Midnight Bayou | |
---|---|
Based on | Midnight Bayou by Nora Roberts |
Screenplay by | Stephen Tolkin |
Directed by | Ralph Hemecker |
Starring | Jerry O'Connell Lauren Stamile |
Music by | Chris P. Bacon Stuart Michael Thomas |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Producer | Gideon Amir |
Cinematography | Anghel Decca |
Editor | Scott Richter |
Running time | 91 minutes |
Production company | Mandalay TV |
Original release | |
Network | Lifetime |
Release | March 28, 2009 |
Midnight Bayou, also known as Nora Roberts' Midnight Bayou, is a 2009 made-for-TV movie directed by Ralph Hemecker, which stars Jerry O'Connell, Lauren Stamile, and Faye Dunaway. The film is based on the 2001 Nora Roberts novel of the same name and is part of the Nora Roberts 2009 movie collection, which also includes Northern Lights , High Noon , and Tribute . [1] The film debuted on March 28, 2009, on Lifetime.
The film revolves around Harvard-educated lawyer Declan Fitzpatrick (O'Connell), who impulsively gives up his settled life to buy Manet Hall, a newly restored plantation manor near New Orleans, which he has always been drawn to.
Local legends claim that the house is haunted, and shortly after Declan moves in, he begins hearing voices and seeing things. Declan is also distracted by an undeniable attraction to Cajun local, Lena Simone. Lena was raised on the bayou by her grandmother Odette (Dunaway), and has her own deep connection with the manor.
While living in the house, Declan begins to have visions from a century past and details of events that took place in the mansion. With the help of Odette, Declan and Lena realize that they are inextricably linked with Manet Hall, and uncover a shocking secret that has been hidden there for more than 100 years.
The film was executive produced by Stephanie Germain and Peter Guber, who also 'e.p.-ed' seven other Roberts films for Lifetime in 2007 and 2009.
The "manor" scenes were filmed at Oak Alley Plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana. The major "city" scenes were in New Orleans, Louisiana. Even though the film depicts the two locations as not that far apart, in real life Vacherie and New Orleans are approximately 55 mi (89 km) apart. [2]
The year 1967 in film involved some significant events. It is widely considered one of the most ground-breaking years in American cinema, with "revolutionary" films highlighting the shift towards forward thinking European standards at the time, including: Bonnie and Clyde, The Graduate, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Cool Hand Luke, The Dirty Dozen, In Cold Blood, In the Heat of the Night, The Jungle Book and You Only Live Twice.
The year 1941 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Citizen Kane.
Nora Roberts is an American author of over 225 romance novels. She also writes as J. D. Robb, Jill March, and Sarah Hardesty.
Euzhan Palcy is a French film director, screenwriter, and producer. Her films are known to explore themes of race, gender, and politics, with an emphasis on the perpetuated effects of colonialism. Palcy's first feature film Sugar Cane Alley received numerous awards, including the César Award for Best First Feature Film. With A Dry White Season (1989), she became the first black female director to have a film produced by a major Hollywood studio, MGM.
Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island is a 1998 American direct-to-video animated mystery comedy horror film based on the Scooby-Doo franchise. In the film, Shaggy, Scooby, Fred, Velma and Daphne reunite after a year-long hiatus from Mystery, Inc. to investigate a bayou island said to be haunted by the ghost of the pirate Morgan Moonscar. The film was directed by Jim Stenstrum, from a screenplay by Glenn Leopold.
Swamp Women is a 1956 American adventure film noir crime film directed by Roger Corman. It stars Carole Mathews, Beverly Garland, and Marie Windsor, with Mike Connors and Ed Nelson in small roles.
Hurry Sundown is a 1967 American drama film produced and directed by Otto Preminger, and starring Jane Fonda and Michael Caine. The screenplay by Horton Foote and Thomas C. Ryan is based on the 1965 novel of the same title by K.B. Gilden, a pseudonym for the married couple Katya and Bert Gilden. It marked Faye Dunaway's film debut. The film is considered a Southern Gothic work.
Jurnee Diana Smollett is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress appearing on television sitcoms, including On Our Own (1994–1995) and Full House (1992–1994). She gained greater recognition with her role in the critically acclaimed Kasi Lemmons directed film Eve's Bayou (1997), which earned her a Critics' Choice Movie Award.
Plaçage was a recognized extralegal system in French and Spanish slave colonies of North America by which ethnic European men entered into civil unions with non-Europeans of African, Native American and mixed-race descent. The term comes from the French placer meaning "to place with". The women were not legally recognized as wives but were known as placées; their relationships were recognized among the free people of color as mariages de la main gauche or left-handed marriages. They became institutionalized with contracts or negotiations that settled property on the woman and her children and, in some cases, gave them freedom if they were enslaved. The system flourished throughout the French and Spanish colonial periods, reaching its zenith during the latter, between 1769 and 1803.
