Scene Magazine - November/December 2013

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013

ON THE SCENE

NEW ORLEANS FILM FESTIVAL WWW.SCENELOUISIANA.COM

SUPER 8’s

RYAN LEE COURTSIDE WITH

LSU + PELICANS BEFORE THE SCENE WITH

VIC WAINSTEIN

OMAR BENSON

MILLER on the Homefront

NOLA FASHION WEEK S/S 2013

S

VOL. 4, ISSUE 6 • November/December 2013 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Micah Haley CREATIVE DIRECTOR Erin Theriot DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Katianna Bear MANAGING EDITOR Catie Ragusa GRAPHIC ART DIRECTOR Burton Chatelain, Jr. EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Lindsey Hopton, Leah Stogner SALES Brinkley Maginnis, Gene Jones, Casey Lott, April Crifasi COVER PHOTO Jason Kempin

EDITOR’S LETTER

O

ne of my great hopes is that Tim League will bring Alamo Drafthouse to Louisiana, and with it, his Madonna-banning, iron-fisted approach to film exhibition. Over the last twelve months, I’ve had some of the worst theatergoing experiences of my life. The outright disrespectful attitudes displayed by fellow patrons have caused me to walk out of films I’ve eagerly anticipated.

And I’m no purist.

Feel free to whisper to your friends during a screening. Feel free to laugh uncontrollably at something funny or scream in horror.

Feel free to check your cell phone, if the screen brightness is turned all the way down and the sound is off. But please don’t bring your small children to R-rated 10pm showings.

8 | November/December 2013

And please keep your conversation to a whisper.

If your voice is competing with the dialogue on screen, you’re doing it wrong.

There was none of that at any of the New Orleans Film Festival screenings.

The opening night pomp that surrounded a special screening of Twelve Years a Slave is just one of many signs the fest is growing in size. It is also growing in respect. One of the primary reasons NOFF is getting respect is because it gives respect, one screening at a time. Each film I attended was filled to the brim with patrons eager to actually watch a movie. As a welltravelled and weary filmgoer, I was replenished. And that’s why I can’t wait for the 2014 New Orleans Film Festival.

MICAH HALEY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

editor@scenelouisiana.com

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Frank Ockenfels, Robert Voets, Randy Holmes, Murray Close, Justin Stephens, Melissa Moseley, Randy Holmes, Wilson Webb, Craig Sjodin, Anne Marie Fox, Paul Schiraldi, Justin Lubin, Richard Foreman, Francois Duhamel, John Bramley, David Lee, Cliff Lipson, Chelsea Jones, Geovanni Velasquez, Caitlin Barry, Benjamin Bickham, Elizabeth Shaw, Jason Kempin CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AJ Buckley, Lindsey Hopton, Susan Ross, Arthur Vandelay, Jacob Peterman, Andi Eaton, James Napper, III Scene Magazine At Raleigh Studios Baton Rouge 10000 Celtic Drive • Suite 201 • Baton Rouge, LA 70809 225-361-0701 At Second Line Stages 800 Richard St. • Suite 222 • New Orleans, LA 70130 504-224-2221 info@scenelouisiana.com • www.scenelouisiana.com Published By Louisiana Entertainment Publishers LLC & BIC Media Solutions For Louisiana Entertainment Publishers LLC CEO, Andre Champagne President, AJ Buckley Vice President, Micah Haley Display Advertising: Call Scene Magazine for a current rate card or visit www.scenelouisiana.com All submitted materials become the property of Louisiana Entertainment Publishers LLC. For subscriptions or more information visit our website www.scenelouisiana.com Copyright @ 2013 Louisiana Entertainment Publishers. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used for solicitation or copied by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording by any information storage or retrieval system, without the express written permission of the publisher.

CONTENTS ON THE COVER

Omar Benson Miller ABOVE THE LINE

38

Omar Benson Miller in Homefront

SCENE ON

12

Celebs currently filming in Louisiana

BEFORE THE SCENE

18

A conversation with Vic Wainstein

COMING SOON

20

LAST LOOKS

24

Super star Ryan Lee

TODAY’S SCENE

28

The Sandlot director David M. Evans

SPORTS

32

47

New Orleans Pelicans LSU Basketball

SCENE EXTRAS

Notable News and Celebrities on the Scene

MUSIC/SOUND SPEED

52

Mumford & Sons and Hanson Both Return to NOLA

FASHION / THE RED CARPET 58

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Andi Eaton on NOLAFW S/S 2013

LETTERS OF THE LAW

64

PRODUCER’S CORNER

66

Shaun Sanghani

ON THE SCENE

70

12 Years a Slave Premiere at NOFF

THE UNSCENE

10 | November/December 2013

74

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SCENE ON EVAN PETERS

American Horror Story EVAN PETERS has entered the nightmares of Americans across the country, starring in the first two seasons of American Horror Story. In the unique FX horror series, which reboots each season with the same actors playing different characters, Peters has showcased his dramatic chops as Tate Langdon in season one and Kit Walker in season two. He is now in New Orleans shooting the witch-centric NOLA-set third season, American Horror Story: Coven.

ZACHARY QUINTO

Star Trek Into Darkness Evan Peters as Tate Langdon

courtesy of FX

After a star-making start on NBC’s Heroes, ZACHARY QUINTO stepped into some well-worn shoes, starring as Spock in JJ Abrams Star Trek reboot. He reprised the role this summer in the sequel Star Trek Into Darkness, but filled the time in between the two sci-fi space actioners on the FX horror hit American Horror Story, playing Chad in season one and Dr. Thredson in season two. Now he’s in New Orleans filming the third season of American Horror Story, along with Evan Peters, Jessica Lange, Frances Conroy, Kathy Bates, Sarah Paulson and Angela Bassett.

Zachary Quinto as Dr. Thredson photo by Frank Ockenfels/FX

AIMEE TEEGARDEN Friday Night Lights

Matt Lanter as Liam Court courtesy of The CW

MATT LANTER 90210

MATT LANTER plays the role of Liam Court on Fox’s 1990s Beverly Hills, 90210 spinoff, simply titled 90210. A bad boy college student who’s also – wait for it - a ladies man, Liam makes it very well known that he’s interested in any female who may cross his path. Now, Lanter is in New Orleans playing a new lady’s man in Star-Crossed, a series that is currently shooting in New Orleans. Lanter plays Roman, an extraterrestrial student attending high school among humans. He falls in love with Emery, a human student played by Aimee Teegarden.

12 | November/December 2013

Aimee Teegarden as Julie Taylor courtesy of NBC

After her role in Friday Night Lights, AIMEE TEEGARDEN starred as Jane, the girlfriend of a soldier fighting in the Vietnam War, in Danny Mooney’s Love and Honor. When she breaks up with her boyfriend Dalton (Austin Stowell), he decides to go AWOL and return to the States, bringing his friend Mickey (Liam Hemsworth) along with him. Now Teegarden is in New Orleans shooting CW’s new alien-based drama Star-Crossed. She plays Emery, a human girl who falls in love with Roman, an alien boy who has integrated into a majority-human high school. The series will be in Louisiana filming until December.

MORE SCENE ON

SCENE ON MALESE JOW Big Time Rush

After doing an eighteen-episode stint as Anna, a vampire on the first season of CW’s The Vampire Diaries, MALESE JOW earned a role on the Facebook-inspired film The Social Network. She also had a recurring role on Nickelodeon’s Big Time Rush as Lucy Stone, an aspiring singer who catches the eyes of the boy band pop sensation Big Time Rush.

Jow has now joined Matt Lanter and Aimee Teegarden in New Orleans for the filming of Star-Crossed as Julia, a human girl suffering from an illness that may be cured by aliens.

GREY DAMON

Friday Night Lights Malese Jow as Lucy Stone photo by Robert Voets

Recently starring as Chris Rodriguez in the New Orleans-shot actioner Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, GREY DAMON is also known for his roles in ABC Family’s new dramatic thriller series, Twisted, and on the fifth and final season of NBC’s family-friendly feel good series Friday Night Lights as Hastings Ruckle. The attractive young actor is now back in New Orleans, this time with Friday Night Lights costar Aimee Teagarden, shooting CW’s Star-Crossed. He plays Grayson, a boy competing for Emery’s heart.

Grey Damon as Hastings Ruckle photo by Justin Stephens

MARGOT ROBBIE About Time Greg Finley as Jack Pappas photo by Randy Holmes

GREG FINLEY

The Secret Life of the American Teenager GREG FINLEY is most recognizable for his role as Jack Pappas, the reverend’s goody-two-shoes-turned-rebel son on all five seasons of ABC Family’s The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Now he’s joined the cast of a new drama series. Finley has joined Matt Lanter and Aimee Teegarden in Louisiana for the sci-fi series, Star-Crossed. He plays Drake, Roman’s human-hating, overprotective best friend.

Margot Robbie as Charlotte photo by Murray Close

In About Time, the 2013 romantic comedy about a man who discovers he can travel through time on his twentyfirst birthday, MARGOT ROBBIE stars alongside Rachel McAdams and Domhnall Gleeson. Robbie also played Laura Cameron for fourteen episodes of Pan Am, and now she’s in New Orleans filming Focus, a film about a veteran swindler who takes a younger woman under his wing, but becomes romantically involved with her. Robbie co-stars in Focus with Will Smith and Rodrigo Santoro.

MORE SCENE ON 14 | November/December 2013

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SCENE ON RODRIGO SANTORO

What to Expect When You’re Expecting Alex is the husband of international pop star and actress Jennifer Lopez in What to Expect When You’re Expecting. Played by RODRIGO SANTORO, Alex is a daddy-to-be who isn’t quite ready to become a father, or the eighteen years that follow. Santoro also had a starring role in I Love You Phillip Morris, the New Orleans-shot Jim Carrey comedy. Rodrigo Santoro is now back in New Orleans filming Focus alongside Will Smith and Margot Robbie, reunited with his I Love You Phillip Morris directors Glen Ficarra and John Requa.

WILL SMITH Men in Black 3 Rob Huebel and Rodrigo Santoro as Gabe and Nate photo by Melissa Moseley

After completing another dirty job fighting space alien-related crimes in 2012’s Men in Black 3, WILL SMITH began working on several other projects, including an adaptation of the classic musical Annie, starring Louisiana native Quvenzhané Wallis. He also earned a part on The American Can, the New Orleansshot film based on the true story of a US Marine who risks his life in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It looks like the Fresh Prince will be hanging out in the Crescent City for a while, because now he’s shooting Focus, starring alongside Margot Robbie and Rodrigo Santoro.

NICOLE GALE ANDERSON

Tyler Blackburn as Caleb Rivers with the pretty little liars photo by Randy Holmes

Make It or Break It

TYLER BLACKBURN Pretty Little Liars

Best known for his role as the mysterious Caleb Rivers on ABC Family’s teen soap Pretty Little Liars, TYLER BLACKBURN also had a soapy role on Days of Our Lives in 2010. With Liars a success, its spinoff pilot Ravenswood was released in October. Blackburn again plays Caleb Rivers, a young man who moves to the town of Ravenswood, and finds that an old curse is connecting him to four strangers in town. Ravenswood is currently filming in New Orleans, where Blackburn has joined the drama’s fellow leads Nicole Anderson, Britne Olford, Marritt Patterson and Luke Benward.

16 | November/December 2013

Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones as Agent J and Agent K photo by Wilson Webb

Nicole Gale Anderson as Kelly Parker photo by Craig Sjodin

Brunette beauty NICOLE ANDERSON is best known for her recurring role as Kelly Parker on ABC Family’s three-season series Make It or Break It, a drama about a group of teen gymnasts, training for the day they get to compete in the Olympics.

She also starred in Red Line, a thriller about a subway train that is taken over by terrorists and thrown out of control during rush hour. The film was released earlier this year. Now Anderson has joined Pretty Little Liars star Tyler Blackburn in New Orleans to shoot a new drama, Ravenswood.

by AJ Buckley

VIC WAINSTEIN Vic Wainstein is a music producer and engineer from Fort Worth, Texas. After previously working with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Game, Jay Rock and DJ Drama, he won a Grammy Award for his work on New Orleans native Frank Ocean’s debut studio album Channel Orange. His latest project MellowHigh was released on Halloween.

What made you want to work in the music industry?

As long as I can remember, there’s always been some piece of audio connected to the most significant s*** I’ve ever encountered in my life.

