Latest in Louisiana

Film production is shutting down completely in New Orleans in advance of Tropical Storm Barry, which is expected to make landfall as a Category 1 hurricane on Saturday. "All shows here are shut down but one, and that one is shutting down at noon," said Cory Parker, business agent of New Orleans IATSE Local 478. He…

The New Orleans film industry is battening down the hatches as Tropical Storm Barry bears down on the Louisiana coast. "People aren't shooting today or tomorrow on physical locations," said Carroll Morton, director of Film New Orleans, the city's film office. "They're shifting over to soundstages. There's been no real…

Film and TV productions in New Orleans are shutting down early as Tropical Storm Gordon bears down on the Gulf Coast. "We're all being cautious and keeping an eye on it," said Cory Parker, business agent of IATSE Local 478 in the Big Easy, whose offices are still open at this time. Two productions, he said, "chose to…

Raycom Media will present Louisiana Rising: A Benefit Concert for Flood Relief, which will raise money to help victims of the "1,000-year rain" that swamped the southern part of the state this month. American Idol alums and Louisiana natives Harry Connick Jr and Randy Jackson as set to co-host the event, which will…

As the federal government and myriad charities hunt dollars to help Louisiana with its latest disaster, a Biblical flood, Louisiana is getting ready to help Hollywood with $37.7 million in state aid for a disaster movie, Lionsgate's Deepwater Horizon. Such are the breaks of the film incentives game, which sometimes…

John Schneider Studios has been devastated, again, by torrential rains that flooded parts of Louisiana. It's the second time in five months that the former Dukes of Hazzard star's 58-acre film studio has been swamped by flood waters. Located in Holden, 45 minutes north of Baton Rouge on the banks of the Tickfaw River…

Louisiana‘s tax incentive program started scaling back two years ago, resulting in a 75% loss of jobs for union crews. Because of redemption caps, buybacks and budget cuts, the premier production facility in Baton Rouge — the Celtic Media Centre — largely has been left vacant. The facility has now opened their doors…

Louisiana's scaled-back film tax incentives program put a huge dent in jobs for film crews there. Facing a severe budget crunch, the state last year slashed its annual budget for the incentives to $180 million – down from $222 million spent in 2014. That 19% reduction, however, triggered a 75% loss of jobs for union…

The press secretary for Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said today that the governor soon will rescind an executive order signed in May by then-Gov. Bobby Jindal that allowed businesses and state agencies to refuse to provide services to gays if doing so contravened their "sincerely held religious beliefs." The…

2nd UPDATE, 9:10 AM: Peter Hoffman issued a statement the day after his sentencing on tax credit fraud conviction in Louisiana. Still maintaining his innocence, the Seven Arts Entertainment founder said his prosecution was a "practice guide to every governmental misuse and abuse of these controversial 'fraud'…

Louisiana's film tax incentives are taking center stage in the state's upcoming gubernatorial contest. On Friday, Gov. Bobby Jindal signed a bill that placed a $180 million cap on the state's motion picture tax incentive program – a bill that the film and TV industry strongly opposed. Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne, a…

UPDATED, 1:47 PM: A federal judge has denied Seven Arts Entertainment founder Peter Hoffman's motion to dismiss the fraud charges against him stemming from $1.13 million he obtained in Louisiana tax credits to refurbish a run-down old New Orleans mansion and turn it into a state-of-the-are postproduction facility…