LABORS OF LOVE
BY KASEY BUBNASH Staff writer
It might sound glamorous to powder the noses of A-list celebrities like Michael B. Jordan and Hailee Steinfeld or to work closely on set with renowned Hollywood composer Ludwig Göransson. But for the crew members who worked long hours behind the camera in south Louisiana’s sweltering swamps and sugar cane fields, the making of “Sinners” was a labor of love.
“The hours, the locations, getting bit up by chiggers, overnights in Braithwaite in July, in June — it’s just not for the faint of heart,” makeup artist Allison LaCour said. “It’s just very unglamorous, and there’s so much that goes on behind the scenes to make something look so beautiful on screen.”
But the hard work paid off. Earlier this year, “Sinners” was nominated for 16 Academy Awards, making it the most nominated film in history and beating out the previous record held by “Titanic,” “La La Land” and “All About Eve.”
The nominations span departments, a nod to both the film’s star-studded cast and crew, many
years, Louisiana’s local film industry still has what it takes to make award-winning movies.
“I hope that it encourages filmmakers to not only come here, but know that there are so many incredibly talented artists here who bring skill, we bring care, we bring a cultural understanding of the work, and just knowing that that level of craftsman ship is here,” LaCour said. “We’re here as talent and we make Oscar-nominated films.”
Craftsmanship on display
of whom are Louisiana locals who helped bring the movie’s juke joint sets, ’30s-era costumes and Mississippi Delta blues music to life To LaCour, a New Orleans native who has been doing makeup for the past two decades, the record-breaking roster of nominations is proof that, despite facing headwinds in recent
LaCour knew “Sinners” was going to be something special when she got the first call from makeup designer Sián Richards, a British artist known for her advocacy work in the beauty and film industries. Richards told LaCour she might have a project for her in Louisiana, and LaCour, who had heard rumors of an untitled Ryan Coogler film coming to shoot in the area, pretty quickly put two and two together
This was in 2024, and LaCour said “Sinners” was one of the few
Why is Gram Parsons buried in N.O.?
BY RACHEL MIPRO
writer
UHLENBROCK/ST LOUIS POST-DISPATCH/MCT A makeshift memorial to Gram Parsons is in the courtyard of the Joshua Tree Inn, where he died.
PROVIDED BY WARNER BROTHERS
Ryan Coogler directs Delroy Lindo and Michael B. Jordan in ‘Sinners.
PROVIDED BY ALLISON LACOUR
New Orleans artist Allison LaCour does actress Wunmi Mosaku’s makeup on the set of ‘Sinners.’
Secrets may fill the house, but it’s the myth that matters
BY PAUL CLIFTON
Contributing writer
The little house sits in the middle of the block.
Three decaying and skeletal water oaks, malevolent house crushers-in-waiting, line the front yard
Human Condition
A side porch canopy leans toward the street, the support columns rotting and shedding paint, mosscovered shingles atop the structure in shreds.
Saplings peek out from rusted gutters running along the front of the house; vines stretch across the fading stucco sides, the crusty tendril remnants appearing as tiny, abandoned railroad tracks running southwest to northeast, disappearing beneath the leaves Two of the front windows have been replaced with water-stained plywood sheeting; the fascia boards are slowly succumbing to gravity Cardboard boxes and plastic
bins are stacked behind another cracked front window A screen door, loose from its top hinge, hangs at a slight angle at the front door, the metal mesh blown out at the bottom Mail is stuffed in the box by the door and a couple of
Amazon boxes lie on the cracked steps. Otherwise, there are no other signs of activity — no cars parked in the drive or out by the street, no one ever working in the yard, no lights at night, no movement.
Miley Cyrus transforms back into Hannah Montana for 20th anniversary special
BY KATIE SIMONS Los Angeles Times (TNS)
LOS ANGELES Miley Cyrus is proving you can always find your way back home.
The singer talks about her time as Hannah Montana in the trailer for the upcoming “Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary” special.
In the Disney show, Cyrus played Miley Stewart, a high school student by day who would don a blond wig and become pop star Hannah Montana at night.
In the sneak peek, Cyrus wears a Hannah Montana-style outfit and visits sets re-created from the original show — including the Stewart family living room and Hannah’s rotating closet — saying, “I’m already getting emotional.” Alex Cooper, host of the popular podcast “Call Her Daddy,” tells Cyrus, “This show defined a generation.” Cooper will moderate the special, which will be released March 24 on Disney+, exactly 20 years after the show premiered on Disney Channel, where it aired for four seasons.
In the trailer, Cyrus is also seen dancing with her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, who played her dad on the show, and looking through a photo album with her mother,
CONTEST
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n Any style of cookie — cut, roll, drop or bar — may be entered in the contest, but the cookie must be homemade.
n The cookie should be made from scratch without relying on ready-made cookie dough or mixes.
n On contest day, bring two dozen cookies in a disposable container to The Advocate’s Cookie Contest at the Baker Fair at 2 p.m. on April 12 at the Main Library at Goodwood.
