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VOL. 4, ISSUE 2 • March/April 2013 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Micah Haley CREATIVE DIRECTOR Erin Theriot DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Katianna Bear EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Jenny Bravo, Jillian Aubin GRAPHIC ARTIST Burton Chatelain, Jr. SALES Brinkley Maginnis, Jeremy Paige FASHION STYLISTS Andi Eaton, Ainsley Beeman

EDITOR’S LETTER

hree years ago, Scene Magazine was created to tell people about the great things that are happening in Louisiana. Although there was some awareness by the general public that films were being shot here, we wanted to share even more stories from the great chapter in this state’s history that is currently being written. We are unabashed supporters of Louisiana’s entertainment industry. This still-young sector of our economy holds much promise for the future. Filmmakers are no longer mere tourists: they are residents. They are raising their children here, and the industry they are helping to build offers new opportunities for all of Louisiana’s children. As a member of the first generation that has benefitted from this new industry, I want it to be there for college students who are just graduating and kids

8 | March/April 2013

that are still in grade school. The Louisiana Film & Entertainment Association (LFEA) is a non-profit organization created to help grow, and advocate for, Louisiana’s emerging entertainment industry. More than just a loose collection of film fans, the board of LFEA is comprised of business owners and professionals that actively work to bring more work to Louisiana. They represent a cross-section of the industry, each offering different perspectives on how this industry benefits the state. For a limited time, LFEA is offering free memberships. Whether you work in the entertainment industry, do business with it, or just want to support this new sector of Louisiana’s economy, sign up now at www.lfea.org/join.

MICAH HALEY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

editor@scenelouisiana.com

COVER PHOTO Teddy Smith CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Jack English, Tony Mott, Scott Garfield, Jojo Wilden, Murray Close, Jon Barron Farmer, Kevin Winter, Phil Caruso, Jaime Trueblood, Alan Markfield, David James, Rick Marquez, Mark St. James, Joe Klamar, Teddy Smith, Frank Maddocks, Colin Lake, Colin Gray, Danny Clinch, Sarah A. Friedman, John Melancon, Rhea Audridge, Jason Kruppa, Alicia Antoinette, Caitlin Barry, Barry Wetcher CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AJ Buckley, Jillian Brown, Elizabeth Glauser, Jacob Peterman, Susan Ross, 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 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 @ 2012 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

Ashley Bell

10 | March/April 2013

SCENE ON JASON STATHAM Parker

JASON STATHAM is a vengeful thief with a strong moral compass in the New Orleans-filmed actioner Parker. Statham’s Parker steals from those who can afford it and hurts those who deserve it. Left for less-than-alive by his merry men, Parker teams up with real-estate agent Leslie Rogers ( Jennifer Lopez) for a revenge heist. The real world Robin Hood will be back in the Big Easy to shoot Heat this March.

BEN MENDELSOHN Animal Kingdom Jason Statham as Parker photo by Jack English

BEN MENDELSOHN is best remembered as armed robber Andrew ‘Pope’ Cody, hiding from a group of renegade detectives in the crime-crammed family film Animal Kingdom. Pope struggles and fails to break free from the tangle of mishaps and poor choices he and his notorious Melbourne crime family have created. After a sleazy role in The Dark Knight Rises, Ben Mendelsohn isn’t straying far from his previous corrupt bad boys as he makes his way down to New Orleans to film Mississippi Grind, a drama dealing with addictive gambling and the debts that come with it.

Ben Mendelsohn as “Pope” Cody photo by Tony Mott

ROBERT DE NIRO

Silver Linings Playbook Jake Gyllenhaal as Brian Taylor photo by Scott Garfield

JAKE GYLLENHAAL End of Watch

Fear for the lives of young LAPD partners Brian Taylor, portrayed by JAKE GYLLENHAAL, and Miguel Zavala (Michael Peña) when they figure out a secret that makes them dead walking by the most dangerous drug cartel in the country. End of Watch is based in a toxic mix of love and drugs (not that we’re referencing Gyllenhaal’s other movie about love and drugs). The time-travelling friend of phantom rabbits has come to the Big Easy to film Mississippi Grind, where he plays a young man caught up in the addictions of gambling. 12 | March/April 2013

Robert De Niro as Pat, Sr. photo by Jojo Wilden

Never change the channel when the Philadelphia Eagles are playing. You’ll mess up Pat Solatano’s juju! In Silver Linings Playbook, ROBERT DE NIRO is an OCD father with a bi-polar son who has come home from the mental health institution to rebuild his life. The endearing film snagged nominations for best picture, director, screenplay and female lead ( Jennifer Lawrence) at the 85th Academy Awards. DeNiro’s next project has him in the Bayou State in early 2013 to duke it out with fellow boxing veteran Sylvester Stallone in Grudge Match.

MORE SCENE ON

SCENE ON KEVIN COSTNER Hatfields & McCoys

Hatfields & McCoys is based on a real American family feud that lasted decades and nearly launched a war between West Virginia and Kentucky. In the period piece, KEVIN COSTNER plays “Devil” Anse Hatfield, an angered former friend and comrade to Randall McCoy (Paxton) in Hatfields & McCoys. The disagreements between the two are initially what spark the flame that spreads through both sides of the families. The three-part miniseries falls nothing short of intense passion, sacrifice, vengeance and crime. After winning Best Actor in a Miniseries at the 2013 Golden Globes, Costner will soon be in New Orleans to begin filming When the Game Stands Tall.

ALYSHIA OCHSE Inventing Adam Kevin Costner as “Devil” Anse Hatfield

In director Richie Adams’ comedy Inventing Adam, ALYSHIA OCHSE plays the titular everyman’s big city fiancé, a prim prospect of a woman who discovers she has a dresseddown rival waiting for her man in Louisiana. After recent roles in Stash House and Bullet to the Head, the Kentucky-born knockout has returned to Louisiana in real life to join Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson in HBO’s True Detective.

Alyshia Ochse as Katherine

Ashley Tisdale as Savannah Monroe photo courtesy of The CW

ASHLEY TISDALE Hellcats

In Hellcats, ASHLEY TISDALE is top cat Savannah Monroe, peppy, petite and captain of the Hellcats, a competitive cheerleading team willing to do whatever it takes to win. Tisdale teamed up with The CW network for the comedy-drama television series based upon the book, Cheer: Inside the Secret World of College Cheerleaders, by journalist Kate Torgovnick in 2010. The kitten crawls her way to Shreveport to film Left Behind, another drama based on a best-selling faith based novel. Directed by Vic Armstrong, Left Behind also stars Nicolas Cage. 14 | March/April 2013

Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy photo by Murray Close

WOODY HARRELSON The Hunger Games

In The Hunger Games, WOODY HARRELSON is Haymitch, an alcoholic “mentor” to tributes Katniss and Peeta, both preparing to fight till death in a government-sponsored blood bath. After winning himself long ago, the grim future world chased Haymitch down to the bottom of the bottle. He struggles to watch two young kids go through hell for little more than entertainment. Harrelson puts the bottle down for a new HBO series filmed in New Orleans, True Detective, where he will star alongside Matthew McConaughey.

New Orleans • Elmwood • Baton Rouge • Shreveport Hollywood • Santa Monica • Miami Oldboy Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters TwelveYears a Slave 2 Guns Olympus Has Fallen The Butler The Host The Hot Flashes Spring Breakers Barefoot Schism Iceman Dog Fight Contraband Looper Cogan’s Trade Playing the Field Alien Tornado Medallion 21 Jump Street

Headshot The Paperboy Ricochet G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation Switch Hide Wild Card Pitch Perfect So Undercover 51 Revenge of the Bridesmaids Love, Wedding, Marriage Swamp Shark Mighty Fine Season of theWitch Colombiana Trespass WeatherWars On the Road Miami Magma

The Lucky One The Somnambulist The Promised Land: A Swamp Pop Journey Father of Invention Snatched Pregnancy Pact Beauty & the Briefcase Mandrake Monsterwolf Scream of the Banshee Cigarettes et bas Nylons The Mechanic Skateland I Love You Phillip Morris Wolvesbayne The Dunwich Horror Quantum Apocalypse Sinners and Saints Front of the Class

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BEHIND THE

SCENES S

THE PARDON Shot in Shreveport and directed by Tom Anton, The Pardon is the true story of Toni Jo Henry ( Jaime King), a beautiful woman in 1942 Louisiana. When her husband is sent to prison, Toni Jo joins up with Arkie Burke ( John Hawkes) in an attempt to free him. When her ill-fated plan turns for the worse, she finds herself on trial for murder. After a premiere on March 14, The Pardon opens statewide in Louisiana on March 22. photos by Jon Barron Farmer

Jaime King as Toni Jo Henry

DIRECTOR TOM ANTON

ON CASTING JAIME KING

“ We literally had every character in the film cast,

Director Tom Anton and cinematographer Matthew Irving line up a shot

with the exception of the lead, Toni Jo Henry. We started looking at different taped auditions, and then Jaime King’s agent called and asked if she could speak with me. I was familiar with her as Nurse Betty from Pearl Harbor and Goldie in Sin City. But after talking to her on the phone for ninety minutes, she convinced me that she could, without a doubt, play this character. And she did. She reminds me of Vivien Leigh in the film.

”

Director Tom Anton talks with Leigh Whannell, Jaime King and Tim Guinee

16 | March/April 2013

| FILM

MORE FROM THE PARDON Jaime King with John Hawkes as Arkie Burke

www.scenelouisiana.com | 17

FILM |

S THE PARDON

Tom Anton with John Hawkes

Director Tom Anton on set with John Hawkes

DIRECTOR TOM ANTON

“ I had seen John Hawkes work from The

Perfect Storm and Deadwood, and I thought the opportunity to work with someone like John was incredible. He and Jaime King were just a pleasure to work with on set.

”

“ Shreveport was absolutely wonderful.

Jaime King

Everyone in that area was so cooperative, and we had wonderful extras. It was really a dream shoot. I’m from Louisiana. I grew up in New Orleans and I went to LSU. And so we thought that we had a great opportunity to release this film in the state of Louisiana.

”

Jaime King with John Hawkes

18 | March/April 2013

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ADRIANNE PALICKI Adrianne Palicki is an actress best known for her portrayal of Tyra Collette in NBC’s critically lauded drama Friday Night Lights. She was also the star of Fox’s Lone Star and won the highly coveted lead role in Wonder Woman, a David E. Kelly television pilot. She can next be seen in the lead role of Lady Jaye in G.I. Joe: Retaliation.

What made you want to become an actor? I just always had this feeling that this is what I was supposed to do. I had so many ideas about the things I wanted to be, and usually it stemmed from movies. I would watch something and be like, “Oh, I want to do that!” I watched Apollo 13 and thought, “I want to be an aerospace engineer.” I had no idea what that meant. And I did musicals and plays throughout high school. I was going to go to college to be an artist, a painter, but I decided nothing made me happier than being on stage. There was this innate feeling. And I did it.

What was your biggest fear? Failure. Failure is my biggest fear.