After a while, there was no way to let it go unnoticed. So, I said, “Let me see if I can contribute in any way to this thing I hold so very reverent.” Music was one of the ultimates in my life growing up. I took piano growing up as a kid. I picked up guitar and started playing with bands and doing different things to see if it was right for me. I thought very highly of it.

I started making beats on rinky-dink PCs and little keyboards, playing in bands with homies, trying to get a couple bucks here and there. At first, I was really apprehensive. I thought too much about what other people thought about my musical efforts. It really made me reserved.

I was worried about how people were receiving it because I was always so critical when I listened to music. I thought everybody else was, too.

Then, I finally came out of my shell and went to work. I thought of it as more of a short-term hobby than a professional move. I was still in school. So, I was like, “Let me look at it from a more practical standpoint. Let me look it through the public relations realm.” Let me look into something where I can be on that side still involved with music, but it wasn’t reliant upon my musical ideas to drive a career. I wanted to just be an organized dude and help manufacture the great music that was out there for people to get in touch with.

What was your biggest fear?

Back then, my biggest fear was just falling completely on my face with anything I did musically. That I would be left out. When you’re a kid, you hold certain things super high in your eyes, and the biggest thing that you don’t wanna hear is that you can’t do it. That you can’t be a part of it. I respected music so much that I just wanted to be a part of it.

What was your lowest point?

I grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, and it seemed like such a small pond to me. I’d already realized that I needed to make a drastic move. I was living pseudo-comfortably there. I had a job almost a hundred percent of the time. I wasn’t doing too bad.

My folks were there, so if I ever needed a little extra, I could always go over and just look to them for guidance or otherwise.

When I moved to L.A., I really just had to throw away everything that I had learned about how to live. Just figure it out from ground zero again. I remember there was a point where I had no place to live. I was just crashin’ from couch to couch. Lived outside a couple times. I ended up turning to a very dark place mentally because when you’re in such a weird limbo, it’s hard to see the light at the end of that tunnel. I never knew 18 | November/December 2013

where my skillset would hit. The industry I was picking, that I was getting a good grasp on, completely changed. This was around 2003. One of the whole reasons it was easy for me to leave Texas after doing some stuff on the business side of music was because of the Payola scandal that was brought to the music industry’s attention by Eliot Spitzer. Thousands of jobs were lost and the mid-level, college and assistant positions that I was getting with the record labels were non-existent after a while. Anything that had to do with the bigger picture of music disappeared into thin air in the early 2000s. That was one of those things where I had no more hope pursuing that. I had to figure out how to do something completely on the other side of things and rely on another skillset to get me there.

What was it that kept you from walking away?

I didn’t want to go home. That’s the easy way out.

Going back to where you’re from and have your tail tucked between your legs and saying you’ve failed.

I actually had a very big, cool support system. I’m not saying my parents or my extended family or immediate family were more rich than others, but they definitely had something in place there that if I were to fall, I would’ve been okay. The last thing that I wanted to do was to tell them that I didn’t do what I wanted to. I didn’t want to come back and have people tap me on the head and tell me it was gonna be okay. I wasn’t willing to accept that. In a place like Fort Worth, Texas, I could have done that and been so comfortable, but that was part of the reason that I had to leave. A lot of my friends growing up started having kids, started buying houses, getting into a very solid routine with living. I just needed more. More turbulence. More excitement. I needed more than what Fort Worth could offer me.

Who has been your closest ally?

I’d have to say my mom. She was the only one that didn’t discourage me from leaving Texas. She’s been the one constant thing in my life, crazy or not, good or bad, that’s always been alongside of me no matter what I was staring down the barrel of. She’s definitely been my biggest inspiration, confidant and the most constant thing in my life. The last six years my girlfriend, Amy, has been through it with me because she saw when I first met her I was a runner at a recording studio. She saw the whole transition for me being a beat-making runner to an assistant engineer to a producer engineer to, now, a Grammy-winner - which is f****** bizarre to say out loud! It’s still fresh, dude. I’m only like five months deep after winning that s***. I don’t even like to say it when I’m just hanging out. When people that don’t know me and talk to me about music, I always leave it out a hundred percent of the time.

How do you say that without just sounding like a complete ass****?

What meeting changed your life?

When I first started assistant engineering through my studio, we had a client that booked out an entire studio for over two years. I was one of the first people picked up to assist all his people. That person was Dr. Dre. Just being in his orbit was such a big deal for me, coming from knowing all of his classics. I identify with gangster rap because I lived

through that whole era of music. I knew it for what it was and where it came from. I did my homework on it. I always did my homework because I always wanted to figure out if there was a formula for good music. I always went in and got all the details. I knew he’d molded Eminem. He gave Snoop Dogg a shot and cultivated his career. So, I knew all the starts and stops of who Dr. Dre was and his importance to music. The one specific minute that I knew was this: I was sitting in a control room in the back of Encore Recording Studios. I look up, and it’s me, one other engineer, Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Eminem and a producer named The Alchemist. At that moment, I thought, “There will never be another moment like this.” I was supposed to be in that room: I was working. I was on the clock. I was getting to share the same vibe and the same oxygen that these m***********s are breathing. It’s one thing just being a bystander: anybody who’s gone to a show and has a backstage pass can say, “Yo, I was around so and so.” But I was a part of it.

What were some words that kept you going?

I don’t think it was one thing in particular. I realized that the people who were making the most things happen in the world treated every moment as if it was a privilege. I tried to model my whole mantra after that. The music and entertainment industry is so flimsy that you really have to do what you wanna do and f*** the rest. Make sure that it means that much to you. Understand that it is a privilege to exist in an artistic realm, but it is also a profession.

How do you feel like you’ve changed?

I don’t know if I have. I still appreciate the same s*** I did before I made my mark in this industry. I still act the same way. I still think fart jokes are funny as hell. I think I’m starting to care less about the bulls*** of this industry. You will really drive yourself crazy trying to please everybody. I had that mentality before. I realize I can’t please everybody so I’m just gonna be me and if that caters some people, great.

What words do you have to inspire others?

Honestly, if I had to be straight, I wouldn’t encourage anybody to work in this business. I know a lot of musicians that are amazing people and amazing musicians that have amazing ideas. If they were chewed up and spit out by the music industry, it would be such a sad day. So, I don’t wanna encourage anybody to be a part of this unless they really want it. If you really want this, understand that you’re really gonna have to take it on full force and deal with about as much emotional stress as one can take before you see any light. S A partner in Scene Magazine and the president of Louisiana Entertainment Publishers, AJ Buckley has starred for the last eight years on the hit CBS show CSI:NY. Originally from Dublin and raised in Vancouver, he has spent the last twelve years in Los Angeles acting, writing and directing. He recently finished producing and starring in North of Hell. Find out more on Twitter @AJohnBuckley and at www.ajbuckley.net. www.scenelouisiana.com | 19

COMING SOON

by Catie Ragusa

DALLAS BUYERS CLUB Friday, Nov. 1

Rated: R Director: Jean-Marc Vallée Ron Woodroof is a skirt-chasing, drug-taking cowboy. But in 1986, he’s diagnosed with HIV and given thirty days to live. His only legal chance for survival is a drug known as AZT, which quickly worsens his health, nearly killing him. To save his own life, Woodroof begins smuggling a new drug, one not yet approved by the FDA, across the Mexican border. With the help of his doctor and nurse, he accidentally starts the Dallas Buyers Club, a way for other HIV-positive patients to get the treatment they need, in exchange for club dues. Based on a true story and shot in New Orleans, Dallas Buyers Club stars Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, Jennifer Garner and Steve Zahn. photo by Anne Marie Fox

TREME – THE FINAL SEASON Sunday, Dec. 1

Creators: Eric Overmyer, David Simon Set and shot in New Orleans, HBO’s Treme is a series that starts three months after Hurricane Katrina viciously ripped apart their city. First weary of how television would portray their beloved city, New Orleanians quickly embraced the drama for its surprising accuracy. Taking its name from a Crescent City neighborhood named Tremé, the series is entering its fourth and final season on December 1. Documenting the life, culture and diversity in New Orleans, Treme stars Wendell Pierce, Khandi Alexander, Rob Brown, Steve Zahn, Kim Dickens, Melissa Leo, Lucia Micarelli, Michiel Huisman, David Morse, India Ennenga and Jon Seda. photo by Paul Schiraldi

MORE COMING SOON 20 | November/December 2013

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COMING SOON HOMEFRONT

Wednesday, Nov. 27 Rated: R Director: Gary Fleder Hoping to shape a better life for his daughter, former DEA agent Phil Broker relocates his family to a small, sleepy town.

Searching for peace after the death of his wife, he plans to live quietly in his new home. Instead, he finds trouble when he tangles with the local meth dealer. Faced with protecting his daughter and himself, Broker must find a solution to the quiet town’s drug problem. Based on the novel by Chuck Logan, with a screenplay written by Sylvester Stallone, Homefront stars Jason Statham, James Franco, Rachelle Lefevre, Winona Ryder and Kate Bosworth. Shot in New Orleans.

photo by Justin Lubin

ENDER’S GAME Friday, Nov. 1

Rated: PG-13 Director: Gavin Hood Seventy years have passed since the Buggers attacked. Now the alien species has returned, determined to destroy. But their plans for invasion have to first go through one boy. Ender Wiggins (Asa Butterfield) has the opportunity to be humanity’s savior. But will he do it?

Adapted from the famous young adult novel written

by Orson Scott Card, considered one of the greatest science fiction novels of the last half century, Ender’s Game stars Abigail Breslin, Harrison Ford and Hailee Steinfield. Play the game on November 1.

OLDBOY

Wednesday, Nov. 27 Rated: R Director: Spike Lee A remake of director Park Chan-wook’s seminal 2003 film Oldboy, this twisted thriller is the ultimate story of revenge. A man is held in solitary confinement for twenty years. Just as Joe (Josh Brolin) thinks he is free, he finds that he is still stuck in the conspiracy that has become his life.

One of the greatest directors of his generation, Spike Lee attempts to reimagine one of the greatest movies of the last fifteen years. Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen and Samuel L. Jackson star in this revenge thriller that was shot at Second Line Stages in New Orleans. Oldboy opens wide on November 27.

22 | November/December 2013

photo by Richard Foreman

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RYAN LEE

by Katianna Bear

“T

hings can get pretty boring when you don’t have a car and you can’t drive yet,” actor Ryan Lee says, recalling himself as a seven year old in search of some summer fun. “I was looking for camps to go to. I thought, ‘I’ve already done baseball, I don’t want to do art, but what about acting?’”

The elementary school boy from Austin, Texas chose an acting camp to help pass the time. “I tried it out. I went to camp and at the end there was a showcase for the parents,” says Lee. “A person who ended up going to the showcase was Liz Atherton and she’s my agent today. She really started my career.”

Now fifteen years old, Lee’s first gig was with the much lauded football series, Friday Night Lights. “That was my first job that I can call a job,” says Lee. “I don’t even like to call it that because it’s fun.”

The young actor became acclimated to the world of film through a number of short films before he landed a brief role on one of television’s most watched series, AMC’s Breaking Bad. Lee had the opportunity to work alongside Emmy winners Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul in the twisted drama where a high school science teacher and family man diagnosed with cancer transforms into a meth kingpin.

“It’s crazy because you go from being on shorts to a big set with so many people running around. It’s so hectic and it’s crazy to see a difference,” he says. “Breaking Bad made me realize that this is what I want to do. It is one of my favorite TV shows. When I was on it, no one could predict how crazy it was going to get.”

24 | November/December 2013

The recently concluded series took home a slew of awards over its five-season run, including Outstanding Drama Series at the 2013 Primetime Emmy Awards.

Lee continued to land roles in quality projects. He went through an extensive nerve-wracking audition process to land his role as Cary in J.J. Abrams 2011 thriller, Super 8. “First of all, we had no idea it was for Super 8. It was so secretive!” Lee explains. “We went and taped the audition and since it was a big script, we didn’t really think of it too much. I had no idea what it was for. Then a few months later I got a call.”

The working actor forgot what film he had even auditioned for when he received the call. When asked, the casting directors fibbed and gave a false movie title. “We got to California thinking we were auditioning for a movie called Darwin. Then we had to sign all of these confidentiality agreements. I had no idea what was going on,” he remembers. “I thought I was signing my life away. I just had no idea.”

