2009@gmail.com

The second season of the September Films A&E reality television series The Exterminators starring Billy Bretherton is shooting in the Shreveport area through the end of August. Inquiries are being accepted by e-mail at vexcon@bellsouth.net.

The Disney Channel children’s television series The Imagination Movers is shooting in Jefferson Parish through September 17. Resumes and inquiries are being accepted by e-mail at. imnola504@gmail.com

The Most Wanted Films feature film Death House is shooting in Baton Rouge through August 15. Inquiries are being accepted by e-mail at info@mostwantedfilms.com.

And for more information about the film and television industry in Louisiana please visit us online at www.louisianaentertainment.gov

Casting Calls, July 27th

According to a craigslist posting, the indie-comedy "A Hot Mess" is still looking for actors.

Casting Call:
Saturday, Aug. 1
11am-2pm
@ The Continental
2144 First Street
Slidell, La. 70458

If you are interested, email a head-shot and resume to ahotmessfilm@gmail.com.

Click here for more information.

_________________________

According to a craigslist ad, a new TV series is seeking Saints fans

A new television series on Coach Payton and the Saints is searching for the most die-hard, loyal, who dat fan(s) around.

Email iamasaintsfan@hotmail.com with your contact information, and a brief description of why you think you are the biggest Saints fan.

'Streets of Blood,' on DVD July 28, is a flimsy excuse to wallow in post-Katrina violence

From The Times-Picayune

by Michael H. Kleinschrodt, DVD columnist, The Times-Picayune

It's a bad week for police detectives on DVD shelves.
Not only is Harvey Keitel's "Bad Lieutenant" being re-released, July 28 also brings the direct-to-DVD debut of "Streets of Blood." Both hyperviolent films feature cops as crooked as the criminals, and neither has a compelling narrative.
"Streets of Blood," filmed predominantly in Shreveport in 2008, is set in New Orleans six months after Hurricane Katrina.

For more, click here.

Film includes Yes Men's post-Katrina pranks in New Orleans

From The Times-Picayune

by Dave Walker, TV columnist, The Times-Picayune

Anyone familiar with The Yes Men's act by now should know that "Oh, no!" is the only appropriate reaction to their arrival on any scene.
That, and running for the nearest exit.
Especially if you're a public figure. Extra-especially if you're a corporate chieftain or the underling charged with protecting him or her (but usually it's a him).

***

In the film, The Yes Men say that they make their entree into spoofy situations by posting fake Web sites and then waiting for conference organizers to invite them to speak.

That doesn't appear to be how they got to a 2006 conference in New Orleans, where their act fooled Mayor Ray Nagin, then-Gov. Kathleen Blanco and a big room full of rebuilding contractors.

They came then as subs for Alphonso Jackson, who was then secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and a key player in New Orleans' recovery.

The Yes Men's fake announcement at the gathering reversed HUD's actual policy at the time and reopened the city's public housing developments to residents. Also announced was a multibillion-dollar effort by oil companies to fund the rebuilding of Louisiana's coastal wetlands.

Reporters in the room -- WWL-radio's Dave Cohen is pictured as most forceful in debunking The Yes Men trickery -- weren't fooled, but the damage was done.

And kept getting done later at another Yes Men-staged event at one of the city's shuttered public housing developments.

OK, so the wetlands situation deserves all the attention it can get, and the film might be helpful to anyone in HBO's national audience who is new to the issue.

The debate over public housing in New Orleans is lot more complicated than it's depicted in this film, though, and satire, however sharply composed, doesn't ever really fix very much.

The Yes Men Fix the World Today, 8 p.m., HBO

For more, click here.

Saban returns to LSU days for movie

From The Shreveport Times.

HOOVER, Ala. - Alabama coach Nick Saban talked about the movies at the Southeastern Conference Media Days here at the Wynfrey Hotel.

Saban will portray himself when he was LSU's coach in 2004 and recruiting offensive tackle Michael Oher out of Memphis in the movie "The Blind Side," which will be released in November.

Asked if Alabama people will be upset by his return to purple and gold in the movie, Saban said, "I'm hopeful all of our fans will understand that the movie is an historical event. When this happened and it occurred, that was the part of history where I was."

Saban did say that his players are not interested in the film.

"Our team has already voted not to go see the movie," he said.

