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VOL. 6, ISSUE 2 • March/April 2015
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Micah Haley CREATIVE DIRECTOR Erin Theriot ADVERTISING ART DIRECTOR Kelli Binnings STAFF WRITER Jordan McGuire
EDITOR’S LETTER
T
his month, we’re launching the SceneCast, a new podcast from Scene Magazine. You can read more of the details in Today’s Scene on PG26. We’re really excited about sharing it with you! And we need your help to spread the word! The best way to support the SceneCast is to leave a review in iTunes. It will help others discover the podcast and will help us secure more great interviews. What can you expect to hear on the podcast? Every week, we’ll review a movie that’s coming out. We’ll discuss movies and television shows we’ve been watching. And we’ll also have interviews with actors, directors, musicians and the talented professionals who make the magic.
8 | March/April 2015
The length of each episode will vary anywhere from five minutes to over an hour. Content won’t be lumped together. This will allow you to clearly see what’s in each episode while enabling you to listen to what you want. No waiting through a musician interview to get to a movie review. They will be two separate episodes. I hope you listen to it all, of course. But by separating the content into different episodes, you’ll be able to pick the perfect episode for your workout, drive to work or just relaxing at home. Thanks for your support! We’re really excited about the new podcast. Check it out at thescenecast.com.
GRAPHIC ART DIRECTOR Burton Chatelain, Jr. SALES Beth Burvant, Lauren Fain, Julie Barecki CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Erik Ian, Patti Perret, Diya Pera, Hopper Stone, Kelli Binnings, Collin Stark, Drew Guillory, Aaron Biggs, Charles Ravaglia CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AJ Buckley, Aaron Williamson, Jacob Peterman, Susan Ross, Tina Rowden Scene Magazine At Celtic Studios Baton Rouge 10000 Celtic Drive • Suite 201 • Baton Rouge, LA 70809 225-361-0701 At Second Line Stages 800 Richard St. • 4th Floor • New Orleans, LA 70130 504-224-2221 info@sceneent.com • www.sceneent.com Published By Scene Entertainment, LLC For Scene Entertainment, LLC CEO, Andre Champagne President, AJ Buckley Vice President, Micah Haley Display Advertising: Call Scene Magazine for a current rate card or visit www.sceneent.com
MICAH HALEY
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CONTENTS
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014
ON THE COVER
ON THE SCENE
H&M OPENS IN NEW ORLEANS
Scoot McNairy
WWW.SCENELOUISIANA.COM
BROKEN LIZARD LIVE AT THE CIVIC THEATRE
cover photo by Erik Ian
BEFORE THE SCENE WITH
MICHAEL RAPAPORT
PREVIEWS:
ABOVE THE LINE
NBA ALL-STARS IN NOLA LSU BASEBALL
32
Scoot McNairy
BEFORE THE SCENE
12
BLAKE
A Conversation with Richard Wenk
LIVELY
COMING SOON 14 18
MAR
tom
HoN haNKs oRS W Wii VeteRA NS
r
Lenn Kravity z
20
Ariana Grande
MUSIC/SOUND SPEED
Casts
40
Kat Dahlia BUKU Project 2015
HEALTH SCENE 50 Functional Training
LETTERS OF THE LAW
54
jobSCENE
56
the simplify HoLi seasoN dAy G if ideASt BehiN
D th SCeNee
a spe
ll
Voo
doo
Drews Bree iana’S
louiS
Emin Em • Wolf Kiss • Ja moth nE’s a Er • flamddiction ing li ps
200
9
Saint
ON THE SCENE 28 New Orleans Comic Con
TODAY’S SCENE 26 Introducing The SceneCast
THE UNSCENE 60
Follow @SceneEnt on Twitter for breaking news and more from Scene Magazine. @sceneent
10 | March/April 2015
EMB
010 CH 2
l cove
Specia
RL Stine’s Goosebumps
SCENE IN TEXAS
DEC
THE FASHION ISSUE
NEW YEAR, NEW LOOKS
Classy Chic
SPORTS SCENE 22 SCENE IN GEORGIA
steV LAWMeN seaGa AN l ER
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9
by AJ Buckley
RICHARD WENK Richard Wenk is a veteran writer and director based in Los Angeles. His recent work includes writing 16 Blocks for director Richard Donner, The Mechanic and The Expendables 2 for director Simon West, and The Equalizer for director Antoine Fuqua. His next projects include The Lake with Luc Besson and The Equalizer 2.
What made you want to become a filmmaker? I had a high school teacher that was teaching not only English Lit but the art of the film. He was one of those magical teachers that inspired. The idea of storytelling hit me and so I decided I wanted to be a filmmaker. One book that stuck with me was Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. That was the first time in my entire school career that I read ahead of the class. I was so excited about the story and I really wanted to know what happened. I was an average student, doing just enough to get by, and that set me on fire a little bit. I became very enamored with storytelling.
What was your biggest fear? I was just excited. As you stay longer in the business, I guess it’s the idea that, in a few years, you will run out of stories to tell.
What was your lowest point? Probably about fifteen or twenty years ago, I finished an assignment at a studio that didn’t go anywhere. I remember my agent at the time telling me that it didn’t look good. That they weren’t buying pitches anymore. He said, “You’re as cold as ice.” And I just remember thinking, “How do I get out of this?” I remember feeling kind of lost at that point. The business was very daunting at the time.
What kept you from walking away? My desire to tell stories. I thought to myself, “Am I really good enough to keep going?” The very idea of quitting was just reprehensible to me. So I actually buckled down and sold the pitch literally four weeks later - when they weren’t buying them - and I remember thinking at that point, “I can do this. I can make it.”
12 | March/April 2015
Who is your closest ally? Many years ago, I met a great director named Richard Donner. I was crafting a story called 16 Blocks that I was going to direct myself. I had met Dick on a previous project that was about to go (that I was going to direct) and it fell apart. We started to hit it off. When I finished the story, I went up to his house. A quarter of the way through the story, he picked up the phone and called his wife and said, “You gotta come here and listen to this story.” And then he made some comment like, “The bastard wants to direct it himself!” And I asked, “You wanna direct it?” and he said, “I would love to direct it.” And I said, “I’ll write for you.” At that point, we became almost partners in it. I rewrote it for him. The next thing you know, we were casting it. He was making plane reservations for me to go to Toronto for the shoot. We sat together in the editing room. We sat together at the preview. I think he gave me the strongest belief that this is where I belong. He’s one of the greatest guys I’ve ever met, and in the top half percent of great guys in the business. He’s not only keen and smart and a great filmmaker: he’s a great man. And his perspective on the business rubbed off on me. We’re making dreams come true. We’re making movies. It’s not life and death. It doesn’t have to be really torturous. I came out of that with the belief that I belong and it can be a real pleasurable experience.
What were you doing before the meeting that changed your life? I don’t know if there’s one meeting that changed my life. But I do remember one meeting. I was playing basketball with a friend of mine, who was a writer, and his neighbor across the street came over to play with us. He was a young actor named Andy Garcia. We got to talking about movies and he was making a movie with Hal Ashby and how he was a hero of mine. We hit it off and our kids ended up going to school at the same preschool. We’d meet in the mornings and talk and that led and grew to, eventually, the movie Just The Ticket I had written and directed with Andy Garcia and Andi McDowell. I think that was a milestone in that I had just met somebody with integrity and passion. He stayed with the projects for many, many
Words tend to be insincere at times. But feelings are never insincere. When you create something that moves somebody, there’s no better feeling.
What are the words that have kept you going? I think it’s the feelings more than anything. I think there’s nothing more satisfying than moving somebody to burst to tears, or laughter, or anxiety. When you get to do that - when you can see that in an audience - or get a response to something you’ve written, those feelings refuel you. And it refuels any writer who has to sit alone in a room. Those are the things that refuel your beliefs in yourself to keep going. So those things are the most important things to me. I think words, in our business, tend to be insincere at times. But feelings are never insincere. You can really get it by them. When you create something that moves somebody, there’s no better feeling.
A partner in Scene Magazine and the president of Scene Entertainment, AJ Buckley has starred for the last eight years on the hit CBS show CSI:NY. Originally from Dublin and raised in Vancouver, he has spent the last twelve years in Los Angeles acting, writing and directing. He starred in and produced the film Home Sweet Hell, which opens nationwide on March 13, and can next be seen in Stephen Botchco’s Murder in the First. Find out more on Twitter @AJohnBuckley and at www.ajbuckley.net.