Lee later flew back to California for a second set of auditions. “When I got there, I saw some of the guys that were in Super 8. I said, ‘What’s up?’ and it automatically clicked. I thought, ‘This is a good thing.’”

“The next audition ended up being the most nervewracking because JJ Abrams ended up being there. One of the girls sitting next to me said, ‘JJ is going to be here.’ I asked, ‘JJ who?’ I knew who JJ Abrams was; she just didn’t say his last name. Her mouth dropped at the thought of me not knowing who he was. Five minutes later, I went into my audition and JJ

| FILM

Ryan Lee and the cast of Super 8

Abrams was sitting right in front of me. My knees were buckling I was so nervous. I shook his hand and he told me to take a seat.”

The Abrams-produced found footage thriller Cloverfield was Lee’s first experience with the prolific filmmaker’s work. “I don’t remember how old I was, but I was still at the stage where watching scary movies was the ‘bad’ thing to do. When you are around all of your friends, you confidently say, ‘Yeah, I’ll watch a scary movie!’ And then that night, you have to sleep with your mom and dad,” Lee laughs. “And I did sleep in my parents room.”

Despite nerves, Lee admits he was confident in who would be chosen for the final cast, including himself. “The kids that got the audition were the ones that were all playing video games together. That really ended up working out because what JJ really wanted was kids who could mesh well and act natural together.”

Lee admits that working with a group of young actors is not

photo by Francois Duhamel

necessarily easy, but Abrams pleasantly surprised the cast members with his patience and understanding attitude. “I’m glad he has kids of his own because he knew how to work with us,” says Lee. “He never yelled. Not once. You hear all of these horror stories with directors getting mad and throwing tables, but he was nothing like that.”

“He only got mad at us once. Us kids were all joking around and JJ said, ‘Alright. You guys tell me when you’re done.’ And he just walked away. We were like, ‘No! Come back! We’re sorry!’ He would joke around sometimes or make a joke with us. Half the time in the movie he wanted us to joke around so he would just let us, but then we also had to buckle down and focus. It’s hard to work with a bunch of fourteen-year-olds but he knew how to tell us when it was time to work.”

Super 8 intentionally evoked the mystique of Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment films from the early 1980s such as ET and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. “We were all familiar [with www.scenelouisiana.com | 25

FILM |

Ryan Lee and Nick Krause in White Rabbit

those movies], but I had never watched either,” says Lee. “Before we started shooting, JJ said, ‘Alright guys, before we get to this certain day of filming, I want you all to watch these.’ We watched Close Encounters, ET, The Goonies and Stand By Me. We ended up watching them all on the first night because they were so good.”

Lee says he has had and interesting and rewarding array of feedback from his role in Super 8. “A lot of kids have come up to me and said, ‘Wow, you really pushed me toward wanting to become a director.’ But mostly adults will say, ‘That’s exactly how I acted when I was a kid! You brought me back to my childhood.’ And for me, that was my goal. That’s what I wanted to hear. People are able to stop worrying about the world for a second and can sit down in a movie theater, and they can be taken back to the best times of their lives. That’s what is really neat to hear.”

Lee’s portrayal of Steve in director Tim McCann’s White Rabbit is a departure from his previous roles. “I was offered the role and when I read the script, I was immediately into it. I have wanted to do a different film and this seemed like the perfect one to do.”

Steve walks with friend and fellow bullied high school teen Harlon (Nick Krause) down a dark and twisted path.

As Harlon begins having visions of a rabbit he killed when he was nine years old, Steve struggles with his inner demons.

“My character is Harlon’s best friend and basically we have gone through a lot of crap in high school and we are getting tired of it. My character goes through intense mood swings. He can get depressed 26 | November/December 2013

really easily and Harlon is his support. Whenever he is around Harlon, he is usually happy. But, when he goes back home or when he’s at school by himself, he can go to some pretty dark places.” The two are treading water, waiting for the perfect time to seek revenge.

Just eight days after the eerie drama completed filming, the film’s primary location experienced an unusual event of its own. LaPlace, Louisiana, flooded.

The Louisiana-filmed thriller was shot in just three weeks and also features Sam Trammell (True Blood) and Britt Robertson (Tomorrowland). “Filming in Louisiana was so great,” says Lee. “Everyone was so nice in the South. It was a little stressful to shoot in such a short period of time, and the heat didn’t help at all. A lot of the days it was raining, so we had to stop for a little bit, and then we would run out and get the cameras set up and it would just start raining again. We had to work around weather for sure.”

With the support of agent Liz Atherton of TAG Talent, Lee continues to maintain a constant workload. He stars alongside Malin Akerman and Bradley Whitford in the new ABC series, Trophy Wife. And in his latest film out in 2014, he plays Rance in Merry Friggin’ Christmas with Robin Williams, Wendi McLendon-Covey and Lauren Graham.

White Rabbit made its world premiere at the Zurich Film Festival on September 30 and will move Stateside for the North American premiere in early 2014. S

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TODAY’S SCENE

photo by John Bramley

FOREVER:

Director David Mickey Evans Talks

The Sandlot’s 20th Anniversary

by Lindsey Hopton

A

s a budding filmmaker, writer/director David Mickey Evans crafted a screenplay in homage to his childhood memories, set in the sandlot of a suburban neighborhood. There was Smalls, the new kid in the neighborhood.

Benny the Jet Rodriguez, the nice-guy baseball prodigy. There was Ham, the chubby catcher, and Squints, the smartass. And then, there was Wendy Peffercorn.

“She wore one of those clasped, red one-pieces and it was just too much to take,” remembers Evans of Wendy’s real-life inspiration. “I have no idea what her name was, but we called her Bunny.” In 1993, Evans made his childhood lifeguard a legend in The Sandlot, an instant cinema classic that appealed to both children and their parents.

Twenty years later, The Sandlot is a pervasive part of popular culture.

Evan’s incredible coming-of-age tale is still quoted and referenced daily. The enduring material that inspired the sometimes-tall tale came from Evan’s own childhood, going back to a memory that is surprisingly unhappy.

“We were a white family that moved into a very Chicano neighborhood,” says Evans. “We got the crap beat out of us every day on the way to school and the way home. It was not fun.”

One day, in the Northeastern San Fernando Valley of Pacoima, Evans’ nine-yearold brother walked up to a unwelcoming group of kids playing baseball. “They had actually hit a ball over a brick wall into this backyard where there was this very vicious, ill-treated German Shepherd-mix named Hercules,” recalls Evans. “They said,

28 | November/December 2013

TODAY’S SCENE ‘Sure you can play, but you gotta go get the ball!’”

Hercules tore up his brother’s leg. “I hated those guys for a long, long time,” Evans admits.

“They just laughed at him. They wouldn’t help him or anything.” As a young adult, part of Evan’s catharsis was taking the cruel kids from his own childhood and turning them into heroes. “That was my way of saying, ‘That’s it. I forgive you.’”

Originally, the young ensemble was an even younger cast of nine-year-olds, but the need to recast with older kids quickly became apparent.

“It was instantly clear,” says Evans. “We said, ‘Wow, these kids are babies. They are just too young.’” Evans and his crew quickly began to audition kids at the age of twelve and thirteen.

“The very first kid I think I ever saw was Mike Vitar. He was the first kid that ever came in and he was just perfect for Benny. I didn’t end up casting him until two months later, once we re-imagined the age of the characters.”

After casting Benny the Jet, the rest of the new cast fell into place. “All these kids really liked each other and they formed this cool unit,” remembers Evans. “They really encouraged each other.” Many of the cast’s actual personalities mirrored their on-screen personas. “Squints really was a little smart ass and it was great. He was actually perfect for the character. Benny (Vitar) really was a totally solid, good, compassionate, super athletic young man.”

While much of the cast were newcomers, there was one veteran actor whose small cameo made a big impact. “Toward the end of the production, they had just all been together - nine kids acting with each other - in all these scenes for forty days. Then, all of a sudden, a real actor shows up.” One of the best in the world.

“The single, most great man you will ever meet,” says Evans of Oscar nominee James Earl Jones, who portrayed the intimidating and misunderstood owner of The Beast. “He’s a very large and physically imposing man, although he’s the sweetest guy you’ll ever meet. They were just in awe. They were a little star struck, I think.”

The nostalgia-drenched look of the film was crafted by director of photography Anthony B. Richmond. “DPs fall into two categories: there’s artists and mechanics,” says Evans. “I always try to find a DP that’s both, and Tony is that kind of DP.” Sifting through stacks of Kodachrome photographs from Evans’ childhood, the two 30 | November/December 2013

photo courtesy 20th Century Fox

teamed up to recreate “one big memory.”

Evans handpicked painted landscapes from various art books, “specifically the ‘30s and ‘40s mid-western schools” which influenced the production process.

Shooting in anamorphic allowed the pair to produce at a sharp, traditional range with a washed-out feel, much like Kodachrome photos. “I wanted it to look expansive,” says Evans. “It’s more like what a human eye sees in real life. It’s also going to give, what is essentially a small film, a very big emotional feel.”

Evans stories of his time shooting on the sandlot are full of pride. “I’m very lucky,” he says. “I’m very grateful that people love it so much. I really am.” Evans is celebrating The Sandlot’s twenty year anniversary by touring the country, visiting nearly twenty different baseball stadiums all over America. The Sandlot is playing on HD Jumbotrons. “I get to meet everybody that loves the film and hear all the stories about what it means to them.”

While celebrating the film’s anniversary, Evans is keeping busy, including working with Wayne Chesler on adapting children’s books by Matt Christopher. Similar to The Sandlot in tone, Christopher’s books are described by Evans as “the most successful sports-oriented books for adolescents in history.” He is also developing a project he’s written for Peter Fonda called Hemingway’s Hero, and awaiting production of Miracle at Palmer Home, a story based on events in the Palmer Home Orphanage of Mississippi. He has co-written a film to be shot in Hawaii based on Walt Novak’s The Haole Substitute.

Evans is also long over-due on publishing his novel The King of Pacoima, the book on which his script for Radio Flyer was based.

It’s the Babe Ruth of sports films. The king of crash. The sultan of swat. The Great Bambino. The Sandlot taught audiences to stop thinking and just have fun. And it will be remembered FOR-EV-ER. S

www.scenelouisiana.com | 31

SPORTS

NEW ORLEANS PELICANS: REASONS TO WATCH

THIS SEASON

by Catie Ragusa

A

s the NBA begins its 2013-2014 season, the New Orleans Pelicans promise to make a name for themselves. An explosive team with a newly improved New Orleans Arena and a new practice facility will keep the newly rebranded ballers and their fans on their feet all season long.

1 NEW NAME. NEW LOGO. NEW PRIDE.

When it was announced that the New Orleans Hornets were going to receive a new, more Louisiana-themed mascot and logo, fans seemed less than excited.

But Louisiana soon warmed up to the idea of the Pelicans. Representing the Bayou State on its flag, the brown pelican is the driving force behind the reimagined team. Local pride for Louisiana and for New Orleans lies behind the Pelicans, bringing good voodoo to the New Orleans Arena this season.

2 HIGH BROW.

Entering his sophomore season in the NBA, Anthony “The Brow” Davis is an asset to the newly rebranded New Orleans Pelicans. Spectators can expect major improvements from Davis this season. During the offseason, he put on nearly twelve powerful pounds and counting. Now no longer a rookie, Davis will be a clean catch for any fantasy team owner, likely beating last year’s averages of 13.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, one assist, 1.2 steals and 1.8 blocks in twenty-nine minutes per game.

NEW ORLEANS PELICANS 2013-2014 SCHEDULE OCTOBER

Wed. 30, vs. Indiana, 6pm

NOVEMBER

Fri. 1, @ Orlando, 7pm Sat. 2, vs. Charlotte, 7pm Tue. 5, vs. Phoenix, 7pm Wed. 6, @ Memphis, 7pm Fri. 8, vs. LA Lakers, 7pm Sun. 10, @ Phoenix, 7pm Tue. 12, @ LA Lakers, 9:30pm Wed. 13, @ Utah, 8pm Sat. 16, vs. Philadelphia, 7pm Wed. 20, vs. Utah, 7pm Fri. 22, vs. Cleveland, 7pm Mon. 25, @ San Ant., 7:30pm Tue. 26, vs. Golden State, 7pm Fri. 29, @ Philadelphia, 7pm

DECEMBER

Recently traded by the Philadelphia 76ers for Nerlens Noel, point guard Jrue Holiday is spending his first season with the Pelicans in New Orleans. A first round draft pick in 2009, Holiday says he is “determined to be more efficient” this season.

