Tchoupitoulas, the Movie

After moderating the cast Q&A for Beasts of the Southern Wild last Thursday in Baton Rouge, I got to see the next offering from the gang at Court 13, Tchoupitoulas (pronounced roughly chop-a-too-less). Tchoupitoulas centers on 3 young boys who venture across the Mississippi for a night in downtown New Orleans. Court 13 is an independent filmmaking collective founded in 2004 in New York. They moved to New Orleans in late 2006 and seem to be making a mission of making movies that could only be made here in Louisiana. 

The Dude in Baton Rouge

It takes stamina to hang with the Dude, stamina and good hearing. A marvel and a mumbler, Jeff “the Dude” Dowd, the inspiration for the Jeff Bridges character in The Big Lebowski, draws people in wherever he goes and can out-party people a third his age. Last week, he leant his considerable knowledge and marketing to help kickstart a new film festival in Baton Rouge, the Louisiana International Film Festival. The Dude helped launch a little festival known as Sundance years ago. 

5th day and Treme finale

I was hoping to keep things light for a tleast a week while recapping my wonderful visit with family, but I have to say some things. BP is burning endangered turtles. They know it, they’ve been told not to and they continue. The FEMA trailers, yes the ones with the formaldehyde, are back – this time being used for clean-up workers. Just as well since they’re not given respiration protection at work anyway. No small wonder that the average Valdez clean-up worker died at the age of 51.  AND, the U.S. government has now made a rule saying that no one, including reporters, is allowed within 65 feet of any response vehicle or boom on water or on beaches.