BEFORE THE SCENE
years. He went with me to shoot test footage when he should’ve been doing interviews for the Academy Award nomination. He was just a guy who loved movies and loved to do what he did. Again, I was exposed to a like-minded, passionate filmmaker. And another was when I first met John Huston. I got to sit with him doing work as a PA and somewhat like his assistant on the movie Annie. I was on that from beginning to end and I got to watch a master at work, even though he was very disengaged a lot of the time. The times he was there were magical. Those kind of things were very formative to me.
RICHARD WENK
Richard Wenk
sceneent.com | 13
COMING SOON CHAPPIE • MARCH 6
In the near future, one police droid is captured and given new programming. The police droid, Chappie, is the first robot with the ability to think and feel. 120 min. Rated R.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS • MARCH 6
Two associates of a hard-working small business owner take a business trip to Europe. With hopes of closing the most important deal of their lives, their trip goes haywire. Rated R. 91 min.
by Jordan McGuire CINDERELLA • MARCH 13
Disney takes on the challenge of a live-action retelling of one of the most famous fairy tales involving a fairy godmother, a glass slipper and a prince looking for his true love. Rated PG. 112 min.
RUN ALL NIGHT • MARCH 13
Liam Neeson stars as an aging hit man forced to take on his former boss to protect his own family. Rated R. 114 min.
THE SECOND BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL • MARCH 6
Dev Patel stars alongside Richard Gere and Maggie Smith in this sequel. Sonny (Dev Patel) looks to purchase more property after his first venture became a great success. 122 min. Rated PG.
Patrick Wilson in Home Sweet Hell Anthony Hopkins and Jim Sturgess in Kidnapping Mr. Heineken courtesy of Alchemy
KIDNAPPING MR. HEINEKEN • MARCH 6
A true story about the heist of Freddy Heineken (Anthony Hopkins). Five childhood friends secured the largest ransom ever paid. This film was shot in New Orleans. Rated R. 95 min.
courtesy of Vertical Entertainment
HOME SWEET HELL • MARCH 13
Don Champagne (Patrick Wilson) seems to have the perfect life but when his wife, Mona (Katherine Heigl), finds out about Don’s affair, Mona wants blood. Dark and funny, this comedy also stars Jordana Brewster. Produced by Scene Magazine partner AJ Buckley. 98 min. Rated R.
MORE COMING SOON 14 | March/April 2015
COMING SOON INSURGENT • MARCH 20
The second installment of the Divergent series, Insurgent follows Beatrice Prior on her journey to confront her inner demons. She must fight against a powerful alliance to prevent total devastation. Rated PG-13. 119 min.
THE GUNMAN • MARCH 20
Sean Penn stars as a former Special Forces soldier trying to find his long time love. Before he reconnects, he must run across Europe to clear his name. 115 min. Rated R.
Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart in Get Hard
Narrow-minded millionaire James King (Will Ferrell) is arrested for fraud and sentenced to ten years at San Quentin prison. King looks upon a physically and vocally colorful Darnell Lewis (Kevin Hart) for prison prep help. James King will have to go from soft millionaire to the hardest prisoner on the block under Darnell’s coaching. Rated R.
The most recent installment of the Fast and Furious series, Furious 7 is more action packed as ever. The whole gang is back together as they go for one more ride. 140 min. Rated PG-13.
16 | March/April 2015
Oscar Isaac stars in this sci-fi film that involves a breakthrough experiment in artificial intelligence. 108 min. Rated R.
PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2 • APRIL 17
Kevin James returns as Paul Blart and is in need of a vacation. He travels to Vegas with his daughter before she attends college. Rated PG.
CHILD 44 • APRIL 17
During Stalin-era Soviet Union, a member of the military police investigates a series of child murders. Rating and Runtime TBA.
photo by Patti Perret
GET HARD • MARCH 27
FURIOUS 7 • APRIL 3
EX MACHINA • APRIL 10
Blake Lively in Age of Adaline
photo by Diyah Pera
THE AGE OF ADALINE • APRIL 24
The beautiful Blake Lively stars as Adaline, a woman who never ages. After years of a solitary life, she meets a man who might be worth losing her immortality. 110 min. Rated PG-13.
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SCENE in
GEORGIA
RL STINE’S
GOOSEBUMPS by Jacob Peterman
J
ack Black will suit up to scare up some laughs as he portrays RL Stine in the upcoming Georgia-shot film Goosebumps. The popular spooky children’s book series has been adapted for the screen and will feature Stine as a main character. Although Stine has never appeared in any of his own books, director Rob Letterman decided that a fictional version of the author could play a role in retelling his stories. In the film, Stine’s fictional monsters come to life, leaping from his pages to haunt the town of Greenland, Maryland. The story follows the relationship between teenagers Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette) and Hannah (Odeya Rush), Stine’s daughter. The eerie novelist has his monsters securely detained within the pages of his books until Zach unintentionally releases them. Zach, Hannah and Stine must come together to capture the ghostly creatures and drive them back into books. Letterman and Jack Black are reteaming for Goosebumps. The two worked together on Gulliver’s Travels. Jack Black is also reuniting with School of Rock writer Mike White, who adapted the 1990s horror books. Black’s high energy antics, which he honed as the front man of Tenacious D, have prepared him well to portray RL Stine. The film also stars Odeya Rush (The Giver), Dylan Minnette (Prisoners), Amy Ryan (Birdman), Halston Sage (Neighbors), Jillian Bell (Workaholics) and the effortlessly funny 18 | March/April 2015
Jack Black in Goosebumps
Ken Marino. The cast has the comedic potential to make this film a family affair. Quick-witted Amy Ryan has had her share of comedic jousts while playing alongside Michael Scott in The Office. Jillian Bell was the breakout star of 22 Jump Street and is currently recurring on Comedy Central’s Workaholics. And rounding out the cast is Wet Hot American Summer’s Ken Marino. Goosebumps was shot in Madison, Georgia. Letterman has said that Madison
photo by Hopper Stone
was their first choice after scouting the area. Principal photography began in late April of 2014 in Candler Park in Atlanta. The crew also shot in Conyers and Morgan County, Georgia. After shooting for four months, principal photography ended in mid July 2014. The release date was originally scheduled for an April release but has since been pushed to October 16, 2015 in hopes that this family friendly horror story will blend in with the Halloween spirit.
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SCENE in
TEXAS
ARIANA GRANDE AT THE AMERICAN AIRLINES CENTER by Susan Ross
S
he was poised to be propelled into the teen idol stratosphere by Disney’s marketing machine. But before joining the ranks of Lindsay Lohan, Hilary Duff and Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande took a left turn away from acting to return to her first love: music. Now a bonafide artist, Grande is striving to the upper register of pop, a musical frontier forged by Whitney Houston twenty-five years ago. Along the way, she’s infusing rap, R&B and electronic elements by partnering with Iggy Azalea, Big Sean and the boy wonder Zedd. All of that makes for a foot-tapping good time, but good luck trying to sing along. The Boca Raton native effortlessly screams all the way up to E7. The soaring vocals of twenty-something pop songstress Ariana Grande will echo throughout the American Airlines Center on April 1. For tickets and seating information, visit www.americanairlinescenter.com.