Oher, the subject of a book called "The Blind Side, Evolution of a Game" in 2006, chose Ole Miss over LSU and many other schools after Saban left to coach the Miami Dolphins. Oher was a first round pick in the NFL Draft this summer by the Baltimore Ravens. Saban's recruiting visit to Oher was a memorable part of the book and is recreated in the movie. Another scene has him in his office wearing LSU clothes with the 2001 SEC championship trophy.

Oher grew up poor and mostly void of any parental influence. He attended 11 schools in nine years before being brought in by a family in Memphis, and his life turned around.

"I think it's a great example to college football and college football players," Saban said. "I think it's a wonderful story. It's an historical event. It's no disrespect to anyone. We have special memories of the times and things we accomplished at LSU. Nothing that can ever happen is gong to change that. We have a tremendous amount of respect for our fans at the University of Alabama."

Saban said he learned an appreciation for the movie making process.

"It's not the takes that get you," he said. "It's the angles. You have to do seven takes because there has to be a wide angle. Then there has to be a close-up on every person."

Saban said director John Lee Hancock (The Rookie in 2002) let him have a say.

"The director was great," he said. "I would say, 'I wouldn't really say it that way. I would say it this way.' And he said, 'Say it however you wanted it.' That made it easier. I had a very small part."

NCLAC, Lincoln library team up for 'Oz' screening

From The Monroe News Star

Take a trip down the Yellow Brick Road at 6 p.m. Thursday when the North Central Louisiana Arts Council (NCLAC) and the Lincoln Parish Library will co-host a free showing of the classic musical fantasy "The Wizard of Oz."

The screening will be in the library meeting room and is part of their Art of Film series.

Moviegoers are invited to come as their favorite character and be in a costume contest. There will be popcorn, other treats and movie trivia.

"The Wizard of Oz" has been called the first truly American fairytale and gained popularity from 1959 to 1991 when it was shown annually on television. It has since become one of the most beloved films of all time and often ranks among the top 10 best movies of all time in various critics' and popular polls.

In addition, its signature song, "Over the Rainbow," sung by Judy Garland, who plays Dorothy, has been voted the greatest movie song of all time by the American Film Institute. Upon its release in 1939, "The Wizard of Oz" was nominated for several Academy Awards, including best picture, best visual effects and best song. The film is famous for its innovative mixing of Technicolor, sepia and black and white.

Begun in 2007, the Art of Film is a free, monthly film series that features notable movie classics in all genres.

What: "The Wizard of Oz"
When: 6 p.m. Thursday
Where: Lincoln Parish Library
Cost: Free
Info: (318) 513-6411 or (318) 255-1450.

Library to host discussion of 'American Experience: New Orleans'

From The Baton Rouge Advocate.

The East Baton Rouge Parish Library and Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB) are hosting an open discussion about New Orleans.

The event will be at the Main Library, 7711 Goodwood Blvd., at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 29, and will coincide with the re-airing of American Experience: New Orleans at 5 p.m. today, July 26, on LPB.

The public is invited to watch the special and then attend the program at the library. Mark L. Thompson will lead a discussion on the program which will include viewer evaluations of how well the televised program presented New Orleans past and present.
For more information, call (225) 231-3745.

'Princess and the Frog' firefly character creates wrong kind of buzz

From The Times-Picayune

By Mike Scott

Judging by the snippets of footage released so far, Disney's forthcoming New Orleans-set animated fairy tale "The Princess and the Frog" would appear to be a lovingly crafted affair, casting the city in a flattering light and giving the world Disney's first black princess.

Not everyone is ready to second-line over what they've seen, however.

The Council for the Development of French in Louisiana, or CODOFIL, a state agency charged with the protection and promotion of French in Louisiana, is taking issue with the portrayal of a Cajun character in the film, a toothless, lovesick firefly voiced by former New Orleans resident and preeminent voiceover actor Jim Cummings.

"It's a continuation of the stereotyping of Cajun people, which is inaccurate," CODOFIL President Warren Perrin said of the character this week from his Lafayette law office. "It has been done in so many movies over so much time, people think that's the way we are -- and it's just wrong. I can list several other movies where they have portrayed us as backward, toothless, illiterate people who fart."

This week, Perrin sent a letter to Robert Iger, the president and CEO of the Walt Disney Co., expressing his concerns and offering his organization's free assistance in answering "any questions the movie's producers, directors and promoters might have regarding the Cajun people, as well as south Louisiana history and culture in general," according to a draft of the letter provided by Perrin.

Throughout, the letter maintains that same cordial tone, while pointing out that derogatory portrayals of Cajuns wound "the pride and morale of all ethnic groups."

