A car chase that includes a crash right through a storefront window in the new Netflix movie, "We Have a Ghost," coming out next year, are being filmed through early September in the quiet, historic downtown of Donaldsonville.
The chase will race through the city's shady park, called Louisiana Square, and it will be fake glass that a car will launch through at some point, in a made-for-the-movie storefront on Railroad Avenue — the real glass of the property's window was carefully removed and will be put back after filming.
All the action was vetted first by the Donaldsonville Historic District Commission. The scenes are blocked off for safety by barricades, where Ascension Parish Sheriff's deputies are posted.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, there won't be the autographs and pictures with stars that Donaldsonville — no stranger to movie-making — has seen in the past.
But, said Mayor Leroy Sullivan, "the community is excited to have another movie here."
Other movies filmed in the west bank Ascension Parish city are "Highwaymen" in 2018, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" in 2008 and "All the King's Men" in 2006.
"We Have a Ghost" is described by Netflix as a family adventure movie that tells the tale of a homeowner who discovers a friendly phantom named Ernest and begins filming and posting news about it on social media.
Ernest becomes a viral sensation before the story takes a turn, and the ghost and another character go missing, while the CIA investigates.
The cast includes Anthony Mackie, David Harbour, Tig Nataro, Erica Rash, Jennifer Coolidge, Isabella Russo, Niles Fitch, Steve Coulter and Faith Ford.
The movie makers window-dressed several vacant buildings on Railroad Avenue — the main street of the historic district — to serve as a toy store, antique shop, bridal shop and more.
"Donaldsonville is very unique, but it can also double as 'Small Town, USA,'" said Chris Stelly, executive director of Louisiana Entertainment, a division of the state's Department of Economic Development.
One of the advantages of such window dressing when a movie comes to town, said Lee Melancon, director of Donaldsonville's community and economic development, is the inspiration it brings.
He said, "it allows investors and owners to re-imagine their properties and what they can be."