20 | March/April 2015
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SPORTS
LSU VS. THE SEC by Jordan McGuire
L
SU Baseball returned to Alex Box Stadium February 14 against the Kansas Jayhawks. The season couldn’t get here fast enough. With football season over and basketball underway, baseball arrived right on time. Mainieri says his Tigers are ready and equipped to contend for a national championship. Like any other year, LSU will have to fill the gaping holes left by their drafted players: pitchers Aaron Nola and Nathan Fury, outfielder Sean McMullen and first baseman Tyler Moore. Mainieri still believes his team can get it done in Omaha. And at LSU, that’s an expectation every single year. The Bayou Bengals will come into this season to avenge their early departure in a regional loss to Houston. Early preseason rankings have LSU positioned number four in the Baseball America poll. Obviously, winning games is key for any sports team but winning in bunches and sweeping series will help give this young pitching staff some confidence and allow LSU to swing freely. LSU brings back experience offensively including junior shortstop Alex Bregman, who was second-team All-SEC and poised to make an All-American run this season. The thensophomore hit .316 and drove in 47 RBIs and is easily one of the best defensive shortstops in the college realm. Junior outfielder and all around athlete Mark Laird returns along with his other junior outfielder Andrew Stevenson. Kade Scivicque will return at catcher for his senior season and wishes to continue his success at and behind the plate. Scivicque crushed the ball time and time again last season. Let’s hope he can bring a consistent bat to the lineup throughout the long season. The recruiting circuit for the Tigers is never in doubt. They have freshmen year in and year out earning valuable playing time. This season will be no different as infielder Greg Deichmann and Grayson Byrd can fill holes as either corner or middle infielders. Behind the plate Mike Papierski will be able to spell Scivicque for multiple games at a time during a grueling SEC schedule. Mainieri says that he is also very excited about Beau and Bryce Jordan and says that they, too, can step in and play right away for the Tigers. The LSU Tigers have experience in their lineup from top to bottom. The pitching staff will feature the new ace: sophomore lefty
LSU MEN’S BASEBALL 2015 SCHEDULE Fri, Feb 13 Sat, Feb 14 Sun, Feb 15 Wed, Feb 18 Fri, Feb 20 Sat, Feb 21 Sun, Feb 22 Wed, Feb 25 Fri, Feb 27 Sat, Feb 28
22 | March/April 2015
vs. Kansas vs. Kansas vs. Kansas vs. Nicholls vs. Boston College vs. Boston College vs. Boston College vs. Southeastern La. vs. Princeton vs. Princeton
Sun, Mar 01 vs. Princeton Tue, Mar 03 vs. Stephen F. Austin Wed, Mar 04 vs. Grambling HOUSTON COLLEGE CLASSIC Fri, Mar 06 at Houston Sat, Mar 07 at Baylor Sun, Mar 08 at Nebraska Wed, Mar 11 Fri, Mar 13 Sat, Mar 14 Sun, Mar 15 Tue, Mar 17 Thu, Mar 19 Fri, Mar 20 Sat, Mar 21
vs. McNeese St. vs. Ole Miss vs. Ole Miss vs. Ole Miss at Southern at Arkansas at Arkansas at Arkansas
Jared Poché. He won nine games last season and will be alongside freshmen Alex Lange, Jake Godfrey and Jake Latz. The Tigers must get large offensive production out of their accomplished lineup to secure some insurance for their youthful pitching staff. Each year the expectations are obviously very high. For a program to be atop the national rankings for years, the expectations should be Omaha or bust. The program, and we as fans, believe every year we should contend for a SEC title and then finish with a national title. SEC baseball is as dominant as any other division in college sports. SEC will be sure to have its share of top twenty-five teams this season. In years past, SEC teams have been 50% of the top ten and as far as 60% of the top five. The incredible thing about the high competition in the SEC is that those teams will rotate in and out of the top five and top ten. You obviously have your cellar dwellers and your top dogs, but as a whole, SEC baseball reigns supreme. This season SEC baseball will have more than eighty games televised, including a hundred planned across all of the major sports networks. Also, the entire SEC postseason Baseball Tournament will be completely televised. This is a pretty large step for college baseball. This will be the first time the entire tournament will air on national television in the tournament’s history. The Tigers will have approximately twenty games televised on Cox Sports Television this season, including thirteen conference games. LSU also plans to stream all of their nonconference baseball games on SEC Network Plus, the new online perk from SEC Network. Baseballamerica.com has the Tigers right behind Vanderbilt as the number one and number two teams in America. Rounding out the top ten include number six Florida. South Carolina and Mississippi State are thirteen and fourteen, respectively. This year, don’t expect to only find five SEC teams in the top twenty-five. If I were to guess, I would see Arkansas, Ole Miss, Alabama and Kentucky all crack the top twenty-five before SEC play begins in early March. Things should be exciting this season for the Tigers. Determination to avenge their troublesome finish to last season will be fresh in their minds as they take on a new challenge this year. It’ll be fun to see the rising juniors and seniors take control of this team and hopefully lead us to Omaha, which we are all expecting that they do.
Tue, Mar 24 Fri, Mar 27 Sat, Mar 28 Sun, Mar 29
at Tulane vs. Kentucky vs. Kentucky vs. Kentucky
WALLY PONTIFF JR. CLASSIC (Zephyr Field) Tue, Mar 31 at UL-Lafayette Thu, Apr 02 at Alabama Fri, Apr 03 at Alabama Sat, Apr 04 at Alabama Tue, Apr 07 vs. New Orleans Wed, Apr 08 vs. Northwestern St. Fri, Apr 10 vs. Auburn Sat, Apr 11 vs. Auburn Sun, Apr 12 vs. Auburn
Wed, Apr 15 Fri, Apr 17 Sat, Apr 18 Sun, Apr 19 Tue, Apr 21 Thu, Apr 23 Fri, Apr 24 Sat, Apr 25 Tue, Apr 28 Thu, Apr 30 Fri, May 01 Sat, May 02 Fri, May 08 Sat, May 09 Sun, May 10 Tue, May 12
vs. Lamar at Georgia at Georgia at Georgia vs. Tulane vs. Texas A&M vs. Texas A&M vs. Texas A&M vs. Alcorn St. at Miss State at Miss State at Miss State vs. Missouri vs. Missouri vs. Missouri at New Orleans
Thu, May 14 at South Carolina Fri, May 15 at South Carolina Sat, May 16 at South Carolina SEC TOURNAMENT May 19-24 NCAA REGIONAL May 29-June 1 NCAA SUPER REGIONAL June 5-8 COLLEGE WORLD SERIES June 13-24
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SPORTS
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS: WAYS TO MAKE A PLAYOFF PUSH by Jordan McGuire
T
he young New Orleans Pelicans need to make a push. The top eight teams from each conference make the playoffs, a goal the Pelicans have failed to reach so far. The birds from the Crescent City have also found themselves at the bottom of the Southwest Division for most of the season. With the resurgence of the hard-nosed Memphis Grizzlies, the Southwest Division is truly the most talented grouping of five teams in the entire world of sports. Rounding out the remainder of the Division are the James Harden-led Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks and the reigning champions of the basketball world, the San Antonio Spurs. It will be a very pivotal year for hot seat head coach Monty Williams. In order to keep his job, Williams must lead the Pelicans to their first playoff appearance in franchise history. Here are five ways how.
added former Hornet Quincy Pondexter and have seen major strides from Villanova-alum Dante Cunningham. Both have played the wing position to the best of their ability. Their energy, experience and defensive prowess will help the untested Pelicans down the stretch. Both guys will play key roles in this team’s success. Trade season is over. Many Pelican supporters don’t like the idea of holding on to Eric Gordon. He has an incredibly inflated contract and a history of injuries. His questionable durability has taken a backseat to his current play. In his previous ten games the sixth year shooting guard is averaging 15 points per game while dishing out five assists. He’s also playing 33 minutes a game in that same stretch. If the twenty-six year old Gordon can remain healthy and hit timely shots, he will be a critical component to the push for the eighth spot in the Western Conference.
1 STAY HEALTHY.
4 PLAY UP-TEMPO
The New Orleans Pelicans organization has been plagued with injuries since the name change in 2013. We won’t get into the details of the previous two seasons but know the Pels were down three or four men each night out. Eric Gordon has been solid lately but his undesirable history of injuries is reason for concern. He has played well in stretches but has had lingering injuries throughout his NBA career. Jrue Holiday has recently seen the end of the bench because of a leg injury, sidelined since mid January. He is a top-notch on-ball defender in the NBA, able to handle very athletic point guards due to his length and athleticism. In recent action against the Chicago Bulls, Anthony Davis went down on his shoulder following a two-handed slam. This left the Smoothie King Center quieter than a library during finals. Because of a short and inexperienced bench, the Pelicans need to have all of their weapons ready and indispensable at all times. They need to get rested and stay healthy.
2 CONTINUE TO WIN AT HOME.
The Pelicans have one of the best home records in the West. The home crowd at the Smoothie King Center has been buzzing lately. The success of Anthony Davis has generated more butts in the seats. Fans are more into the games now and are showing pride and holding players and coaches accountable. It’s nice to see the intensity and the energy that we once had during the CP3 days. Many games have had an almost playoff-like atmosphere in the early months of January and February. It’s a much easier task for a young team to win at home, rather than on the road. The young and inexperienced will grow significantly with big victories on their own court. The road wins will come but if we want to make a quick playoff push, wins must continue at home.
3 PLAY WITH WHAT WE GOT.
After the recent transaction that sent Austin Rivers to L.A. with his father/coach Doc, the Pelicans have found a groove offensively. They 24 | March/April 2015
Play fast. Play smart. Play efficient. The Pels are the fourth youngest team in the NBA. With an average age of 24.9, the Pelicans have fresh legs that can showcase some bounce. There is no big man in the league that can run up and down the court with Anthony Davis. Tyreke Evans is one of the most deadly fast-break scoring point guards in the league. Pelicans have multiple weapons from beyond the arc in Gordon, Anderson, Fredette, Cunningham and occasionally Jrue Holiday. They also have dynamic rim attackers in Pondexter, Davis, Tyreke Evans and Jrue can get into the paint smoothly. The Pelicans can put defenses on their heels when they control the pace. We see the Pelicans offense run stagnant at times when opposing defenses double team the ball handler in pick and roll situations. There needs to be some fluidity in the offense. Monty Williams can add some offball screens and some set-plays to get open looks from wing players. Long defensive rebounds can also turn into quick transition points if Omer Asik and Davis can outlet the ball to sprinting guards. This team could very well average over a hundred points when its full roster becomes healthy again.