A studio spokeswoman said the letter had been "referred to the appropriate office at Disney," although Disney officials had not responded as of Friday.

Of the footage released so far by Disney, the Cajun firefly character -- named Ray -- figures prominently in only a few seconds of a short teaser trailer.

Set against the backdrop of a beautifully lit French Quarter, he flits into the frame as the movie's Princess Tiana agonizes over the idea of kissing a frog, prince or no. Ray points a thumb at the couple and says to the camera in a heavy Cajun accent, "Oh, ho! Look like this gonna take some time!"

His jagged, jack-o-lantern smile never shows more than eight or so teeth.

With a Dr. John song as musical accompaniment, the sleepy-eyed Ray then buzzes over to a neighboring building that has a sign emblazoned with the movie's title. "That's a catchy title right there," he says, before a Dr. John lyric -- "Dreams do come true in New Orleans" -- brings the trailer to a close.

Perrin acknowledged that he is basing his judgment on only a tiny piece of film, but he said if his objections help head off a potential insult to Cajuns, then it's worth it. "I'm simply saying, 'Let me help you not make a mistake,'¤" Perrin said.

The firefly flap isn't the first controversy to spring up around the movie, which is set for wide release Dec. 5. Shortly after the project was announced, objections were raised over reports that the film's princess worked as a chambermaid and would be named Maddy, which some saw as a lower-class "slave name."

Soon after, online sources quoted Disney spokeswoman Heidi Trotta as saying that reports on certain details of the movie were incorrect.

"Princess Tiana will be a heroine in the great tradition of Disney's rich animated fairy tale legacy, and all other characters and aspects of the story will be treated with the greatest respect and sensitivity," she was quoted as saying.

Also, earlier this year, online users expressed concern that the movie's prince doesn't appear "black enough."

"The Princess and the Frog" will mark Disney's return to hand-drawn, 2-D animation, its first foray into the format on which the studio was built since 2004's "Home on the Range."

The score is by Randy Newman, and the voice cast boasts Anika Noni Rose, Terrence Howard, John Goodman and Oprah Winfrey.

Ron Clements and John Musker -- the same team behind Disney's "The Little Mermaid" and "Aladdin" -- are directing.

In an interview last fall with The Times-Picayune, Disney animation chief John Lasseter described "The Princess and the Frog" as a break-out-in-song musical that offers a twist on the classic "Frog Prince" story.

In Disney's retelling, when Princess Tiana kisses a prince imprisoned in a frog's body by a nasty curse, instead of him turning back into a human, she also turns into a frog.

Lasseter said Disney animators have made several trips to the city in an effort to make sure they accurately capture the region's culture and its residents.

"There's so much wonderful magic in that city," he said in October, "with the combination of the city itself, the Garden District, the French Quarter, the voodoo -- the good voodoo and the bad voodoo -- the music, the jazz, the zydeco. You have the bayous with all the great animals. There's such richness."

Watch the trailer in question here.

Louisiana Film Museum to Open September First

From http://www.examiner.com/x-15171-New-Orleans-Sightseeing-Examiner~y2009m7d24-Coming-attractions--The-Louisiana-Film-Museum

Louisiana Film Museum to Open September First

From the 1908 movie Faust, to the The Curious Case of Benjamin Button nearly a century later, Louisiana has been a popular location for the film industry. More than 400 major motion pictures and documentaries have been filmed in the Bayou State. Very soon, those interested in learning more about Louisiana’s film history will have a place to go: The Louisiana Film Museum (www.louisianafilmmuseum.org.)

The museum is scheduled to open September 1 at the Riverwalk Marketplace #1 Poydras Street (www.riverwalkmarketplace.com), inside of the Southern Food & Beverage Museum (http://southernfood.org/). It will feature memorabilia and displays, telling a detailed story of movies filmed in the state, as well as educational sessions and outreach for local students. The museum will also be available as a venue for private and corporate events after hours.

The museum is a 501(c) 3 corporation. In addition to ticket sales, its revenue will be generated from individual and family memberships, corporate sponsorships, event tickets and promotional items to raise Museum operating revenue.
For more information, visit www.louisianafilmmuseum.org

Documentary planned about unsolved slayings

From AmericanPress.com

Documentary planned about unsolved slayings

By DORIS MARICLE
AMERICAN PRESS

JENNINGS — The mystery surrounding the deaths of seven women in Jeff Davis Parish in the last four years has caught the eye of a documentary film crew from Switzerland.