What was your lowest point? It was two years into living in L.A. Right before I started working, I had fallen in love. My ex-boyfriend actually stole money from me. He opened up a credit card in my name and everybody I met had been completely fraudulent and broke my heart. Friends. Everybody. I was working just to make ends meet and living paycheck to paycheck. And I thought, “God, if I have to keep doing this for the next ten to fifteen years, I don’t know what I will do.” Thankfully, not too soon after that, I got lucky and I got my first pilot. I did a re-make of Lost in Space and I got to work with John Woo, who is an amazing film director, and it was everything I dreamed it would be. Nothing about it was fantasy. It is such hard work to be an actor. Nothing about it is glamorous at all, but it was so much better [than what I had been through] and I had the best time.

What kept you from walking away? When I first moved to Los Angeles, I said to myself that if I was still waiting tables at age fifty pursuing this, that I would do that, because this is the only thing that I ever wanted to do. And I really lived by that. There were so many times that I wanted to move back to Ohio, but I thought, “What is it that I am going to be able to do?” I have no college degree. I have nothing else I love more. I am going to be doing a job the rest of my life that I hate if I do that, so I have to stick it out and keep going after it.

What did you have to walk away from? I didn’t have to walk away from anything. This is all I ever wanted. I was such a career-driven child. I know that sounds weird, but when my friends were dreaming of weddings and children, I was like “I’m going to be doing this, this and this.” I was a career girl. When I left Ohio, it was hard to leave my family. It was hard to leave my childhood. But that was it. And I still have them, so it wasn’t really giving up anything. 20 | March/April 2013

Who has been your closest ally? My dad. He has never, ever stopped believing in me. Ever since I was a kid, he was like, “You’re going to be a star.” And even if I wasn’t, I was his. Both my parents have been incredibly supportive but I was daddy’s little girl, for sure. My dad used to drive me to Detroit, Michigan, on the weekends so that I could model just to have some kind of leg in another world so I wouldn’t be stuck in Ohio. When I finally moved to Los Angeles, he drove out with me. I didn’t know anybody. I just did it. I was like “I’m moving. It’s happening.” I didn’t have any money. So my dad drove out with me and stayed with me for a month to help me get settled and that was probably the hardest day when he left. I was really on my own.

What were you doing the morning before the audition that changed your life? I don’t remember what I was doing the morning before, but I can tell you what I was doing that day of the audition. I went to that audition and I was frustrated because I was supposed to go to this WB party with my managers. I was very excited about it (as cheesy as it sounds) and I was just waiting and waiting and waiting and I’m thinking, “Okay, come on.” It was one of my one hundred pilot auditions and I was just kind of like, “Okay, whatever.” And [that attitude] actually saved me because what they were looking for was someone with a chip on their shoulder. That’s exactly how I played it because I was in a hurry to get out of there. That actually is probably what helped me get the part [in Lost in Space]. It changed my life because I started working, which is all I ever wanted. The one that changed my career path was Friday Night Lights. I remember I auditioned for it that morning, I was already testing for another pilot, I read it and I thought to myself, “There isn’t much to the pilot,” because [creator] Pete Berg wanted us to do a lot of improvisation. I was like, “It’s based on football, it’s based on a movie. The two things that never work.” So I went in for the audition, my parents were in town, and I had another audition on the complete opposite side of town, and that day they were actually testing people for Friday Night Lights. I got a phone call from my agency saying, “Pete Berg wants to meet you right now. He loved your tape, he wants to meet you, they are testing people today, so he needs to see you.” And I thought, “Oh, we’re never going to make it, I don’t know. I don’t even know if I want to do it.” And my mom was like, “Let’s go.” And my dad was like, “I can totally get us there in time.” I’m glad my parents pushed me towards it, and I had one of the best auditions of my life. It was one of those times when I went in with him for a half hour and it was like an acting class. I walked out going, “Even if I don’t get this job, I had an acting class with Peter Berg that was amazing.” And thankfully I got the part!

What were the words that kept you going? “I can do this.” Actually, it’s probably more like, “I have to do this.”

What words do you have to inspire others? If you believe in something, if you are passionate about something, you need to follow your dreams. If you’re going to be unhappy and miserable settling, that’s not something you should do for yourself. It’s better to try and never get there than never try at all.

Your next film is G.I. Joe: Retaliation, wherein you play the iconic, feminine action hero Lady Jaye. What can you tell us about her? Lady Jaye is somewhat of a badass. In this film, she’s pretty much the token female and she’s amidst all of these buff, strong-headed guys and so she has to kind of hold her own. She has a bit of a chip on her shoulder. She’s the intelligence of the group. She’s the weapon specialist. She’s incredibly smart but she really does hold her own among these guys, and due to a devastating moment that happens in the film, all of the characters are forced into really working together. All of those chips fall off and that’s where you see vulnerability in all of the characters.

G.I. Joe was shot in New Orleans a little over a year ago. What are your memories of the city? It was awesome. I had no idea what to expect, and the thing that really stood out to me was the people. The people here are phenomenal. I would be walking out of my apartment and there would be people on the stoop, barbequing and saying, “Hey! How are ya?” So kind. Almost like a Midwest mentality, which is where I grew up. That kind of gets lost in certain big cities, but not here. We really didn’t have a lot of time to really explore the city. It was in small increments when we would have time, so there were a couple of bars we frequented with the crew. We would go to Rusty Nail to hang out. The restaurants though were my favorite. Lilette is by far one of my favorite restaurants on the planet. The first thing I did when I found out we were coming back here was make sure I had a reservation there. Delmonico was amazing. We loved Emeril’s. We all lived really close, so we were there all the time. It was just non-stop for us. The nice thing about us working away from Los Angeles, away from our comfort zone, is that you are forced to make new friends and become friends outside of the big screen. If you are in your little comfort zone [in Los Angeles], you go back home after work, and you think, “I’m going to see my dog” or “I’m going to have a drink with my best friend.” We got really close, really fast. And it translates. Those relationships on-screen are real. S A partner in Scene Magazine and the president of Louisiana Entertainment Publishers, AJ has starred for the last eight years as Adam Ross on the hit TV show CSI:NY, now on Friday nights at 8pm on CBS. Originally from Dublin and raised in Vancouver, he has spent the past twelve years in Los Angeles acting, writing and directing. He is currently in preproduction in Louisiana on North of Hell, in which he will star and produce. Find out more on Twitter @AJohnBuckley and at www.ajbuckley.net. photo by Kevin Winter

www.scenelouisiana.com | 21

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COMING SOON

by Katianna Bear

OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN Friday, Mar. 22

Rated: R Director: Antoine Fuqua In this thriller from Training Day director Antoine Fuqua, the White House – Secret Service code name “Olympus” – is taken by a terrorist mastermind. With the President (Aaron Eckhart) held hostage, a former Secret Service agent named Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) finds himself forced into hiding, alone on the inside. Though Banning left in disgrace, the national security team on the outside must rely on his intelligence to help retake Olympus and avoid an even larger international disaster. If the awesome concept sounds familiar, it should. It was pitched as “Die Hard in the White House.” Shot in Shreveport under the working title White House Taken, Olympus Has Fallen stars Gerard Butler,

Aaron Eckhart and Ashley Judd photo by Phil Caruso

Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett and Treme star Melissa Leo. Watch Washington get torn apart when film opens wide in theaters everywhere on March 22. Gerard Butler

photo by Phil Caruso

GI JOE: RETALIATION Friday, Mar. 28 Rated: PG-13 Director: Jon Chu This American actioner directed by Jon Chu is the sequel to the Hasbro live action original, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. With a different feel from the first film, Retaliation has only three returning characters: Duke (Channing Tatum), Snake Eyes (Ray Park) and Storm Shadow (Lee Byung-hun). Not only is Joe nemesis Cobra back, they are threatened by internal government espionage which puts their existence in harm’s way. Zartan is impersonating the President of the United States and Cobra Commander has some of the most powerful people in the world under his control. Outnumbered, the Joes must construct a plan to save the lives of innocent civilians and take down Cobra Commander and his closest allies, Zartan, Storm Shadow and Firefly. Shot in New Orleans, the 3D film also stars Bruce Willis, Dwayne Johnson, Adrianne Palicki and D.J. Cotrona. Watch the Joes one-up themselves on March 29.

Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis and Adrianne Palicki photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Channing Tatum and Dwayne Johnson photo by Jaime Trueblood

MORE COMING SOON 24 | March/April 2013

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COMING SOON THE HOST

Friday, Mar. 29 Rated: PG-13 Director: Andrew Niccol The world has been taken over by an intelligent alien species known as the ‘Souls.’ However, their peaceful race can only survive by living inside a host body and taking control of the human mind. The Soul Wanderer has inserted herself into Melanie Stryder, a captured human in search for her family. The Wanderer comes to realize she cannot successfully take over Melanie’s mind and fights to break down the mental walls Melanie builds. The occupant of the body begins to care deeply for the memories of the humans in her host’s mind. The Wanderer must choose what is right, even if it means giving up her life. Shot in Baton Rouge with visionary sci-fi director Andrew Niccol at

Shot on stage at Raleigh Studios Baton Rouge photo by Alan Markfield

the helm, The Host is an inspiring story of loyalty, love and friendship. The film hits theaters on March 29. Saoirse Ronan in The Host

photo by Alan Markfield

OBLIVION

Friday, Apr. 12 (IMAX) Friday, Apr. 19 (Wide) Rated: PG-13 Director: Joseph Kosinski

Tom Cruise is out to save the world (again) in Tron: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski’s futuristic sci-fi film, Oblivion. Sixty years ago, an alien invasion destroyed nearly everything on Earth. Jack Harper (Cruise) is one of the last drone repairmen living in an airborne town floating thousands of feet above Earth. The former Marine Commander believes his mission is to patrol the battle-ravaged planet and extract vital resources, until he finds another being living amongst the ruins. The twenty-two-year-old beautiful stranger changes him, exposing the reality he has been living in the aftermath of the war. Starring alongside Cruise is Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Zoe Bell and Melissa Leo. Much of Oblivion was shot in Baton Rouge in digital 4K resolution. Special IMAX screenings begin April 12 and the movie hits theaters for all on April 19. 26 | March/April 2013

Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman in Oblivion

photo by David James

STATE OF THE ARTIST

I’LL HAVE A

COTRONA WITH A LIME by Katianna Bear

n director Jon Chu’s new action epic, actor DJ Cotrona brings to life Flint, a master tactician new to the G.I. Joe cinematic universe. I met with Cotrona at the Windsor Court Hotel in New Orleans, where we discussed his new film G.I. Joe: Retaliation, a sort-of sequel to 2009’s G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. “I think the first movie was a bit more family friendly and ‘scifi.’ It was a very fun movie but I think they took a lot of liberties with the core ideas of what the franchise was,” says Cotrona, well known to fans of the ABC television series Detroit 1-8-7. “When everyone got together to make the second one, it was very important to us to just refocus the tone and aesthetic of it.” With only three returning characters - Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow and Duke - the sequel to director Stephen Sommers’ Joe seemingly exists in a different universe, one with a more grounded sense of military tech. “The tone of this movie is very, very different from the first one and I think that was important to everybody making it.” A crop of new school action directors were considered, including F. Gary Gray, the director of the excellent heist flick The Italian Job, but Paramount’s somewhat unorthodox choice was Justin Bieber: Never Say Never director Jon Chu. It’s a choice Cotrona believes was the right one. “Jon Chu is probably one of the biggest G.I Joe fans I’ve ever met. He was obsessed with [G.I. Joe] as a child and this was a dream job of his. He was an absolute stickler to every detail from character design to the parameters of the relationships,” says Cotrona. “I think Jon Chu, [producer] Lorenzo Di Bonaventura and everyone at the studio, including the cast, we really wanted to give it a bit more of a old-school action movie feel with more in-camera effects. Make it feel a little bit dirtier, a little bit grittier, and be a little bit more faithful to the cannon. Keep the characters looking more specifically to how they have looked for so many years [in the comic book series].” Looking like a real-life action figure definitely took sleep off of the busy actors schedule. “There was a lot of physical preparation because it’s a fairly big action movie,” says Cotrona, who previously worked with fellow Retaliation star Channing Tatum on the romantic drama Dear John. “I trained with a parkour team called Tempest out of Los Angeles. That’s something we added to the character a little bit early on.” This type of free-running training requires no equipment and is also known as “the art of displacement.” In addition to parkour, Catrona kept up with weight lifting and physical training each day before leaving to film in

28 | March/April 2013

DJ COTRONA ON FILMING IN NEW ORLEANS

The best part about filming in New Orleans is probably the worst part about filming in New Orleans: every night there are so many bars and there’s so much good food.