5 GET THE BALL TO ANTHONY DAVIS.
I saved this reason for last. It’s the most obvious and the most important. Anthony Davis has all the makings to be the best player on the planet. At twenty-one, he’s developed a deadly mid-range jumper. His explosiveness and ball handling skills are unmatched. His shot blocking ability is top tier amongst NBA big men. Davis has played 36 minutes a game and could play even more. The sensational third-year player is averaging 24.2 points per game, 10 rebounds per game and 2.8 blocks per game. These stats are insane considering it’s only the guy’s third year. He has shown his dominance effortlessly against the league’s top players. He is literally feared by everyone and has gained the leadership role from his teammates. He is a dark-horse MVP candidate and an All NBA First Team type of player. He is the catalyst. He is the leader. He is “The Brow.”
TODAY’S SCENE
THE SCENECAST A NEW PODCAST FROM SCENE MAGAZINE by Micah Haley
W
hen Tom Magliozzi died, I didn’t feel anything. Condolences were popping up on Facebook and Twitter, but I didn’t know who he was. Until I heard his voice. For decades, he was half of “Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers,” the fake names of two real brothers who hosted NPR’s Car Talk. I knew exactly who he was. The sound of his voice carried with it so many memories. Of working on cars and tractors with my dad. Of painting houses with my brothers. Of trekking across the country on vacation with my family. Of stacking boxes during my summer job. I could repeat twenty jokes Tom told over the years and rattle off the fake credits at the end of his show without even trying. He was someone I had a strong connection with, and yet, I didn’t know his name and had never seen his face. When Tom died in November, we’d already been developing the SceneCast for months. But his death reminded me of how powerful the spoken word can be. I invited him into my childhood, my teenage years and on vacation with my brother only a few weeks ago. Now I want to invite you into Scene Magazine. I want you to be there when I interview Meghan Trainor. I want you to be there when I interview Kevin Costner. I want you to hear how Mark Wahlberg and Craig Robinson struggled to make it early in their careers, and how Mike Birbiglia treated our interview like it was a one-man show with a one-man audience. Everyone at Scene wants you to hear how screenplays are written and movies are made. How sets are built and music is recorded. How actors stay in shape and films are financed. How to get a job in the entertainment industry and what you really need to study in school. And we also want to talk about what’s actually worth watching! We want to share the music,
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TODAY’S SCENE
movies, television series and more that are inspiring us. On the SceneCast, we’re going to talk about all of that, and we’re going to invite the entertainment industry into the conversation. You never know who’s going to pop up as a guest. The best part is this: it’s free and you can take it with you. If you’ve got a smart phone, you can stream the SceneCast wherever you go. Take celebrity trainer Aaron Williamson with you while you’re at the gym. Take Shane West with you to Mardi Gras. Bring me, Beth Burvant and David Draper with you while shopping. Whether working, mowing the lawn or avoiding your in-laws, the SceneCast is the best way to get you through the day until you can get to the movie theater, or curled up on the couch to knock out some Netflix. During our launch week, we’ll be debuting a slew of awesome launch episodes! Although Meghan Trainor is really great, we couldn’t limit it to just one episode. So enjoy all of the great content and make sure to leave a review and subscribe in iTunes. It’ll ensure you get every new episode right on your phone. Go to thescenecast.com to get started. We’re already there, eagerly awaiting you. So, listen up.
Listen to Scene’s interview with Meghan Trainor on the SceneCast sceneent.com | 27
ON THE SCENE
NEW YEAR’S KICKS OFF WITH COMIC CON 2015 photos by Kelli Binnings
Growing exponentially every year, New Orleans Comic Con is big. A top tier array of celebrity panels, meet-and-greet opportunities and more attract fans from across the South.
B-movie icon Bruce Campbell
Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder of The Vampire Diaries
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The Walking Dead and Guardians of the Galaxy star Michael Rooker
ON THE SCENE
The Walking Dead stars Jon Bernthal, Sarah Wayne Callies and Andrew J. West
American Horror Story star Evan Peters
sceneent.com | 29
ON THE SCENE
NEW YEAR’S KICKS OFF WITH COMIC CON 2015 photos by Kelli Binnings and Charles Ravaglia
Dredd star Karl Urban
American Horror Story star Evan Peters
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Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder of The Vampire Diaries
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ABOVE THE LINE
SCOOT
McNAIRY ON FIRE by Micah Haley
A
bat out of Dallas, Texas, Scoot McNairy can’t slow down. After breaking out in In Search of a Midnight Kiss and leading Godzilla director Gareth Edwards’ microbudgeted 2010 film Monsters, he has starred in thirteen films. Last year, he appeared in five films including Gone Girl, Black Sea, Frank, The Rover and Non-Stop. McNairy’s memorable but virtually unrecognizable in all of them, a testament to his talent and evidence that he’s quietly becoming one of the best actors of his generation. In David Fincher’s Gone Girl, McNairy plays Amazing Amy’s most damaged ex. In 12 Years a Slave, his character Brown playfully coaxes Solomon Northrup into slavery. In Killing Them Softly, he steals scene after scene alongside Brad Pitt and Ben Mendelsohn. In David Michôd’s The Rover, he’s Henry, a petty criminal hardened by an economic apocalypse. In Ben Affleck’s Best Picture winning film 32 | March/April 2015
Argo, McNairy is the voice of dissent against a preposterous plan dreamed up to smuggle six Americans out of Iran. He’s also alongside Matt Damon in Gus Van Sant’s Promised Land. The Texas native additionally anchors AMC’s Halt and Catch Fire, a 1980s period piece set in the second wave of personal computer innovation. It’s a new AMC show that’s so good, I expect Walter White to walk on screen. He plays Gordon Brown, a talented computer engineer trapped in a cubicle at a profitable Texas electronics company. In the first season, he sees an opportunity in Joe McMillan, a silver-tongued shark who could sell salt to the Dead Sea. Together, they set out to change an industry still in its infancy. Season two is set to return to AMC this summer. Scoot connected with me over Skype from Atlanta, Georgia, where he’s currently filming the highly anticipated second season of Halt and Catch Fire.
