VCPORA letter re "Half Pint Brawlers"
I'd like to bring to your attention the filming of "Half-Pint Brawlers" in the French Quarter next week. If you are unfamiliar with the show, it is basically dwarf wrestling - and somehow the producers have found a way to take that dehumanizing concept to a new low. Click here to see a short clip (warning: it is not for the faint of heart). If you can't or don't wish to watch it, I'll tell you that it involves profanity; nudity of men and women; a little person getting into a clothes dryer; and one man biting flesh out of another man's head and then subsequently stapling that man's head.
Apparently, the producers plan to erect a wrestling wring in the middle of the 100 block of Bourbon Street next Wednesday night. They will be using the French Quarter as their backdrop. All necessary public safety precautions have been taken and presumably the permits have been issued.
VCPORA has voiced concerns to the Office of Film and Video about this production, and we now put several questions to all of you: is this really the image we want to promote of our city? whose interests does such a production serve? is there a limit to the level of human degradation that we are willing tolerate? should the city exercise some kind of discretion over the nature of the productions that use public property for their own purposes?
I am including below an email discussion between Jennifer Day, director of the Office of Film and Video, and Lary Hesdorffer, director of the Vieux Carre Commission. This thread further fleshes out the policy issues that we believe need to be addressed by the city.
Respectfully,
Meg Lousteau
Meg Lousteau
Executive Director
Vieux Carre Property Owners, Residents, and Associates
816 N. Rampart Street
New Orleans, LA 70116
504.581.7200 o 504.621.4080 c
meglousteau@vcpora.org
www.vcpora.org
Email from Jennifer Day:
Dear French Quarter Liaisons,
The Spike TV program “Half Pint Brawlers” will be coming to New Orleans next week. They will be filming all over the city and are proposing a portion of work for Bourbon Street on the evening of Wednesday, January 13th.
This would involve erecting a wrestling ring in the street during pedestrian mall hours for a free performance on the evening of Wed, Jan 13th. This would be a situation where the ring would block the street (it is 18’ * 18’ and cannot be moved quickly). Basically the 200 block of Bourbon (not 100 as requested in the letter attached which includes a picture of the ring) would be compromised for vehicular traffic from 7:00PM-12:00AM on WED JAN 13th. This request would make the 200 block of Bourbon impassable to traffic for the evening of the 13th. (The ring takes 2 hours to build beginning at 7, the performance would last roughly 2 hours, 1 hour to break down for an exit at 12:00 AM.)
I sent the initial request to NOFD for review. My primary concern of course is access for emergency vehicles and I began my communication with NOFD as fire trucks are the largest of emergency vehicles. Inspector Wright has reported that NOFD would be comfortable allowing the request as they would clearly communicate to their department that their vehicles should utilize Bienville and Iberville (which would allow for hose access) to respond to any issues in the 200 block of Bourbon.
I have also reached out to NOPD to vet the request. Marlon is cc’ed on this email as is the 8th District. EMS is also being included in this correspondence so that all first-responders will be aware of the activity.
We have also told the production that as an added measure we will be requiring them to have 2 NOPD officers on hand to assist with traffic control should any type of emergency arise in that immediate area.
Please voice your comments and concerns regarding this request. I believe with good communication this request can be granted. As usual all cross-streets will be clear and allow for emergency vehicle access.
Best, Jennifer
Response from Lary Hesdorffer:
Hi Jennifer,
I suppose it is to be expected that, every 6 months or so, we have to consider requests for French Qtr filming that really have no reason for being filmed in the French Qtr, other than to play upon the “midway” atmosphere of Bourbon Street or to accentuate the “no holds barred” (pun intended!) general expectations that producers hold for our most historic and treasured neighborhood.
At this point, let me just restate text from one of my earlier recommendations to discourage this kind of over-use (abuse) of the Vieux Carre, dare I even say Bourbon Street, as a stage set. The following is quoted from my email last June (09) in reference to the Bullrun 09 event (race) that had to come into the Vieux Carre:
I always try to be encouraging when it comes to opening the city and embracing new, worthwhile events, special endeavors, that we hope will feature and promote what is unique and beautiful about the Vieux Carre. After all, the French Quarter is without a doubt one of New Orleans most precious assets. However, after viewing and reflecting on the Bullrun videos, I fail to see where any of the proposed activity will be translated as something beneficial to the allure or character of this city.
There may be one exception: if we wish to encourage the image of New Orleans and the French Quarter as a place where absolutely any kind of behavior is tolerated, lawful or otherwise, then certainly this is the event to show the world.
The Vieux Carre and Bourbon Street itself have surely been exploited plenty enough that it ought to be possible to stage this kind of event, even with a suitable public audience for the spectacle, without requiring that it be in the French Quarter. Wrestling, indeed even “Half Pint Brawlers” where the participants are little people, ought to be held in or near a sporting event venue rather than on a French Quarter street.
This project is not related to anything remotely connected to New Orleans’ special brand of culture, its traditions, or even French Quarter life. The appearance of the historic architecture of the Vieux Carre has absolutely no bearing on the use of Bourbon Street as a locale for a wrestling ring. More aptly, why is this even being considered when more appropriate venues are better suited and available?
