‘Mist’ movie going DVD

Hollywood could be coming to the Teche Area with a tentatively scheduled theatrical release and red carpet event Feb. 27 for the film “In the Electric Mist,” said the movie’s distributor Mark Roche of Image Entertainment.

The movie, which was filmed in New Iberia and surrounding communities in the spring of 2007, is scheduled to be released on DVD and Blu-ray March 3, with a limited release in theaters following the red carpet event, Roche said.

The Grand 10 in New Iberia could be one of the theaters included in the limited release. Roche said a red carpet premiere event could be held there.

“We are waiting on final approval from the theater, which is why the event is tentative at this point,” Roche said. “The event would be a theatrical screening with cast and crew members invited and a small reception afterwards.”

Deborah Dobson Bach, one of the movie’s producers, said she and her colleagues are looking to bring the film to one of the theaters in New Iberia and have it play here for a week or so.

She said the limited release in theaters with more emphasis on the DVD release in March is an economic issue for an independent film.

“It’s a good film and we were fielding offers for domestic theatrical distribution, but the economics of a U.S. theatrical release were daunting,” Bach said.

“We are in a position where we thought the best way for us to reach a large audience would be to go for a major DVD release.”

Bach said “independent filmmakers are in a period of transition as the world goes digital and the studios try to stay in control of the methods of distribution.” She said movie producers “may need to start self-distributing films, but in the meantime, ‘straight to DVD’ has a new meaning — it’s a way for filmmakers to keep their independence until digital distribution can finally reach a large audience.”

Roche said it is likely money raised from the theatrical release event could be donated to a local charity. Preliminary discussion included Southern Mutual Help Association as the potential beneficiary. However, Bach emphasized that talks of which local charity might benefit from proceeds are ongoing.

“Donating proceeds to a community organization is not necessarily typical for a premiere event,” Roche said. “But the producers really wanted to do something for the local community because residents there were really great when the movie was being filmed.”

He said tickets would be sold to the public with a number of tickets held for VIP attendees. He was not sure, as of press time, whether one ticket would include the screening and the party after or if tickets would be sold for each event.

Bach, who spent four months in New Iberia during filming, said she looks forward to returning for a visit.

“Our goal really is to bring the film back to New Iberia before its wider release,” she said. “New Iberia is such a lovely town, and we all had great experiences there. We ate lots of great food and met so many lovely people. I look forward to returning.”

The movie, based on local author James Lee Burke’s novel “In the Electric Mist of the Confederate Dead,” stars Academy Award-winning actor Tommy Lee Jones as main character Dave Robicheaux and John Goodman as New Orleans mobster “Baby Feet” Balboni. It takes viewers “deep into the Cajun country’s hidden worlds,” said Image Entertainment’s film description.

“It’s very flattering to have an adaptation of one’s work made for the screen,” Burke said, adding that it’s equally flattering to have so many talented people involved in the project.

“It was a great pleasure working with these people, they were very nice and always gentlemen,” Burke said. “They treated the material with great respect and that’s all an author can ask for.”

Burke said he has seen the completed version of the film a couple of times now. He said it is a good film and he and hopes people enjoy it. He said if a red carpet event were to be held in New Iberia he would attend, adding that it is sure to be “a grand event.”