photo by Collin Stark sceneent.com | 33
ABOVE THE LINE MH: You currently star in Halt and Catch Fire, which is such a great show. It’s set in Texas in the 1980s, where you were raised. Did you grow up with an awareness of the so-called Silicon Prairie? SM: No, not really. I didn’t know much about computers when I was a youngster. And I definitely don’t recall the area having anything to do with computers. I spent a lot of time [in that space] with my dad when I was a kid. He was a financial planner, so on the weekends, he was always driving to clients’ houses and I’d go with him. I read the show and it kinda reminded me of that. I feel like I knew the world so well from the 80s. When I got on the show, I started seeing things around the house like blankets and pictures on the walls that we had in our house. Which I guess a lot of people had in their houses: it was a Sears catalogue type of thing. I thought, “Gosh, this is such a blast to the past seeing all this stuff.” I felt like I really knew a lot about the world of Dallas in the 80s. But, I did not know there was anything going on there with any kind of computer boom. MH: Halt caught me at just the right time. I had just read Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs, which is really a prelude to the era of Halt and Catch Fire. I’d also read this great book called Masters of Doom, which is about the video game revolution that happened in the late 80s and early 90s. That’s a short time after the events of the first season, and Halt occupies that magical time in between, pregnant with possibilities after the first boom in the personal computer market. SM: I didn’t know much about the video games. What was Masters of Doom? MH: They were these kids, some from Texas and some from the Midwest, that all ended up in Shreveport, Louisiana at this software company that sold subscriptions. Their business model was “Subscribe to us and we will send you video games, word processing software, spreadsheet software and all this stuff.” They start making these games for this little company, and one weekend, they decided to use their work computers to port Super Mario Bros 3 to the PC, hoping Nintendo would license it and they could sell it. Nintendo didn’t. So they took the tech, started their own company and made Commander Keen. Then they made Wolfenstein 3-D. SM: No way! I remember that when I was a kid. MH: That game was huge, so they went out on their own, dropped their distributor and self-distributed the video game Doom, one of the biggest games of all time. SM: Yeah, my brother was super into Doom and Final Fantasy. MH: The thing that really interests me is that these guys are entrepreneurs. They’re driven just like the Henry Fords who worked in the technology of the past. They are driven to create and so much of that is embodied in Halt and Catch Fire. 34 | March/April 2015
SM: Yeah, man! They were innovators. Without giving you any spoilers, I have to say: you’re really going to like the second season a lot. And I can’t say anything more than that. MH: Awesome! I can’t wait. I’m primarily a film guy, but there is just something about that entrepreneurial spirit that I identified with. I think it’s present throughout the independent filmmaking community, too. SM: I read that Walter Isaacson Steve Jobs book right before we started shooting. That was probably one of the best biographies I’ve ever read. So much so that I went out and bought the biography he did on Einstein. I come from the same background of super independent filmmaking, where there’s no more than like six or seven people in the whole production. You’re shooting stuff in cars and ripping shots. It’s the same thing. It’s like building a small company and just crashing it. MH: In Halt and Catch Fire, you play Gordon Clark, who has already attempted being an entrepreneur at the beginning of season one, experiences failure, and now he’s doing it again. Where is he at the beginning of season two? SM: Gordon really had something to prove. He had a very large chip on his shoulder and he was really struggling. Are his ideas good? Is he smart? Does he have something to offer to this industry? Obviously, his dream was to always build his own computer. But through season one, he really struggled with that and also with the control that he wanted over the way that his computer could be built. In season two, we jump ahead in time. I can’t say how far. But you get to see what has happened over that time period that we jump. I think that Gordon’s feeling a little bit like riding on the coattails of success when we pick up with him. MH: Gordon’s partner and occasional adversary is Joe McMillan, who is this sort of Steve Job-sian salesman character. He’s almost too slick for his own good. At first, Gordon seems really put off by Joe’s polished exterior. What do you think it is about Joe that Gordon decides to take a chance on? SM: When we pick up with Gordon, he’s been burnt out. He’s given up on his dream, his goals and his life. And this guy Joe McMillan walks into his life and tells him, “You are a genius. This article that you wrote is visionary. I wanna work with a guy like you.” It starts to fire that juice back inside Gordon to think, “Okay. Wow, there’s somebody that believes in me. But he’s such a prick!” And I think that that’s the inspiration. Gordon is looking for adventure. He’s looking to create and his dream’s always been to build a computer. And he’ll do anything for that to happen. However, he has a family that he has to think about. That’s the one hurdle. As bad as he wants his dreams and his goals to happen, he doesn’t want to lose his family over it. Joe McMillan is a guy that you really want to keep at arm’s length, and I think that Gordon’s completely aware of that. Yet, he crosses that line back and forth. Working with Joe is exciting, but like Steve Jobs, Joe is really hard on Gordon. One of the things that I really connected with in Steve Jobs’s biography was that he was so hard on people. But when you interviewed the people who worked for him, they say, “He was
ABOVE THE LINE
photo by Collin Stark sceneent.com | 35
ABOVE THE LINE so mean to us but he got us to do things that we didn’t even know were possible.” That’s just a fascinating process. I felt that I’ve dealt with that in my past in Texas, growing up in Texas football and working with some acting coaches. That’s really a liberating feeling, when somebody’s really hard on you but they get you to do something that you didn’t really know you were capable of.
computer.” Gordon looks at Joe and thinks, “Wow, he can talk his way into anything.” That’s a skill that Gordon doesn’t possess.
MH: There’s got to be a trust factor with those coaches and teachers that makes you tolerate their sort of Whiplash-ian intensity.
SM: Yeah! When Gordon buys the Porsche, it’s almost screaming, “Look, the guy really wants to be like Joe.” And he’s just not. I think in season two, you see him settle a lot more into his own skin.
SM: I’ve always been incredibly attracted to it. I like it when somebody’s all over me. I liked being worked. I don’t know if that’s from being a kid and the coach is just whipping you and pushing you.
MH: What can we expect to see from Gordon? In the facial hair department.
MH: I love that you make the association with Texas football. SM: Before I worked with David Fincher, I heard that he pushed actors hard and had them do lots and lots of takes. I remember hearing that and thinking, “Well, I really want to work with him then.” That sounds like a really productive process to me. And now having worked with him, I definitely don’t think he’s hard on you. He forces you to really think and puts you in positions where you really have to make decisions. But I don’t get that complaint, “Yeah we did a whole bunch of takes.” What actor out there doesn’t like a lot of takes? MH: That trust factor really has to be there, though. Maybe not with Jobs, but definitely with an acting coach and hopefully with David Fincher. A character like Steve Jobs or Joe McMillan hasn’t had a success yet. They’ve had nothing but failure or no history at all. Why do people trust them when they don’t really have any reason to? SM: That’s an interesting human question. What is it? I don’t know. I’m not answering the question, I’m asking it, too. Maybe it’s self-gratification. As much as you hate this person, they’re making you feel as though you are better at something. Or you are a better person for that. Maybe it’s worth taking all of the beatings to feel like you’re worth something. MH: While reading Jobs’ biography, what did you think of Steve Wozniak? He is very different than Gordon but sort of an analog in Gordon’s relationship to McMillan. What do you think Wozniak might have seen in Jobs? SM: I think that Wozniak looked at Jobs and said, “He does all of the things that I don’t want to do. All I want to do is create and really make the world a better place.” I think that they share that same vision. They wanted to make a ding in the universe and wanted to improve technology and pave the way. That relationship between Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak was that. But with Gordon and Joe, I think that the relationship between them is kind of the opposite of that. Gordon looks to Joe and says, “Man, if I could just be a salesman like that guy! If I could just be as smooth as that guy and if I was as good looking as that guy, then I wouldn’t need that guy. That guy can’t build a computer, but I can build a 36 | March/April 2015
MH: And you can definitely see that in the first season, too. There’s envy there. I’ve never read that Wozniak seemed envious of Jobs. Woz seems happy completing his own mission.
SM: Oh, in the facial hair department! Well, you might see a number of things. I’d say his beard might be coming back. But this season I think you’re going to see a side of Gordon where he in a really, really good place in his life. You get to see that a little bit through the season and then things change drastically for him. Maybe they get really, really better or maybe they get even worse. MH: Hopefully both. Hopefully, it’s a sine wave of terrible and awesome all throughout the season. SM: There you go. MH: You’re shooting Halt and Catch Fire on location in Georgia, which is standing in for Texas. What is your favorite Georgia past time and why is it NASCAR? SM: Ha! Well, I’ll tell you something about Georgia: go thirty minutes in any direction outside of the city and you are in a beautiful country. Big, lonely pines. Go a little up north and you got the mountains, you got the Chattahoochee Mountains. Me and my daughter went and hiked Chattahoochee. There’s just so much beautiful outdoor stuff to do here. That’s one of the things I really love about Atlanta. I was talking to a guy today at work who said the service industry in the last eight years has just gone through the roof. So many incredible restaurants here and so much stuff to do. A lot of people are like, “I wish I was shooting where I live.” And Atlanta’s not a bad place to shoot at all. It’s actually a really great town.” MH: You’ve also got direct flights to L.A., directs to New York, so it’s easy to head home for the weekend. SM: And we’re only here four and a half months. MH: You shot three films in Louisiana: 12 Years a Slave, Killing Them Softly, and the upcoming film Our Brand is Crisis. What do you look forward to when you’re headed back for your fourth film? SM: I love going to Café du Monde and grabbing my coffee, walking up to the river and just sitting there and watching the ships coming in and out. Massive, massive tankers are cruising right down the river. It’s phenomenal. I love going up to the Garden District. Tons
ABOVE THE LINE
Scoot McNairy with Kerry Bishe in Halt and Catch Fire
photo by Tina Rowden/AMC
of really great restaurants. And I don’t ever miss a swamp tour when I get there. Go out on an airboat. One of my buddies I was working with was supposed to take me fishing. We never got around to it, but I hear the fishing’s incredible. And the food down there is incredible! It’s Louisiana, man. There ain’t no other place like it and there ain’t no other place like New Orleans. That’s for sure.
MH: Such a good film. I have never seen in any other film a depiction of how a financial debt could be inextricably tied to a moral debt. They were just stuck together and it seemed like nobody was willing to unravel the two.
MH: You have a memorable role in Best Picture winner 12 Years A Slave. When I saw that film, it eclipsed even my already high expectations. What were your thoughts on set? Did you have any sense of how powerful it was going to be?
MH: You’ve also got Our Brand is Crisis coming up.