AT RANDOM
Continued from page 1G
Tish Cyrus. When the special was announced in February, Cyrus explained in a press release that this was her way of “celebrating and thanking the fans” who have supported her over the last 20 years.
‘“Hannah Montana’ will always be a part of who I am. What started as a TV show became a shared experience that shaped my life and the lives of so many fans, and I’ll always be thankful for that connection,” said Cyrus. “The fact that it still means so much to people all these years later is something I’m very proud of.”
Disney teased that the special will include previously unreleased archival footage, while revisiting the show’s most memorable music and moments.
“‘Hannah Montana’ opened the door for so many fans to dream big, sing loud and embrace every side of themselves, which is why its legacy continues to shine across generations,” Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television, said in a press statement “Partnering with Miley on this special is a dream, and we want it to be a love letter to the fans, who remain as passionate today as they were when the series debuted almost 20 years ago.”
n Each cookie entry container must be clearly labeled TWICE (on top AND on bottom) Labels must be taped to top cover and bottom of container and include name of cookies, baker’s name, address and phone number on a 3” x 5” index card or similar-size piece of paper
n Each cookie entry must be accompanied by its recipe, printed or typed on an 8.5” x 11” piece of paper that will be turned into the contest administrator when the cookies are delivered on the day of the contest The baker’s name, address and phone number should be included on the recipe.
Who’s inside those walls? A participant in the witness protection program? Perhaps there is a writer at a door-and-cinder-block desk piled with manuscripts and scribbled notes and ashtrays and half-empty bourbon bottles pounding away on an old Underwood typewriter, stringing together sentences with elan, words that may well resonate (or not); an unpublished Salinger or Harper Lee quietly chasing their own white whale. Or maybe an artist lives there in preferred seclusion, sculpting or painting in untested media, creating beauty that will only be experienced by an audience of one. Perhaps it’s a musician doing their Brian Wilson thing, or an international spy, retired from postings in Belarus by way of Bangkok and Bahrain. They’re ignoring the phone, relying upon complete anonymity They’re self-exiled in south Baton Rouge, ordering meals for home delivery and paying in cash.
‘SINNERS’
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projects in the area following Hollywood actors’ and writers’ strikes in 2023.
LaCour hasn’t always had to look so hard for work. She came up in the golden age of Louisiana’s Hollywood South after moving back home to New Orleans in 2013. That year more major-studio productions were shot in Louisiana than in California.
She’s worked on the sets of countless commercials, movies and TV shows, including Beyoncé’s visual album “Lemonade,” director RaMell Ross’ Jim Crow-era drama “Nickel Boys,” and horror series “The Purge.”
But, like elsewhere across the nation, Louisiana’s film industry hit production obstacles in the form of streaming services, changing audience habits, the coronavirus pandemic and union strikes.
So, after suffering a serious slump in work, LaCour hypothesized that maybe local crews felt like they had something to prove when they started filming “Sinners.”
LaCour got to work pulling together her team in the spring of 2024, a roster made up almost entirely of local makeup artists. As the key makeup artist on the project, LaCour and artist Lana Mora were responsible for the film’s principal cast.
LaCour herself handled actress Wunmi Mosaku, who is also up for an Oscar for her portrayal of Hoodoo practitioner and spiritual leader Annie.
LaCour said the film’s interior juke joint scenes were filmed at Second Line Stages in the Lower Garden District. The rest was filmed outside in the swamps and towns of St. Bernard Parish, Bogalusa, Napoleonville, Thibodaux and Donaldsonville. Even while battling the bugs and summer heat, LaCour said her team stayed constantly focused on Coogler’s vision.
When she heard the makeup team had been nominated for an Academy Award, LaCour said she
CURIOUS
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1958, Snively remarried Louisi-
ana native Bob Parsons. Many in the family worried Parsons was just after the family money Jason Walker chronicled the marriage in his biography “Gram Parsons: God’s Own Singer.” Walker described him as “the very image of the Errol Flynnesque playboy,” and as a “sharp dresser with a smooth tongue.”
Ben Fong-Torres offers a similar account in “Hickory Wind: The Life and Times of Gram Parsons.” “Parsons had one transparent goal,” Fong-Torres wrote, “to get his hands on as much Snively money as he could.” Shortly after the marriage, Parsons legally adopted the two siblings. Ingram Cecil Connor III became Gram Parsons. The two had a complicated relationship. Avis died of problems related to excessive drinking when Gram was in high school, leaving Parsons as the sole guardian to Little Avis, Gram and half-sister Diane. Parsons married the nanny and moved to New Orleans with Little Avis. By 1970, he had committed a pregnant Little Avis to DePaul Hospital.
