New Orleans Film Fest

The New Orleans Film Society (NOFS) kicked off its 24th film fest last Thursday night with the premiere of 12 Years a Slave. For 2 years in a row, MovieMaker Magazine included the New Orleans Film Festival (NOFF) in its “Top 25 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee.” NOFS Executive Director Jolene Pinder should probably prepare for a 3rd inclusion in this honor. The fest has panels, outdoor screenings and plenty of brass bands along with a variety of premieres, many of which were filmed right here in Louisiana.

Irma Thomas, Khris Royal and DJ’ing on WWOZ

It’s impossible to attend all of the free music, festivals and cultural events in New Orleans, but I do what I can. This week, I got to D.J. at WWOZ, attend an Irma Thomas & the Professionals with Khris Royal & Dark Matter concert and watch a documentary on the Red Bull Street Kings battle-of-the-bands in 2010. Inspired by finally finding my pick for the new Saints touchdown theme song, Black and Gold, I called Jonny Ray of the New Orleans Movie Tours who has a regular time slot on WWOZ and asked if I could give the song it’s radio debut. I invited Phat Word, one of the masterminds behind Black and Gold and we spent the evening talking about everything from the definition of Jazz to behind-the-scenes stories of Django Unchained and Kill Bill.

Trombone Shorty and Second Harvest

September is Hunger Action Month and what better way to help those in need (1 in 6 households) than to eat, drink and celebrate great local music at Harvest the Music in Lafayette Park! All proceeds go to Second Harvest Food Bank. This week, New Breed Brass Band opened for Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue. New Breed is a brand new brass band of young men born and raised in New Orleans who play originals and covers of traditional NOLA favorites. They may be new to performing onstage but they sounded like pros as they got the crowd moving and primed us for Trombone Shorty’s first stop on his Say That to Say This concert tour. Shorty’s latest album dropped last week and has dominated on the Billboard contemporary jazz chart.

Django Unchained Screenings

Last week, I returned to Los Angeles for the premiere and cast & crew screening of Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained. I’d heard a lot about the film from various people who’d been to previous screenings there and in N.Y. and was very excited to finally celebrate all of our hard work. I play Leonardo DiCaprio’s sister, Lara Lee Candie-Fitzwilly, a hoop skirt-wearing southern belle who’s quick with a smile.