TV in New Orleans

There’s a lot of talk about all the movies filming in New Orleans but Louisiana is also home to many television shows from A&E’s Duck Dynasty to the CW’s Star-Crossed. This Sunday, HBO’s Treme returns for its 4th and final season. I have been blogging about the show since its inception in April 2010 when I first watched it playing on a bed sheet in a back yard in the Treme. We all squealed when we saw the very house we were sitting behind fly across the “screen” in an early scene. It was clear from the opening credits that this show would be for and about New Orleanians and their amazing resilience and unendurable trials after Katrina.

Saints in the Zone

The Saints are 3 and 0 and it feels good. After 2 nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat  last minute wins, this week was a welcome landslide victory over the Cardinals. Things started with a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem sung by my Django Unchained costar, Dana Gourrier. Storm predications led to lots of seats up for grabs so we got to watch from the 17th row – practically on the field. There were plenty of touchdowns and most of them were just yards away. Even quarterback Drew Brees made a touchdown.

Oscars in Hollywood South

When I was a kid, the Academy Awards was about dresses and hairdos. I was too young to have seen most of the movies and had no idea what sound design was or why it should get an award, but those dresses and hairdos and jewels and shoes had my full attention. By my 20’s, I had opinions about who should win and got excited when they picked one of my favorites (and I loved the dresses). A funny thing happened in my 30’s – I started noticing how many people I knew in the audience, how many I’d worked with, how many were friends. The Oscars became personal for me. Then movies I acted in got nominated and some won awards. I was thrilled but I never really thought I’d contributed in any way to that win. Tonight, as Best Screenplay winner Quentin Tarantino thanked the actors who bring his characters to life (and pretty much no one else), I felt like I personally contributed to an Oscar win.

Congo Square, Roadfood Fest, Mardi Gras Indians and Rebirth at d.b.a.

What a perfect weekend! March madness has begun and festival season is in full swing. Saturday was marked by perfect weather. It was warm and sunny with a constant balmy breeze. City Park hosted Hogs for the Cause, an all-day music fest benefitting children with brain cancer. We decided, instead, to stay in the French Quarter which was was hopping with activity. It was NOLA Pyrate Week  so, occasionally, you ended up waiting in line behind someone dressed as a pirate or seated next to a table full of them. We also crossed paths with a gathering group of hoop-skirted young ladies preparing for the Spring Fiesta parade.