Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Fassbender: NOLA-shot '12 Years a Slave' named opening-night selection of 2013 New Orleans Film Festival

Benedict Cumberbatch, left, and Chiwetel Ejifor star in director Steve McQueen's New Orleans-shot adaptation of 'Twelve Years a Slave.' (Jaap Buitendijk / Fox Searchlight)

Mike Scott, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

The 2013 New Orleans Film Festival will boast a decidedly local feel when it kicks off its 24th edition on Oct. 10. Director Steve McQueen's locally shot adaptation of "12 Years a Slave" -- starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Fassbender and Brad Pitt -- was named the festival's opening-night selection in an announcement this afternoon (Aug. 12).

McQueen's film, which will be screening more than a week before its limited theatrical release, will be the centerpiece of a red-carpet, opening-night event to be held at the newly renovated Civic Theater on O'Keefe Avenue. McQueen is expected to be among those in attendance.

The announcement was made this afternoon (Aug. 12) by the New Orleans Film Society, which organizes the annual eight-day celebration of film. At the same time, it was announced that director Lily Keber's music documentary "Bayou Maharajah: The Tragic Genius of James Booker" -- about the legendary local piano player / eccentric -- will be the film's closing-night selection.

Film Society Executive Director Jolene Pinder expressed special satisfaction that the films filling both prestigious slots have local roots, in addition to creating early buzz.


"Both of the films were produced in New Orleans and represent the burgeoning film scene in the city," Pinder was quoted as saying in a news release. "We are honored that the New Orleans Film Festival will be the premiere for both films. With these two films bookending the festival, we can showcase both larger productions now calling Louisiana home while also celebrating our indigenous filmmakers."


READ MORE HERE: http://www.nola.com/movies/index.ssf/2013/08/nola-shot_12_years_a_slave_nam.html

Alan Rickman: Isaac rains out all-star flick Last Updated: 12:09 AM, August 30, 2012 (NEW YORK POST)

Shooting on the big-budget Lee Daniels-directed movie “The Butler” was shut down in New Orleans as Hurricane Isaac barreled down on the Gulf on Tuesday evening, Page Six can exclusively reveal.

Cast and crew of the film — including Daniels, Cuba Gooding Jr., Alan Rickman, Oprah Winfrey, Robin Williams, Lenny Kravitz, Melissa Leo, Forest Whitaker and producer Hilary Shor — were evacuated to safe locations until the storm passes.

“Evacuating Louisiana. Hurricane Isaac please be gentle! Everyone be safe!” co-star Alex Pettyfer posted on his Twitter feed on Monday.


Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/isaac_rains_out_all_star_flick_vFKqHu7K66XrZMOOkwbJ6O

Hugh Laurie Gives Benaroya the New Orleans Blues by Michael van Baker on June 7, 2012 (THE SUN BREAK)

From the moment he strolled out onstage–no cane, unlike his House, M.D., character–Hugh Laurie had the Benaroya Hall audience firmly on his side, so it wasn’t really necessary, in a burst of Englishness, for him to soft-shoe over having the temerity to come before us to play music out of New Orleans’s history. (In another burst of Englishness, Laurie made this the first New Orleans blues concert I’d attended with a toast to the Queen in advance of her Diamond Jubilee.)

Laurie plays piano and guitar, but, he instructed the audience, the real musical thrills were going to come from the other musicians onstage: the Copper Bottom Band. They were the gleaming Rolls Royce and its throaty purr, he said, he was merely the hood ornament–throwing his arms back in the classic Spirit of Ecstasy pose.

If you missed the evening, Laurie’s New Orleans songbook can be found on CD; Let Them Talk contains many of the songs performed. I have to confess to rating his piano playing higher than his guitar, and both higher than his singing. It’s not that he has a terrible voice, but it isn’t suited to every one of these songs he clearly loves, and which often have been sung by the best.


READ MORE:  http://thesunbreak.com/2012/06/07/hugh-laurie-gives-benaroya-the-new-orleans-blues/