Spike Lee Filming New Orleans-set TV Pilot

It's called "NoLa," and the potential NBC series will focus on the post-Katrina lives of people from many backgrounds in New Orleans. Obviously, the success and satisfaction of doing HBO's "When The Levees Broke" (the most acclaimed work by Lee in many years) inspired him to do more. Most interesting of all, Lee will include some of the people in the documentary in the show playing fictionalized versions of themselves. Phyllis Montana LeBlanc -- who popped off the screen during her interviews -- is one of them. Lee also cites Italian neo-realism (the source of many a blockbuster TV show) as inspiration behind his approach. He'll be filming in New Orleans of course. "We don't have to build sets," Lee said with irony. "Things there still look like the city's been bombed out."