With the help of head coach Monty Williams, who also coached Chris Paul in the 2010-2011 season, Holiday expects this to be a realistic goal. Averaging career highs of 17.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and eight assists in 37.5 minutes per game last season, Holiday’s expected improvements this season will help put the Pelicans on top.

Sun. 1, @ New York, 6:30pm Mon. 2, @ Chicago, 7pm Wed. 4, vs. Dallas, 7pm Fri. 6, vs. Oklahoma City, 7pm Wed. 11, vs. Detroit, 7pm Fri. 13, vs. Memphis, 7pm Sun. 15, @ Denver, 7pm Tue. 17, @ Golden State, 9:30pm Wed. 18, @ LA Clippers, 9:30pm Sat. 21, @ Portland, 9pm Mon. 23, @ Sacramento, 9pm Fri. 27, vs. Denver, 7pm Sat. 28, @ Houston, 7pm Mon. 30, vs. Portland, 7pm

4 NEW DIGS, NEW PRICES.

JANUARY

3 THE HOLIDAY SEASON.

A good, old-fashioned rebranding also calls for some other big improvements for the New Orleans Pelicans. During the offseason, the Pels’ home base underwent some major renovations, including improvements and construction of several suites and lounges, like the new Chairman’s Club and the Party Perch. With the new renovations, new pricing options on season tickets are also available. New ticketing and trade options, plus discounts from vendors and restaurants give Pelicans fans an even bigger reason to watch from inside the New Orleans Arena this season.

5 PRE-SEASON PROWESS.

The Pelicans have showed they are here to stay and here to play. Not did they go on an undefeated streak, but they did it without the help of star players Eric Gordon and Tyreke Evans, both of whom were benched with injuries. It’s become increasingly obvious that second-year pro Anthony Davis will continue to bring the team to new heights throughout the season, as long as he can remain free from injuries, unlike last season. S 32 | November/December 2013

Wed. 1, @ Minnesota, 7pm Fri. 3, @ Boston, 6:30pm Sat. 4, @ Indiana, 6pm Tue. 7, @ Miami, 6:30pm Wed. 8, vs. Washington, 7pm Fri. 10, vs. Dallas, 7pm Sat. 11, @ Dallas, 7:30pm Mon. 13, vs. San Antonio, 7pm Wed. 15, vs. Houston, 7pm Sat. 18, vs. Golden State, 7pm Mon. 20, @ Memphis, 4pm Tue. 21, vs. Sacramento, 7pm Fri. 24, @ Detroit , 6:30pm Sun. 26, vs. Orlando, 5pm Tue. 28, @ Cleveland, 6pm Wed. 29, @ Minnesota, 7pm

FEBRUARY

Sat. 1, vs. Chicago, 7pm Mon. 3, vs. San Antonio, 7pm Wed. 5, vs. Atlanta, 7pm Fri. 7, vs. Minnesota, 8:30pm Sun. 9, @ Brooklyn, 5pm Mon. 10, @ Toronto, 6pm Wed. 12, @ Milwaukee, 7pm Wed. 19, vs. New York, 7pm Fri. 21, @ Charlotte, 6pm Sat. 22, @ Washington, 6pm Mon. 24, vs. LA Clippers, 7pm Wed. 26, @ Dallas, 7pm Fri. 28, @ Phoenix, 9:30pm

MARCH

Sat. 1, @ LA Clippers, 9:30pm Mon. 3, @ Sacramento, 9pm Tue. 4, @ LA Lakers, 10:30pm Fri. 7, vs. Milwaukee, 7pm Sun. 9, vs. Denver, 5pm Wed. 12, vs. Memphis, 7pm Fri. 14, vs. Portland, 7pm Sun. 16, vs. Boston, 5pm Wed. 19, vs. Toronto, 7pm Fri. 21, @ Atlanta 6:30pm St. 22, vs. Miami, 7pm Mon. 24, vs. Brooklyn, 7pm Wed. 26, vs. LA Clippers, 7pm Fri. 28, vs. Utah, 7pm Sat. 29, @ San Ant., 7:30pm Mon. 31, vs. Sacramento, 7pm

APRIL

Wed. 2 @ Denver, 8pm Fri. 4 @ Utah, 8pm Sun. 6 @ Portland, 8pm Wed. 9 vs. Phoenix, 7pm Fri. 11 @ OKC, 7pm Sat. 12 @ Houston, 7pm Mon. 14 vs. OKC, 7pm Wed. 16 vs. Houston, 7pm

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SPORTS

LSU BASKETBALL: REASONS TO WATCH

THIS SEASON

by Catie Ragusa

1 TWO NEAR THE TOP.

LSU men’s basketball made ESPN’s top ten recruiting list, already putting the Tigers in a viable place in the 2013-2014 season.

The Bayou Bengals were later named the Number Five team by 247Sports.com, and Numbers Nine and Ten by Scout.com and Rivals.com, gaining recruits Jarrell Martin and Tim Quarterman.

Jarrell Martin is the six-foot-nine freshman forward who joined LSU this season after graduating from Madison Prep in Baton Rouge.

He was named “Mr. Basketball” by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association and decided to stay in the state to play for his Tigers and to be near his family. A versatile player on the court, Martin is skilled, becoming the number fourteen prospect in the country. He chose LSU over Alabama, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State and St. Johns.

Another strong recruit, Tim Quarterman attended Johnson High School in Georgia, where he was named the Class AAA State Player of the Year by the Georgia Sportswriters’ Association and the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Standing six-foot-six, Quarterman is confident that despite his height, he’s fast, has been trained to be quick on the offense and has already adjusted to head coach Johnny Jones’ fast-paced play on the court.

2 JOHNNY O’BRYANT.

LSU has several powerful weapons this season, one of them being junior Johnny O’Bryant. After speculation that he was leaving LSU, O’Bryant announced that he would, in fact, make his return to play with the Tigers this year. As a sophomore last season, he started twenty-eight of twenty-nine games, averaging twenty-nine minutes per game. Standing at six-foot-nine, O’Bryant is among the top players returning for yet another season in the SEC this year.

3 ANTHONY HICKEY.

Now in his junior year and third season playing for LSU, Anthony Hickey is no doubt one of the best point guards in the SEC. The Tigers and their fans alike should be delighted to know that Hickey is returning this season, after being suspended indefinitely last season

LSU MEN’S BASKETBALL 2013-2014 SCHEDULE NOVEMBER

Wed. 6, vs. Xavier, 7pm Tues. 12, at Massachusetts, 10am Sat. 16, vs. Northwestern State, 7pm Tues. 19, vs. New Orleans, 7pm Fri. 22, vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 7pm

34 | November/December 2013

OLD SPICE CLASSIC ORLANDO, FLA.

for violating athletic department and university policies. Last season, he started in twenty-three of the twenty-nine games he played, increasing his scoring. Hickey also averaged 11.2 points per game, plus 3.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists. The five-foot-eleven starting point guard promises to be an essential part of the team again this season.

4 JOHNNY BE GOOD.

LSU’s Johnny Jones is back for his second season as the Tigers’ head coach. But this isn’t Jones’ first experience rocking the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. From 1984 to 1997, he was the LSU men’s assistant basketball coach under head coach Dale Brown, influencing basketball superstar Shaquille O’Neal. After a few short stints at Memphis and Alabama, and an eleven-year head coaching job at North Texas, Jones is back on LSU’s campus.

His years coaching alongside Brown were some of LSU’s best.

Now, Jones wants to bring the Tigers back, becoming the powerhouse they once were over twenty years ago. He’s also encouraging LSU basketball veterans such as Brown and O’Neal to get involved in the program and activities returning to the PMac this season. Jones’ up-tempo style of play and incredibly athletic recruits will result in games that are fun for the players and exciting for fans.

5 PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT.

Along with LSU’s talented new recruits, returning players and head coach Johnny Jones, the Tigers have yet another advantage on their hands. A fresh practice facility will keep the Tigers working hard and playing harder. Opening its doors on September 23, the $15 million facility features separate gymnasiums for men and women, each an exact replica of the PMAC competition court, spanning over 11,000 square feet. They come equipped with two portable goals and four overhead retractable goals, a scoreboard, a balcony for filming videos and a scorer’s table. The entire facility covers nearly 59,000 square feet, including an upstairs lobby showcasing LSU Tigers basketball memorabilia, trophy cases and displays, among several other awesome features that should keep both the men’s and women’s teams on their feet this season. S JANUARY

Sat. 4, vs. Rhode Island, 7pm Thurs. 28, vs. St. Joseph’s, 7:30pm Tues. 7, vs. Tennessee, 6pm Fri. 29 vs. Memphis or Siena, TBA Sat. 11, at South Carolina, 12:30pm Sun., Dec. 1 vs. Oklahoma State, Wed. 15, at Ole Miss, 8pm Memphis or Purdue, TBA Sat. 18, vs. Vanderbilt, 8pm Tues. 21, vs. Missouri, 6pm DECEMBER Sat. 25, at Alabama, 7pm Sat. 14, vs. UL-Monroe, 7pm Tues. 28, vs. Kentucky, 8pm Wed. 18, at Texas Tech, 8pm Sat. 21, vs. UAB, 4pm Sat. 28, vs. McNeese State, 7pm

FEBRUARY

Sat. 1, vs. Arkansas, 4pm Thurs. 6, at Georgia, 6pm Sat. 8, vs. Auburn, 3pm Wed. 12, at Texas A&M, 8pm Sat. 15, at Arkansas, 4pm Wed. 19, vs. Mississippi State, 7pm Sat. 22, at Kentucky, 3pm Wed. 26, vs. Texas A&M, 7pm

MARCH

Sat. 1, at Florida, 3pm Thurs. 6, at Vanderbilt, 6pm Sat. 8, vs. Georgia, 4pm

MAR. 12 – 16 SEC TOURNAMENT MAR. 18 – APR. 7 NCAA TOURNAMENT

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ABOVE THE LINE

Homefront’s

OMAR

BENSON MILLER

by Micah Haley

A

ctor Omar Benson Miller’s break came right out of college, cast alongside Eminem in director Curtis Hanson’s landmark music film 8 Mile.

After appearances in Things We Lost in the Fire and Transformers, Miller landed a lead in director Spike Lee’s Miracle at St. Anna. The sprawling WWII era drama follows four Buffalo Soldiers as they march through occupied Italy. Miller portrayed Private First Class Sam Train, who discovers an Italian boy named Angelo, orphaned by conflict, and takes him under his wing.

Next, Miller starred in director Gary Fleder’s The Express, which tells the story of

38 | November/December 2013

Syracuse alum Ernie Davis, the first African American to win the Heisman Trophy.

After a three-year stint on CSI: Miami as Walter Simmons, a character from Louisiana who’s fluent in French, Miller was in New Orleans last fall to film Homefront, a new action thriller from Runaway Jury director Gary Fleder. The actioner is written

by Sylvester Stallone and also stars Jason Statham, James Franco, Kate Bosworth and Rachelle Lefevre.

We spoke over the phone about Spike Lee’s gorgeous war epic, reuniting with director Gary Fleder and working in New Orleans.

Omar Benson Miller in Homefront photo by Justin Lubin

www.scenelouisiana.com | 39

ABOVE THE LINE

MH: Let’s talk about Miracle at St. Anna, which was a really great film. I actually worked on that movie when you guys came to Louisiana.

OM: Oh, sweet! Yeah, down in Baton Rouge. That’s my favorite, you know. That’s my favorite. It was a great experience for me, definitely. It changed my life. It’s my favorite film that I’ve ever done.

MH: When did you first hear about the project?

OM: I first found out about it years before because

I read the book. I had an agent at the time who told me, “Hey, listen. This is something that potentially you could really enjoy doing.” So, I took a look at it. And I was just completely infatuated with the book. I could not believe the book. I was like, “Wow. This thing is awesome.” Then, I heard they were gonna make it, but nothing ever came of it. I was terribly disappointed.

Later, I was shooting a movie in Chicago called The Express, and I got an email alert from my phone that Spike Lee was doing a war film about the buffalo soldiers in World War II. And that it’s Miracle at St. Anna. At this point, it was like four or five years removed from me reading the book, and I was like “Wow, I gotta get in there.”

