Webster Parish, Louisiana

Tourism News Archive
October, November, December, 2005

Notes from Marketing Director Lynn Warnock

Notes from Marketing Director Lynn Warnock

November 2005

Autumn on Dorcheat

“The Guardian”, starring Kevin Costner officially began filming on Monday, December 5 th at Camp Minden!

The Webster Parish brochure is complete and available at our office. Currently 30,000 have been shipped to Baton Rouge for distribution to the 60 visitor information centers throughout the state. In addition, the commission is providing framed versions of the map in the brochure to be strategically placed around our parish. The Greenwood Tourist Center on I-20 has agreed to display our beautiful map and feature Webster Parish as a highly desirable tourist destination!

The Tourism office has completed our first major advertising campaign on Cox Cable featuring events throughout our parish. For the month of November we featured the Main to Main Trade Days throughout our parish, the Veterans Day Celebration, and the Ghost Walk in Minden. The commercials were broadcast into South Arkansas , including Magnolia, El Dorado , and Hot Springs ; East Texas including Marshall and Longview ; and Central Louisiana including Shreveport- Bossier, Ruston , Farmerville, Bastrop , Columbia , and Winnfield. In conjunction, we completed our commercials on KASO and KBEF Radio in October. The commission is discussing another major campaign in 2006.

“The Guardian”, starring Kevin Costner officially begins filming on Monday, December 5 th at Camp Minden! “This is a huge budget film and a phenomenal opportunity for showcasing our parish”. This film will bring priceless recognition to our area and will prove the importance of the amenities offered by Camp Minden for future film productions. Having toured the nearly completed movie sets on Wednesday, November 30th, the reality of a fantastic new tourist attraction in Webster Parish was realized. It is easy to visualize tour buses entering the gates of Camp Minden full of visitors from every state in America anxious to view the sets of the location where Walt Disney Studios filmed Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher. Let’s hope this is our Steel Magnolias.

The Mercer Films production, “Chlorine” starring David Arquette, Ray Liotta, and Julianna Marquiles to be filmed in downtown Minden has been delayed until the end of January or early February as of this report. The movie, “The Lodge”, to be filmed in Webster and Claiborne Parishes, has been delayed until the end of January.

The name Louisiana Films North has been registered with Secretary of State for our use in the future. We have updated our www.websterfilms.com website to reflect our new name. The new website is http://www.lafilmsnorth.com/.

On Wednesday November 30th, our office was host to a “Road Show” by the Governor’s Office of Film and Television Development. The traveling in-state road show was designed to market the entire state of Louisiana as an entertainment industry hub. It was a town hall forum featuring Alex Schott, Director, and Chris Stelly who provided information on how our region can become a vital market for the entertainment industry. Guests included filmmakers from the region who are currently considering filming in Webster Parish early next year and others locally involved in supporting the film initiative.

I believe the efforts of a few local individuals and our office to bring the film industry to Webster Parish should be recognized and supported by the business leaders of our community. This new economic engine initially creates jobs and extensive local purchases. Initially, this effort can establish a major economic engine for creating jobs and tax dollars for the citizens of Webster Parish. In the future, we can benefit from another economic engine by developing tours and attracting tourist to the film locations.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,
Lynn Warnock
Executive Director
Webster Parish Convention and Visitors Bureau

MOTAA Fall Car Show

Main to Main Trade Days

October 2005

The Webster Parish Film Initiative has grown exponentially over the past 2 months. Of the 8 films originally scheduled for production in south Louisiana, four will be filming in our parish and two more are scouting locations for the near future. The Tourism office has worked with Walt Disney Studios, Lions Gate Films, Mercer Films, The Louisiana Institute of Film Technology, and Grindstone Pictures providing photographs and many actual visits to locations in our parish. Initially, Mercer Films will be filming “Chlorine” starring David Arquette, Ray Liotta, and Julianna Marquiles in downtown Minden in immediate future! Very soon you will see cameras and trucks in downtown Minden and the publicity efforts of this office will begin.

A pilot for the FX Network Television Series “Thief” has been shot at our beautiful and scenic Lake Bistineau State Park. The location manager, Gary Huckaby, reported to me that he “was very happy about the ease of working in Webster Parish and the appreciation of the cooperation he received from all involved”. He said “the shot went very well and he looked forward to working on additional locations in our wonderful parish”.

With the continued efforts and support from Michael Haynes, Walt Disney Studios has finalized contracts and already begun work at Camp Minden to prepare for “The Guardian”, starring Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher, to be shot in early December. This is a huge budget film and a phenomenal opportunity for showcasing our parish. This film will bring priceless recognition to our area and will prove the importance of the amenities offered by Camp Minden for future film productions.

Another film, “The Lodge”, will also begin filming in Webster and Claiborne Parishes the weeks of November 27 th through December 23. At the time of this report, the specific locations and cast could not be disclosed. This film is being directed by Michael Baron and produced by Richard Schor. Our office is currently working with the production company on housing and catering for cast and crew. The production company is currently making arrangements to set up their production office upstairs at the Webster Parish Convention and Visitors Bureau / Minden Chamber of Commerce building at 110 Sibley Road in Minden. This is an incredible opportunity for our newly formed film office to interact directly with a Hollywood production company.

The Shreveport Times reported on October 12, 2005 , that three high-profile productions gearing up -- "The Guardian," "Thief" and "Chlorine" -- will give the local economy $27.2 million from living expenses. That figure doesn't include many miscellaneous costs, such as property rentals, warehouse and office space and star housing.

As a result of this unprecedented economic opportunity and the necessity to respond to this new industry in a timely manner, based on this short window of opportunity, the board of the Webster Parish Convention and Visitors Commission voted at the September 20 th board meeting to form a Webster Parish Film Office under our commission. The film office will be officially known as Louisiana Films North. Our website designer, Lisa Fitzpatrick with Main Street Enterprises will be updating our film website to reflect our new name. Check out http://www.lafilmsnorth.com/.

The Tourism office has also launched a major advertising campaign for October and November. It includes a series of television commercials on Cox Cable featuring events throughout our parish. The events featured in October included the Webster Parish Fair, the Lumberjack Festival and the Main Street Antique Tractor Show in Springhill, the MOTAA Fall Car Show in Minden, and the 50th Anniversary of Sarepta.

Sarepta's own Trace Adkins performs the National Anthem at Sarepta's Home Town 50th Anniversary Celebration.

The commercials are broadcasting on TBS, TNT, USA, CNN, and the KTBS Cable News networks. The commercials are broadcasting into Southern Arkansas, including Magnolia, El Dorado, and Hot Springs; East Texas including Marshall and Longview; and Central Louisiana including Shreveport-Bossier, Ruston, Farmerville, Bastrop, Columbia, and Winnfield. In conjunction, we are running commercials on KASO Radio and KBEF Radio as well. For the month of November, we will be featuring the Main to Main Trade Days through out our parish and the Veterans Day Celebration, the Ghost Walk, and Art on Broadway in Minden.

 

 

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