New Orleans Mardi Gras & Film

Many films have been made and set in New Orleans. Some of them weren’t the best of films, but we remember them anyway. Well, I do.

Many of the films try to incorporate what New Orleans has come to be known for. There’s the French Quarter, Mardi Gras, The Superdome, Voodoo and the Cemeteries.

The French Quarter and Mardi Gras seem to go hand in hand even though no large parade has gone through the French Quarter since 1972 when the Krewe of Bacchus turned off of N. Rampart onto St. Ann. Their theme that year was The Bacchus Book of Horrors. I’ve never forget it as King Kong strolled down the street. It was a different Kong than the one that has become a staple of the Krewe. A young blonde sat in the palm of Kong’s hand above the crowd screaming her lungs out just as Faye Ray had done. As Kong moved further into the Quarter he got tangled up in some of the electrical wiring and the lights went out.

So when movies show something that hasn’t happened in a long time it just rubs me the wrong way. LOL.

Harry Connick, Jr. in his Krewe Orpheus.

There was a film called Murder at the Mardi Gras. I know, I don’t remember it either. Then there was The Killer Bees. All I remember about this film was that the Superdome was newly built and hadn’t even been used for any event. There was a scene in which they figured to get rid of the bees they would drive them inside of the superdome and freeze them. Sharon Glass was the star of this film as she sat in the yellow Volkswagon. The bees were lured onto her vehicle and she drove slowly down the street inside the superdome. Once the bees were frozen she was able to get out of the car. The End.

Then there was Candy Man, Farewell to the Flesh. I happened to be on the set of this film and I knew quite a few people involved in the project. Once again Mardi Gras made an appearance as did a Cemetery and of course the French Quarter.

The Clydesdale horses are a significant part of Mardi Gras and are featured in several parades throughout the season.

Then there was Double Jeopardy which starred Ashley Judd. I’m not sure if there was a Mardi Gras scene, but there was a cemetery scene and lots of scene’s in the French Quarter. What got me in this film was that it was raining and everyone in the French Quarter had these pastel looking umbrellas. First of all there are enough balconies in the Quarter that people rarely carry an umbrella they just walk under the balconies and if its raining too hard they duck into a bar or a restaurant until the rain stops.

Movies in New Orleans

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. There have been many films that have been made in, about and around New Orleans. Most of the films are rather quirky, B style movies. With the exception of A Street Car Named Desire and I think Jazebel, but films that were made after I was old enough to appreciate films weren’t so good. Jeopardy opened a door of better made films, but still there were some things that you would never see in New Orleans. When it rains, you won’t find a crowd of people with umbrellas unless they are at a bus stop or in a second line. The umbrellas would be sporadic. We don’t have meetings in cemeteries unless there is probably a drug deal or you are actually on the tour. You certainly won’t meet late at night. Interview with a Vampire changed everything and then there was Runaway Jury which I thought was interesting. I’ve always thought that if I would do a documentary I’d like to do one on all of the places in New Orleans that were used in films.

In any event, Benjamin Button is a good film. It’s interesting and the story flows very well. New Orleans always looks good on film and its been the inspiration for many of my great photographs.

I wasn’t expecting some of the back stories in NOLA, but I had figured out the front story. I glad that the background story was very subtle. It gave me some ideas for my story.

I highly recommend The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

I’m watching Charlie Rose as I write this with Quentin Tarantino. Quentin is one of the greatest writers around. I love the way he handles dialogue and it is the way that I like to write. I feel what people have to say is important, but I can be very descriptive and I know people can speak volumes without saying a word.

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