I called my agent and said, “I need you to get me in the room with Spike.” Then, about a month later after I had finished shooting The Express, I went in and got with Spike and we hit things off and saw things eye-toeye. It was good.

MH: Had you met Spike Lee before?

OM: I’d met him before. Spike is really serious about

Miller as Walter Simmons in CSI: Miami photo by Cliff Lipson/CBS

40 | November/December 2013

keeping his ears in the street so that he knows about the latest talent. I’d gotten a phone call saying that he wanted to meet with me. I took a meeting with him in a hotel once and we just got to know each other a little bit. All kinds of up-and-coming people were there at that meeting. If you could see it now, I’m sure it would be like, “Wow, these people worked a lot.” ‘Cause he has a really good eye for that. When I met him again, we didn’t really know each other, but we were obviously familiar with each other’s work, which was really cool, and we saw eye-to-eye on the character. And thank God he gave me a shot.

ABOVE THE LINE

Omar Benson Miller in Homefront

MH: I re-watched it a few days ago. I have a lot of respect for

Spike Lee as a filmmaker, but literally every shot of the film is framed beautifully. And the cinematography is amazing.

OM: It’s a beautiful film.

MH: It’s one of those movies that you could just mute and

watch as an art painting and every frame of it just feels like lived-in history.

OM: It’s a really beautiful film. Matty Libatique shot the film and he did his job. It was a very stylized film. The experience of being there was so great, and I was there for months workin’ on that film. I got to learn the stories of the buffalo soldiers detachments and monuments.

MH:How did you prepare for the role? Was there a military boot camp for the actors?

OM:There were a lot of physical elements to it. Because I had played

a big offensive linemen in the football film before, I had to lose some weight and tighten up to play a soldier. Then, we went to a two-week boot camp and that boot camp was awesome! We were way up in the mountains of Tuscany. They gave us literature that they had given most soldiers to read. It was a really intense camp. They were really going for authenticity and that was really cool. I was listening to a lot of music from that time period. I was watching old films. I was doing everything

photo by David Lee

I could to try to get my mind in the right space.

MH: What were some of the older films that you watched?

OM:We watched The Dirty Dozen as a group. Jim Brown was one of the

stars of The Dirty Dozen, and that was one of the few representations of any black character on film that had any sort of World War II reference.

I watched The Battle of Algiers. We watched some of the propaganda films for the Nazis. It was really interesting, because there is a lot that was lifted from those films into modern films that we all love. [Leni Riefenstahl] was a real filmmaker, even if she was making propaganda films for bad folks. The first film we watched was Triumph of the Will.

MH: The woman in Miracle at St. Anna who does the overthe-air broadcast to demoralize the troops was terrific.

OM: There were a lot of mind games going on during the war.

In the case of the buffalo soldiers, they were tryin’ to make them question their support of the American government.

MH:The propaganda that she used in the movie ranged from

big civil rights issues, down to just food. Literally hitting them in the belly, like, “I know K-rations or whatever you guys are eating has gotta be terrible. Think about all this awesome food that you could have if you gave up and went back home.” www.scenelouisiana.com | 41

ABOVE THE LINE

Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, Derek Luke and Omar Benson Miller in Miracle at St. Anna

OM: I felt like the film did a good job of showing that. Those guys were hungry out there.

MH: What was it like to shoot in the actual historical locations in Italy? And in the diner in White Castle, Louisiana?

OM: It was moving. A couple of the guys…it really upset them. I’ve

made back-to-back films that dealt heavily with race: one set in the 50s and 60s and the other one set in the 40s. Working in that environment [is one thing]. I can’t imagine living there. You have to summon up everything you can to keep it civil. I thank God that I was born in this time.

MH: I really love everything Curtis Hanson does. LA

Confidential is one of my favorite movies. You of course worked with him on 8 Mile. What were you hearing about the movie prior to becoming a part of it?

OM: I’d just gotten out of college and the film, at the time, was called The Untitled Detroit Project and the only person involved was Eminem.

There was nearly a writer’s strike that year, and I had auditioned a couple times over the summer. Next thing you know, the writer’s strike went away, 9/11 happened and then they flew me out to Detroit to have an audition with Curtis. It went really well and I got the job, and the film turned into something really wonderful. Nobody knew it was gonna be what it was.

42 | November/December 2013

photo by David Lee

MH: What are your memories of how Eminem approached his

acting debut?

OM: You could tell he was serious about it, and I was just gonna try to help him do what he could do. He’s got a tremendous work ethic, so when you get there, there’s no two ways about it. You’re like, “Oh, okay.

This guy’s serious. I gotta be serious, too.” We were all so hungry.

MH: The film was shot in Detroit, which has certainly seen its

share of hard times, but is still an iconic American city. What are your memories of shooting there?

OM: It was like a riot had just hit me. I couldn’t believe how decrepit it was. I’ve been back a lot since then and it’s getting better.

The people are so strong and so great and yet the city itself has been so run down. I really pray for Detroit, man. That they get an industry that brings them back to the prominence and status and beauty that that city once was, and really has potential to be again.

MH: I’ve never been there before, but I have had many

friends who’ve shot films there tell me of it. They have a film incentive like Louisiana’s that has been utilized by some big productions, but it’s hard for a struggling state like Michigan to support a struggling city like Detroit. The city’s a casualty of these giant economic forces, you know?

OM: Yeah. It’s unbelievable.

ABOVE THE LINE

Omar Benson Miller in Miracle at St. Anna

MH: In many ways, it’s an old city like New Orleans that’s had

a very hard time.

OM: Yeah, but their disasters weren’t natural. Their disasters were manmade. There are a lot of parallels that you see between the two cities. I really hope that they make a comeback because I love Detroit and I love the people of Detroit. They’ve always shown a lot of love for me.

MH:For a long time there was this bleak association that some

people have with New Orleans. It has long been a cultural mecca, but not necessarily the place you want to do business or live. It had a reputation as a city in decline. But now it is undergoing this amazing renaissance! And the film industry has been a big part of that over the last seven years. I hope the same for Detroit.

MH:You were in New Orleans shooting Homefront last fall,

and you just saw a cut of the film, right?

OM:I’m really, really excited about the film. I saw it the other day and it played really, really well. Even if I wasn’t in the movie, I would wanna go see this. I play Jason Statham’s only friend in the film, Tito, and it’s really action-packed with a crazy cast. You got James Franco, you got Kate Bosworth, you got Winona Ryder. Sylvester Stallone wrote it and is

photo by David Lee

producing it. So we got an action-packed cast and an action-packed film.

I like the combo, personally.

MH: The trailer was unbelievable. In a lot of Jason Statham’s

movies, many of which he’s shot in Louisiana, he always plays this lone wolf or lone wolf with a girlfriend, so it’s cool to see him play a father. And in the first twenty seconds of the movie’s trailer where his daughter beats that kid up? That was hilarious! It really does look like just a fun movie.

OM: It’s gonna be a good one. Let’s just put it that way. I think that being down there shooting in New Orleans, being out there in the swamps and shooting on a plantation, creates an authenticity to the film that I think people will really enjoy.

MH: Statham’s movies remind me of the steady stream of action films that Charles Bronson did in the 70s and 80s.

OM: I had a really good time working with Jason. I’ve watched his

movies for a while now, seen his career blossom, and I really think that if you can pull off being the tough guy, the lone wolf, etcetera, it takes a very specific discipline. People have to really like you to come back and watch you do that. And the people love Jason. I really love that! I love being a part of that. www.scenelouisiana.com | 43

ABOVE THE LINE MH: He’s a legitimately good actor,

too. He’s not just hamming it up. I think he could go toe-to-toe with anyone in a drama.

OM: And that’s the part I think he kinda gets short-changed on. He knows what he’s doing. He’s got chops and if you remember his films before he became an action hero guy, he was turning in some really good work. I think that his action films are good films in their own right. Maybe its not the same stuff that people are looking for at silly award shows and stuff, but I think he’s shown a range: everything that he can do from The Transporter to these films to all of the British gangster films that he did. He was great in Snatch and he was great in Lock, Stock [and Two Smoking Barrels]. He’s really a good actor.

MH: Your director on Homefront is Gary

Fleder, who was also in New Orleans to film Runaway Jury in the 1990s.

OM: This is the second film that I’ve done with Gary. We also worked together on The Express.

MH: Homefront was written by the

great Sylvester Stallone. How did you become a part of the project?

OM: Sly alone originally adapted the book into a film for himself to star in, and then after launching The Expendables franchise, Sly decided he was gonna stick with The Expendables and he didn’t really have time. So he gave the film to Jason Statham to star in. That changed the dynamics of the film. It made it skew a lot younger. My character was originally a fifty-something-year-old man, but then Jason signed on, Gary signed on. Gary thought I was the guy that could actually bring some spark and some life as a younger guy to the script.

MH: Had the script been re-written by

the time it got to you, or did you get to read the original version with the older characters?

OM: I got to read the original when the cast was older, actually. It was cool. I don’t think it was written for anybody in particular. It was just written for a middleaged black man instead of a younger black man. There were a lot of adjustments to the script on set and Sly was great. Got to meet him and work with him, somebody I’ve admired for so long. I really appreciated that.

44 | November/December 2013

Miller as Walter Simmons in CSI: Miami

photo by Cliff Lipson/CBS

interesting career. It spans so many decades and he just keeps reinventing himself! It’s amazing.

OM: Yeah.

blast. I couldn’t have had a better time down there. I heard a lot of live bands. I saw a lot of stage life. I just had a really good time, man. Had a lot of good food. Ate some oysters over there at Drago’s and I ate at Surrey’s. I ate at a lot of great places. It was just a lot of good times.

MH: I grew up in the 90s and I’m a few

MH: What project are you working on?

MH: Sly Stallone has got the most

years younger than you. I grew up when he was just at the height of his action hero persona. But when I really started watching movies seriously in my mid-tolate teens, I find out that he wrote a lot of these earlier roles. He wrote Rocky and he wrote First Blood. He created those opportunities for himself.

OM: Oh, yeah! This guy. He created his own opportunities. He knew the American Dream, this dude.

MH: Yeah.

OM: And he’s the real Hollywood Dream.

MH:

How did you enjoy filming location in New Orleans?

OM:Everything I did in New Orleans was fun.

Everything. Including gaining ten pounds. That was a fun ride, man. That was all about eating, drinking and being merry. I had a stone-cold

on

What’s next for you?

OM: I have an HBO project that I’m doing. It’s

a television show with Dwayne Johnson, plus Mark Walberg is producing. The whole team that produced Entourage is producing. We’re anticipating that one a lot. It’s pretty solid.

MH: Is that the project that Peter Berg is directing?

OM: Yes. Yes it is. I’m actually hooking up with Peter today.

MH: Everything that HBO does is

great and it seems like Louisiana gets a shot at about half of those.

OM: It’s good that the legislators recognize how important their tax incentive is.

Homefront opens in theaters everywhere on November 27. Follow Omar Benson Miller on Twitter at @OmarMiller. S

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SCENE | CALIFORNIA-BASED INSURANCE WEST COURTS LOUISIANA FILM COMPANIES

by Susan Ross

S

tate-run tax incentive programs like Louisiana’s Motion Picture Investor Tax Credit have had a tremendous positive economic impact on states like Louisiana, Georgia and New Mexico. Simultaneously, they have caused California, the historic home of the film industry, economic difficulties as films have left to film in incentive states.

This phenomenon has been famously dubbed “runaway production.”

Louisiana-based insurance companies have continued to benefit from the influx of both film productions and the equipment rental companies that support them. While some California-based companies have been content to grumble, others such as Insurance West have embraced the changing marketplace, and are reaching out to states including Louisiana to increase their market share.

“We have been in the mecca, in Hollywood, for so many years,” says Ken Tucker of Insurance West. “But with all of the runaway production fleeing here, we’ve had to expand our capabilities to offer our Entertainment Program nationwide. Now, we’re licensed in all fifty states and we have equipment rental houses all over the country.”

Insurance West’s current Louisiana clients include both established Los Angeles-based companies like Hollywood Rentals, who also has a physical office in Baton Rouge, and Louisiana startup companies, like Hollywood Trucks, who has recently added an office in Atlanta, Georgia to their offices in Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

“We’ve been doing entertainment insurance for about fifty years, and we’ve been specializing in the Entertainment Industry for the last thirty years,” says Ken Tucker of Insurance West. “We have an exclusive nationwide Entertainment Program for all of the companies that do the ancillary services to make a movie like catering, transportation, props, grip and lighting and camera.”