SM: No. I was already a huge fan of Steve McQueen. I was really just beating on his door to come work with him, so I was really excited about getting the job. But we played these cartoony-type characters and I remember thinking to myself, “This character seems a bit…much. This doesn’t fit into a Steve McQueen movie.” But they were like “No, that’s what he wants. He loves that!” And I realized later the crew got a huge relief by having the two of us come. For the rest of the film, the shoots were so dramatic on some days that it was nice to have me and Taran [Killam] come in and lighten up the mood for a little bit. One of the greatest things that Steve McQueen did was that he didn’t tell a story about Solomon Northup or slavery. He put you on the plantation - sitting there, watching, like a fly on a wall - what was happening during that time. I feel like that film really gave me an understanding of how awful slavery was.
SM: Yeah, man. That’s an interesting theme.
SM: It is a bit of a satire on American politics. It’s based on the documentary of the same name, Our Brand is Crisis. It’s about a strategist company that works in American politics in Washington. They have been hired to go and help one of the Bolivian presidents to get reelected after being out of office for about twenty years. There’s a team of strategists and I play the head of marketing, doing all of the commercials and stuff for the campaigns. MH: That’s great. I’ve heard so much about this film from my friends that worked on it. SM: It’s great. And working with David Gordon Green is great. He’s a really fun dude to work with. And he’s a big fan of New Orleans. He’s actually spent a lot of his time in New Orleans as well at the beginning when he was just writing stuff. He wrote a ton of screenplays and was selling them to Hollywood and living out of New Orleans for years. I think he lives in Austin, Texas now, but he’s a good Southerner. sceneent.com | 37
ABOVE THE LINE
MH: I love your work on screen in Killing Them Softly with Ben Mendelsohn. Those scenes are so hypnotic and I love everything Andrew Dominik’s done. The scenes in that film seem like a gift to actors to work out whatever they needed to work out. SM: When I got that script, it was all on the page. It was just these really great, long scenes. It felt like doing these little short one-act plays for every scene. The dialogue was so good and Andrew did such a good job at combing through that book and really pulling everything out. It was a pleasure to work on. I’m very blessed to have been able to be a part of that picture. MH: You worked again with Ben Mendelsohn on Black Sea. He’s really not that much older than you, but he’s been in the industry since the early 80s. Since like 1984 when he was a young kid. What do you learn from an actor like that after working with him over the course of two films? SM: Ben Mendelsohn is a talent. I’m not going to lie: he is a really, really incredible actor. I learned so much from him, to be honest with you. He doesn’t care or apologize for anything. The way he works is different than most people. I really can’t put my finger on it or describe it with words. But you find yourself really lost in scenes when you’re working across from somebody. You’re just really staring at him and really listening to him. Every take’s just completely different. He’s just a total wild man. When the cameras aren’t rolling, the guy is entertainment twenty-four hours a day. And he plays such psychos! If you meet him, he’s such a teddy bear of a guy. One of the sweetest, nicest guys you’ve ever met. MH: That’s awesome. So, you’ve worked with some really great directors. You’ve worked with Ben Affleck, Steve McQueen, Andrew Dominik, David Fincher. These gents are pretty amazing. Would you like to direct? And whose career as a director are you maybe a little bit envious of? SM: First I have to say, yes I have been fortunate to work with those directors and I feel like an incredibly lucky person to have done so. All of them. That’s one of the reasons why I do absolutely want to direct. I love all of these people that I’ve worked with. I love all of their movies. To get on set and see how they work, see what their process is, and see what their technique is. To compare it with others and then see the picture when they’re done and what they did with it. I’m getting some of the best directing education you could ever get from working with these guys. MH: Is there a specific project you have in mind to direct? SM: Yeah! We’re going back and forth on the script right now. It’s a movie called Black River Water. You’ll be the first to print that. We’re just in the process of locking down that script. I’ve been busy over the 38 | March/April 2015
last couple of years and so I’ve been spending as much time as I can on it and my writing partner as well. He’s been pretty busy. His career took off, so we’re just working on this one particular project together. It’s in the process. Hopefully, I’ll be in production in a year or so. MH: That’s very exciting. SM: Thanks man. I’m excited. I can’t wait to get behind the camera. MH: I think I read somewhere that you had a background as a cinematographer? SM: Yeah, I moved out to California to be a cinematographer. That was the dream. I went to film school and then ended up dropping out and just started doing commercials. But no one was calling me to shoot. They were calling me to act, so I just kept doing that. I was about twentyfive when I got serious about it and started going to school for acting. MH: I love it when people make their way into acting and it’s not their first calling. There’s some sort of journeyman aspect to their careers. SM: Coming up, I did whatever blue collar work I could find. I did carpentry out in California for about a year and I was doing carpentry in Austin as well. I was an arborist in Austin. I was a tree cutter. I was super into the outdoors and rock climbing and camping. I thought, “If I can become a cinematographer, then I could go live in the woods and photograph animals or the snow caps for three weeks and get paid for it. MH: One more question. You have a role in Batman v. Superman coming up. I know you can’t say anything about it. What was it like for you on one of Zach Snyder’s sets? He’s this guy who has produced some of the most incredible images of the last fifteen years. SM: I’ll tell you something. Zach Snyder has crazy, crazy energy. I mean, that guy has a million things going, not just Batman. He’s in the process of working on Justice League. He goes to the gym like twice a day. I don’t know how he fits that in. He was recutting or redoing posters on Sucker Punch in the middle of all this and I just couldn’t believe the guy. He was incredible to work with. You just look at that energy that he has and it’s incredibly contagious. He was wonderful man, couldn’t have been nicer. I think the script is really good and it’s going to be really different and grounded. It’s going to be a really big superhero film. I think this one’s gonna compete with the Chris Nolan films. MH: I can’t wait. And I can’t wait for your directorial debut. Thanks for speaking with me, Scoot.
MUSIC |
THE RAD DAHLIA by Jordan McGuire
K
atriana Sandra Huguet, better known as Kat Dahlia, has cultivated quite the following in the last couple of months. A Cuban-American singer-songwriter, the beautiful Miami native released her debut single “Gangsta” in March of 2013. She has been tirelessly cranking out tracks since then to finally complete her debut album. Dahlia recently played a show in New Orleans at the House of Blues. In January, Kat released her first album My Garden, a wideranging collection of musical genres. I connected with Kat over the phone about her first time in the city, her new album and even got her thoughts on a former member of the Miami Heat, LeBron James. JM: Kat, good to talk to you. Have you made it here yet? KD: I’m in New Orleans. I’m here doing a little last minute shopping. I love it here. JM: Is this your first time performing in New Orleans? KD: Yeah, it is. It’s actually my first time here. We got to walk around a little bit of the French Quarter last night. We went to this spot called Oceania. It’s amazing food. I’m obsessed with that place now. It’s been an amazing trip. I’m just so happy to be here. JM: You’ve got your show at the House of Blues tonight, one of the most storied venues in New Orleans. And that’s saying something. Are you excited about tonight? KD: I’m so excited about tonight! I think it’s gonna be a great show. I’m just really excited.
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JM: House of Blues is awesome. It’s just a great spot to hear music. How many more tour stops do you have after tonight’s show? KD: I have about six more. We’re going to Texas and then we’re going up to California. Doing San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and then we’re going to hit Arizona. JM: That’s still a lot of road to conquer. How are you handling the grind of touring? KD: Yeah we’ve had a few stops. But it’s honestly been so fun. It’s been really fun, I’m not gonna lie. This is my first tour so there’s a lot of kind of excitement about that. And the album is coming out in January. Everything is aligning really nicely. It’s been a really great time and I’m really happy. JM: It’s been rumored that Missy Elliot and Timbaland will be on the new album. Can you tell me about working with them? KD: That’s not happening, but I’ve got some great collaborations. We’ve been in the studio and obviously they’re amazing and we have a good working relationship. And in the future, I think we can put a project together, absolutely. But this project has been so overdue that we just wanted to push it out. I’ll be doing plenty of features in the future and stuff like that. Tim is amazing. He’s been a great supporter of mine, all good things. But this album, it’s like the best of the last two and a half years. JM: Who’s producing this new album with you? KD: Salaam Remi is on the record. He did a couple of tracks. Cinematic and Yung Boyz from New York. JM: Tell me a little about Salaam. KD: He’s honestly one of the most down to earth people. We have a great friendship. Just a really cool friendship. It’s always good to just make music with friends. He’s so easy going and things just come naturally. When we get into the studio, I don’t feel any pressure to make a hit. JM: Obviously technical skills are a must for any producer you’re looking to collaborate with, but it’s also just easier doing things with people you like.