STATE OF THE ARTIST

DJ Cotrona as Flint in G.I. Joe: Retaliation photo by Jaimie Trueblood www.scenelouisiana.com | 29

STATE OF THE ARTIST

Flint (DJ Cotrona) in a standoff with Storm Shadow (Byung-hun Lee)

Louisiana. Once the crew arrived in the Big Easy, the not-so-easy training began. “ W hen the cast got down to New Orleans, we all trained together as a group with Harry Humphries, who is an ex-Navy SEAL,” says Cotrona. The cast was required to be in tip-top physical shape and to learn how to handle the equipment properly and safely. “A group of [Harry’s] guys came down and we all went through weapons training and movement training just so we could all learn to operate the machinery correctly and look like we knew what we were doing.” After long days on set, the cast and crew were often tempted to enjoy the New Orleans nightlife, rich with culture, exquisite eats, drinks and dancing. “Oh yeah, we were here for almost six months and it was a really big production, so everybody kind of spread out over the city. We had all the areas covered, so we got a crash course in New Orleans and had an absolute blast down here. The nightlife, the food, the music, the people are so inviting and welcoming. The best part about filming in New Orleans is probably the worst part about filming in New Orleans: every night there are so many bars and there’s so much good food. There’s 30 | March/April 2013

photo by Jaimie Trueblood

so much to do,” says Cotrona. “That’s the best, but it’s also the worst when you have to get up at five in the morning every day.” After spending nearly half a year in New Orleans, each cast member picked out their favorite spot. “Juan’s Flying Burrito, I was there all the time. Adrianne [Palicki] was at Lilette up on Magazine Street like every single night. She basically became a piece of furniture there,” laughs Cotrona. “Jacque-Imo’s. You name it, we were there.” The Joes are currently making the rounds nationally and, soon, internationally to promote the much-anticipated film. They will be in Los Angeles on March 28, the night before the release, for the big premiere. As for the actual day the film comes out, Catrona says, “I will be snoring in bed hopefully!” Post Retaliation, Cotrona says he is “just working on working. Screen testing and knocking on doors and trying to find the next thing that works.” After filming in New Orleans in late 2011, and then being pushed from its original release date last summer to upconvert all of the action to 3D, G.I. Joe: Retaliation hits theaters March 29. For more information, visit www.gijoemovie.com. S

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Dean Cain in God’s Not Dead

DEAN CAIN IS STILL SUPER by Jillian Brown

photos by Rick Marquez

riters Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster are to thank for the birth of Superman in 1938, an iconic character that has had numerous successful — and some unsuccessful — incarnations. “Without a doubt, I based my Superman character off of the character that Christopher Reeve played,” says Dean Cain, who starred as the cape crusader on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. “He was, for me, Superman [when I was] growing up. He was just fantastic. My Clark Kent was based more on the George Reeves version. Christopher Reeve was amazing as Superman. George Reeve was more what I wanted to do for Clark Kent.” Superman was absent from feature films for nearly twenty years, from Christopher Reeves’ last super film in 1987 to Brian Singer’s revival with Superman Returns in 2006. Cain was the custodian of the character, or as he would like to say, “the keeper of the cape,” for over 32 | March/April 2013

five years. Although there was a Superman sabbatical, projects were in continuous development to get the red cape back to the big screen. “There was a little bit of talk at one point in time about [me] leaping to the big screen. However, that never came to fruition,” says Cain. “There were a lot of problems with getting the Superman script off the ground. At one point, it was going to be Nic Cage. There were a lot of different things they were going to do, including [the famous comic book story arc] ‘The Death of Superman.’ There were so many cooks in the kitchen that it never got done.” Warner Bros spent over a decade preparing for the re-launch of the franchise. Along with Nicolas Cage, actors Josh Hartnett, Brendan Fraser, Paul Walker, Ashton Kutcher and Keanu Reeves were thrown into the mix. Director Bryan Singer insisted an unknown actor be cast to keep the tradition of the Richard Donner-directed

| FILM

www.scenelouisiana.com | 33

FILM | film Superman: The Movie, which starred Christopher Reeve. It also established comic book superheroes as a box office force. The ending of Lois and Clark marked the final days for Cain as Superman. Two years later, he was asked to dig into Robert Ripley’s vault as the host of a new show, sharing the bizarre, surprising and freak facts of life.“Ripley’s Believe It or Not was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed all the true artifacts,” says Cain. “One of the coolest things was a derringer that was dropped by John Wilkes Booth after he shot President Lincoln. He had an additional derringer, it was not the gun that killed the president. It was another gun that he had with him. It was engraved with his name.” The items of historical importance were what excited Cain most about being a part of the show, years of history represented in a tangible form that could be touched and examined. “The car that drove Lee Harvey Oswald to the Texas school book depository the day he shot John F. Kennedy. Things like that…those things really blew me away. Those were the most fun for me.” After traveling around the world for four straight seasons, the television series came to an end in 2003. Cain also received rave reviews playing against heroic type as real life villain Scott Peterson in 2004’s The Perfect Husband: The Laci Peterson Story. The film started shooting the first day of Peterson’s pretrial hearing. “We were learning information as we were going along. As for all of the other information that I had beforehand, I watched interview after interview after interview that he gave to the media, because he gave quite a few. What struck me about him was that he just seemed like a really bad actor,” says Cain. “So I knew I was going to be fantastic in the role!” After turning down the part several times, Cain’s father helped convince him. “I feared being part of the Scott Peterson ‘lore,’ if you will. But my father said, ‘Could you be good at it? Are you an actor?’” To which Cain replied yes. “He said ‘Go to work.’ And I’m glad I did.” Cain enjoyed the change of pace: playing a real person who is so reviled. “I use it as a litmus test for dating,” jokes Cain. “If a woman comes up to me and says, ‘I loved you as Scott Peterson,’ then we don’t date.” Directed by Harold Cronk, the faith-based film God’s Not Dead recently shot in Baton Rouge with Cain starring. “I play a character that really has no faith at all in God,” he says. “He is a very pragmatic guy who sees things in black and white. He’s a fun character to play because of his single-mindedness. There’s really no morality behind what he does. He doesn’t care what anybody thinks of him. He is just upwardly mobile and he’s gonna do his thing.” Cain’s character, Mark, proves just that, leaving his girlfriend after she is diagnosed with cancer. “It’s not something he believes he should have to deal with,” the veteran actor explains. “Mark doesn’t beat around the bush: he’s not going to waste time. It’s inefficient for him to hang around or pretend everything is going to be okay with her. So he just says, ‘That’s it, okay we’re over, we’re done.’ He won’t deal with it.” “To play Mark is fun,” says Cain. “People like him really exist.” A morality play, the film dramatizes the debate over the existence of God. “I enjoy faith-based films and faith-friendly films,” says Cain. “I think it’s something a show like this particular movie can teach people a lot about. Everybody talks about whether God exists. There’s an argument for and against, backward and forward. This lets everybody sort of think about it, chew on the question, and hopefully, it provokes some thought.” Starring alongside Cain is fellow ex-superhero Kevin Sorbo, the star of Hercules. Sorbo plays a college philosophy professor, a staunch atheist that picks on a student for believing in God. “He’s 34 | March/April 2013

not the nicest guy in the world,” says Cain of Sorbo’s character. “You could have Hercules and Superman going at it in a cage match.” The film follows the characters’ beliefs through the challenges in their own lives, with room for potential redemption at the end. God’s Not Dead shares its title with the fifteenth studio album from Newsboys, a Christian band that also makes an appearance in the film. For more information on the film, visit www.godsnotdeadthemovie.com. S

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TODAY’S SCENE

The magic of Rob Lake

CUT IN HALF ROB LAKE AND MONIKA GUIBERTEAU MAKE MAGIC OVERSEAS by Elizabeth Glauser

illions of Americans show their support for the U.S. military by tying a yellow ribbon around a tree. Some show their appreciation by being sawed in half. Magician Rob Lake and his assistant Monika Guiberteau are part of that small group, taking their support of the U.S. armed forces overseas to perform in an annual excursion. Through Armed Forces Entertainment, the magical group travels by bus from base to base across Europe. Lake and company perform for the troops and their families, who too rarely get a glimpse of such spectacle. “Once a year, we take about a month to entertain the U.S. troops and their families overseas,” says Lake. “Many of them are stationed in really 36 | March/April 2013

remote, isolated areas, so they have no entertainment and very little contact from the States back home. We come over and bring our show to entertain them, bringing a little bit of the U.S. back to them.” “A lot of the families have dads that are actually what they call ‘down range,’ where the dads are in Afghanistan or Iraq right now. A lot of times, we just have the kids and the moms because the dads are out in battle and are in harm’s way,” says Lake. “A lot of them are very grateful because they haven’t had any sort of entertainment at all in a long time, or they’ve been in very stressful situations. We provide a sense of wonder, excitement and enchantment. Even though it’s just an hour and a half, there’s still that experience. That awestruck moment that happens through the show that they really get a release from. They can relax and enjoy themselves and just sit back and have fun. It’s something their situation doesn’t allow frequently.” Often performing in gymnasiums or movie theaters, creating suitable venues has become a trick itself. The magic happens when they transform an ordinary building on base into stages worthy of inspiring awe. The show features Guiberteau as the infamous assistant who’s midriff makes way for a saw, as well as illusions involving levitation, decapitation, swords and disappearances. Each scenario is made even more unpredictable with the inclusion of audience members. “It’s a theatrical illusion show. It’s several major illusions. I