While Insurance West does not currently have offices in Louisiana, it is in the process of hiring and training local agents. “We will be hiring agents in different states to sell our product,” says Tucker, who has personally been with the company for twenty-five years, hired in his early twenties.

Insurance West’s storied reputation has been earned with coverage forms and services provided with seminars on rental contracts and certificates of insurance, and it precedes them.

“Everyone knows that we’re the eight-hundred-pound gorilla in the business,” says Tucker. “We insure a majority of the equipment rental house business, but there are still plenty out there, especially in Louisiana, who may not know of us.”

For more information on how Insurance West matches up against Louisiana-based insurance companies, visitwww.insurancewest.com. S

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MORE SCENE EXTRAS www.scenelouisiana.com | 47

SCENE | CORT CAPTURES LOCAL FILM BUSINESS

by Arthur Vandelay

W

hile films shooting in Louisiana often need specific equipment, they also patronize many businesses that provide services to the general public. “They use us for office production furniture, corporate housing and set furniture,” says Danielle Berthelot of Cort Furniture. “We’re nationwide, and customers know that they’re getting the same service everywhere.”

Cort is a Berkshire Hathaway company that has brickand-mortar facilities in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The company’s local employees have aggressively courted the film industry for years. “I listen to people and find out what they like,” says Berthelot. “And you’ve gotta be cost-effective.”

Cort’s efforts have paid off, with the Baton Rouge store’s annual income increasing from $50,000 to about $150,000 since 2009. “The first film was Battle: Los Angeles,” says Berthelot. “Right after that, we did everything we could to really build relationships with people. We attended Scene parties and joined LFEA. I go above and beyond as a salesperson, and I’m going to give them the lagniappe so they remember me.”

Berthelot says her film clients are pretty similar to her other corporate clients. But there are some unique scenarios that pop up from time to time. “You just never know what’s going to happen and what you’re going to be a part of,” says Berthelot. “Battle: Los Angeles blew up our furniture! That rental became a purchase!”

For more information on Cort Furniture and the entertainment industry, visit batonrouge.cort.com or neworleans.cort.com. S

THE DOORS ARE OPEN AT TURNKEY ACCOMMODATIONS

by Susan Ross

“Y

ou find yourself wearing lots of different hats in this business on any given day,” says Stephanie Clarke of doing business with the film industry, a frenetic sector of the economy that requires flexibility. “The most recent adventure that comes to mind was interviewing nannies, and furnishing and decorating a nursery for a film director. When his wife arrived from overseas with their newborn, she was all set for life in Baton Rouge and able to feel at home with her baby.”

With six years of experience in real estate sales, leasing and corporate housing, Stephanie Clarke and Patty McCann are now working for Turnkey Accommodations, where they will cater to the entertainment industry.

“Working with film and entertainment industry clients is different in that it affords more opportunities to work with creative and artistic personalities,” says Clarke.

“We have found that film clients are more fun to work with! They just have a more casual business acumen.”

Another example of how film is growing Louisiana’s economy, the new company offers options for furnished apartments, condos and private residences, as well as hotel accommodations for both above the line and below the line needs. “Any request a client has, whether it’s from talent or transpo, we strive to make it happen,” says McCann.

For more information, visit www.turnkeyaccommodations.com. S

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SCENE | MARC BROUSSARD PARTNERS WITH FULL SAIL FOR CHARITY

by Catie Ragusa

L

ocated in Winter Park, Florida, Full Sail University recently collaborated with Louisiana singer/songwriter Marc Broussard for a free live performance that was open to the public. After filming the live performance, the film school produced an album and video that was released on October 10. Net proceeds from the concert video and the live audio CD go toward the $5000 Marc Broussard/ Full Sail University Scholarship fund.

The Full Sail University Hall of Fame concerts are put on each year to celebrate the school’s Fourth Annual Hall of Fame inductees.

This year’s events also included appearances

by Grammy-winning music producer Bruce Swedian, actor John O’Hurley, former NFL running back Ricky Watters, People Magazine writer and New York Times bestselling author Steve Helling, along with other celebrities and familiar faces. The celebration ended with another free performance by Universal Republic Records recording artist Mat Kearney, who has had four singles reach the Billboard Top 20.

Born in Carencro, Louisiana, Marc Broussard is most often recognized for his unique musical style, dubbed “Bayou Soul,” a combination of classic R&B, funk, blues, pop and rock. The video from his Hall of Fame concert at Full Sail includes some of his most popular songs, such as “Lonely Night in Georgia,” “The Wanderer,” “A Life Worth Living” and “Let Me Leave,” as well as songs that had not yet been released prior to the show, such as “Mardi Gras,” “Shine” and “Au Long De La Riviere.”

Throughout a musical career spanning ten years, Broussard has produced five studio records, and he’s been featured on talk shows such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, A&E Breakfast with the Arts, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Late Night with Conan O’Brien. He is currently touring across the US through November.

For more information on Full Sail University, visit www. fullsail.edu. To learn more about singer-songwriter Marc Broussard, visit his website at www.marcbroussard.com. S

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| SCENE FILM CREWS HIDE OUT IN THE COVE

by Jacob Peterman

F

irst, find a hotel. Second, set up the production office. Then, find a place to hang out after a day that’s at least twelve hours long. While economic impact studies can track a film’s economic impact to hotels and office space for rent, they will almost always miss the money film professionals spend out of their own pockets.

Two years ago, film crews in Baton Rouge adopted the quiet, relaxed corners of The Cove, a watering hole inspired by the pirate life, as their daily port of call. The saloon-ish spot provides plenty of private tables and booths to stow away if you’re looking to avoid attention.

“The first major group was the crew working on Pitch Perfect with Anna Kendrick. But, we had people from Battleship and a few other shows before that,” says Tom Ange of The Cove Bar. “The daily hangout thing started about two years ago, though. We like to keep the film industry happy and we’re willing to accommodate them with any specials they may receive elsewhere. We already give some of the day-to-day regulars twenty percent off their tabs.”

In addition to quiet corners, The Cove is stocked like the belly of the Hispaniola. It boasts three thousand offerings and three bars,

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including a keg room with seventy-five craft beers, a long bar with five hundred scotches, three hundred bourbons and whiskies, along with a cocktail bar with five hundred cocktails spanning 1860 to 1960.

Ergo, it’s an easy place to spend your treasure. The new patronage has resulted in a fifteen percent increase in sales at the local establishment.

Although The Cove willingly caters to film professionals, Ange says its nothing out of the ordinary. “We allow food in and out of the building, and we’re willing to accommodate whatever any customer may need,” he says. “We’ve sectioned off areas for wrap parties in the past. But honestly, we don’t go above and beyond: we’re just providing the same service we do to everyone.”

Two years of increased sales are certainly welcomed, but Ange says that there’s a real kinship between film crews and his staff. “As customers, the film crews have been comparable to other service industry members,” says Ange.

That’s high praise coming from someone in the service industry, where your best customers are always other bartenders and servers. “They are very friendly and outgoing, much like some of the local restaurant staff crews that frequent our bar. The different groups of film workers have had that same bond and it’s always fun to entertain them as they help provide the same for us.”

While Ange keeps strict confidentiality on celebrities that have frequented the Cove, it’s a good place to visit if you want a chance to see some famous faces that are currently in town. For more info, visit www.portroyalcove.com. S

MUSIC |

MUMFORD AND SONS RETURN

by Jacob Peterman

A

fter two prior performances in New Orleans, the city was eagerly awaiting the return of Mumford & Sons on June 13.

Just before the bearded boys from Britain would take the stage, tour dates were cancelled. On their website, the band posted an open letter to fans to explain. Bassist Ted Dwayne had fallen ill, and he had been diagnosed with a blood clot on the surface of his brain.

Dwayne and the band received an outpouring of support from their fans in New Orleans, as they awaited word on a rescheduled show. First came word that Dwayne’s surgery had been successful.

“It is with great joy that we can announce that Ted has been discharged from the hospital and is on the road to a full recovery,” the band announced on June 13, the date of their previously cancelled New Orleans show. “The surgery went well, and the excellent medical team helping him are very pleased with his progress.”

“He has been nothing short of heroic in how he has handled the whole ordeal, and now it is medically proved that he does indeed have a brain,” they joked. With Dwayne 52 | November/December 2013

on the mend, the missed tour dates were rescheduled.

Mumford & Sons’ new date with NOLA was September 16.

In the late afternoon, Mumford’s many sons and daughters began to line up on Henderson Street, leading to Mardi Gras World, an enormous entertainment venue on the Mississippi River front. It would still be hours before headliners took the stage.

When the opener Mystery Jets made their debut, The torrid latesummer sun still hung high enough to make most in the growing crowd wish they were inside. An indie rock band from London, Mystery Jets distracted an already weary crowd with clap-happy songs perfect for sing-alongs. Led by singer and lead songwriter Blaine Harrison, much of Mystery Jets most recent album Radlands was written and recorded in Texas. The sum of its cross-Atlantic parts, the sounds of Mystery Jets felt very much like what you would expect from a British band’s ode to Americana. Bright and poppy, their music was a welcomed distraction from the heat as locals counted down each hot minute until the sun sunk behind the horizon.

| MUSIC

Next up was Johnny Flynn, a musician and sometimes-actor also from London. Flanked by his beautiful sister Lillie, and the rest of The Sussex Wit, Flynn’s set was decidedly mellower than Mystery Jets’.

More Middle English than their fellow nu-folk brethren, Johnny and company did their best to keep an increasingly uncomfortable crowd distracted. Though every bit as talented as their fellow Britons, the band’s dulcet slow-paced sounds would have been more at home in a pub where cold beer flows freely on tap, along with cold air. Their audience this day was confined in sweltering conditions, increasingly impatient for the promise of cooler night air and Mumford.

After Johnny Flynn left the stage, the long wait began. Although the light was falling, the heat remained, a combination of the humidity in the air and the thousands of bodies packed in front of the stage. Roadies marched out a comical amount of guitars, mandolins, banjos, drums and other instruments. The fatigued fans of Mumford and Sons waited for about forty-five minutes for the band to take the stage at Mardi Gras World Square.

MARCUS MUMFORD ON PERFORMING ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER

I’ve never sweated this much in my life!

www.scenelouisiana.com | 53

MUSIC | In total darkness, Marcus Mumford, Ben Lovett, Winston Marshall and the recovering Ted Dwayne emerged. With the newly alive crowd cheering them on in the dark, the boys from Britain began their first song.

“Well, love was kind for a time / Now just aches and it makes me blind,” they sang, opening with “Lover’s Eyes” off their Grammywinning album Babel. The lights stayed off, mirroring the lyrics. “This mirror holds my eyes too bright / I can’t see the others in my life.”

The energy of the first song washed away the hours of waiting in the demanding heat. After an additional three-month wait, thousands of Mumford fans were refreshed and ready for whatever was headed their way.

The song’s tempo was a full step behind the pace fans knew by heart. The audience kept singing out of sync with the band, pulling themselves back to adopt the new, slower style. The effect was calming. Rather than immediately deliver the show fans were expecting, Mumford was playing against expectations.

“Lover’s Eyes” finished to roaring applause, and the band dove right into “Little Lion Man,” the band’s first single off their debut album Sigh No More, and easily one of their most iconic songs. The audience lit up in response to the first guitar chords, not expecting to receive such a well-known song so early in the show. “Weep for yourself, my man / You’ll never be what is in your heart / Weep, little lion man, You’re not as brave as you were at the start,” Marcus Mumford sang.

And then the chorus came. “But it was not your fault but mine / And it was your heart on the line / I really f***** it up this time / Didn’t I, my dear?” The audience called out each word in earnest, perfectly in sync. This was the song that many bought their tickets to hear.

Thunderous applause ended “Little Lion Man’s” final chords. “I’ve never sweated this much in my life!” said Marcus Mumford, who was visibly drenched. “It’s f****** ridiculous!”

Next up was “Whispers in the Dark,” followed by “Holland Road,” “White Blank Page,” “Timshel” and “I Will Wait.” As they continued their set, Mumford & Sons managed to fully distract their fans from aching feet and a heat index of over ninety degrees.