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MUSIC |
KD: Yeah, exactly. JM: Cross-over artists have become a dime a dozen, but your sound mixes genres including reggae, hip-hop and pop so organically. KD: I think we just vibe. I don’t know. There’s no mental thing about it. It’s like, I wanna do a Frank Sinatra record, and he pulls out this file that he did with this like live orchestra in Prague from years ago. And we just fit a record to that. There are no creative limits. We can do anything. And that’s how we approached it. It was like, “How do we feel today? What do we want to do today?” Then, we just went for it and we would create it. JM: I know you filmed your video for “Gangsta” back in Miami. Tell me about that experience filming in your hometown. KD: It was necessary, know what I mean? It was something we needed to do. It was something that we needed to get done over there. We shot an original one in New York. I didn’t feel happy with how it came out and I decided it needed to be in the hometown. We went down there, my family got to come out and see the set. It was a great experience. It wasn’t my first music video but it was the first one where I knew it was going to come out. I was just so excited about it. It was just a fun time. JM: It blew up fast too. KD: Yeah, yeah and it’s still growing. JM: You’re from Miami, home of the Heat. Do you follow the NBA? KD: I’m not really Sporty Spice. I’m more of the Ginger Spice. When there’s hype about the big games, I’ll get into it, but unfortunately I’m not a diehard and who watches every single game. When things are going well and there’s excitement around it, then I’m not gonna lie, I’ll hop on the bandwagon. JM: Might as well. I don’t think basketball requires fans to be experts in every aspect of the game. There’s enough there that’s entertaining for anyone who wants to have a good time. KD: Yeah, and I just have a good time with it. But if we lose, I’m not gonna go home and cry. It sucks because if we did win, then it creates more excitement for people. I don’t know, I guess I just love people haha! When people are excited, I get excited. If they’re yelling, “Let’s go Heat!” I’m gonna be like, “Let’s go Heat!”
42 | March/April 2015
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JM: What’s your take on this LeBron James guy? KD: He meant so much to the city and he kind of brought so much attention to the city. I have so much love for the guy, honestly. He brought three championships to the city. And when he left, you can’t hate him for it. JM: Good! I appreciate you saying that. KD: He went back home! It’s where he’s from, ya know? You can’t be mad at the dude. It’s not like we owned the guy. It’s where he was born and it’s where he made his career. He’s back home now and we can’t claim him. JM: I know you like BB King, Led Zeppelin, Iggy and Bob Marley. Do you see yourself going in any particular direction with a particular genre? Or do you feel that it’s day-to-day? KD: Yeah, it’s day-to-day. That’s the reason I named this album My Garden. I wanted it to be all these different genres. I didn’t want to put it into just one box. Like a garden, you got some roses, thorns, you got some happy daisies, you got some weeds in the back. It’s an array of different stories, different emotions, different sounds and genres mixed into this one project. I’m not really into albums that just have the same sound over and over again. This album is over such a long period of time, twoand-a-half years of different songs that I had done. It’s actually almost three-in-a-half years. Dude, I recorded Gangsta when I was twenty-one. It’s crazy because now I’m twenty-four. It’s a little bit of everything. I just want to get this album out. It’s like a weird itch. JM: Hahaha! KD: I’ve got a bad itch and this Kat just needs to scratch it! JM: There’s the headline right there! Find out more about Kat at katdahlia.tumblr.com.
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PREVIEW:
by Susan Ross If you’ve had a slow start this year, spring into 2015 with the BUKU Music Project on March 13-14. Held on the banks of the Mississippi River in New Orleans, BUKU is your best opportunity to mainline adrenaline before summer starts. The two-day musical affair kicks off on Friday, March 13 with A$AP Rocky, Empire of the Sun and the South African imports Die Antwoord. Flosstradamus and Portugal. The Man will also be on hand. Saturday is your real jam, with one of the best single-day lineups we’ve seen in years. Bassnectar, Passion Pit and Porter Robinson will be flanked by TV on the Radio, G-Eazy and the Israeli import Borgore. Odesza, DJ Windows 98 and BADBADNOTGOOD featuring Ghostface Killah will also be there, and so should you be. It all happens at Mardi Gras World in New Orleans. For tickets and the full lineup, go to thebukuproject.com.
Borgore 46 | March/April 2015
Bassnectar
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Die Antwoord
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Devon Baldwin sceneent.com | 47 sceneent.com | 47
MUSIC |
BADBADNOTGOOD feat. Ghostface Killah
Odesza
TV on the Radio 48 | March/April 2015
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Q&A with
Aaron Williamson
Aaron Williamson is a health advisor and fitness trainer to the film industry. He has helped craft the physical transformations of Jamie Foxx in Django Unchained, Zac Efron in Neighbors and Josh Brolin in Oldboy. He recently finished molding Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke into legendary action heroine Sarah Connor for Terminator: Genisys. Find out more at aaronwilliamson.net.
What is functional training? That’s a great question. I get it all the time. Functional training is essentially exercise that mimics real life movements and activities. Most training is based around core strength, which is really important for what I do with my clients. It teaches the muscles how to work together. You are doing full body movements that work more than one body part. For instance, doing a burpee or a jumping jack, you are using your arms and your legs and your chest. The muscle groups in your body are working together. Why has functional training become so popular? There’s been so much hype about it. The first reason is just for the fun factor alone. Not having to go from machine to machine at the gym, or be stuck to a dumbbell or a barbell. You truly have to be into another style of training to enjoy that on a daily basis. But for the normal person, when you can go into a functional training facility or a room that has battle ropes and kettle bells and monkey bars and stability balls, you can do so many different exercises. It changes the monotony of the gym. It’s a different feeling of going in there and being depressed because you’re gonna have to get under heavy weight and do ten reps, four different times. In addition, it helps keep your body injury free. If you’re doing it right, your muscles are going to be a lot stronger and you’re going to be more conditioned, which gives you that more lean, toned look people seek, and film actors especially want. Even when you’re doing a functional training exercise that might be targeted at your legs, you’re still using your back and your arms and other muscles in lesser ways? Absolutely. These exercises are typically always based around your core stability, so if you’re turning from side to side or you’re jumping down on the floor and then getting back up every time, you transition from one position to another and your core is indirectly engaged. You really don’t think about it engaging, it’s just naturally happening which is such a great way to train. How does this type of training differ from traditional weight training? Traditional weight training is exactly how it sounds. It’s your normal gym feel. You go into the gym and you have a specific body part you want to work out. Something very common is for people to come in and train chest and triceps or back and biceps. You’re going in, doing specific exercises for a certain number of sets and a certain number of reps, and you’re targeting a certain body part. But it’s not all working together like it would if you were going into a functional training room and doing a cardio circuit or a plyometrics circuit, where you’re going to engage everything at one time. You’re going to work your whole body through one workout but you can come in again the next day and do another workout, but you’re not going to be overly sore. It sounds like it reflects real world activities. If I’m going to outside and stack wood, I’m not isolating my biceps. It’s a full body exercise to do that. Some of the people I train, even non-film people, are folks I’m just trying to get back in shape. And they actually noticed a difference even driving in their car. Turning a corner, they can feel their abs engage and it’s something they’ve never felt before. There’s a connection there now. Even for the average person, it’s a great way to get back into the gym and get into physical 50 | March/April 2015
photo by Brandon T. Willis
fitness because it can be low-impact or high-impact. It can be whatever you make of it. There’s just so much room to be flexible with the training. Do you recommend one style of training over the other? It really depends on the goals. If I’m training a film client, it depends on what their character needs to look like. I like both styles and I incorporate both of them into my training. I actually do a lot of functional fitness for my cardio, but I’m a meathead at heart. I love to just get in their with dumbbells and lift heavy stuff all the time but that’s just me. I know it’s not for everybody. Do you train most of your film clients with functional training when you’re preparing them for action films? Most of them right now, yes. This is the preferred method of training. First, for its ability to keep them injury free, and, second, if they’ve had a long day, it needs to be fun. It needs to be something that will allow them to stay engaged with what they’re trying to do. If you come into a gym, and someone doesn’t really like to lift weights, it’s not going to be a good experience for either of you. Most actors really don’t like to just come in and ground and pound with heavy weights. So, every time they come in, there’s a different workout, a different circuit and a different style of training. One day we might focus more on cardiovascular stuff. I can actually put workouts together with treadmills, stead mills and rowers. It doesn’t have to be what you would think is workout equipment. How does cardio factor into functional fitness? Cardio’s a huge thing because of the toll it takes on your body to do full
body movements like burpees, squat jumps, TRX bands and using balls. You’re going to find that your heart is going to beat out of your chest before your muscles actually fatigue out. When getting into functional fitness, there’s a progressive approach that you have to take because you’re going to want to beat the world, but your heart’s going to tell you to slow down a little bit. That’s where you have to start to do a little more traditional cardio, eat a little cleaner, stop smoking and other things that’ll help your respiratory system.
you just going through the motions? Because if you’re doing that, then your nutrition’s pretty much always going to be off. It all goes back to your goals. With nutrition, there’s always going to be deviations and variations. Maybe I need a little more carbs on days I do legs, or if I’m doing a high intensity day, maybe I need to eat certain foods the day prior. There’s a lot of variables with nutrition with both styles of training. If you’re going to really get into one or the other, make sure you have someone who can guide you in the right direction with nutrition.