TODAY’S SCENE

MONIKA GUIBERTEAU ON PERFORMING FOR THE TROOPS WITH ROB LAKE

I was deeply touched by the troops, who have given so much in service of our country. Performing for

them is the least we can do.

cut these ladies in half, and make them appear and disappear. We get to bring a lot of people on stage so we have a lot of audience participation, a lot of audience interaction which makes the show very interesting because we never know what’s going to happen,” says Lake. “For us, that makes it more fun and it really helps us personalize the show to the audience, making them the stars and making them part of the show.” Guiberteau’s Louisiana roots travelled with her across the Atlantic as she talked football with the troops. Sharing Saints and LSU news with fans unable to keep up with the scores, and taking time to watch a game or two on the base. For six years, Guiberteau has served as one of Lake’s leading ladies. She first learned the magician’s secrets (after signing a non-disclosure agreement, of course) as a dance major at Oklahoma City University, where she saw an unusual job listing. “You rarely come across ‘Magician’s Assistant’ and I thought that was the coolest job,” says Guiberteau. “I was like, ‘Sign me up!’” The Louisiana native has returned from Oklahoma, teaching at DeFrances Dance Academy in Prairieville, all while working as an actress. She has appeared in the Louisiana-shot film Pitch Perfect and has also filmed speaking roles for the upcoming Barefoot and Paradise. While her career in Louisiana continues to bud, the multi-talented and multi-tasking Guiberteau manages to make time to perform with Lake whenever possible. Though sworn to secrecy, she still gets giddy when talking tricks and performing with Lake. “We’re playing. To me, my job as a magician’s assistant is just playing around,” says Guiberteau. “And that’s what he loves. He’s like a kid that never grew up. I feel like I’m not even working when I do his show. We’re just playing around - with magic.” Lake’s interest in illusions began at age ten while attending the magic show of Kirby VanBurch, who eventually became his mentor. His early start led him to become the youngest person to ever receive magic’s highest honor, the Merlin Award, as well as the title “Stage Magician of the Year” at just twenty five years old. “Instead of the boy in school playing football, he had his magic cards,” jokes Guiberteau. “He’s been doing this, I think, since he came out of the womb. This is what he’s been prepping for all his life.”

Monika Guiberteau www.scenelouisiana.com | 37

TODAY’S SCENE

By sixteen, Lake had already reached a national audience, named “America’s Greatest Young Magician” by Fox Family Channel. His shows have reached an international audience that includes U.S. and NATO troops. “My grandfather served in WWII. He was working with General McArthur and he told me that Irving Berlin, the musician and composer, came over and performed for the troops,” says Lake. “He told me how much it really meant to them and how much it boosted their morale. That really encouraged me and steered me towards the place I’m in now to entertain the troops.” Lake and Guiberteau have witnessed the difference their performances make for the troops and their families firsthand. For the magical team, it makes an already exciting trip overseas even more memorable. “I really enjoyed going there, but the best part was putting smiles on all these families’ faces. There were a lot of troops that were about to deploy to Afghanistan or that had just gotten back,” says Guiberteau. “The kids weren’t having to worry, or think, ‘When’s the next time dad’s gonna leave?’ All the families got to get together and just enjoy our show and have a good time.” “Just speaking to them, I was able to realize the sacrifices they’re making for our country. It’s so important for entertainment from the States to come over and to perform for them. For their husbands or wives or for their children,” says Guiberteau. “I was just deeply touched by the troops, who have given so much in service of our country. It’s the least we can do. We’re very thankful for them.” Since their 2012 European tour ended in December, Lake and Guiberteau have returned to civilian life. Lake is currently travelling stateside and performing his show A Night of Magic. Guiberteau is living and working in Louisiana as an actress and dance instructor. She can next be seen in theaters in director Andrew Fleming’s Barefoot and Diablo Cody’s Paradise later this year. S 38 | March/April 2013

Guiberteau at the Sverd I Fjell monument in Norway

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THE END OF THE WORLD AT SAINTS AND SINNERS photos by Mark St. James

n the eve of December 21, 2012, with the end of the world nigh, friends gathered at Saints & Sinners, the new watering hole on Bourbon Street owned by G.I. Joe: Retaliation star Channing Tatum. Many patrons aped the attire of the classic Mel Gibson actioner The Road Warrior, dressed in leather clothes that will last in the wind-driven sands of the apocalypse. S

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40 | March/April 2013

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BROOKE WAGGONER’S ORIGINATOR by Micah Haley

ouisiana native Brooke Waggoner has kept busy since the 2009 release of her album Go Easy Little Doves. In addition to playing piano on tour with Jack White, including a performance at the Grammy’s, Waggoner has produced albums for other musicians and scored several short films. For her new album Originator, Waggoner brings three years of energy, recorded in Nashville to tape with vintage gear. The album opener “Shiftshape” begins a delicate but textured dreamscape. Melodic and gentle, notes of nostalgia bubble up, with brass horns later building to a big band crescendo. “I caught a glimpse of the other side, where good and evil do collide,” she sings. “Rumble” features Waggoner’s characteristic upbeat elegance. An anthem for upstarts, she sings “Gonna find ways to make it happen,” and later, “When the moments right, you must strike. It is not a test, it’s a fight.” The song blooms into full-blown enthusiasm, daring even the most downtrodden to lift their heels and march. “Ink Slinger” mythologizes the writer’s plight, analogizing us penwielders as gunslingers. Though songwriters often begin with a tune before writing, like all writers they eventually have to sit before a blank

page to sift through language, proper and slang, in search of stories to tell. Fanciful and gentle with moment of boldness, Originator is truly original, and simply better than almost anything else you’ll stumble upon this year. Brooke Waggoner’s Originator is available everywhere on March 5, just prior to her performance at South by Southwest. S

THE POWER OF FEW OPENS IN THEATERS ACROSS LOUISIANA by Katianna Bear

film seven years in the making, shot in Louisiana and directed by Leone Marucci, The Power of Few is a time bending drama told from five different perspectives. The movie captures bits of urban crime and conspiracy and throws it directly at the audience. “I made this for an older audience. This is for eighteen and up: this isn’t popcorn,” says Marucci. “We have a thought provoking film that people will hopefully go and have a conversation about it.” Marucci wanted to show how powerful the choices of one person can be, affecting the lives of many others. While studying patterns in the media, the embryonic ideas for the film started churning in his mind. Can the news tell a story without a bias? Who has influence on a particular story? How do we perceive the same story differently? Marucci combined these ideas with nonlinear storytelling and got to work. “This has been a ‘do it yourself ’ project from day one. This is as independent as it gets,” he says. “No studio, no producer, nobody has ever stepped in. It’s been a learning process at every turn.” Marucci explains that each character in The Power of Few is unique. It took him years to assemble the cast to tell his story the way he envisioned. “Q’orianka Kilcher was the first piece of the puzzle, when she got involved, it legitimized the project.” Once she signed on, word

Marucci on location in New Orleans with actress Q’Orianka Kilcher

circulated through the different agencies. Then came Christopher Walken, Christian Slater, Anthony Anderson, Juvenile and Jesse Bradford. Marucci’s biggest challenge in casting was finding Fueisha, a young, fiery girl exposed to the truths of the world at an early age. It wasn’t until he arrived in Louisiana he found young New Orleans native, Tione Johnson. “She read original poetry and it was just perfect,” he said. The filmmaker financed the project independently, and will be releasing the film independently. “We have laid out a platform release,” says Marucci. “We’re starting in a few select markets [including Louisiana] and based on performance, we’re going to expand weekly. As theatres will take us and we show there is an audience for this, we will keep the ball rolling.” The Power of Few opens in Louisiana on March 1. S

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DJANGO UNCHAINED LEADS LOUISIANA FILMS AT THE 85TH ACADEMY AWARDS by Katianna Bear

ouisiana-shot films received a slew of nominations and brought home two Oscars from the 85 th Academy Awards, both for the historical fantasy piece Django Unchained. Visionary director Quentin Tarantino, well known for groundbreaking, controversial, violent and luxuriously lengthy films, snagged a Best Original Screenplay award for Django, an action/ drama about the brutal reality of slavery in the Antebellum South. After the big win, Tarantino said criticisms about his dialogue and the depiction of brutal violence in Django was, in fact, a good thing. “I wanted to actually start a conversation about slavery,” says Tarantino. Start a conversation he did. Some vocalized how much they hated the film, and others appreciated the exposure brought to the horrors of that time period. Regardless, it got people talking and that was exactly the intent of his Oscar-winning original screenplay. Although the film was supposed to take place in Mississippi, Louisiana served a more suitable state to film. “Louisiana in this instance helped us out because the plantations were actually kept in better shape. So, that’s why we went down there and shot,” says Tarantino, who also received an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for the second film he wrote and directed, Pulp Fiction. The Best Supporting Actor award went to Christoph Waltz, who portrayed the antebellum bounty hunter, Dr. King Schultz. Killing the enemy was no thing for the good doctor; a simple shrug, and on to the next one. However, his character was not evil. When his named was announced, Waltz seemed genuinely shocked by his win. After humbly accepting the award, he shared how appreciative he was to have even been considered in the same category as Alan Arkin, Robert De Niro, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Tommy Lee Jones. During Waltz’s press interview after the award show, he was asked when he realized during filming that there was something special about Django Unchained. “When I read the script for the first time,” says Waltz with certainty. “I know Quentin, and I read the pages more or less as they came out of the printer. Page by page, I realized something special was in the making.” Django was also nominated for Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Cinematography and Best Sound Editing. Beasts of the Southern Wild, filmed entirely in South Louisiana, was nominated in four different categories including Best Motion Picture, Best Director for Benh Zeitlin, Best Actress for nine year-old Quvenzhané Wallis and Best Adapted Screenplay. From Houma, Louisiana, Quvenzhané Wallis is the youngest actress to ever be nominated in her category. The starlet was just five years old when she tried out for the part and had to lie, saying she was six, to meet the age requirements.

44 | March/April 2013

Quentin Tarantino at the 85th Academy Awards

photo by Joe Klamar

The American Red Cross, in partnership with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, held an official Oscar Experience viewing party in New Orleans the night of the live broadcast. The Oscar viewing party and reception, sponsored by WGNO ABC New Orleans, Scene Magazine and others was complete with hors d’oeuvres, movie-themed cocktails and live music from local musicians. Guests watched the Academy Awards live from The Theatres at Canal Place. The Red Cross also put on a silent auction to raise money for their life-saving mission. S

ABOVE THE LINE

ASHLEY

BELL

haunts New Orleans

by Micah Haley

photos by Teddy Smith

few years ago, a tiny independent film with the innocuous working title Cotton was shot under the radar just outside of New Orleans. Upon its release in August 2010, the tiny film â&#x20AC;&#x201D; then retitled

The Last Exorcism â&#x20AC;&#x201D; topped the box office and thrust the previously

unknown Ashley Bell into the spotlight. Her performance was more than just the back-bending lynchpin tying together some cheap scares. The Last Exorcism was an excellent entry into the young history of found footage films, a sector of cinema that has grown from a gimmick into a genre. Ashley Bell soon returned to New Orleans to shoot the sequel, The Last Exorcism Part II. On the eve of its release in theatres on March 1, she spent a Saturday with Scene in New Orleans at the W New Orleans. With the hotel surrounded on all sides by Mardi Gras parades, we met for our second interview to discuss the horrific sequel, filming in New Orleans and how to train elephants with bananas. 46 | March/April 2013

ABOVE THE LINE

Style: Andi Eaton Hair: Courtney Bradberry Makeup: Tiffany Brown

www.scenelouisiana.com | 47

ABOVE THE LINE MH: It’s so great to speak with you again! I remember during our

first interview, The Last Exorcism was just about to come out and I was making some bold box office predictions that, luckily, ended up being fulfilled! The journey you’ve been on since then must have been incredible and exhausting! How are you holding up?

