Many of the stars from the hit movie “The Help” were recently honored at the 2012 Academy Awards. Jessica Chastain and Viola Davis were both nominated, and actress Octavia Spencer even took home the Oscar! “The Help” which filmed in Mississippi, parts of Alabama and Florida won’t be Viola Davis’ last project here in the Gulf South. The Oscar-nominee has already signed on to appear in the new movie “Ender’s Game”.

This movie is scheduled to begin filming in New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana this month in preparation for its March 2013 release. Indie Wire reports that, “she'll be taking a solid role here, playing a psyschologist who oversees the children who are being trained, and develops games to test their skills.” So while Davis may not have landed the Academy Award, she did land a strong part in one of Hollywood South’s new pictures! Keep an eye out
for her and other stars, including Ben Kingsely and
Harrison Ford as they make their way to New Orleans for this film.

  There are many benefits to living in the Crescent City. There is Mardi Gras, live music, great food… just to name a few. But one of the other benefits of this great city is that we get, not just one, but TWO fashion weeks in the month of March! NOLA Fashion Week, which is organized by the New Orleans Fashion Council begins this week with fashion presentations, educational workshops, and a fashion market keeping anyone who is anyone ahead of the fashion curve. NOLA Fashion Week begins on Saturday, March 3rd and hosts events daily through the 10th of March and features designers such as Andrea Loest, Jolie and Elizabeth, and Blackout. For a complete schedule of their events, please visit NOLA Fashion Week’s official website.
    

At the end of March, just when the withdrawals from Crescent City Couture starts kicking in, Fashion Week New Orleans appears to satisfy your fashion craving once more! With 3 runway shows, as well as a special bridal feature, Fashion Week Nola highlights all the richness of NOLA’s wardrobe. The shows begin on March 21st and continue through the 24th. For more on this event, please visit their website. Designers for this event include Michele Marie, Libellule, and Dolce Cabo. 

  Be sure to stay with us here at Southern Celebrity Gossip as we report on the latest fashion news here in NOLA!

Two Louisiana directors have earned their 15 minutes of fame- and they managed to do it in just over 14! Authors William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg put together a short cartoon called “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” which has just received an academy award. The short, which is a production of Moonbot Studios in Shreveport tells a “magical story about the joy of books”.  Specific to the origin of this studio, the short also suggests a New Orleans theme. The main character, Morris Lessmore has his library destroyed in a Katrina-esque storm. Following the destruction, all of his books are replaced with an enchanted library of flying volumes. A brief clip of this short is available on Moonbot’s website. This special received the award for Best Animated Short Film, and has made the city of Shreveport, as well as the state of Louisiana very proud of the talent that we have here!

To watch the short in its entirety, visit youtube.com.

Don’t let the title “The Last Exorcism” fool you- because the creative team is already making plans for the sequel! That’s right, “The Last Exorcism II” is already in pre-production, with plans for a 2013 release date. Actress Ashley Bell is cast to revisit the role of Nell Sweetzer in this new addition in the Exorcist saga, however no other actors names have yet been released for this project. The Director will be Ed Gass-Donnelly who has been making a name for himself at various film festivals. This horror flick begins filming here in New Orleans this spring, and local casting directors have already been scouting local talent. Check back to Southern Celebrity Gossip for more updates about this project.

For more on this movie, visit NOLA.com.

As you are all very aware, the Carnival season has passed. But, while Mardi Gras may officially be over, but that doesn't mean the buzz has died down on the Celebrity Sitings! Over the past 4 or 5 days here in New Orleans stars from music, television and films have been parading around town decked in their very best costumes. Here are some pictures of the star-studded cast of this year's celebration for those of you that missed seeing it in person:

A new movie, “The Tomb” is set to begin filming here in Louisiana come springtime. This picture is bringing with it two of Hollywood’s biggest stars- literally! The famous muscle-men Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone are cast to star in this film. The two men will be portraying inmates in prison, who want to escape from that life. Stallone’s character is the brains behind the break-out, and Schwartzenegger plays “a complex inmate who fights to keep the prisoners from losing their humanity in their darkest hour as they struggle together to stay alive.” According to IMDB, Sylvester Stallone’s character is wrongfully incarcerated and forced to live in a prison that he himself designed. Hopefully things won’t get too “Rocky” as these two try to “Terminate” their stay in prison.

The movie is set to film in New Orleans and the surrounding areas in April of 2012 and is planning for a 2013 release. As always, for this and other stories about Hollywood South, stay with us at Southern Celebrity Gossip!

