New Orleans makes post-Katrina film debut

NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- With the film "Deja Vu," New Orleans has made its first appearance on film since the Louisiana city was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.

The action film, which stars actor Denzel Washington, had begun its pre-production before the deadly hurricane hit the southern U.S. coast, and in its final product ruined parts of New Orleans are readily apparent, the New York Post said.

"'Deja vu' was unique because New Orleans played an integral part in it," said Alex Schott, who works in the Louisiana governor's office.

"And at one point, Tony Scott left the project, because he was either gonna do it in New Orleans or nowhere," he added regarding other roadblocks in the film's way.

To add authenticity in terms of the Aug. 29 disaster, the creative forces behind the time-traveling film inserted not only video shots of wreckage, but added character lines referring to the hurricane.

The Post said that film, from producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Tony Scott, is being seen as a possible impetus to New Orleans re-entering the profitable film industry.