AB: It’s such a privilege to act, and to play a complex character like this!

MH: In the first film you were obviously a very important character, but in The Last Exorcism Part II you are front and center. After the first film was a success, when did you find out you were going to be the central character? AB: I guess a sequel was never anticipated – otherwise they wouldn’t

Nell Sweetzer is a part of, you and the rest of the cast spent basically the entire movie on a real plantation.

have called it The Last Exorcism! – But I truly think there never really is a “last exorcism” for the devil! Evil has no boundaries. Eli and Strike Entertainment began to talk about ideas. Because the first one did well, there was obviously interest in a second one. And I think they said, “Well, we won’t do a second one unless we can find a great story to tell.” This is a continuation of the first film. The character I play in the first one, Nell, was so vulnerable and so sheltered. This is taking that character out of the Sweetzer plantation and throwing her smack in the middle of Mardi Gras. Smack in the middle of New Orleans where there is temptation everywhere! And the devil tempts her. He so carefully plants friends and a love interest and kindness all around her, and then so methodically knocks one off and then another off. And you begin to ask, “What is this new world? Where is there doubt? Where are there questions? Is what’s happening real? Is it imagined? Is it a haunting? Is it a demon? Where is he coming from?” And the scares are huge, but it’s also fun and thrilling. It’s a totally different kind of possession film. The devil almost becomes a love interest for Nell. It’s very much a coming of age story with temptation.

AB: It was incredible. We were filming in New Orleans on an actual

MH: The now-iconic backbend that you did in the first film came

Earlier today, I was signing autographs and someone asked me, “Isn’t that too much? Isn’t your hand tired?” And I said, “I have friends from college who are still trying to get their SAG cards. This is the dream! These are the perks! This is the cherry on top!” I’m very grateful to be in this position.

MH: On the first film, you were really under the radar. What was it like to see this little movie explode into such a huge success?

AB: The first film was financed by Studio Canal. And when we came down and filmed it, it hadn’t yet been picked up by Lionsgate. Daniel Stamm, the director, so wanted it to be real and authentic to an actual documentary. There was no hair and makeup on set. Which was the scariest part of filming. Ha! I’m kidding of course!

MH: Like the religious family in the movie that your character

plantation. Of course, a setting like that could be recreated, but to actually be on a real plantation was amazing. You could actually smell the history. Stepping outside, the Spanish moss was actually hanging. It was humid, the cicadas would hum and buzz at night. It was just an incredible atmosphere to play off of while creating the Sweetzer family. Working with Louis Herthum, who is a New Orleans actor, was absolutely incredible, and we created a strong bond. I tried to listen to how he would speak and his mannerisms to add to Nell. The first film was shot for, I think, $1.2 million dollars and then the success it had was extraordinary. That so many people came out in droves to see it and support it…that was so humbling. And then I was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award and an MTV Award. It was incredible. It was one of the most amazing moments, when I movie hopped, to see so many people coming to support the film and talking about it. They are what made it a big success.

MH: What was it like interacting with the hardcore fans of horror?

AB: Interacting with the horror fans was absolutely the best!

There are no better fans than horror fans. They just embrace the genre. And also, working with a producer like Eli Roth takes this franchise to a whole different level. Eli is such a master of the genre. He’s a horror magician! He turns scary into truly terrifying. And because he knows the genre so well, he knows how to innovate. Which is why when the idea to create a sequel came up, Eli was able to create something new, original and so scary to one-up the first film. And the horror community embraces Eli, and they thankfully embraced the film as well! It was a wonderful family to be a part of.

48 | March/April 2013

out of your research. What was some of the preparation you did prior to filming the sequel?

AB: I was able to revive some of my preparation from the first film.

Definitely, the backbend was a huge part of the first film! I was researching exorcisms and possessions, and I saw some images of people being possessed and going through fits of hysteria. And I got really inspired by that, and I just tried it out on my own. On the night before the barn scene, the director of the first film, Daniel Stamm, asked me if I had any ideas. I said, “I can do this backbend.” And he said, “Ok, you stay right there. I’m going to change some things.” And I had no idea that would then become this iconic image! Going into the second film it was really important to me to one-up myself. I worked with Ed and Strike and Eli, and I said, “How can I do all my own physicality again?” And they found a way. This incredible levitating backbend! And I did everything all myself. I have the stress fracture to prove it! It was very important to do that physicality myself, and I trained a lot for it. Nell comes out of that first film with a ton of anxiety and post-traumatic stress with what she’s been through, and I wanted to achieve that look. That look of a cracked cup. She’s all broken and I had to put the pieces of Nell back together. But some pieces are missing. And in those missing pieces, that’s where the doubt comes in. That’s where the devil comes in. I wanted a little bit more of a gaunt look, a little more anxiety-ridden. And then obviously the strength training to pull off a back bend that huge.

MH: It’s great to know that practical ethos persisted into filming the sequel.

AB: Yes, definitely! And CBS Films, who is distributing the

film,

called

the

poster

image

ABOVE THE LINE

well!

MH: You took the backbend photo that is in the poster

for The Last Exorcism 2? That wasn’t taken from the film?

AB: I did take that photo! MH: Was this before or after your injury? AB: It was after, actually! Before that, I was feeling something in my

back, so I went to the doctor. They took a CT scan and they were like, “Well, you have a stress fracture in one of your lower vertebrae. Do you remember doing any hyper-contorting or gymnastics?” And I said, “Hmmm. Not really. Wait. This one thing comes to mind!”

MH: The sequel expands far past the rural setting of the first film into the city of New Orleans. Was there any historical research you did?

AB: Absolutely. It was interesting because for the character

of Nell, music was forbidden. Makeup was forbidden. Wearing anything revealing was forbidden. That was very much the religious background she had. That was the Louis Sweetzer character’s restrictions he put on her. So, in preparing to go into New Orleans, one of the scenes we actually filmed during Mardi Gras, and it was incredible to take Nell through Mardi Gras, where there’s music! You’re surrounded by music! And we filmed live with a guerilla crew in the middle of the parades! And I was standing there as Nell catching beads and touching feathers, touching costumes. We would walk down Frenchman Street and would be surrounded by people. They would be filming and music would be playing, I would get caught up in a circle of people. It was great! It was fun to just take Nell out of the Sweetzer compound, out of the farm, and just throw her right in the middle of craziness, of the utter excitement of an environment like Mardi Gras. I personally had done a lot of research about New Orleans, but as Nell, I wanted it to be like the first time, because there’s that childlike quality to Nell where everything is a first. I wanted everything to be fresh.

AB: My absolute favorite restaurant is Dick & Jenny’s! The

somewhere else?

producers took me there the first time around, and I just love that restaurant! There’s something very charming about it, just the Southern hospitality. And I love drinking out of those Ball canning jars. I actually went on eBay and ordered some of those to bring a little of New Orleans home with me. Last night, we went to Jacques-Imo’s, and actually the house we filmed in was right down the street from there. So, I was sitting there with my publicist and a whole parade charges through dinner. I love it! Everything shut down, people had whistles, they were throwing stuff to us. It was great!

AB: When we began to talk about a sequel, there was no

MH: That is more or less an average New Orleans dinner! I’ve

MH: Was there ever a consideration of shooting the sequel

other place to film than New Orleans. It was such a huge part of the first film, and it so influenced the characters. There was a decorum that needed to be maintained. One of my favorite days was filming on Frenchman Street during Mardi Gras. I actually did a backbend in the street in the middle of a parade. To have all of that going on was very special. The director Ed Gass-Donnelly was a huge fan of using the city of New Orleans, the beauty of the raw city, as a backdrop for the film. Being authentic to the city was very, very important. Also, in this film, there is a different exorcism that happens. A voodoo exorcism. So we went to a lot of different voodoo stores, and Ed bought voodoo stuff just to have around to have a different vibe going. It was very important to him to have an air of authenticity.

MH: What did you miss from the first film that you were looking forward to returning to?

heard that you are also working on a documentary. And that you love animals!

AB: I do! I’m born and raised vegetarian. I’ve always grown

up with rescue animals and rescue cats. And this documentary I’m working on is about a project I first heard of ten years ago. A very close friend of mine owns the Cambodian Wildlife Sanctuary. The documentary is about the rescue and transfer of two Asian logging elephants from an illegal logging facility on the Cambodian/Vietnam border, and their transport to the sanctuary. I was in Cambodia a few weeks ago and I got a chance to meet the elephants. And they are remarkable. They are so beautiful. It was so exciting because these elephants now don’t have to work anymore. When they first took them off of the trucks, they almost didn’t know what to do with themselves. They are so used to waking up and working while chained. Our first day of filming, we took them on a walk with Lek, this www.scenelouisiana.com | 49