Perhaps there is a darker scenario? Someone scribbling a twisted manifesto on napkins and paper scraps, railing against songbirds that are in reality(?) spies, or the mind control properties of Spam, or how to bring back the gold standard. Or is it just simply a lost soul?
If you live in an older neighborhood, perhaps there are houses such as these in your midst, forlorn and mysterious. But I do not wish to know their stories. It’s the myth that matters. Maybe Boo Radley’s in there?
— Clifton lives in Baton Rouge.
Advocate readers may submit stories of about 500 words to The Human Condition at features@theadvocate.com or The Advocate, Features, 10705 Rieger Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70809. There is no payment, and stories will be edited. Authors should include their city of residence.
was in total shock.
“I’m grateful that people are wrapping their arms around this film, and the work is being noticed and the level of craftsmanship is being noticed,” she said.
‘Larger than life’ sound
Most people think sound mixing happens inside an air-conditioned studio. New Orleans native Chris Welcker knows better
As the production sound mixer on “Sinners,” Welcker too spent long days and nights out in Louisiana’s wilderness, finding creative ways to capture everything from intimate dialogue between two actors, to live musical performances on set.
It was a process that involved stuffing mics into cotton plants, rushing to haul wildly expensive gear indoors at the first sign of an afternoon rainstorm, and lots and lots of sunscreen.
“You start your day off with sunscreen, you end your day with bug spray,” Welcker said.
A longtime music lover who studied jazz in college in Lafayette, Welcker has been working on local film sets in some form or another for the past 20 years. More often than not, despite the best efforts of everyone involved, Welcker said
the final product doesn’t always live up to expectations.
But when Welcker went to the “Sinners” premier in New York, projected on a massive screen in 70 mm film with immersive sound, he said the cinematic experience was “larger than life.”
“It just feels like it was the ultimate collaborative effort,” Welcker said, “and it’s something that I think people will be talking about beyond this year’s awards.”
The film’s sound earned Welcker his first Oscar nomination, and both he and LaCour plan attended the 98th Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday Welcker said several of his friends were planning to host a watch party at the Broad Theater to cheer the local crew members on. Whether he comes out a winner or not Welcker said he hopes the success of “Sinners” will bring more productions back to Louisiana. With several films shooting or in the works across the state so far this year, maybe it already has.
“I hope the studios are paying attention to this,” he said, “and that maybe they recognize that what we offer here is special.”
Email Kasey Bubnash at kasey bubnash@theadvocate.com.
New Orleans, dead or alive, he stood a chance of inheritance under Louisiana inheritance laws. Bob Parsons made arrangements to have Parsons’ body shipped to Louisiana, where, once buried, his claim of residency would be solidified.
Hearing the plans to move Parsons’ body, road manager Phil Kaufman remembered the pact he had made with Parsons, that whoever died first would cremate the other in the California desert.
Helped by a friend with a hearse, Kaufman went to the airport where Parsons’ body was held and convinced officials to release the body to him, claiming alternate transportation had been arranged. Kaufman went to Joshua Tree, where he burned the corpse, in a somewhat botched job he was later arrested and charged with stealing the coffin.
would become rockier later, when Bob disclosed more of his role in aiding Avis’ drinking, as Walker documented. When Gram Parsons overdosed in the Joshua Tree Inn, he had no existing will.
The recovered remains were shipped to Bob Parsons, who buried them in the Garden of Memories Cemetery in Metairie after a New Orleans ceremony Parsons’ money would be split between female relations. Bob Parsons died shortly from liver cirrhosis.
“He never made a cent out of his stepson,” Walker wrote.
Heitman at danny@dannyheitman.com.
His relationship with Gram remained stable enough for Gram to fly down to New Orleans and get married at a wedding hosted by Bob in 1971. Their relationship
“All Bob had to do to come into some big money was prove that Gram had at some point been a resident of the state,” Walker wrote.
If Bob Parsons could prove Gram Parsons was a resident of
Do you have a question about something in Louisiana that’s got you curious? Email your question to curiouslouisiana@ theadvocate.com. Include your name, phone number and the city where you live.
PROVIDED BY ALLISON LACOUR New Orleans makeup artist Allison LaCour, in overalls, with several of her colleagues on set of ‘Sinners.
PROVIDED PHOTO Musician Gram Parsons, born and raised in central Florida and Georgia, influenced music in the mid 1960s with his style of country and rock ’n’ roll sounds.
DDP/AFP/GETTY IMAGES/TNS FILE PHOTO BY JOERG KOCH
Miley Cyrus on the red carpet for the film ‘Hannah Montana: The Movie’ on April 25, 2009, in Munich, Germany.