For “Love of the Light,” Marcus Mumford set down his guitar and climbed behind the drum kit. “But love the one you hold / And I’ll be your goal / To have and to hold / A lover of the light,” they sang.

The set list finished with Marcus behind the drums once more for “Dust Bowl Dance.” The rowdy song finished with him trashing the drum kit as the song came to a close. With the crowd on fire, the band exited the stage to grab a drink before the encore.

As Mumford & Sons came back out to play their encore, Winston Marshall stepped behind the drums. “We’ve never played this song before,” said Marcus Mumford, as the band began to play “House of the Rising Sun.” “There is a house in New Or-leens / They call the Rising Sun / And it’s been the ruin of many a poor boy / And God I know I’m one!”

The local staple was a big hit with their South Louisiana audience.

The band played “Babel” off the album of the same name 54 | November/December 2013

before inviting New Orleans own Preservation Hall Jazz Band on stage to play “When the Saints Go Marching In.” As the audience sang along, chants of “Who Dat” echoed back towards the stage.

After playing a song well known to the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Mumford led their new New Orleans friends into the final song of the evening, “The Cave.”

“But I will hold on hope / And I won’t let you choke / On the noose around your neck,” they sang. “And I’ll find my strength in pain / And I will change my ways / I’ll know my name as it’s called again.”

After a show that lasted over two hours, the audience was exhausted. The heat was still there, well past ten o’clock. Mumford & Sons thanked everyone for coming and again apologizing it took so long to get down to New Orleans again. Only days after the show, they announced that they would be taking an indefinite hiatus. In retrospect, Mumford & Sons’ gangbusters show was a fond hello and a fond farewell all in one. S

MUMFORD’S LETTER ANNOUNCING TED DWAYNE’S ILLNESS To Our Fans, Our friend and bandmate Ted has been feeling unwell for a few days, and yesterday he was taken to a hospital to receive emergency treatment. The scans revealed a blood clot on the surface of his brain that requires an operation. Ted is receiving excellent care and we are being assured that he will recover quickly from surgery.

Sadly, we have to postpone three upcoming headline shows planned for this week in Dallas on Tuesday 6/11, Woodlands on Wednesday 6/12, and New Orleans on Thursday 6/13. All dates will be rescheduled and will be announced as soon as we can; all tickets for this week’s events will be honoured at their rescheduled dates. We have no plans to cancel or postpone any other appearances along this current tour.

We’re all wishing Ted a speedy recover.

Much love, Mumford & Sons

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MUSIC |

HANSON AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES

by Catie Ragusa

O

n one warm and humid Thursday night in September, the childhood dreams of hundreds of young women came true. With a line stretching out the door and down the street, the House of Blues New Orleans quickly became a sanctuary for twenty-somethings reliving their mid-90s fantasies. Anxiously piling into the building, ticketholders awaited the appearance of Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson on the stage.

American Idol season ten contestant Paul McDonald opened. A blues boy with a hint Southern rock, McDonald rocked the HOB with a guitar and a fedora, singing sweet lullabies to the swooning women in the crowd.

All the while, it became increasingly obvious that audience members couldn’t help but continue to fix their gazes on the glaring “Anthem” banner hanging behind McDonald and his companion guitarist.

After an eternity of beautiful music, McDonald kindly thanked New Orleans and exited the stage. Several seconds of deafening silence overtook the House of Blues as it set in that the main act would shortly begin. And then, a roaring explosion of high-pitched screams and deep gasps filled the air. The Brothers Hanson would soon take the stage.

It was time. The three brothers appeared on stage, standing before hundreds of screaming women and a few confused and slightly offended boyfriends. Isaac on guitar, Taylor on keyboard and Zac on drums, Hanson began their show with “Fired Up.” Fired up indeed, adoring fans began to sing loudly and jump. The band went on to play nearly every song from their latest album, Anthem, in addition to many songs from previous albums, each tune as sensational and fulfilling as the last.

56 | November/December 2013

Releasing their first album, Boomerang, in 1995, Hanson has written nearly every song on each of their albums, with minimal help from other songwriters. As the brothers got older and their music matured, they also began composing and producing all of their own songs, creating eleven albums and imprinting themselves on the minds of longtime fans and new fans alike over the course of more than twenty years.

For those who hadn’t seen Hanson live or heard any of the band’s music since the 90s, it quickly became obvious that the brothers had graduated from the pop sensations they once were. A healthy mix between pop, blues and rock, Hanson is one show to put on your musical bucket list. Between putting on a great performance, talking with the audience and keeping them engaged, the Hanson brothers put on an amazing show that September night at the House of Blues New Orleans. They put on a concert that not only made for a night of awesome entertainment and thrills for the entire crowd, but Hanson also proved themselves as musicians and as artists.

When they played the classic “MMMBop,” fans went wild, shouting the lyrics with hands in the air. When they each sang solos of newer songs like “For Your Love,” “Save Me From Myself ” and “My Own,” fans swayed and sang along, completely captivated by the new, now-mature sounds of their longtime childhood crushes. Speaking of the grownup Hanson brothers (the youngest is closing in on thirty), the band doesn’t just do music now, either. They started brewing and distributing their own brand of beer, appropriately called “MMMHops.” For more information on Hanson, tour dates and beer, visit www.hanson.net. S

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FASHION |

NOLA FASHION WEEK SPRING/SUMMER 2014

by Andi Eaton

photos by Geovanni Velasquez

I

t’s a wrap. The Spring/Summer 2014 season of NOLA Fashion Week finished flying the Southern fashion flag high. The designers, ranging from student collectives to seasoned industry veterans, have continued to prove that Southern fashion is a serious force.

The Spring/Summer 2014 season, hosted primarily at the New Orleans Museum of Art, featured twenty-one designers, five industry educational events, ten “Shop Your City” day retail shopping events, five nights of style lounge at the Hotel Modern’s Bellocq and an evening of midweek martinis and manicures at the W French Quarter.

58 | November/December 2013

| FASHION

www.scenelouisiana.com | 59

FASHION |

First up, let’s talk numbers. What does it take to produce a single season of out-of-this-world fashion events? Here’s a list, complete with bullets: • 500+ hours of volunteer work from local students and industry hopefuls from SCAD, LSU, Loyola, Tulane, Southeastern, UNO and more.

• Continued funding of the NOLA Fashion Council from members of the Supporters, Trendsetters and Benefactor Circles. You can join them at nolafw.com/supporter.

• Countless hours of dedication by the talented designers and their teams.

• 200 hours of hair and make-up support from Paris Parker AVEDA and their team of over sixty artists • 600 hours of creative direction and show styling • 200 pieces of jewelry and accessories • Endless hours of rehearsal and unmatched patience by the Fashion Council models • 50 hours of time from DJ’s providing the soundtrack to the week including DJ Diety, DJ Tatum Neill and DJ Bam • World class venue space including NOMA, The Hotel Modern, the future Union Hotel, Bellocq, the International House Hotel and more.

• 6,000 miles of travel by influencers, including national fashion bloggers Gal Meets Glam, Sequins and Stripes, A Piece of Toast, Dallas Wardrobe and Design Darling • A handful of brilliant photographers willing to share their point of view • 476 cups of coffee, 300 bottles of hairspray and a case or two of champagne. Nightly.

When it’s all said and done, what you see on the runways couldn’t 60 | November/December 2013

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FASHION |

NOLA FASHION WEEK

SPRING/SUMMER 2014 happen if one of these components is missing.

Next, let’s discuss the trends. What I love about the Big Easy is that we have that bohemian edge, a do-whatcha-wanna attitude, which translates to some of the most unique design aesthetics out there. Just ask Southern Living magazine, the authority on all things below the Mason Dixon. Southern Living named NOLAFW one of the top five fashion weeks and recently profiled the event in an article entitled “Top Five Things to Love About NOLAFW.” So what trends were the shining stars of the season?

GRAPHIC BLACK, WHITE AND NEUTRALS WITH A FRESH APPROACH. Noel Martin showed an entire collection of white, including leather rompers and minis, Emerging Designer HiLo included a sheer gauze-like maxi and a playful mini dress, and Hazel & Florange - my line - included polka dot maxis, bustiers and hot shorts.

BOLD PATTERN PLAY. Matthew Arthur, always a crowd favorite, included mixes of dots on florals, while Hunt Collective mashed up custom puppy and kitty prints entitled Ella and Willie Nelson. And Dreamcar, the show stealer, included money print leggings and cookie monster graffiti prints.

FRESH FACE BEAUTY. This season included a bevy of new model faces. The Paris Parker Hair and Makeup leads created custom looks for each show including pastel pinks, neon orange hues and classic cat eye glamour. Each look perfectly complimented the clothing parading down the runway.

For more on fashion week, follow along on my personal blog at ouiwegirl.com for all things Southern fashion, and be sure to stay connected to nolafw.com for details on FW2014 taking place next March! S 62 | November/December 2013

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I am a Louisiana actor, member of SAG and I have a Louisiana agent. Most of my work has been for SAG minimum, but recently I have started to book larger roles. Right now my agent is securing my deals, but at what point do I need to involve an attorney in the negotiations?

As soon as you are booking any significant roles. If you look at the top actors in the world today, they engage not only agents, but also managers and attorneys. At the point you start negotiating any issues beyond SAG minimums, you need professional representation that specializes in these types of negotiations.

There are many specific issues that should be addressed in an above-the-line talent agreement. An attorney with experience in talent representation or production legal work should be aware of these issues

Q

If I am hired by a producer to write a script, am I creating a workfor-hire? If so, am I still considered the author of the script?

This query poses several issues or questions that will need to be answered, the first of which is this: what is a work-for-hire?

A work-for-hire is a copyrighted work created by an employee on behalf of and for the benefit of his or her employer, or a work that is commissioned by a client wherein it is agreed to in writing that the work is a work-for-hire and such work falls into one of the statutorily designated works that may be deemed a work-forhire. The categories of commissioned works that qualify for work-for-hire status include the following nine categories: a contribution to a collective work, part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, a translation, a supplementary work, a compilation, an instructional text, a test, answer material for a test or an atlas. As you can see, a screenplay is a part of a motion picture or audiovisual

64 | November/December 2013

and able to help maximize not only your rate but also many other issues in your talent contract. Furthermore, while the agent should be helping you secure roles, your agent and attorney should work together to secure the best possible results for you in your contract. With that said, it is very important that you use an entertainment attorney that has experience in negotiating and drafting above-the-line talent agreements, as they are very complex and require a significant familiarity with the subject matter.

work and should qualify as a work-for-hire.

A work-for-hire is an exception to the general copyright rule that the person who actually creates the copyrighted work is the author. Under the work-forhire provision of the Copyright Act, the employer or party who commissioned the work is deemed the author of the work for copyright purposes. Thus, for copyright purposes, you will not be considered the author of the work. However, that doesn’t mean you will not be considered an author of the work for other purposes such as screen credit as the writer of the film, residuals or sequels. Those matters will, however, be subject to negotiation in your contract to write the screenplay.

Of course, if you are a member of the WGA, you are entitled to certain specific minimums and protections through the WGA Minimum Basic Agreement.

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FILM |

A late night on set with Vanessa Ferlito

photo by Benjamin Bickham

The Prince of Alexandria

SHAUN SANGHANI

by Katianna Bear

“I

really had no intention of coming back here,” producer Shaun Sanghani admits. The Alexandria, Louisiana native stayed in state after graduating from Bolton High, studying psychology at Tulane University and earning an MBA in finance and marketing.

Just after he graduated, Louisiana’s film incentive program was born.

But Sanghani had moved to the City of Angels to study film at USC. After completing film school in 2005, Sanghani got a manager and started writing. “Mostly, I was just going to do screenwriting,” he said. “I was up for a couple of assignments at different studios, but I didn’t land any. I did well in some screenwriting competitions, got some minor notoriety but nothing materialized.”

Unaware his hometown was the perfect platform for his developing career, an unfortunate situation brought him back home. A place where his business would soon blossom. “It’s funny. I came back to Louisiana because I actually got sick,” Sanghani explains. “I got Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2007. I was diagnosed and moved back to Louisiana for treatment.”

66 | November/December 2013

“I realized I had to keep working just because my personality is that way. During chemo, I couldn’t really concentrate on anything. I started watching reality TV and I thought, ‘I bet I could go out and shoot a sizzle reel and sell a show.’”