ABOVE THE LINE woman who had rescued them. She was named a “Hero of Asia” in 2005 at one elephant’s eye and took photos with her iPhone. She sent the by Time Magazine. She rescues elephants and releases them into sanctuaries. picture back to the States, and someone looked at the photo, diagnosed We took them on a walk through it, and then put medication en the jungle that had no path. We route to Cambodia. There is started filming, and it was just this whole global group that incredible. I was in front of the is working to make a change. elephants, and I would set up the camera, put the tripod down MH: Do you have a name for and turn around. And these huge the documentary yet? elephants would be breaking through trees! Just approaching AB: Well, the working title is the camera, coming right up to Love and Bananas. me! It was so breathtaking to see them in their natural, raw MH: That is great! I love it! environment. And they were Are you a photographer? harmless. They wouldn’t hurt Are you shooting the anybody. It was remarkable. documentary? The mahouts are elephant Patrick Fabian, Louis Herthum and Ashley Bell in The Last Exorcism wranglers or guides. In the AB: I am learning to shoot! I’m United States, in zoos or in some circuses, and in logging, they use working with a production company called Change for Balance, and bullhooks: long sticks with two hooks. They use them to train the they do documentaries. Going there, I found out the story is much elephants. But in the sanctuary, Lek forbids the use of bullhooks. I asked, bigger than I had ever imagined. So we’re planning on cutting together “How do you control them?” And she said, “We don’t need bullhooks. It a teaser, going out to raise interest and then going back to finish it up. has been proven that you can train an elephant with bananas and love.” So, here we are going through the forest, and all the mahouts MH: Another film you shot recently is The Bounceback. have are a big bag of bananas. And they are guiding them through the forest with just bananas and their hands. It was really a AB: I am so proud of The Bounceback! It’s a romantic comedy, and it remarkable moment. There are other ways than cruelty. What I’m was really, really fun to do. Being embraced by the horror community most excited about with this documentary is that I think we have has been incredible, but much of my training at NYU, at Cambridge statements and videos and facts that haven’t been seen before. And University and also with the Groundlings in L.A. has been in comedy once people know them – once the truth is exposed about what it and improv. My mom was one of the founding members of the takes to break an elephant – the issue of elephant abuse will stop. Groundlings. To be cast in a romantic comedy was a wonderful There are no more wild Asian elephants left in Cambodia. opportunity to show that side of me. It’s a fun, raunchy comedy When you buy an elephant from a logging facility, it’s not like they and it’s cool! It just got in to South by Southwest [Film Festival]. can go out and buy another one. And even if they could, it takes about six to eight people to own one elephant. So, when you buy MH: Can you tell me about your character? one, the money is dispersed so far and wide, that none of them can buy another. So, we can stop this chain. We can stop the cruelty. AB: I play a character named “Kathy.” It’s almost like a three-person love triangle. I have broken up with my boyfriend, and I go back to MH: What are some of the things that an elephant would Austin to hang out with my best friend for the weekend. I put it on typically be asked to do in Cambodia? Facebook. My ex sees that I put it up on Facebook, and he freaks out, flies to Austin to meet up with his best friend to try to connect with AB: Well, these are logging elephants. Logging is illegal in parts me. His best friend is my best friend’s ex-boyfriend. And then two of Cambodia: it’s been banned. They can’t get tractors to the other love interests join in. It’s really a “love triangle” with six people. logging facilities, so they use an elephant as a tractor to pull these big trees, like teak, mahogany and rubber trees. I believe 75% MH: You also have Sparks coming out. of the rainforest has been cut down in Cambodia. We took a helicopter filming up over the land, and it’s just all been slashed AB: What’s cool about Sparks is that I play a superhero in that and burned. They do this to clear the land for pineapple trees. film named Lady Heavenly, who takes on like six big thugs at a The way the elephants are treated is terrible. time. Beforehand, I thought to myself, “How can someone my They use slingshots on their eyes to blind them to [small] size take on six guys like that?” Sure there’s movie magic, keep them focused. They shoot them in the eyes! but how can I take them on realistically? I looked into different styles of fighting, and I found Muay Thai, where the fighters are MH: Oh, that’s horrible. my size, give or take a few inches, and it’s just a lethal kind of fighting. I approached the director and I was like, “What do you AB: I know. In the group we went with, we had a veterinarian. She looked think about this style for the film? A bunch of Thai fighting 50 | March/April 2013

ABOVE THE LINE

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ABOVE THE LINE and spinning techniques?” He was like, “Yes. Absolutely.” They send me through this bootcamp to develop this style. And again, it was wonderful because I was allowed to do all my own stunts, all of my own physicality.

MH: It’s interesting to see your very physical performance in The Last Exorcism translate into demand for you as an actress in action movies.

AB: The Last Exorcism was incredible for me

because it opened up many doors. I’ve heard Eli Roth mention this as well: it’s almost like an experimental genre. Because as an actress, you are thrown into the most incredible parts of your imagination. You are thrown out of your comfort zone and so much is demanded of you physically and emotionally. It’s a dream role for an actress to be a part of because you are pushed to your limits, and that’s where things get creative and fun. The film I did right after The Last Exorcism was an action film called The Day, which was a post-apocalyptic story. They came to me and in the first meeting, they were like, “You are going to have to do all of your own physicality. You are going to have to work with a shotgun. You are going to have to drop weight. You are going to have to work in Canada where it’s twelve degrees! You are not going to want to do this!” And they were almost trying to talk me out of it! But I was like, “The challenge is on. Hell yes, I want to do this.” It was awesome to be able to again learn how to work with a stuntwoman to do my own physicality. The fact that horror has segued into action is so cool. To be a girl, my size, and to be playing strong female roles is everything I dreamed of when I had hopes of being an actress. The fact that horror is leading me into action is great. I grew up watching Alien and Tomb Raider and all of the Angelina Jolie and Kate Beckinsale action films.

MH: James Cameron’s female leads are obviously very strong in

all of his movies. The Terminator is often cited as one example of an action movie with a strong female lead. But it’s really more of gothic horror film than a pure action movie.

AB: I know! It does walk that line. MH: When you got the script for Sparks, did you read it… or did

career. You get to live all of these different lives, and learn all of these new skills that transform you.

MH: To promote The Last Exorcism Part

II, you rode on a float during a Mardi Gras parade. How was that experience?

AB: I had the best day ever! It was honestly so much fun. We filmed during Mardi Gras last year, and to come back and be on a float, and to have the poster on the float, and to have everyone screaming my name… I couldn’t throw beads fast enough!

MH: What kind of throws did they give you? AB: I had doubloons, I had some stuffed

animals, which elicited tremendous joy! I threw some blue beads! I threw my own beads, because people wanted them so badly. I took them off my own neck and threw them!

MH: If I was at this parade, and I’m trying to grab your attention, what’s going to get you to throw some beads my way?

AB: It was pretty crazy, because they had the poster and my

name on the side of the float. So all you had to do was scream my name. I wouldn’t get naked, but I definitely would throw you something! It was Sunday morning, everyone was out, and they were just screaming my name! It was crazy. It was truly an incredible feeling to be embraced by New Orleans like that.

MH: What did you wear? AB: They did let me wear my own clothes! I didn’t have to go in uniform. I wore a bright red top!

MH: It is fun to dress up though if you get the opportunity again. AB: I know! I was a little bummed out! Everyone was in a costume and

I was like, “I’m an actress...I want to be in a costume!” It was a frenzy, a never-ending celebration, and that’s what I’m learning New Orleans is know as! A never-ending party. It was truly the best workout of my life!

you just accept the role when you saw the character’s name is “Lady Heavenly?”

MH: It’s a little bit of a marathon. What was something that

AB: Hahaha! Yes, I did read the script! I loved it.

AB: Can I just say, “Everything?” Ha! I think just the atmosphere in

MH: Because I would have just thought, “I get to put that character’s name on IMDB? Sold.”

AB: Getting a chance to play a character with that name was definitely epic.

And I did another action movie called The Marine: Homefront. That was very raw action. I went to set, and cars are exploding, and 10,000 rounds were being shot in a day. We were filming on an abandoned ship that, two days later, got condemned. It’s fun! As an actress, you’re thrown into these environments that you would otherwise never be put in. It’s such a cool

52 | March/April 2013

surprised you about being on the float?

the air here was surprising to me. That’s what was so wonderful about filming in New Orleans. You just can’t help but feel the excitement in the air, the raw energy in the air. It’s so different than any other place in the world. To be fully in that space, and just let it take you wherever the electricity takes you. That’s the best part about being here. S

The Last Exorcism Part II opens in theaters everywhere on March 1. For more information on the Cambodian Wildlife Sanctuary and the making of Ashley Bell’s documentary, visit the official website at www.loveandbananas.com.

MUSIC |

join up for

JAZZ FEST 2013 by Jacob Peterman

ith warmer weather comes the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Though lesser fests borrow the name, the best jazz fest is still located at the Fair Grounds Race Course in Mid-City. The first weekend will kick off on Friday, April 26 with John Mayer, Dr. John, Sonny Landreth and Gary Clark, Jr., who returns to New Orleans after playing the Voodoo Experience last October. Saturday brings piano man Billy Joel, blues songstress Jill Scott, local Allen Toussaint, Ben Harper with bluesman Charlie Musselwhite, Andrew Bird, Cedric Watson and the Lost Bayou Ramblers, whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s music was recently featured in Beasts of the Southern Wild. And on Sunday, Dave Matthews Band, Earth, Wind & Fire, barbeque legend Kermit Ruffins, Better Than Ezra, Calexico, Kristin Diable and BB King, an eighty-seven year old blues legend whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still got it. Clark, Jr. Gary

Dave Matthews Band 54 | March/April 2013

Calexico

photo by Frank Maddocks

| MUSIC

Maroon 5

Broussard Mark

photo by Colin Lane

Mutemath

photo by Colin Gray

Billy Joel The second weekend starts early on Thursday, May 2 with Widespread Panic, Patti Smith, Kem and Roy Ayers. On Friday, Adam Levine and Maroon 5 take the stage, along with grassloving Grammy winner Willie Nelson & Family, Jimmy Cliff, Marc Broussard, Royal Teeth and songstress Maggie Koerner. On Saturday, Fleetwood Mac, Phoenix and Little Big Town come to town, along with Los Lobos, Mutemath, Terence Blanchard, The Power of Few star Tione Johnson, and New Orleans native Frank Ocean, who recently won his first Grammy.

www.scenelouisiana.com | 55

MUSIC |

Frank Ocean

Aaron Neville

photo by Sarah A. Friedman

Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite photo by Danny Clinch

And closing out Jazz Fest on Sunday, May 5 are The Black Keys, Daryl Hall and John Oates, Trombone Shorty, Irma Thomas, Aaron Neville, John Boutte and The Greyhawk Band. For tickets and a full schedule, visit www.nojazzfest.com. S 56 | March/April 2013

The Greyhawk Band

photo by Kim Welsh

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MUSIC |

A scene from Active Entertainment’s Arachnoquake scored by Smith

photo by Eliot Brasseaux

STARTING COMPOSED HOW ANDREW MORGAN SMITH IS CREATING A CAREER WITHOUT LEAVING HOME by Elizabeth Glauser

reating cinematic terror is difficult. Even with a good script, a talented actor and flawless CGI, selling a giant, fire breathing, albino spider seems impossible. As a composer, Andrew Morgan Smith’s role is to convince you that it is. Smith, a film composer based in Lafayette, Louisiana, has been tasked with scoring Active Entertainment’s slew of Syfy Channel original features that have premiered on the popular cable channel over the past two years. “If a scene is not working, it’s like, ‘Well, we’ve got to create this,’” says Smith. “We’ve got to make people feel as if this is happening.” Telling stories through the music of a film was not always part of the plan for Smith. “I was always aware of film music and I always really liked film music. But, I never thought of it as a career until the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie came out,” 58 | March/April 2013

says Smith. “For some reason, it was the right time, and it just really struck me. I thought, ‘Man, I’d really love to do that.’” Music has been ever present in Smith’s life, beginning with piano lessons from first to eighth grade and eventually evolving into his own funk band in high school. The band never quite made it out of Louisiana, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. “We played around. We did a show in New Orleans and we lost money just driving there,” says Smith. “I had sinus congestion from the smoke. The last summer that I did it, I spent more money on antibiotics treating sinus infections than I earned. I thought, ‘I can’t be doing this. I can’t afford this!’” After high school, Smith moved on to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, intending to forego music for a more mathematical kind of composition. “I had originally thought about going

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Andrew Morgan Smith photo by John Melancon www.scenelouisiana.com | 59

