Louisiana Movie Poster Museum
Welcome to the the Louisiana Movie Poster Virtual Museum. Since 1895 more than 3,000 movies have been made in or about Louisiana. These posters advertised a few of them. We have hundreds to add, so check back with us as we grow.
Ed and Susan Poole, renowned movie poster experts and authorities on Louisiana film history, curated this initial exhibit. It is based on the Backdrop Louisiana! exhibit that premiered in Slidell, Louisiana in January, 2020 and we’re looking forward to a post-pandemic tour. A smidgen of their knowledge can be found at Learn About Movie Posters, known worldwide as LAMP. Visit Hollywood on the Bayou for a deeper dive into Louisiana film history.
This museum is funded in part by grants from the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation and the New Orleans Entertainment Coalition.
Take a Tour – We love your stories!
Click on a poster to view larger image. Then click “i”. Post your story in Comments. We love to hear about films you remember and your experiences. It’s a highlight of our live exhibits that we hope to recreate in the virtual museum.
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Interview With the Vampire
One of the most anticipated films of the early 1990’s was Interview with the Vampire, based on the bestselling novel written by New Orleans native Anne Rice. The film starred Tom Cruise (as the vampire Lestat), Brad Pitt (as Louis), Antonio Banderas (as Armand), Stephen Rea (as Santiago), Kirsten Dunst (as Claudia) and Christian Slater (as Malloy).
The film told a story of desire, love, yearning, grief, terror and ecstasy. It was filmed on location in New Orleans, Hahnville, Thibodaux, Vacherie, San Francisco, Paris and England’s Pinewood Studios.
Interview with the Vampire takes place in three cities on two continents and spans five time periods over 200 years. Production designer Dante Ferretti, who trained as an architect, built 65 sets on seven sound stages at Pinewood Studios outside London, and refitted almost two dozen practical locations in New Orleans, San Francisco, London and Paris. A huge outdoor waterfront city was also constructed on the Orleans Parish levee at Jackson Barracks.
Principal photography began at the Oak Alley Plantation located near Vacherie, Louisiana which serves as the Pointe du Lac family home. The filmmakers were constrained by the limitations of shooting in and around the plantation, since it had been designated an historic monument. Other plantations in the area used as locations include the original slave cabins at Laurel Valley near Thibodaux and the gardens at the stately Destrehan. The outdoor tavern where Louis and Lestat watch a presentation of the Comedia del’Arte was built at the unrestored Home Place in Hahnville.
One of the most elaborately staged sequences in the picture is the burning of New Orleans. Much of the filming was done from a boat in the middle of the Mississippi River. From the rural plantations, the production moved into the French Quarter, where Royal Street was transformed into a dirt road and Jackson Square was converted to a barren expanse. Scenes were also shot in Pere Antoine Alley.
The film was a huge financial success, raking in over $223,000,000.
Poster: International One Sheet