SUPER-producer Jerry Bruckheimer is remaining deliberately and proudly tight-lipped about the plot of his new action thriller, Deja Vu, directed by Tony Scott and starring Denzel Washington.

Speaking at the London press conference for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest earlier this summer, he said of the project: “It’s a crime procedural with a major love story. It’s unique, interesting, different and a fresh approach to that genre, so we’re excited about that. It should be here in December and in the States in November.”

What is known is that Washington plays ATF agent Doug Carlin who experiences a worrying case of deja vu after being called into to recover evidence after a bomb sets off a cataclysmic explosion on a New Orleans ferry.

The deja vu in question may be more than just coincidence, however, and triggers a desperate race against time for Carlin to save the lives of hundreds of innocent people.

The film co-stars Val Kilmer, Bruce Greenwood and Jim Caviezel and is bound to benefit from the visual flair of its director, Scott, who’s reunited with Denzel for the third time since Crimson Tide and Man On Fire.

Given that most actors talk of a shorthand being developed when working with favoured directors, everything seemed to be in place for a smooth shoot prior to the start of Deja Vu/

But owing to the choice of location – New Orleans – the devastating events of Hurricane Katrina meant that the film had to be delayed by four months.

Rather than opt for a new location, however, Scott and Bruckheimer waited for clearance and were the first film crew to be welcomed back by the city after the storm and its clear-up operation.

Says Scott of the experience (in an interview with Entertainment Weekly): “New Orleans is unlike any other city in America. It’s in a time warp and that’s what I wanted because the movie is about shifting in time.”

The director even went so far as to incorporate the disaster into the drama and chose to shoot some scenes in the city’s most devastated neighbourhoods. It allowed the film’s celebrities to rally around the community and offer some morale-boosting support, while Caviezel even did some volunteer work when he wasn’t required for filming duties.

Early word on the finished product is pretty hot, especially since Bruckheimer has consistently been the man with the Midas touch at the box office – and he and Scott have been churning out hits together ever since Top Gun 20 years ago.

Deja Vu is due for release in the UK on December 22.

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