MUSIC |

Andrew Morgan Smith

into engineering, but the summer before I went in, I just felt like I needed to go into music. I didn’t feel right about doing engineering.” “Instead of going to Cabo or something for my senior trip, my dad and I went to see the Boston Pops play. John Williams conducted and Yo Yo Ma played Memoirs of a Geisha and James Earl Jones narrated part of the Star Wars saga, all to video. It was really cool. At times, it was crazy. They were sight reading it, and you could just watch the video and forget you were listening to a live group,” says Smith. “It was one of these really cool moments that all contributed to me in the end deciding that I didn’t feel right going into something else.” Studying music media at ULL, Smith was quickly a standout student, attending private lessons with professors, receiving critiques from USC’s composition professor Jack Smalley and being accepted into the prestigious Aspen Program, an experience often shared by Julliard students. The option of attending USC’s film composition school lingered as graduation loomed, but an opportunity arose with a Louisiana-based film and television production company. Active Entertainment has produced multiple Syfy Original Movies over the past few years, including titles like Miami Magma, Weather Wars and Swamp Shark. Smith first contacted them during his final year of college, sending in a demo CD of work he produced through school and the Aspen Program. “I get a phone call one day from a number I don’t recognize and it’s [Active Entertainment’s] Griff Furst. He’d just finished directing Swamp Shark. I remember being in Aspen and seeing 60 | March/April 2013

photo by John Melancon

Alessandra Torresani in American Horror House

photo by Eliot Brasseaux

a trailer for Swamp Shark and thinking, ‘I would give anything to do that movie,’” says Smith. “It may be a silly SyFy movie but I would give anything to do that. And it was shot in my backyard! Lo and behold, I get a phone call and it’s Griff.” After that fateful phone call, Smith was set to score Swamp

MUSIC | Shark. He was just shy of graduation. “I was left doing a movie - my first real, professional job while trying to do a senior recital while trying to finish up school,” says Smith. “I somehow managed to do it between not sleeping and not sleeping.” While working on Swamp Shark, it became evident that an additional certificate from USC wasn’t necessary when he was already a working composer. Now at only twenty-four, Smith is already an experienced professional without the help of a post-graduate degree. “I found out later that, a lot of the time, it’s about rising above the noise level. The white noise that everybody exudes.” Only a few years later, Smith is responsible for the music behind Arachnoquake, Horror High, American Horror House and more. He has also collaborated on projects internationally and served as a ghostwriter for multiple projects. “It’s pretty exciting to stop, look and say, ‘Okay, I’m twenty-four and I have two years of full time work under my belt. I have twenty projects listed.” As Louisiana’s film industry continues to thrive, so do the prospects for Smith’s career, with many post-production film services flocking to the state and setting up shop. “The biggest thing I’ve been trying to do is branch out more into the Louisiana film market. Just in the past month, so many people have contacted me about working more because they want to do everything completely here,” says Smith. “They want to completely score, post, everything in Louisiana. That’s one of the interesting things that’s really great to be part of. A new movement.” For now, Smith has Active Entertainment’s latest feature, Ghost Shark, to keep him busy. Listen for Smith’s original music in the film, out later this year. S

Scene from Arachnoquake

photo by Eliot Brasseaux

Scene from American Horror House photo by Eliot Brasseaux

62 | March/April 2013

Andrew Morgan Smith

photo by John Melancon

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irectors Kenny Morrison and Elizabeth Perrin bring their combined talents to the new niche of fashion film. Based in both New Orleans and New York, Beauté et Bête will soon premiere its first project, Desire Without End. Shot in the Marigny Opera House, the film is a classic fairy tale that intertwines style with the supernatural. Prior to the official premiere in New York in early April, a special screening will be held in New Orleans this March. For more information, visit www.beauteetbete.com. S

64 | March/April 2013

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SOUTHERN BELLE at last by Katianna Bear

photos by Jason Kruppa

ith family roots in Louisiana dating back to the 1700s, Laura Cayouette has finally returned home. The Django Unchained actress spent many years in Los Angeles developing her career with parts in films such as Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill, Tony Scott’s Enemy of the State and Sam Raimi’s For Love of the Game. On the eve of Django’s big night at the Academy Awards, Cayouette discussed her career, her co-stars and why she made the move to New Orleans. “I saw the opportunity to be happy,” she says. “I can finally do what I love somewhere else and I have always wanted to live in Louisiana. I’ve always wanted to live in New Orleans. The fact that I can do that and do what I love at the same time? It was just time to come.” Timing is on her side, as the continued growth of Louisiana’s film industry has paved the way for local talent. “This area is growing by leaps and bounds into absolutely one of the very best places to film in the nation,” says Cayouette, who also prefers the lifestyle in the South, a culture she connects with more than any other. “Everybody is weird. You just try and find the people that are the same kind of weird you are. This is where I am the same kind of weird as everybody else.” Even though Cayouette admits she would have made the 68 | March/April 2013

move regardless of the career opportunities, her choice of relocation couldn’t be better. “I am so impressed with how the city and the state has embraced the industry. It has built this incredible infrastructure that not only rivals what’s available elsewhere, but actually beats what’s available in lots of places.” Since her move, Cayouette has landed roles in Green Lantern, the HBO drama Treme, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and, of course, her latest success as Lara Lee CandieFitzwilly in director Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained. Cayouette met the infamous Tarantino around thirteen years ago and shortly after did the film Kill Bill with him. She explains Kill Bill as “one of those long and winding roads.” She was cast three separate times before her role as “Rocket” was locked in. “One thing that was evident to me by the end of that journey was that Quentin did everything in his power to make sure that I got to participate in that film and I am eternally grateful for that.” Cayouette and Tarantino worked on a few projects together over the next few years and later reconnected for Django. When she first got her hands on the script, she was not aware of what Tarantino had up his sleeve. “I had already read about half of the script before I got to

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Style: Andi Eaton Hair: Paul Eastin Makeup: Sasha Ahart Clothing: Time Warp Boutique Hats: Goorin Bros. Jewelry: Construct Shoes: CeCe Shoe

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LAURA CAYOUETTE ON LIVING IN LOUISIANA

I saw the opportunity to be happy. I can finally do what I love somewhere other than Los Angeles and I have always wanted to live in Louisiana.

the page where it says, ‘Lara Lee Candie-Fitzwilly, a forty-ish attractive, strawberry blonde, Southern belle.’ And I thought, ‘Hmm, that sounds familiar!'” she laughs, as Lara’s description fits her like a peach lace glove. “I wasn’t expecting to find myself in that script, or anything for me in the script. It’s not the kind of movie I would necessarily pop up in. But when I read that line, I got very excited about the possibilities.” Though she still had to audition for the role, it was very different than most auditions: Cayouette and Tarantino read lines together. Lara Lee Candie-Fitzwilly is the older sister to Calvin Candie, a wealthy plantation owner. After the passing of her husband, the widowed Lara Lee has returned to her childhood home to corule the roust with her brother. With the role of women limited by social conventions, most of her time is spent on vanity and hoping that her brother brings interesting guests to dinner. The first villainous role for DiCaprio, Calvin Candie lives a decadent lifestyle in Django Unchained, a cotton king and the owner of Candyland plantation, who often forces his slaves to fight to the death. DiCaprio has earned accolades for his ability to portray the brutal reality of slave owners in the American South. “Working with Leo is such a privilege,” says Cayouette. “Not since my first movie working with Shirley MacLain have I enjoyed watching a film actor perform live as much as I have enjoyed watching Leo. He is extraordinarily talented.” “There was a moment in the dining room scene where 70 | March/April 2013

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FASHION | he was going on, and then I hear somebody say ‘Laura, Laura, are you going to say your line?’ I was watching the movie, I was just captivated by him. He was thrilling to watch live, you just never know what you’re going to get next with him.” Cayouette also stars alongside Samuel L. Jackson, with whom she appeared in Kill Bill. Although Jackson is not introduced until the third act of Django, his presence is iconic, and he brought an energy to the entire cast. “He loves to improv, so you never know what you are going to get,” she says. “One of the toughest things about working with Sam is trying to not laugh if it’s not part of the scene. A lot of times, it’s okay to laugh, but there were times where it was difficult to hold back.” The positive energy from actors like Samuel L. Jackson, Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christoph Waltz and director Quentin Tarantino kept the set lively, regardless of the long hours. “Quentin is more in love with film than anybody I have ever met,” Cayouette continues. “The enthusiasm with which Quentin approaches every single day of work is infectious.” Tarantino is infamous for his lengthy movies and extravagant finales. Django most certainly does not break the mold. Even after he carved forty-five minutes out of the film to find a release-able runtime, the final cut clocked in at two hours and forty-five minutes long. Although some have surmised that the film suggests an incestuous relationship between the brother and sister, Cayouette says that was not something originally intended. Some of the material that was excised by the director further defined the roles between Lara Lee and Calvin. And Candie’s affectionate comments about his sister are attempts to show off what a great mate Lara Lee is to potential suitors dining at Candyland. Cayouette commends Tarantino for his creative ability to cut that amount of time out of the movie last minute and still have a cohesive, fluid storyline. “Quentin always knows exactly what he is doing,” says Cayouette, alluding that the lauded director was no doubt aware of the conclusions that would be drawn regarding the Candie siblings. As far as Ms. Lara Lee Candie-Fitzwilly’s most memorable exit, “I do my own stunts,” says Cayouette. Her departure is certainly worth seeing. Follow Laura's blog about her relocation to the Crescent City at www.lauracayouette.com. She has also recently written a book entitled Know Small Parts about the realities of working and surviving as an actor. It is available on Amazon, Kindle and at www.knowsmallparts.com. S

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PAMELA ALBA Five Photos

photography by Alicia Antoinette Back home visiting from New York, model Pamela Alba spent an afternoon with photographer Alicia Antoinette and stylist Ainsley Beeman.

Photos: Alicia Antoinette Style: Ainsley Beeman Hair: Nicole Meche Makeup: Tina Rodosta Clothes: Time Warp 74 | March/April 2013

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I have a great idea for a reality TV show. There’s no script for a reality TV show or documentary, so how do I protect my idea if I can’t copyright it?

You are correct in that an idea by itself is not copyrightable or protectable, but there are a few procedures I would suggest that will afford you some protection of a truly unique concept. First, I would suggest you write a treatment for the show. The treatment would then be protected under copyright law. As you may or may not know, copyright protection subsists from the moment of creation. This means that any work that meets the criteria of originality sufficient for copyright protection will be protected from the very moment that it is reduced to a tangible form. Writing a treatment of the potential reality show amounts to reducing that idea to a tangible form under copyright law. With that said, I would suggest that your treatment be very specific so as to protect your idea as opposed to something that is very generic and likely difficult to distinguish. The other step I would suggest you take is maintaining the confidentiality of your material. In doing so, you must maintain the information in a confidential manner at all times. Require any person to whom you are disclosing the material to sign a nondisclosure and non-circumvent agreement.