See Oscar-worthy spots on ‘Sinners’ road trip
Filming locations dot Louisiana landscape
BY JOY HOLDEN Staff writer
Director Ryan Coogler’s bluesy vampire film “Sinners” is nominated for a record-breaking 16 Academy Awards. The story, which features Michael B Jordan as identical twins Smoke and Stack, centers on one mythical October day in 1930s Clarksdale, Mississippi, that ends in violent horror.
Although set in Mississippi, the film was shot in south Louisiana and fans can visit the set locations, either in one or two weekends.
Ranging from Thibodaux to Donaldsonville to Bogalusa, the drive would be around 200 miles, depending on initial departure location.
Here is a recommended guide to plan your own “Sinners” road trip.
Stop 1: 595 La. 308, Thibodaux
In order of the film, the first stop is Laurel Valley Plantation in Thibodaux, an hour west of New Orleans and over an hour south of Baton Rouge, where Sammie Moore’s (Miles Caton) home, the road to the church and the picturesque white chapel were filmed.
Although the white chapel is no longer standing, visitors can walk the road where Sammie and Stack drove.
Production designer Hannah Beachler, art director Timotheus Davis, set decorator Monique Champagne and their crew constructed the buildings and designed the sets for the film, including the chapel juke joint and Annie’s (Wunmi Mosaku) house. While the sets are no longer standing, the locations can still be visited.
Champagne, a Louisiana native, wrote in an email that the “rhythm, history and visual poetry” of Louisiana is something that “you just can’t replicate anywhere else.”
“Louisiana isn’t just a backdrop in this film, it’s part of the DNA of the story,” Champagne said.
“Louisiana was also actively letting us know she was right there with us — it was hot, rainy, humid, bugs everywhere, alligators on set. We really had to work for it.”
Stop 2: Railroad Avenue, Donaldsonville
When Smoke goes to meet Bo (Yao) and Grace Chow (Li Jun Li) in their general stores, he’s visiting the main street of Clarksdale in the film. But the filming location is actually Railroad Avenue in Donaldsonville.
The production design team painted facades and dressed up buildings with signage on Railroad Avenue to create Black Bird Cafe and the two Chinese grocery stores, one for Black customers and one for White customers, that the Chows operate Grab a bite to eat at Grapevine Cafe, 211 Rail-
road Ave., and taste local Cajun and Creole fare.
Don’t forget the gumbo and white chocolate bread pudding. For coffee and more sweets, dip into Cane Sugar Toffee Company, 122 Railroad Ave. While in Donaldsonville, stop by the River Road African American Museum and explore Black history in Louisiana’s River Parishes. Founded in 1994, the museum is dedicated to preserving and sharing the history, culture and contributions of African Americans in rural south Louisiana
If visitors need a quaint place to stay near Donaldsonville, the Cajun Village Cottages, located in Sorrento, offers a bedand-breakfast experience. Acadian-style shotgun houses dating back to around 1900, originally from downtown Baton Rouge provide a getaway
Stop 3: 1800 Bayou Road, St Bernard
When Smoke goes to visit Annie, the meticulously designed building creates a haunting mood in the film.
Annie’s house was only built for the movie, but the site is located on the grounds of Creedmoor plantation in St. Bernard
It is privately owned, so it’s not a public attraction
Stop 4: 400 Austin St., Bogalusa
In Bogalusa, fans can visit the Bogalusa Train Depot, built in 1907. This spot was the location of the pivotal moment of reunification for Mary (Hailee Steinfeld) and Stack, as well as where Sammie and Stack recruit Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo).
This train station, which is on the list of National Register of Historic Places, still stands as a relic of the town’s lumber heyday and the New Orleans Great Northern Railroad.
While in Bogalusa during the weekend, stop by Club Car Lounge on 401 Austin St., a bar and grill in the historic Freight House Building once used for the GM&O Railroad. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday
“Those locations were a huge gift to us because they already carry so much of the history and texture of the era,” Champagne responded in an email. “Railroad Ave. in Donaldsonville and the Bogalusa Train Station all have architectural details and environments that naturally evoke that time period.”
If you time the road trip right, pay homage to the film’s inspiration and make plans to attend the Baton Rouge Blues Festival on April 17-18 in downtown Baton Rouge. There are several blues clubs in south Louisiana as well, found in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and in between.
Email Joy Holden at joy holden@theadvocate.com.
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PROVIDED PHOTO BY MYICAL BURRELL
The historic Bogalusa Train Depot was the location in Sinners’ for the reunification of characters Mary and Stack, as well as where Sammie and Stack recruit Delta Slim.
PROVIDED PHOTO BY TIM DAVIS
Although the white chapel from ‘Sinners’ is no longer standing, visitors can walk the road where Sammie and Stack drove Miles Caton plays ‘Preacher Boy’ Sammie in the film.