Actor Zach Galifianakis was spotted uptown rocking a brand new mustache. This star of the “Hangover” movies is usually seen with an iconic beard, but it seems that his new movie has given him a whole new appearance. Galifianakis has been here in New Orleans the past few months working on the new movie “Dog Fight”. This film features actors Will Ferrell, Dan Akroyd, as well as local talent Billy Slaughter and Madison Wolfe. It seems that following wrapping this picture, Zach treated himself to Magazine Street Shopping- and hopefully some of the Mardi Gras celebration!

But there may be more than King Cake in the actor’s future as rumors of a third “Hangover” movie are leaking out into the media. According to the Hollywood Reporter, there is “likely to be a third Hangover film with Zach and co-stars Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms likely to secure a reported $15 million pay deal”. Not a bad deal for another sure success! The first movie earned a “total worldwide gross of $467,416,722, making it the sixth highest grossing film of 2009.” Adding to that the $581,464,305 of the movie’s sequel makes the $15 million for each actor seem like a drop in the bucket!

For more on this story visit the Daily Mail.

  Actress, Patricia Clarkson has been acting in major motion pictures since she performed as Mrs. Eliot Ness in “The Untouchables” alongside Kevin Costner. Since this debut she has gone on to work on other projects including “Shutter Island”, “Simply Irresistible”, “The Green Mile”, and the hit television show “Frasier”.

Clarkson’s current project hits a little closer to home. The Washington Post reports that Patricia has just arrived in New Orleans in preparation for the Krewe of Muses which rolls tomorrow evening. Clarkson, a native of the Crescent City, will appear on one of the floats and is part of the ever-growing list of celebrity appearances for this year’s Mardi Gras. The actress was born here in Louisiana, before moving to Connecticut to pursue a degree in the Dramatic Arts from Yale University. She frequently returns to her hometown here in NOLA, and this is her second time participating in one of the   parades, having ridden in Orpheus in 2007.

Other celebs to be on the look-out as we get closer to Fat Tuesday are Will Ferrell (Bacchus), Hilary Swank, (Orpheus), Maroon 5 (Endymion), Brett Michaels & Cyndi Lauper (Orpheus), and Harry Connick Jr., who is also riding in Orpheus. Clarkson is being honored as the “EveryMuse” and the all-female Krewe is thrilled to have her participate. One member commented that “it’s wonderful that someone who has been so successful and such a public figure is willing to come back to New Orleans and share her city with the rest of the country.”

For more on this story, visit the Washington Post.

The New Orleans-shot historical-horror flick, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter will be hitting the big screen in June of 2012. But new images and a theatrical trailer have just been released! With period costumes, eerie music, and a title that includes the term “Vampire Hunter”, this new movie has audiences eager for its release- if for no other reason than to see what it is all about. It seems unusual that director Timur Bekmambetov decided to place the USA’s 16th president with the likes of the True Blood characters. But, it makes a little more sense once you learn that Tim Burton is producing the picture. Burton is known for his dark and bizarre films, including “Edward Scissorhands” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas”. Hopefully he, and maybe the influence of his wife- the equally extraordinary Helena Bonham Carter (“Fight Club”, “Alice in Wonderland”, “Harry Potter”), can pull this Vampire picture together!

Even from the trailer, this Southern Celebrity Gossiper is confused, and curious as to what exactly the plot of this new movie will be? Will it be a ridiculously unrealistic horror film, or a provocative merging of genres? Either way, it promises to feature much of Louisiana’s beautiful scenery! Check out the trailer for yourself on Nola.com.

The Rebirth Brass Band has been rocking the streets of New Orleans, with classics like “Feel Like Funkin’ It Up” and “Do Whatcha Wanna” since the late 1980’s. So for the 2012 Grammy Awards, it is about time that the group earned some recognition. At the recent Awards Ceremony, The Rebirth Brass Band’s new album, “The Rebirth of New Orleans” was named the Best Regional Roots Album on Sunday, February 12th.

The band was founded by New Orleans’ musicians Kermit Ruffins, Phil Frazier, and Keith Frazier. Ruffins has since gone on to found his own band “The BBQ Swingers” which performed at the Joy Theatre for New Year’s Eve. Frazier was beside himself with the win. He commented that, “it’s like New Orleans winning the Super Bowl all over again”. The band has a performance book in L.A. this week, but will be home in time for the usually Tuesday night show at the Maple Leaf. You can hear their music in HBO's hit series, TREME, as well as here in the Crescent City!

For more on this story, visit NOLA.com.