FILM | above the line
Sandra Bullock at the New Orleans premiere of The Blind Side
Sandra Bullock Blind Sides New Orleans
T
he Prytania Theater in New Orleans was again the host of a red carpet celebration that shined a light on a good cause and a great film, The Blind Side. Sandra Bullock, director/screenwriter John Lee Hancock, and producer Gil Netter walked the red carpet together with Michael Lewis, author of The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game. Also in attendance was the Tuohy family, whose true story was the basis for the film. Bullock looked beautiful and typically down to earth, wearing a floor-length Alberta Ferretti gown to the New Orleans premiere. The New Orleans premiere of The Blind Side benefited Warren Easton Charter High School in its efforts to acquire and improve much needed green space for athletic teams, physical education and band and spirit teams. Warren Easton is Louisiana’s oldest public high school and is still recovering from the fallout of Hurricane Katrina. Since Hurricane Katrina, Bullock has become a major patron of Warren Easton, the first public high school for boys in 28 | January 2010
Louisiana. Founded in 1845, the school that survived going coed and desegregation was having trouble opening after Hurricane Katrina because the storm caused $4 million in damages to the brick Canal Street building where it has operated since 1913. Last year, Sandra Bullock was inducted into the Warren Easton High School Hall of Fame, an honor presented by Arthur Hardy, the committee chairman. The Hollywood star did not actually attend the New Orleans school, but after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, she became actively involved with it, donating hundreds of thousands of dollars, including funds for its scholarship program, new band uniforms and for the renovation of the school auditorium. Bullock’s generosity drew attention to the school’s mission of public school education in post-Katrina New Orleans and generated much publicity for the school, resulting in significant donations from around the country. “I wouldn’t call myself a resident of New Orleans,” said Bullock, “but I am a great supporter of New Orleans,