 This past weekend, the HBO Series TREME hosted a benefit to raise funds for three of the area’s nonprofit organizations. Specifically dealing with musicians here in the Crescent City, the gala, “ My Darlin’ New Orleans” took place on March 31st. In attendance at the event was the entire cast of the hit show, including local celebrities Wendall Pierce and Khandi Alexander. NOLA.com reports that “ the past two such events have raised more than $175,000 total to benefit organizations that provide support and safety-net services to the people who fuel the culture that the series spotlights.” The three charities selected this year were Sweet Home New Orleans, the New Orleans Musicians Clinic and The Roots of Music. Sweet Home New Orleans provides financial assistance to some of the area’s musicians, and the Clinic provides medical care. Roots of Music is an organization that makes after school music programming available to local kids- making sure that the tradition of New Orleans’ music lives on to the future generations. Aside from the fundraiser itself, there is no doubt that the HBO series has been good to our city. Particularly on rebuilding the culture here that was affected by the storm. Mobley, from Sweet Home New Orleans comments “It 's sort of a fascinating case, … I think that it has helped interest more people who could be part of the culture in becoming part of it. I think it's interested more people who are outsiders to learn more about it, to be engaged with it.” While we don’t yet know the dollar amount raised on Saturday, we can be sure that the television series did not disappoint! For the full story, please visit NOLA.com.
 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.
 Anthony Bourdain with actor Wendell Pierce in New Orleans It’s a side effect of Anthony Bourdain’s moonlighting on the “Treme” writing staff, but a tasty one. For Monday's (August 29) “No Reservations,” airing at 8 p.m. on the Travel Channel, Bourdain taps his new connections in the Crescent City and beyond to introduce his viewers – who are conditioned to expect the most exotic possible culinary destinations – to Linda Green’s ya ka mein and the transcendent fried chicken at Willie Mae’s Scotch House in New Orleans before heading into Cajun country.There, Bourdain hits Poche’s in Breaux Bridge, digs into a crawfish boil, and participates in a boucherie staged in Lakeview Park in Eunice.
Bourdain kicks off the boucherie, the hour’s centerpiece, by capping the hog of honor. On camera.
“It’s a uniquely American mix out there,” Bourdain said. “I’ll tell you, I was really surprised by the food. I knew it was going to be good. I knew about gumbo. I knew about crawfish boils. But I was really thrilled by the smothered dishes and slow stews. Those rich, deep, dark flavors they get going out there. I had a great time.”
Continue reading about Bourdain's Cajun experience as well as his writing experience on "Treme" at NOLA.com
 Members of the Treme costume design team As local viewers, we pick up on the outfits of choice mostly on a subconscious level, but they’re all very conscious decisions in the filming.
“No one should notice anything,” said Alonzo Wilson, the show’s lead costume designer. “If you passed these people walking down Canal Street, it should look like they just got up in the morning, went into their closets and threw something on.”
And they do. So much so that you may not have realized all the times the clothes furthered the story.
To recall those moments from a Perlis Mardi Gras rugby to a "Defend New Orleans" t-shirt visit NOLA.com
 “Treme” filming on location in New Orleans Celebrity sightings around New Orleans are becoming almost commonplace as the city attracts more and more film production business, and that must be a good thing. The chance of glimpsing a movie star on the street surely adds to New Orleans’ allure. But according to a recent report, the benefits of our rising star power go well beyond celebrity autographs.“Louisiana’s flagship incentive program has been a catalyst for substantial film production growth statewide,” consultant Cheryl Louise Baxter said in the report. During the period 2008-’10, about 92 films per year qualified for the tax incentives, almost triple the annual number that received the credits during the first six years of the program.
Baxter said that total spending by film producers in Louisiana also rose sharply during that same period, to a 2010 estimated total of $674 million. (Last year’s direct payroll spending by producers to Louisiana employees hit more than $5 million, according to the report.)
Among the Louisiana-shot feature films of 2010 were local productions that included the Mark Wahlberg and Kate Beckinsale thriller Contraband (set for a ’12 release), and the action comedy Red featuring Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren and Mary-Louise Parker.
Some 20 features currently under way in the state include the New Orleans productions Cogan’s Trade, starring part-time New Orleans resident Brad Pitt; 21 Jump Street, featuring Johnny Depp; and Medallion, starring Nicolas Cage.
Our burgeoning film industry is still in its youth and only beginning to establish its permanence with the studios, sound stages and support structure that help ensure long-term business and better jobs. Eventually, activity may expand to the point where it’s clear that we have a “real” local film industry. Until then, New Orleans may have to content itself with enjoying those celebrity sightings and knowing that our star is likely on the rise.
Continue reading at myneworleans.com
The Phillis Wheatley Elementary School has served the historic New Orleans African-American neighborhood of Tremé since it opened in 1955. Celebrated worldwide for its innovative, regionally-expressive modern design – the structure sustained moderate damage during the storms and levee breach of 2005. Although it is scheduled for demolition in Summer 2011, DOCOMOMO Louisiana is advocating for its restoration via adaptive reuse. A Plea For Modernism is narrated by actor Wendell Pierce (“The Wire”, “Treme”). (Evan Mather, U.S.A., 2011, 11:59)The Phillis Wheatley Elementary School is one of many other modern design structures from all over placed on the World Monuments Watch List. If the school is demolished this summer, it will be the first site on the list that died in our hands. Watch the video at www.handcraftedfilms.com to see the history and value of this school to New Orleans.
 Khandi Alexander of 'Treme' Khandi Alexander is the cat’s pajamas.” -- Eric Overmyer
For Khandi Alexander, ‘Treme’ represented another chance to work with David Simon. The two had first joined forces on ‘The Corner,’ an HBO miniseries based on a book David co-authored with Ed Burns. When David and Eric Overmyer were creating ‘Treme,’ they approached Khandi to play LaDonna Batiste-Williams, a mother, wife and bar owner whose fiery independence is being put to the test with this season’s plot twists.
Continue reading at the Treme Blog
The fifth episode of "Treme's" second season aired Sunday (May 22).
Here's HBO's semi-spoilery capsule:
Lt. Colson (David Morse) questions the quality of police investigations; Janette lands at Le Bernardin; Annie (Lucia Micarelli) tries composing; Aunt Mimi gets a track from rapper Mannie Fresh, while Davis discovers a new talent; Sofia lands an internship in Councilman Oliver Thomas’ office.
What did you think of the episode?
Tell us your thoughts in the Comments section.
 Treme has rarely had much interest in the big, dramatic scenes that make up the climaxes and important moments of the much of television.
I’m not saying it hasn’t had a couple such moments (spoiler removed), but it handled these moments as though they weren’t all that big.
Treme’s writers are not robbing these characters and scenes of significance; they’re just making sure nothing feels bigger than the wonderfully detailed and realistic universe they are a part of.
Continue Reading The Entire Review Of Treme - "On Your Way Down" By John Ryan
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