Mardi Gras Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Earlier this week I told you about a sex comedy called Hot Tub Time Machine that's in the works, and noted that the screenwriter, Jason Heald, wasn't listed on IMDB. "First-timer? Pseudonym? Typo?" I wrote. "If Mr. Heald is reading this, please contact us and tell us whether your screenplay is funny and why we should trust you."

Well, Mr. Heald was reading it, and contact us he did! With his permission, here's what he told us:

Here's some more casting news, courtesy of Variety:

First up is twenty-something comedian Dan Levy. He has worked under Bill & Ted's Alex Winter in television's Dirty Famous, and on the big screen side of things, we're about to see him play "Snooty Man" in The House Bunny. Now, on top of acting alongside a scary-looking (in the film) Anna Faris, Levy has nabbed a role in Mardi Gras. This is one of those Maxim flicks -- the one that already stars West from Heroes. So, this probably won't help his career, but at least he gets to party.

In an entirely different vein, Boris Kodjoe is signing on for another science fiction role. He's already completed a stint in Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (I wish I was kidding), and now he's picked up a role in Disney's sci-fi thriller called The Surrogates. This is NOT that flick where unsuspecting would-be parents pick an insane surrogate, but rather, the one that just got a creepy set photo. There is no word on who he'll play in the robotic flick.

Finally, there's a new gig for one of the sexy ladies from Grindhouse. Vanessa Ferlito has picked up a much less gruesome role in Tyler Perry's latest -- Madea Goes to Jail. She gets to play some woman named Donna. But that's not all that we can see her in. She's also got a gig in Humboldt Park and Julie & Julia on the way.

Although I'm from New Orleans and celebrated Mardi Gras annually throughout childhood, I knew little about Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama, except that they're very proud to have the oldest American Mardi Gras celebrations, since 1703. (They love to brag to New Orleanians about this.) Margaret Brown's latest documentary, The Order of Myths, showed me that New Orleans isn't the only city with racial issues rife in its Carnival festivities. The movie premiered at Sundance last month before making its way to SXSW.

The Order of Myths focuses on the 2007 Mardi Gras preparations in Mobile, which are blatantly divided by race. Most of the city's parade organizations are all-white; one integrated group founded in 2003, and has a single white member. Mobile has two separate sets of Mardi Gras royalty: a white king and queen (Max Bruckmann and Helen Meaher) and an African-American king and queen (Joseph Roberson and Stefannie Lucas). The movie alternates between the preparations for each side of the segregated Mardi Gras: the clothing designers for the royalty and their courts; the parties and luncheons; and the everyday lives of the people involved.

I grew up in the New Orleans area, so I can't resist movies set in that location, especially documentaries. The only problem is that I worry about seeing anything involving the term "post-Katrina" in a theater, because I'm always worried I'll end up in tears or enraged in public. Fortunately, Don't Eat the Baby: Adventures at Post-Katrina Mardi Gras kept me more amused than sad, but at the same time managed to accurately represent the problems that South Louisianians faced in the six months after the hurricane and ensuing floods.

Don't Eat the Baby focuses on the ways in which New Orleanians dealt with Mardi Gras in 2006. The city was devastated, with much of its population forced to live elsewhere, and for many people it seemed inappropriate to spend money and other resources on a big celebration. Still, the large parade organizations (called krewes) wanted to roll, the mayor and other politicians hoped that the festivities would draw tourism and thus bring needed revenue to local businesses, and many New Orleanians simply wanted to take a little time to forget about the bad things in their lives, and celebrate as they have done every year.

Although New Orleans is still recuperating from massive wind and flood damage wreaked during and after Katrina, Mardi Gras celebrations continue, as festive as ever. As usual, the celebrities chosen to ride on floats during the larger and more elaborate parades include some familiar Hollywood names. On Sunday night, actor James Gandolfini will be riding in the Bacchus parade. On Monday night at Orpheus, a newer parade that was founded by Harry Connick, Jr., you can see Connick and actress Patricia Clarkson (Good Night and Good Luck, All the King's Men). Connick's dad was the district attorney of New Orleans, and Clarkson's mom has been a New Orleans city council member.

Not only are stars riding on floats, but you never know who else might pop into the Big Easy, especially with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt having moved there recently. Our sister site Blogging New Orleans has composed a helpful (and very funny) guide of Mardi Gras essentials for visiting celebrities. Even if you're not a Hollywood star, if you're traveling to Fat Tuesday from California or New York, you might want to check out the list of what to bring. Personally, I give everyone the same advice for attending Mardi Gras in New Orleans: Wear comfy closed-toe shoes that you won't cry over if they get covered in trash, mud, stale beer, and unspeakable bodily fluids.

Despite the damage from Hurricane Katrina last year, New Orleanians are gearing up for Mardi Gras, perhaps with more enthusiasm than ever. If anyone needs a good party right now, it's the people on the Gulf Coast. Parades have already started; the larger, more elaborate New Orleans parades will roll next weekend through Tuesday, Feb. 28, which is Fat Tuesday.

Many big parades have traditionally featured celebrities as special marshals, waving atop a float and throwing a few beads. This year is no exception. Jim Belushi and Dan Ackroyd will ride in Endymion next Saturday night and will perform at the ball afterwards. Michael Keaton will ride in Bacchus on Sunday and Steven Seagal will ride on Monday night in Orpheus, the parade founded by Harry Connick, Jr. While you might not consider this year's celebrities to be A-list, they get big points for supporting the city. My own initial reaction was "Seagal? Why on earth?" until I found out he is a spokesman for Rebuilding Together, a nonprofit that is focusing a lot of energy in fixing up New Orleans. Now I think he's a fine choice.

And if that isn't enough celebrity action for Mardi Gras attendees, Britney Spears also plans to be in New Orleans on Fat Tuesday "with a special surprise." I don't even want to guess.