Despite his illness, Sanghani pitched Guardian Angels, a docu-reality show based around a group of nonprofit crime fighters. “I went down to New Orleans, shot that, and actually sold that show from the chemo room. That was the first show I sold. A&E bought it and aired it on the Bio channel.”

Although Guardian Angels did not develop further into a series, the show marked the beginning of a run with reality-based television for Sanghani.

He continued to conceptualize plots, shoot four to five minute sizzle reels and then sell his concepts. His roles varied from project to project. For some shows, he was the executive producer, for others he would simply give notes or add input where he believed certain cuts should be made.

“I never wanted to be on set every day doing it. My business model was good because I could go out there and find those interesting

| FILM

Shaun Sanghani and Tim McCann on the set of The Aftermath

people, create the product and then sell it, but not be tied to it forever.”

Although reality television put him on the map, Sanghani admits he is drawn to content with more depth. “I ultimately want to make movies. Movies are more creatively satisfying than television.”

He grew attached to a script written by Anthony Di Pietro. White Rabbit was a dark drama based on a young kid tormented by a bully. “I just really liked the script,” Sanghani shares. “It was really dark, and I love dark projects. Even when I was a writer, everything I wrote was dark.”

After analyzing the script, he concluded the film could be made for under $1 million and would be shot in his hometown of Alexandria. Sanghani began creating his first feature film.

“I went to people that trusted me. I said, ‘I’m going to make this movie and I will make you money, just trust me.’” Attached were actors Sam Trammell (True Blood), Britt Robertson of the upcoming Disney film, Tomorrowland, Ryan Lee (This is 40) and Nick Krause (The Descendants).

“I think this was a passion project for everybody,” says Sanghani.

“Everybody involved in the movie took a pay cut. There wasn’t a lot of money, but I think they were fine with that because of the material. It’s so controversial. It happens all around us every day. It’s just so relevant.”

Sanghani worked closely with director Tim McCann throughout the creation of the film. The two sat down together and went over each scene, discussing how the story should be crafted. “A lot of producers and directors don’t get along. A lot of directors never allow me to do what I do. But working with Tim made the experience amazing.”

White Rabbit dives deep into Harlon’s (Krause) life. The audience sees him as a baby, then continue to witness major events and relationships that ultimately shape him in to the troubled individual he becomes.

photo by Benjamin Bickham

Shaun Sanghani on set

photo by Benjamin Bickham

“My goal with any movie I make - or anything I do - is to affect some kind of change. You may not like the film, you may not like the way it ends,” Sanghani warns. “But when you walk out of the theater, if you are thinking about the movie, then that’s my goal. If there’s a little something different, you’ve had some emotional reaction, then I think that I’ve accomplished my goal.”

“They say success has a thousand father figures and failure has none. But success or failure, I’m the father of this film, and this film is my baby either way. If it fails, it’s on me. If it succeeds though, hopefully it’s on me too.”

White Rabbit made its world premiere at the Zurich Film Festival on September 30 and will move stateside for the North American premiere in early 2014. After the completion of White Rabbit, director Tim www.scenelouisiana.com | 67

FILM |

Trina and Edwin Edwards in The Governor’s Wife

McCann and Sanghani paired up once again to write The Aftermath.

Greatly inspired by Trammell’s performance in White Rabbit, they wrote the script specifically with him in mind for the lead.

The micro-budget film is based around a recovering, struggling addict who believes a special pendent will help save him. After the pendant is stolen, he must navigate the small town to get it back.

Once again, Sanghani decided to film in his hometown of Alexandria.

“We had friends who let us use their RVs, friends who cooked for us, locations that were donated. It really helped save a lot of money.”

Starring with Trammell is Vanessa Ferlito (Graceland, Grindhouse), and a great supporting cast of local actors. “It’s all coming full circle for me. I was raised in Alexandria and it will always be my home. I left for Los Angles to get my feet on the ground, make contacts and learn about what I was going to do. This is my home. My parents still live here. The kids I grew up with still live here. I’m still best friends with my friends from grade school. I think there’s a lot to be said for that.”

“If you go to a small town to make a movie and everyone steps up and helps out and welcomes you, it makes you want to go back and do more,” says Sanghani. “It’s a producer’s dream to have a support system like that. There’s a genuine love down here that you don’t get anywhere else.”

Another project of Sanghani’s is considerably more light-hearted.

A familiar topic with Louisiana locals, and a project two years in the making, Sanghani teamed up with Leftfield Pictures (Pawn Stars, American Restoration) as an executive producer on The Governor’s Wife.

68 | November/December 2013

The reality show details four-time Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards’ life post-incarceration, his marriage to thirty-five-year old wife Trina Scott Edwards, their newborn and their interesting family dynamic.

“I originally got the idea back in June of 2011,” says Sanghani. “It started when Edwards got out of prison and was still under house arrest. I had a loose connection to Trina and she posted something on Facebook about her and Edwin being together and I reached out to her.”

Trina and Edwin Edwards became pen pals while Edwards was serving his eight-and-a-half year prison sentence for bribery and extortion charges that came from his time as Governor of Louisiana. After Edwards was released, he and Trina married and combined families, creating an anything-but-bland clan.

Edwards’ sixty-something year old daughters, Trina’s teen boys and a newborn of their own, create an interesting, lighthearted show that is anything but scripted. “When it comes down to it, it’s really just a show about a married couple. Obviously, the age difference is what makes it unique. People are curious about this.

It’s normal to wonder what an eighty-five-year-old ex-governor and a thirty-five-year-old blonde with two kids of her own is doing and how that family meshes. It’s an interesting composition.”

The twelve episode series premieres Wednesday, February 27 at 9pm CST. A major advocate for film in Louisiana, Sanghani has experienced the opportunity and success his home state has to offer. He plans to continue developing SSS Entertainment with both reality television and future films right where it all began for him: in Alexandria. For more information about upcoming shows and films, visit www.sssentertainment.com. S

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ON THE SCENE

TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE

opens THE NEW ORLEANS FILM FESTIVAL 2013 photos by Caitlin Barry and Elizabeth Shaw

On October 10, the 2013 New Orleans Film Festival opened with Twelve Years a Slave, the true story of Solomon Northrup, a free man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery. Director Steve McQueen and cinematographer Sean Bobbitt walked the red carpet prior to the screening, along with cast members Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alfre Woodard, Sarah Paulson, Lupita Nyong’o and more.

New Orleans Film Commissioner Katie Williams

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu

Bryan Batt

Beasts of the Southern Wild star Dwight Henry 70 | November/December 2013

Cameron Ziegler

Lupita Nyong’o

ON THE SCENE

The cast and crew of Twelve Years a Slave second lining to the official after party at Gallier Hall

Rob Steinberg

Twelve Years a Slave star Chiwetel Ejiofor www.scenelouisiana.com | 71

ON THE SCENE

TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE

opens THE NEW ORLEANS FILM FESTIVAL 2013 photos by Caitlin Barry and Elizabeth Shaw

Scene publisher Andre Champagne, Rita Benson Leblanc and producer James T. Bruce

NOFF’s Jolene Pinder and Clint Bowie

Twelve Years a Slave director Steve McQueen

Sarah Paulson

Rodrigo Santoro 72 | November/December 2013

Lupita Nyong’o

Kelsey Scott

ON THE SCENE

Alfre Woodard

Battlestar Galactica’s Katee Sackhoff

Twelve Years a Slave director Steve McQueen

Chiwetel Ejiofor

Twelve Years a Slave cinematographer Sean Bobbitt

Tony Bentley www.scenelouisiana.com | 73

THE UNSCENE The Award The season to bestow awards on the greatest accomplishments in filmmaking has come early this year. The nominees for best film and best actor and best actress seem a foregone conclusion months earlier than ever before. And still, a slew of November and December releases will be eligible to compete, released in an already crowded field of contenders.

Amongst them will certainly be Louisiana-shot cinema like The Butler, Twelve Years a Slave and Dallas Buyers Club, all of which boast spectacular performances by great actors working with great directors, each growing out of iconic stories filled with hurt and love.

The greatest cinematic accomplishments of the 2013 calendar year may or may not have already seen the silver screen. But the greatest award isn’t issued by the DGA, SAG or even the Academy. While a major awards win would no doubt boost the box office of films shot in Louisiana, the greatest award has already been awarded in the form of economic impact to Louisiana. A most potent example of art intersecting with commerce, all films great or terrible that are produced in Louisiana are creating economic opportunities in one of the poorest states in the country during one of the most prolonged recessions in memory.

When you see actors and directors walking red carpets and talking about their films, think about the real award that Louisiana has already won.

- The UnScene Writer Submit tips to unscene@scenelouisiana.com.

Anonymity guaranteed.

74 | November/December 2013

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Green Lantern • The Mechanic • 21 Jump Street • Looper • Django Unchained Bullet to the Head • Killing Them Softly • Killer Joe Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter • The Butler • Old Boy

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BIC AllIAnCe

Unique business model continues to evolve Earl HEard took a risk in the early 1980s when he created a publication that would reach across multiple industries in the oil and gas sector. What started as a newsletter grew into BIC Alliance, and Heard hasn’t stopped innovating since. Joined by his partner and son-inlaw Thomas Brinsko and Vice President Jeremy Osterberger, Heard has founded three other divisions of the company— BIC Media Solutions, BIC Recruiting and IVS Investment Banking.

BIC Alliance still publishes BIC Magazine, the largest multi-industry energy magazine in North America, while also handling recruiting, marketing and investment banking for more than 300 clients. From managing a database of 35,000 contacts to sending out a daily email blast and offering regular webi-

nars, BIC Alliance has used technology to stay relevant and keep in touch with its growing audience.

A new website at bicalliance.com, expected to debut in October, will only further that mission. “We think the new site is going to significantly increase our readership globally, and with the new technology we’ll be able to promote our investment banking and recruiting even more,” said Heard.

Regional Manager Mark Hertzog describes the new site as the People magazine of the oil and gas industry.

BIC Magazine will have the ability to offer up-to-date news from the energy markets right on the homepage and highlight job openings and new hires in the industry. “We want to offer a visitor an easy way to find stories on the expan-

sion of the energy industry, and we’re focusing on our goal of connecting people who supply services and products with people who can buy from them,” Hertzog said.

A partnership with Louisiana Entertainment Publishers, which publishes Scene Magazine covering the Louisiana TV and film industry, may get BIC Magazine a bit closer to that People comparison. The two publications plan to cross-promote each other and co-produce events, something that Heard hints could lead to the future of BIC Alliance.

“The film industry is a billion-dollar industry in Louisiana,” he said. “We plan to expand our footprint in marketing, investment banking, recruiting and media partnerships beyond just the energy sector.” ■

BIC Alliance’s Baton Rouge team

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louisiana innovation & technology profiles

Earl HEard Year founded IndustrY Products

toP executIves

Headquarters WebsIte PHone

1984 Multi-industry energy, industrial & heavy construction publication BIC Magazine—North America’s largest multi-industry, multi-departmental energy, construction and environmental publication. BIC offers marketing partners access to an extensive database and ongoing editorial.

Earl B. Heard, Founder/CEO Thomas Brinsko, President/COO Jeremy Osterberger, Vice President Baton Rouge, with an office in League City, Texas

800.460.4242 earlheard@bicalliance.com tbrinsko@bicalliance.com jeremy@bicalliance.com

facebook

Facebook.com/BICAlliance

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HeARD HAS 40-plus years’ combined experience in industry and marketing, having served as an industrial training manager and buyer for ethyl Corp. in Baton Rouge before founding BIC Alliance in 1984. Heard has spent the past 30 years helping grow industrial service companies through marketing and sales consultation, mergers and acquisitions, and executive recruiting.

bicalliance.com

emaIl

tWItter

Founder/CEO

@BICMagazine “IVS Investment Banking and BIC Alliance have the most unique business model. By operating a communications company, they have access to many, many owners in the industrial niche. From advertising and marketing to recruiting and investment banking, they touch the market in so many places.”

—Mike Decker, Principal, Wingate Partners

THomas Brinsko President/COO

A foRMeR contracts attorney for exxon and Key Petroleum, Brinsko joined BIC Alliance and IVS Investment Banking in 1999 and became president and Coo in 2002. His upstream, legal and acquisition experience complements Heard’s petrochemical, refining and construction experience. Brinsko has a degree in business from the University of Southwestern louisiana (now Ull) and a J.D. from lSU. BIC Alliance has tripled in size since Brinsko joined the company.

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