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.

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:

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.

Actor Mark Ruffalo has been in the Crescent City for the past few weeks working on the new film “Now You See Me”. In this flick, he plays opposite Woody Harrelson, Morgan Freeman, and Isla Fisher in a crime drama centered around magicians. Ruffalo, who is best known for his performances in “Shutter Island” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” is also working on a new movie with Scarlett Johansson titled “Can a Song Save Your Life?”.

Amidst all of this filming, Mark took a break this weekend to take in some of the Mardi Gras cheer here in New Orleans! Celebrity Baby Scoop is happy to report that Mark, his wife Sunrise, and their kids Keen, Bella and Odette took in some of the parade- and definitely took home some of the throws! The Scoop shows the kids decked out with beads, clearly enjoying a good time with mom and dad.

For more pictures, visit Celebrity Baby Scoop.

We previously reported that musicians Cyndi Lauper and Bret Michaels were to ride in the Krewe of Orpheus. Since that time, more stars have followed the lead of these rocking celebrity monarchs! Louisiana local Harry Connick Jr., along with actresses Hilary Swank and Mariska Hargitay will also be joining in the parade. Swank is best known for her Academy Award winning performance in “Million Dollar Baby”, but also acted alongside Connick in the 2007 film, “P.S. I Love You”. Hargitay has also acted with Harry Connick Jr. during her television series “Law and Order: SVU” where she portrays detective Olivia Benson. But Mariska isn’t the only television star in the Krewe of Orpheus!  Sarah Hyland from “Modern Family” will also be in Orpheus along with her boyfriend, not to mention "High School Musical 3" sensation, Matt Prokop.

   
    Harry Connick Jr. co-founded this particular parade which gets it’s name from the god of music in mythology. The krewe rolls on Lundi Gras, which is the 20th of February this year. Stay with us and we’ll keep you posted about all of the other celebrities heading to NOLA for carnival!

For more on this Krewe, visit their official website.

_ Actor Will Ferrell has been causing quite a stir in the NOLA scene since his arrival for the filming of new movie, Dog Fight. This movie, as previously described, is a comedic political-satire full of Ferrell’s trademark slapstick. The film has been shooting in various locations throughout New Orleans, even closing more than one famous restaurant for indoor scenes. Dog Fight is also featuring local actors, including Billy Slaughter, who teaches at John Robert Powers New Orleans, and Madison Wolfe who is a JRP student.

  But it isn’t just the film community that is buzzing about this new semi-resident, but also the Mardi Gras Krewes! Specifically, the Krewe of Bacchus has dubbed this Hollywood icon as the parade’s namesake for the 2012 Carnival! The parade of Bacchus rolls on the 19th of February and will be donning one, very festive Will Ferrell. Executive director, Owen Brennan III, guaranteed the community that Ferrell has “promised us that he will be a very enthusiastic Bacchus 44”. And why shouldn’t he be? This particular Krewe has a habit of electing master comedians to reign as Bacchus. In years past, Bacchus has included Drew Carey, Bob Hope, and Billy Crystal.

So it seems that Will Ferrell is just as happy to be here in New Orleans as New Orleans is happy to have him here! Brennan also made a point to mention that Will Ferrell plans to “eat his way through” the city while he’s here. This gossiper is certain that this town can hold him to that plan!

For more about this story, read the full article through nola.com

The parade organizers for Orpheus have just released the names of their celebrity monarchs, and we’re pretty sure you’ve heard of them. That’s right, Bret Michaels of the rock band Poison, and 80’s icon Cyndi Lauper will be rolling in 2012’s Carnival! Because, let’s face it… both guys and girls just want to have fun.

The Krewe of Orpheus wanted this year’s celebrity monarchs to reflect the theme of the parade. According to myth, Orpheus was the son of Calliope and Apollo and was the “greatest musician and poet of [the] Greek”. In honor of this muse, the Krewe selected Michaels and Lauper as the modern idols of this mythic tale. New Orleans is happy to have such a popular pair join us for Mardi Gras, and enjoy the festivities leading up to the big day. Orpheus begins at 6:00 p.m. uptown on the 20th of February.

Previous monarchs of this parade include, Lawrence Fishburne, Whoopi Goldberg, Saundra Bullock, Stevie Wonder and James Brown. For more information about this, and all other parades, visit the official Mardi Gras website!

  Everywhere else in the country, people are preparing Halloween costumes and making their Thanksgiving plans. But here in New Orleans, fall is the time to finalize the celebrity appearances for the upcoming Mardi Gras! Southern Celebrity Gossip is happy to report that the 2012 Endymion Parade will feature the hot musical sensation, Maroon 5.

This Grammy Award-winning band is known for pop-rock tunes such as “She Will Be Loved”, “Sunday Morning” and “If I Never See Your Face Again”.  The band is thrilled to be part of such a memorable celebration unique to New Orleans. Endymion is the largest parade of Carnival and was dubbed a “Super Krewe” in 1974 because of its size. The krewe begins its route uptown and ends at the Superdome for the “Endymion Extravaganza!”. The Extravaganza features food, fun and live entertainment. The parade officials are remaining pretty hush-hush about the live performances for 2012. But this Southern Celebrity Gossiper is keeping fingers-crossed for Maroon 5!

 The less-than-perfect 2011 parade included CNN and CBS anchorman, Anderson Cooper. Cooper will be participating in this year’s Endymion as well, despite last year’s bad weather! Everyone is hopeful that the parade will run more smoothly than it did in 2011. Because of the weather, the Krewe had to change time and route, and was forced to move the “Extravaganza” to the Convention Center. The 2012 officials are staying optimistic, and like our Saints, this Krewe is happy to return to the dome!

 You can learn more about this parade, and all the other Krewes through the official Mardi Gras website.