“I’m pretty much addicted to trawling through the Web sites of the media outlets of small towns across America and Europe, trying to find stories that haven’t hit the mainstream or national media yet and may be suitable for a documentary,” Paul Nixon of Kodiak Productions wrote in an e-mail to the American Press.

After reading a short post about the deaths on a crime forum, a little Googling led Nixon to Jeff Davis Parish.

“I felt there was a great sense of injustice in what I was reading about the cases,” he wrote. “I have no links to Jennings and nothing tying me to anyone involved, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it. There are families searching for answers, a community not knowing what’s happening and a police force struggling to solve the crimes.”

Nixon was also concerned about the lack of statewide and national attention given to the deaths.

“I live in a town roughly twice the size of Jennings and I know for sure that if seven bodies had been dumped in and around town over a relatively short time period, that we would have been inundated with media.”

Jeff Davis Sheriff Ricky Edwards said Friday that he welcomes Nixon and his crew. “I will be happy to work with and answer their questions,” he said.

Edwards said he and Nixon have e-mailed each other several times concerning the project.

“I think this is a story that needs to be told,” Nixon further wrote. “For people outside of Jennings and outside of Louisiana to hear what’s going on, what better way than to meet the people of the parish and to put their story into words and pictures?”

Nixon said he is unsure what direction the documentary will take.

“I’ve read a lot about these cases and spoken to people in Jennings, but until you get to the town and get a firsthand sense of what’s happening, then it’s almost impossible to know exactly what the film will be about,” he wrote. “Once we meet the characters and spend a little time in the parish, then I believe that all will become much more clear.”

Nixon said he hopes the film will help bring some closure to the mystery.

“We’re certainly not coming in as vigilantes, trying to be heroes and solve the cases. Absolutely not. But we are hopeful that we may speak to someone or discover some information that helps everybody move a step closer to finding a solution.”

The crew is scheduled to be in the parish Sept. 4-12 and film as much as possible and make as many contacts as possible, Nixon said. They could return near the end of the year for additional filming to finish the project, he said.

Nixon said the long-term plans for the project depend on what suits the story best.

“Once we’ve been to Jennings and we know what we’re dealing with, then we can decide if it’s a documentary aimed at a TV audience or something more suited to a theatrical release. The main goal is to get it to the widest audience possible, to raise the profile of the town’s plight to the wider world.”

Nixon has worked in sports media for many years, and Matthew Clyde, co-director at Kodiak Productions, works in the commercials and music video industry.

The project will be their second documentary. Their first, “Me, Joe and B.T.K.,” was completed last year and is doing well on the festival circuit. The film focuses on the hunt for Dennis Rader, who was known as the “bind, torture, kill strangler,” after he reportedly killed 10 people near Wichita, Kan., between 1974 and 1991.

http://www.americanpress.com/lc/blogs/wpnewssum/?p=5829

Sci-Fi movie to be shot in Baton Rouge

According to the Baton Rouge Advocate, the sci-fi movie "Battle: Los Angeles" will begin filming in Baton Rouge this fall. The movie, by Columbia Pictures, is about a platoon of Marines fighting alien invaders on the streets of Los Angeles. Aaron Eckhart (Thank You For Smoking, The Dark Knight) will star as a Marine platoon commander. Johnathan Liebesman ("The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning") is set to direct. The production will be based at Raleigh Studios at the Celtic Media Centre in Baton Rouge.

Executive Producer Jeffrey Chernov said “Battle: Los Angeles” will involve an attempt by aliens to tap Earth’s water supply. The film style will be reminiscent of “Saving Private Ryan,” he said, with a U.S. Marine platoon going behind alien lines to foil the attempt.

The project should average 150 to 200 jobs during filming, with up to 1,500 extras and 25 acting parts available for locals, Chernov said. Several weeks of the filming will take place in Shreveport to take advantage of a closed freeway ramp, he said, but most activity will be centered in Baton Rouge.

The film is based upon a sighting of one or more unidentified flying objects which took place from late February 24 to early February 25, 1942 in which eyewitness reports of an unknown object or objects over Los Angeles, California, triggered a massive anti-aircraft artillery barrage. The Los Angeles incident occurred less than three months after America's entry into World War II as a result of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The incident was part of the inspiration for Steven Spielberg's 1941. Information on this incident is available here

Interested crew members can fax resumes to the Baton Rouge office at (225) 330-6961. (No actor resumes.)

See the news report here