The non-disclosure agreement will require the other party to agree that: (a) the idea for the show is unique and valuable; (b) the idea is proprietary information created and owned by you; (c) the company/producer will keep the idea and information confidential; (d) the company/producer will not exploit the idea without your permission; and (e) if the company/producer does exploit the idea you will either be attached or compensated for their exploitation of the idea. It remains, however, critical that you are aware of what is considered confidential information and the factors that determine confidentiality. Rather than discuss what may be deemed confidential information, I believe it prudent to point out what is not considered confidential information. That material that is typically excluded includes: (a) material which you disclose to other parties in a non-confidential manner; (b) material which the company/producer can show that it developed independently of you; (c) material that has become publicly known; or (d) material that is public domain or not actually proprietary in nature such as clichéd stories, plots or concepts.

I would like to write a book and/or a screenplay about someone’s personal story. How do I get the so-called “life rights” to their story and what does that entail? What you need to create a work based on someone’s personal story while commonly called “life rights” is actually a series of rights and releases from liability. Generally, what you are looking to acquire is the following: (a) the right to portray that particular person’s life in whole or part; (b) the right to fictionalize or modify some portions of that story; (c) the right to use pseudonyms for people and places portrayed in the story; (d)

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license to any pre-existing works covering the story; and a covenant not to sue for such things as libel and defamation, invasion of privacy and similar causes of action. If you are pursuing such rights, it is vital that you engage an experienced entertainment attorney familiar with these types of agreements so that you are properly covered from any potential issues that may arise under such circumstances.

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IN THE MIX

The Side Effects of

MOVIEPASS by Micah Haley

ust shy of two years ago, a new company called MoviePass scheduled a test-run of its new business model in San Francisco. Netflix revolutionized movie rental by offering all-you-can-watch monthly pricing. MoviePass wanted to do the same thing for movies in theaters. It was just the kind of high concept pitch that the film industry loves. After failing to initially interest the studios and exhibitors of MoviePass’s merits, the new company attempted to assemble a small cadre of moviegoers. This pilot program would hopefully yield enough real-world data to interest the power brokers that be, proving that innovation was indeed in order. Oh, and AMC Theatres was finally on board, if only allowing six theaters in the Bay area to participate. It was a flop. MoviePass had contacted film bloggers and journalists, attempting to reach their core demographic of frequent moviegoers. But they also reached the studios and exhibitors who had already passed on the new project, including AMC, who was apparently unaware their theaters were participating, and they were not happy about being promoted as such. Respected film journalist Mike Fleming, Jr. of Deadline.com summed up the debacle like this: “That Moviepass counted six AMC theaters in its test run without actually getting clearance from that chain or from Landmark [Theatres], probably qualifies this as one of the most boneheaded stillborn launches in recent entertainment history.” I was disappointed to read of MoviePass’s misfortunes. Though they clearly tripped at the starting line, the company was at least trying to innovate in a sector of the entertainment economy not known for innovation. Theaters still make an enormous amount of money from the inflated prices of concessions, a tradition that dates back to Shakespeare. And I’m in MoviePass’s core demographic, consuming far more film than most could possibly fathom. 78 | March/April 2013

A few months ago, I signed up. After persisting through their early troubles, MoviePass is now in beta, available throughout most of the country. How did MoviePass overcome its issues with the studios and the exhibitors? Well, it didn’t. At least, not yet. By partnering with Discover Card, the newcomer was able to circumvent the necessity of partnering directly with theatrical chains. Moviepass users are now issued a red card that, to the exhibitors, is indistinguishable from any other Discover Card. It swipes the same, and pays the same ticket price. So, how does it work for the moviegoer? Though the flat monthly cost varies geographically, it averages about $29.99 a month. For that price, you can see almost as many movies as you want. There are some restrictions, and MoviePass definitely isn’t for everyone. For starters, only one movie can be seen per day. For those who have busy or inflexible schedules, or don’t live near a theater, it can be a challenge simply to get to the movies. It also makes it difficult to see limited engagement independent films, some of which are only in theaters for one week. Another drawback is that each movie can only be seen once. This puts a damper on things for those of us that see one movie two or three times (cough, not that I saw Les Miserables in theaters four times, cough). Another negative for some is that premium tickets are not covered, so that excludes 3D showings, IMAX and Cinemark’s premium XD experience. The positive for moviegoers is obvious. MoviePass offers an opportunity to see more movies for less money. And in this way, it is a real game changer. Traditionally, moviegoers have a financial incentive to see fewer films because admission is granted by paying a set price per ticket. The more movies you see, the more money it costs. But MoviePass inverts the economic incentive for moviegoers. Rather than paying a per ticket price, the total

IN THE MIX

How Does It Work? After signing up, you’ll receive a red MoviePass card in the mail.

Essentially a Discover credit card, it will work at any movie theatre where Discover is accepted. Though some early users have stated that they have had experiences where the card did not work, every theater I have used it at in Baton Rouge and New Orleans has accepted it without incident, whether paying at a kiosk or a pay window.

Install the MoviePass app on your smartphone. The MoviePass card will only work in conjunction with the app.

Before seeing a movie, browse movie times at your local theatre via the MoviePass app. It works very similar to Flixter or Fandango. Available show times will be displayed in red. Unavailable showtimes will be in grey. This includes earlier shows, as well as 3D and IMAX presentations, which are not included with MoviePass at this time. I decided to see the new Steven Soderbergh thriller Side Effects, which was showing at 10:10pm. I pressed the red button to reserve my ticket. This can be done from home, or on the walk from your car to the theater.

When you arrive at the theater, use the MoviePass app to “check-in” at the theater. This uses your smartphone’s GPS capability to activate your MoviePass card prior to a ticket purchase.

Once you have checked in successfully, you will get the go-ahead to purchase your ticket. The ticket must be purchased within thirty minutes of checking in.

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IN THE MIX

Rooney Mara and Channing Tatum in Side Effects

I recently used MoviePass to see the new Stephen Soderbergh film Side Effects. cost is held constant at $29.99 a month. And the per ticket cost plummets the more movies you see. At three movies a month, the average ticket price comes out to $10 a ticket, or about the same amount you would pay without MoviePass. At six movies a month, the average price drops to $5 a ticket, and so on. MoviePass can definitely affect the type of movie seen in theaters. Typically, visual and sound effects-heavy films will win out over independent films. But because the price per ticket goes down with each film seen, it’s cheaper than later renting it on demand, or waiting months to see if it surfaces on Netflix. And why not see a movie you would have otherwise never seen? I would have never watched Cirque du Soleil in a movie theater after having seen so many live performances, but with no additional cost and time to kill, I found myself "checking in" and sitting down. Though there are some drawbacks, MoviePass is still in the very early stages. All of these restrictions are early cost-controls for the company while they build a subscriber base. With more data and more customers to take back to content creators and exhibitors, the leverage MoviePass has will only increase. “What we saw was 64% of users increase going to the movies, and they increase their concessions by 123%,” says MoviePass CEO Stacy Spikes. An increase in attendance benefits content creators, and an increase in concessions greatly benefits the exhibitors. Admittedly, MoviePass is not for everyone. But even the willingness to experiment in ways that will benefit some consumers is a welcomed positive in the century-old business model of theatrical exhibition. For more information on MoviePass, visit www.moviepass.com. S 80 | March/April 2013

photo by Barry Wetcher

5 Facts About MoviePass How much is it?

The cost varies by city, but the average flat price is $29.99 per month. There is also an annual commitment, so if you want to cancel your service, an ETF fee will be charged. The ETF is waived in the first month of service.

Where will it work?

Any movie theatre that accepts Discover cards.

Will it work for any movie?

Currently, MoviePass will work for any 2D movie, including new releases and second run movies. It will not work for 3D, IMAX or other premium tickets.

Can I see more than one movie a day? No. There is a limit of one movie per day.

Can I see the same movie multiple times?

No. Each movie may only be seen once using MoviePass.

Can I bring a friend?

Currently, MoviePass only works on an individual basis, but the company has plans to add family and friends packages in the future.

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ON THE SCENE

Scene's NEW YEAR'S EVE 2013 at the Shaw Center photos by Mark St. James

On the eve of the New Year, Scene once again filled the The Shaw Center in downtown Baton Rouge to capacity. Featuring DJ The Real Steven and DJ Salamander, every nook of the steel and glass structure was filled with music. And at the end of the night, a special ticket package allowed patrons to walk across the street to crash on the plush pads at the HOTEL INDIGO.

A strictly held dress code is enforced at the entrance to the biggest New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s event in Baton Rouge.

Producer Jarred Coates 82 | March/April 2013

ON THE SCENE

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ON THE SCENE

Scene's NEW YEAR'S EVE 2013 at the Shaw Center photos by Mark St. James

Lights danced on the walls behind DJ SALAMANDER as footage from films shot in Louisiana and released in 2012 were projected onto the large theater wall.

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ON THE SCENE

The party within the party, a club was created within the Hartley Vey Theatre, a music venue within the Manship Theater. As the clock approached the witching hour, partygoers filled the club as DJ THE REAL STEVEN brought in the new year.

www.scenelouisiana.com | 85

ON THE SCENE

Scene's NEW YEAR'S EVE 2013 at the Shaw Center photos by Mark St. James

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ON THE SCENE

Scene's NEW YEAR'S EVE 2013 at the Shaw Center photos by Mark St. James

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Scene's NEW YEAR'S EVE 2013 at the Shaw Center photos by Mark St. James

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THE UNSCENE A Fiscal Affair In the odd years, the Louisiana Legislature convenes to focus on fiscal issues. Senators and representatives from across the state will travel on once-dirt roads, convening in a capitol building built by Huey Pierce Long. For forty-five days over two months, they will quarrel and comment on matters large and small, promoting moral and financial agendas. There is much at stake for the entertainment industry. Although the film incentive program is both stable and incredibly popular, both among politicians and their constituents, even a well-meaning, seemingly minor change in the current law governing any of the entertainment incentives could be fatal. Slight increases, slight decreases and other subtle changes create instability, and instability discourages investment. Though opponents of the entertainment incentives - who are no doubt proponents of another agenda - may accuse the filmmaking community of greed, their criticisms are unfounded. This time two years ago, ebullient legislators, thrilled with the success of Louisiana film, championed an increase in the current incentives. But it was the film industry itself who argued against it. Those who stood to immediately benefit from the proposed legislation turned down the cash grab as craven. They championed instead a different goal: steady long-term growth through stability. The 2013 session of the Louisiana legislature begins on Monday, April 8 at noon. Contact your legislators and express your support, not just for an industry that is exporting Louisiana culture to the world, but for a new sector of the economy. A sector that is spending money. A sector that is hiring. Final adjournment of the fiscal session will happen no later than June 6. Be wary of any proposals too lucractive or too obtuse. Seemingly harmless morality clauses might cause catastrophic damage. And don't think this is a process closed to the public. To the contrary: this is a process in service of the public. Call and email your senator and call your representative. Or better yet, just show up at the state capitol. You can walk right up and talk to them. And tell them they'd better listen. - The UnScene Writer Submit tips to unscene@scenelouisiana.com. Anonymity guaranteed.

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