For all of the above reasons, I strongly recommend that the producers be directed elsewhere.
Respectfully,
LPH
Ms. Day's response to Mr. Hesdorffer:
Lary,
The Office of Film & Video welcomes all productions (that do not break city laws and do not threaten public safety) and the economic and earned media benefits they bring to the city. Several Bourbon Street bars will be featured in this segment as well as numerous other New Orleans attractions such as the Creole Queen.
While I appreciate all you have done to service the industry I do not agree with your statement:
This project is not related to anything remotely connected to New Orleans’ special brand of culture, its traditions, or even French Quarter life.
Remember, we are talking about Bourbon Street- famous for clubs like Barely Legal and Temptations with g-string clad women standing in clear view of everyone who chooses to experience that aspect of New Orleans culture. This performance is no more controversial than the everyday goings-on in that section of the Quarter which is world-renown for its outrageous, party atmosphere. Just because Bourbon Street is not our New Orleans experience of choice does not mean we have the right to censor it. I know for a fact that the clubs gaining national exposure from this production are happy to receive the free advertising especially when FQ businesses are economically struggling.
The request is neither illegal nor lewd. We have received clearance from all first responders, safety and permits and public works regarding safety concerns. I will be preparing a final informational flyer to ensure that all first responders are well aware of that the 200 block of Bourbon will be impassable from 7:00PM-12:00AM, January 13th
Best, Jennifer
Mr. Hesdorffer's response to Ms. Day: (last email in thread)
Jennifer,
I am sorry but I believe you missed my point.
I did not challenge the filming of the “Half Pint Brawlers” activity on Bourbon St. project on terms of its content or legality. I am reiterating (as I have on any number of other occasions) that the French Quarter as a neighborhood is subjected to intense use year-round, even when no special activities are taking place. It is a neighborhood that must struggle to maintain any balance between normal life and special events. For that reason, I view this film request as one that fits more correctly into the category of what is unrelated and extraneous to the nature of the historic district. And for that matter, as has been the concern for some other film requests in the past, there is no compelling justification to subject Bourbon Street or any other part of the French Quarter to this activity when it can so easily be staged in an area less fragile than the Vieux Carre Historic District.
I didn’t suggest that the wrestling activity is either lewd or illegal. My quoted reference to lawful or otherwise was in regard to the Bullrun drivers/participants who openly bragged in their videos about breaking all kinds of highway regulations and speed limits, endangering others’ lives in the interest of racing from locale to locale for the purpose of displaying their fast cars to interested viewers who could then gawk and drool over the cars and admire the drivers’ abilities to drive fast enough and get from party spot to party spot. Again, that was not the image that I thought was particularly beneficial to my city and its desire to build a better future through economic development of high quality products, experiences and endeavors.
For over 6 ½ years, my primary participation on the Film & Video Committee has been to review projects based upon their suitability for the proposed locales. That has always been especially challenging for the Vieux Carre because it is probably the most requested location for filming. Nevertheless, and because of the intensity discussed above, it is also one of the most discouraged locales … so that it doesn’t get OVER-USED.
More importantly however, not every request is actually granted. And why has that been the practice? The answer is so that we may preserve the French Quarter, as well as its businesses and its residents, so they all can co-exist for many more years of carefully monitored and balanced use.
Finally, as for Bourbon Street’s fame or renown, its reputation and associations are not so tied to the recent arrivals of such enclaves as Tempations or Barely Legal. The history of the street and its evolution into a world famous entertainment corridor has much more to do with the realities of an expansive soldier population during WWII, tied to a burgeoning economy that allowed the US to recover from the Great Depression and a time when live musicians held sway as entertainers, long before the advent of long-playing records, and when burlesque houses were still prevalent featuring live music, comedy, and performers who practiced the Art of Striptease. Most of that has all but disappeared. And unfortunately, much of the allure of those glory years of entertainment has been replaced with tawdry substitutes that cannot really be compared with their predecessors or even the handful of operations that manage to keep some of that flame alive from decades past.
As for what may be controversial or considered as an every-day experience on Bourbon Street, what is legal or not, and what may be your or my “experiences of choice”, that is really irrelevant. I am sure that our police and fire and EMS personnel can guarantee a safe and controlled environment. It is not to be doubted that when it comes to crowd control, Mardi Gras has made New Orleans’ own the finest practitioners above all others.
However, my argument returns to where it began: the suitability of this activity and whether it should be sanctioned or even facilitated by the City of New Orleans as an appropriate activity in the middle of a public right-of-way in the 200 block of Bourbon Street. To be even more direct, opportunities abound for the producers to feature their star wrestler’s enjoying the Bourbon Street experience for themselves and enticing viewers to visit the French Quarter and any other New Orleans locations they might choose to highlight.
Nevertheless, the staging of the little people wrestling match has NOTHING to do with Bourbon Street or the Vieux Carre; and it is still an inappropriate use for this neighborhood, whether it is approved to take place on January 13th or not.
LPH