The continuous momentum of the Louisiana Entertainment industry has been a topic of local and national attention for the past 2 years- but now, it has even captured the notice of Forbes. The famous publication recently released an in-depth analysis of the success of the Hollywood south. Mentioning some of the more obvious specifics, such as the tax incentives and low cost of living, the article also discussed how the cultural community here in New Orleans is fueling the growth of this industry. Kotkin writes, “the Big Easy and the state of Louisiana have managed to turn the region’s creative energy into something of an economic driver”.  From artists, musicians, and actors, to special effects gurus and animators, the residents of NOLA provide directors and production teams a wide employee base without having to bring in outside talent. This, in turn, lowers costs and continues to add to the appeal of a LA shot picture.

The culture here, including history, food and architecture, has also attracted a great many celebrity residents. Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Saundra Bullock, Lawrence Fishbourne, Nicholas Cage and John Goodman have all purchased homes here in New Orleans- and frequently host celebrity guests. Many local actors are also making their break into the big time thanks to their proximity to the Hollywood South. Brett Lapeyrouse performed in locally-filmed “21 Jump Street” alongside Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill, and Madison Wolfe recently played the daughter of Will Ferrell in the new comedy “Dog Fight”. Both Lapeyrouse and Wolfe received training at the John Robert Powers Performing Arts Academy. Local resources, like JRP, are also seeing the benefits of this boom in our area’s entertainment industry. The experts are predicting that New Orleans may rival Los Angeles for the number of projects filmed, which would be an enormous spotlight on Louisiana.  This is exciting news for everyone here in Louisiana, not to mention everyone at Southern Celebrity Gossip.

For the full article, please visit Forbes online.

     New Sci-Fi flick “Ender’s Game” is all the talk in both Hollywood and Hollywood South. This movie, featuring Hugo’s Asa Butterfield, has been filming in and around New Orleans for the past month and seeks to recreate the epic adventures of the book on which it is based. In order to do so, the production team had to reach for the stars- literally. In order to realistically portray the grand scale of the setting, the cast and crew of “Ender’s Game” have been making use of the NASA sound stage. This area was previously used to build the actual space shuttles! The production team is keeping a pretty tight lid on what exactly this new picture requires such large set for, but it has everyone eagerly anticipating the film’s release. As if the setting and special effects weren’t enough, this new movie has recruited a long list of celebrated actors that shining an extra spotlight on New Orleans. In addition to Butterfield, the film has also cast Sir Ben Kingsley, Harrison Ford, and Viola Davis. So until the movie’s 2013 release, we’ll all just have to settle with spotting this fantastic cast around the Bayou.


For more on this story, visit MTV.com.

Here at Southern Celebrity Gossip we previously reported on the new Quentin Tarantino film that is shooting throughout Louisiana. In our older posts, we only had a snapshot of the plot for this new thriller. But it appears that the director himself has released a much more complete synopsis for this new flick! As previously mentioned, the story follows the title character, Django who is a former slave turned-bounty hunter as he tries to free his wife from the plantation on which she is incarcerated. But that sounds a little tame for the director who released "Inglorious Bastards", “Pulp Fiction”, as well as the “Kill Bill” movies. How about including a slave ranched called “Candyland” where slaves are trained to fight one another to the death? That’s a bit more like it!

Actor Kurt Russell will be playing the overseer who is responsible for training the inmates for battle, include Kerry Washington’s character, and Django’s wife, Broomhilda. The owner of the Candyland Plantation is the Academy Award-Nominee Leonardo DiCaprio. Leo is a new player to the Tarantino cast. Quentin, like many directors, has a habit of using the same actors in many of his films. This list includes Uma Thurman, Christopher Waltz, Tim Roth and Samuel L. Jackson. Tarantino has made a name for himself with his (almost) ridiculous plot lines and avant-garde direction, so we’re all anxious for how this plot line with translate onto the big screen.

For the complete synopsis, visit theguardian.com.

The 1989 film, “Steel Magnolias” depicts a group of women living through love and loss in the great state of Louisiana. The original movie cast a remarkable catalog of actresses including Sally Field, Julia Roberts, Dolly Parton, Daryl Hannah, Shirley MacLaine, and Olympia Dukakis. However, when the Lifetime Network had the opportunity to make a modern version of this iconic film, they jumped at the chance! The new version, which should premiere this year will feature an all African-American cast of equally fabulous talent. Actress and singer, Queen Latifah will take on the role of “M’Lynn”, with Alfre Woodard as “Ouiser”, Phylicia Rashad as “Clairee”, Grammy winner Jill Scott will be in the part of “Truvy”, Adepero Oduye will play “Annelle” and Condola Rashad will take on Roberts’ part of “Shelby”.  Sources are not certain if the film will still be set in Louisiana, but they are confident that it will shoot in Atlanta, GA.
       
Taking on the task of remaking such a famous, and favored film, poses many challenges. But the production staff for this film is equally as talented as the new cast. Sony Pictures Television will produce the new “Steel Magnolias”, and the movie will be executively produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (of "Chicago" and "Hairspray"), as well as actress Latifah. The three have worked together before on several projects and are hopeful to sustain their creative chemistry. Kenny Leon of "A Raisin in the Sun" will be consulting on the script as it is adapted for television.

This incredible talent and exciting new project has audiences and industry experts all anxious for its’ release. Helen Verno, Vice President of Movies and Miniseries at Sony Pictures Television even said that it is “an honor… to be revisiting the classic Sony film Steel Magnolias under the creative auspices of our producing partners…acclaimed director…and  team of brilliant actors.”