Alan Michael Ritchson is an American actor. He made his acting debut as Aquaman / Arthur Curry on The CW superhero series Smallville (2005–2010), where he appeared as a guest star between the fifth and tenth seasons. Ritchson had a starring role in the Spike TV sitcom Blue Mountain State (2010–2012), a role he reprised in the 2016 film sequel. He also headlined the SyFy action series Blood Drive (2017), and returned to superhero television as Hank Hall / Hawk on the DC Universe / HBO Max series Titans from 2018 to 2021. He gained wider recognition for portraying the title character in the Amazon Prime Video action thriller series Reacher since 2022.
Brothers & Sisters is an American family drama television series that centers on the Walker family and their lives in Los Angeles and Pasadena, California. The series aired for five seasons on ABC from September 24, 2006, to May 8, 2011. For the entirety of its run, it was broadcast on Sunday nights following Desperate Housewives.
The Princess and the Frog is a 2009 American animated musical romantic fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is inspired in part by the 2002 novel The Frog Princess by E. D. Baker, which in turn is based on the German folk tale "The Frog Prince" as collected by the Brothers Grimm. The film was directed by John Musker and Ron Clements and produced by Peter Del Vecho, from a screenplay that Clements and Musker co-wrote with Rob Edwards. The directors also co-wrote the story with the writing team of Greg Erb and Jason Oremland. The film stars the voices of Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Michael-Leon Wooley, Jim Cummings, Jennifer Cody, John Goodman, Keith David, Peter Bartlett, Jenifer Lewis, Oprah Winfrey, and Terrence Howard. Set in New Orleans during the 1920s, the film tells the story of a hardworking waitress named Tiana who dreams of opening her own restaurant. After kissing prince Naveen, who has been turned into a frog by the evil voodoo witch doctor Facilier, Tiana becomes a frog as well and the two must find a way to turn human again before it is too late.
Joseph "Ziggy" Modeliste, also known as Zigaboo Modeliste, is an American drummer best known as a founding member of the funk band the Meters. He is widely considered an innovator in the funk genre and New Orleans style drumming. The Meters' music had a defining role and set the stylistic tone of New Orleans funk. Due to his work with the band, Modeliste is credited as an integral part of bringing New Orleans second-line grooves into popular music.
Madewood Plantation House, also known as Madewood, is a former sugarcane plantation house on Bayou Lafourche, near Napoleonville, Louisiana. It is located approximately two miles east of Napoleonville on Louisiana Highway 308. A National Historic Landmark, the 1846 house is architecturally significant as the first major work of Henry Howard, and as one of the finest Greek Revival plantation houses in the American South.
Soultaker is a 1990 American fantasy horror film written by Vivian Schilling and directed by Michael Rissi. It stars Joe Estevez in the title role, alongside Vivian Schilling, Gregg Thomsen, Chuck Williams, Robert Z'Dar, and David "Shark" Fralick. The film follows a group of young adults who try to flee from the titular "Soultaker" when their souls are ejected from their bodies after a car accident. Inspired by discussions with Action International Pictures producer Eric Parkinson, the script was based on a real-life car accident which Schilling was involved in.
"Li'l Liza Jane" or "Little Liza Jane" is a song that dates back to the Antebellum South and is closely related to a suite of other songs with similar titles, including "Oh! Liza Poor Gal,""Goodbye Liza Jane," and "Steal Miss Liza." Songs in the "Liza Jane" family have become perennial standards in traditional jazz, folk music, and bluegrass, as well as appearing in numerous other genres including rock and roll, blues, and R&B. Numerous scholars and musicologists have written about the song, and it is one of the standards of the New Orleans brass band tradition, where it thrives today. According to a 2023 book, Poor Gal: The Cultural History of Little Liza Jane, many "Liza Jane" variants have enjoyed "big audience" moments throughout American history. For instance, "Li'l Liza Jane" became a sensation in the World War I era when a version was placed in a songbook given to all American servicemen and again in 1960 when Harry Belafonte performed a version as part of his CBS television special New York 19.
Tribute, also known as Nora Roberts' Tribute, is a 2009 television film directed by Martha Coolidge starring Brittany Murphy and Jason Lewis. The film is based on the 2008 Nora Roberts novel of the same name. It is part of the Nora Roberts 2009 movie collection, which also includes Northern Lights, Midnight Bayou, and High Noon. The movie debuted April 11, 2009 on Lifetime.
Ardoyne Plantation House is located on Highway 311 in Schriever, Louisiana, just northwest of Houma, Louisiana. It was built 1894 and added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 1, 1982.
Tiana's Bayou Adventure is a log flume attraction at Magic Kingdom and upcoming at Disneyland. It is based on Disney's 2009 film The Princess and the Frog. The ride experience begins with an outdoor float-through that leads to indoor dark ride segments, with a climactic steep drop followed by an indoor finale. The drop is 52.5 feet. The attraction replaced Splash Mountain and opened on June 28, 2024 at Magic Kingdom and is scheduled to open on November 15, 2024 at Disneyland.