Big Easy brews storm doc
Rue creates Katrina pic
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Stephen Rue, president of the Motion Picture and Television Assn. of Louisiana, is self-financing and producing a doc, "New Orleans Story," from live footage of the recovering city and interviews with hurricane victims, evacuees, public officials and historians.
Rue is working in partnership with Gabriel Dayan and will produce the pic through Intelli-Films, a Louisiana-based production shingle. Pic has an anticipated summer 2006 release date, and also will be submitted to the Cannes Film Fest.
Pair have been filming with a high-definition Sony camcorder over the past four months and so far have compiled more than 135 hours of footage. Beyond New Orleans, they have traveled to Washington, D.C., Houston, New York City and Atlanta to interview evacuees, public officials, and other figures, such as the Revs. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, Louisiana Sens. Mary Landrieu and David Vitter, "Rising Tide" author John M. Barry and historian Douglas Brinkley.
"We're victims ourselves," Rue, who lives in New Orleans, told Daily Variety. "I feel a tremendous obligation to get this right. I have an obligation to the victims and to the spirit of New Orleans, the spirit of Louisiana and the Gulf Coast. This has to be told right, not by a film crew that comes in and leaves and has an agenda.
"A film crew may come to New Orleans for seven days and leave. They can't get the true grasp of the depth and scope of the devastation in that short amount of time. You have to talk to the people who were living in their cars and tents, the elderly, widowed senior citizens who see their homes for the first time and see the horror in their eyes."
Rue had been producing a film in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood about a Habitat for Humanity home-building project when Katrina struck in August. Through filming, he had gotten to know individuals in that area, many of whom he sought out for "New Orleans Story."
Rue hopes the material also can be used for a series on a TV network in which each episode would focus on one area of devastation, such as animal rescue, faith-based assistance, the levy system, etc.
Rue said he has no political or other agenda, but that, "We are asking everyone what lessons have been learned from this experience. It's quite interesting -- the vast majority of people give a huge sigh and then you can see them going into themselves. Often their eyes water and they grab hold of themselves. ... Every person has a story, an event that sticks with them that they can't shake."