For more on this story, visit CNN Entertainment.

    Hollywood icon, Tom Cruise is making his way down to New Orleans to film a new sci-fi thriller this spring. Joining the cast will be local actress Melissa Leo, who was made famous by the HBO series “TREME” portraying the character, Toni Bernette. Before landing the role with Cruise, Leo was predominantly a television star having appeared in “Criminal Minds” and “Law and Order”. The actress is excited to join the cast for “Oblivion” which will be filmed mainly in Baton Rouge and the surrounding areas. The cast for this picture includes actors Morgan Freeman, Andrea Riseborough and Olga Kurylenko. Local actress, Lindsay Clift, will also be appearing in the picture playing the part of “young mother”. Clift is an active performer in New Orleans, and also is an acting coach at the John Robert Powers Performing Arts Academy. Joseph Kosinski is directing the film. Kosinski is best known for the
"TRON: Legacy", which features similar themes and aesthetics to the
much anticipated “Oblivion”.

For more on this story, visit NOLA.com.

 Recently, the Gambit reported on some of the more notable celebrity spottings of the week here in New Orleans. First, it appears that actor Leonardo DiCaprio was seen shopping at Saks 5th Avenue at Canal Place, and some are speculating that he may be staying at the Westin which is connected to the shopping center. Leo will be here throughout the filming of new movie, Django Unchained. Unchained director, Quentin Tarantino was later seen dining at the Freret Street spot, Ancora, Saturday night. Movie experts are not at all surprised with the directors choice in locale for this new film. The movie deals with tensions between a former-slave turned bounty hunter and his former plantation owner. The antebellum southern homes are a perfect setting to capture the essence of this story.  Unchained has also brought actor Samuel L. Jackson into the Crescent City, which Southern Celebrity Gossip reported on early this week. Joining Jackson and DiCaprio are actors Kurt Russell, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jamie Foxx, and Sacha Baron Cohen, who have yet to be spotted!

   The Gambit also referenced Sandra Bullock’s appearance at Super Saturday. It appears the beloved southern actress was taking in some of the sights as the Mardi Gras Indians took to the streets this past weekend. As the weather here in New Orleans gets warmer, our celebrity residents are soaking in that NOLA culture and Southern Celebrity Gossip is happy to report when they do. Stay tuned with us here, or visit the Gambit for more Hollywood South news.

New movie “On the Road” based off of the best-selling novel by Jack Kerouac filmed in Louisiana just last year. Shooting predominately in Amite, LA, directors brought an all star cast “on the road”. Leading in this picture are actors Sam Riley, Garrett Hedlund, Kristin Stewart, Amy Adams and Kirsten Dunst. As well as local talent! Making yet another film appearance is also the local young actress, Madison Wolfe. Madison previously worked in the movie “Re-Kill” before taking on the role of Dodie in “On the Road”, and Will Ferrell’s daughter in “Dog Fight”. Madison began as a student of the John Robert Powers Performing Arts Academy and has had tremendous success in the past few years.



While this the production team for “On the Road” has yet to announce a formal release date, the trailer and some great new pictures have leaked their way onto the media circuit. The image below shows actress Kristin Stewart, along with Madison, which is gaining national attention for the budding entertainment community here in Louisiana.

For more on this story, visit ontheflix.com, or you can watch the official trailer on youtube!

 Following in the footsteps of actor and comedian, Will Ferrell is Samuel L. Jackson. Jackson is schedule to read the player introductions at the Hornets game taking place on Thursday night. The Pulp Fiction star is New Orleans working on the newest Quentin Tarantino film “Django Unchained”. This film has also brought to town Hollywood heartthrob, Leonardo DiCaprio. In traditional Tarantino fashion, this film is filled with incredible actors in an intense premise. The Business Insider reports, “"With the help of his mentor, a slave-turned-bounty hunter sets out to rescue his wife from the brutal Calvin Candie, a Mississippi plantation owner." DiCaprio will be portraying the plantation owner, and this will be his first time working with the acclaimed director. No word yet on whether Leo will be gracing the Hornets with a cameo, but Jackson jumped at the chance.

 Will Ferrell’s appearance at the 80’s Night in the hive was a tremendous success, and more sportscasters were commenting on his introductions than on the game itself for almost a week! Let’s hope that Mr. Jackson can live up to the expectation that Ferrell created. Tune in on Thursday night for a chance to see yet another celebrity sighting here in NOLA!!

Actor and comedian Seth Rogan has been the center of attention in the entertainment industry with movies like “Knocked Up”, “Pineapple Express” and “Superbad”. But now the funnyman is trying on a whole new role- that of director. Having previously worked as a screenwriter for some of his better known films, Rogan feels prepared to take his creativity to the next stage in his career. Collaborating with Rogan for this screenplay is Evan Goldberg who is also co-directing the project. Goldberg is also credited as a writer for many other Rogan projects, including “The Green Hornet”, “Superbad”, and “Pineapple Express”. Joining this talented behind-the-scenes duo are actors Jonah Hill, James Franco, as well as actor-turned writer- turned producer- turned director- turned actor Seth Rogan. Most of these actors will be playing versions of themselves in the movie, which is set in a post-apocalyptic world. In this movie, the characters are barricaded in a house after the end of the world has occurred. Over the course of the movie the friends realize how little they like each other, as close-quarters turns into torture- not to mention hilarity! The movie will begin filming here in New Orleans this April in preparation for its 2013 release.

For more information, visit NOLA.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.