So cardio’s incorporated into the training? Yes. I’m not a big cardio guy. I’m not up before the sun and on a treadmill with 30,000 other people. If you really engage in functional fitness, your cardio’s going to be built into the workout, so you’re actually going to knock out two birds with one stone. You’re going to get the benefits of both.
It’s really easy to see how you can lose weight with functional training. But can you bulk up? It’s going to be a lot harder to bulk doing functional training. In order to put on or gain more muscle, you need to be eating more calories than you’re burning off. When you’re trying to put size on, you need to overload the muscle with weight in a progressive fashion for that muscle to be able to grow. The muscle’s going to break down, it’s going to rebuild while you’re recovering, and then you go back into the gym and you want to expand on that. You want to lift heavier, lift stronger, and that’s where the weight’s going to come from. With functional fitness, it’s not really geared around putting mass on. It’s going to be a lot harder because functional fitness lends itself more to losing weight and to toning up.
Who have you recently used functional training techniques with to prepare for a film? Recently with Jai Courtney for the new film Terminator: Genisys. Out of everyone I’ve worked with, I’m most jealous of his genetics. We had to be very careful with training him because he can put on muscle really easily. So, we stay away from lifting heavy weights and focused on a lot of plyometrics. A lot of box jumps, burpees, TRX, a lot of stability work. We were on the battle ropes everyday doing different intervals. He progressed on this show tremendously. I’m excited to see him on screen July 1st. How does nutrition differ while in a functional training program versus traditional weight training? It can differ greatly or it can be pretty similar, depending on the goal. When I’m training my guys and we’re trying to get lean, there’s going to be more meals that are frequently eaten. Your metabolism’s going to be higher doing functional fitness. It’s a type of metabolic training. Your body is burning fat over a certain number of hours a day. Essentially, you can eat more when you’re training in a high level functional capacity. How hard are you training when you go in to lift weights traditionally? Are you feeling the pain from lifting weights? Or are
What advice do you have for people wanting to explore functional fitness further? Look at some videos online and see what functional fitness is. Everyone’s got a different take on it. Some people say it’s this, some people say it’s that. But at the end of the day, it’s really anything that mimics what you would do on a normal day. Picking up your grocery bags out of the store and loading them in your car. Picking up wood. Shoveling snow. Those are all movements that you can mimic in the gym. I recommend that you find a good trainer to show you the basics and how to keep yourself safe and injury free. It can be high impact and if you’re doing it incorrectly, you can get injured very easily. Have someone show you the right form and how to progress into it.
FITNESS MYTHS: Busted “Protein bars are a great substitute for a meal.” That’s definitely a myth. I see protein bars implemented in nutrition programs quite a bit. But a protein bar is not a good substitute for a meal. Even if it looks healthy on the label, it’s still a highly processed food. It’s a healthier option than a Snickers bar or some candy. A protein bar is okay if you’re hungry and there’s nothing else around. If you’re at craft service, eat the protein bar. It’s healthier because there is protein and vitamins in it. But you’re not going to get the same nutritional benefit from a protein bar that you would get from a fresh, balanced meal. I don’t recommend skipping meals. So, if you’re due to eat and the protein bar’s all you have, eat the protein bar. Especially if it’s been three or four hours since you’ve eaten. If it’s been that long since you’ve eaten and there’s no other option, go for it. True or false: functional fitness was invented by Sylvester Stallone when he prepared to fight the Russian in that movie where the Russian was in the gym the whole time and Rocky was in the mountains lifting logs and rocks? Ha! That’s probably some the most creative functional training I’ve ever seen. I think people still want to train like that. Go into a place and be that creative in trying to figure out how to train with such limited assets. Even for us over in Iraq, you’re using water jugs and you’re using sandbags. You’re using whatever you can use and that’s functional fitness at its best right there. Be creative with what you have and make it work. For more health and fitness tips, read the Health Scene online at health.sceneent.com and visit Aaron’s personal website at aaronwilliamson.net.
Disclaimer: The information contained herein is intended to provide general information and does not constitute medical advice. The content is not guaranteed to be correct, complete or up-to-date. This information is not intended to create a client relationship between you and Aaron Williamson, Scene Magazine, or any associated companies, and you should not act or rely on any information in this publication without seeking the advice of medical doctor. In reading this article, please note that the information provided is not a substitute for consulting with an experienced medical professional and receiving counsel based on the facts and circumstances of a particular transaction. Many of the principles mentioned are subject to exceptions and qualifications, which may not be noted. Please consult with your doctor before beginning any health and exercise program.
52 | March/April 2015
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The American Can
Feature - Independent Starring: Will Smith Director: Edward Zwick Fax: 310.432.2401 Status: Active Development Location: New Orleans John Keller returns from the second Gulf War, only to see Hurricane Katrina destroy his home town, New Orleans.
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Badlands
TV Series - AMC Starring Emily Beecham, Sarah Bolger, Oliver Stark, Daniel Wu, Orla Brady Director: David Dobkin Resumes: Badlandspa@gmail.com / badlandsresumes@gmail.com Status: April 27 Location: New Orleans
Beyond Deceit
Feature - Independent Starring Anthony Hopkins, Al Pacino, Dan Stevens, Malin Akerman, Byung-hun Lee Director: Shintaro Shimosawa Resumes: mikeandmartyproductions@gmail.com Phone: 504.224.2225 Status: March 20 LP: Scott Willmann Location: New Orleans
The Big Short
Feature - Paramount Pictures Starring Brad Pitt, Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell Director: Adam McKay Resumes: bigshort@gmail.com / bigshortmovie@gmail.com Phone: 504.708.5323 - Fax: 504.881.1727 LP: Louise Rosner Status: March 23-May 20 Location: New Orleans
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Feature Starring Jessica Biel, Maisie Williams, Jason Sudeikis, Mary Steenburgen Director: Bill Purple Resumes: andthedeepbluesea@gmail.com Writer: Robbie Pickering Status: Wraps March 21 Location: New Orleans
Free State of Jones
Feature - Independent Starring Matthew McConaughey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw Director: Gary Ross Resumes: fsoj.production@gmail.com Phone: 504.313.1610 LP: Dave Pomier Status: Wraps June 4 Location: New Orleans/Lafayette
The Long Night (aka Deepwater Horizon) Feature - Lionsgate Starring: Mark Wahlberg Director: JC Chandor Resumes: thelongnightresumes@gmail.com Phone: 504.682.7688 Status: Shoots March 30 LP: David Womark - UPM: Todd Lewis Location: New Orleans The story of the Deepwater Horizon disaster and the resulting Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Invisible Sister
MOW - Disney Starring Rowan Blanchard, Paris Berelc Director: Paul Hoen Resumes: myinvisiblesister@gmail.com Status: Wraps April 10 Location: New Orleans
NCIS: New Orleans
TV Series - CBS Starring: Scott Bakula, Zoe McLellan, CCH Pounder, Lucas Black, Resumes: ncisnolaresumes@gmail.com, ncisproduction@gmail.com Phone: 504.662.1668 Fax: 504.734.3127 Status: Shoots August 28 to April 30, 2015 UPM: Joe Zolfo PM: Rob Ortiz Location: New Orleans A new NCIS spinoff set in the New Orleans office responsible for investigations from Texas to Florida.
Quarry
TV Movie/Series Starring: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Stellan Skarsgard, Logan Marshall Green, Noah Taylor, Jamie Hector Director: John Hillcoat Resumes: quarryresumes@gmail.com Status: Shoots March 30 Location: New Orleans
Scream Queens
TV Series - FOX Starring Emma Roberts, Jamie Lee Curtis Executive Producer: Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuck Resumes: dd@ryanmurphytv.com Status: March 2015 Location: New Orleans sceneent.com | 57
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When The Bough Breaks
Feature - Sony (Screen Gems) Starring: Regina Hall, Morris Chestnut, Theo Rossi, Jaz Sinclair Director: Jon Cassar Resumes: boughbreaks2015@gmail.com Phone: 504.577.2923 LP: Glenn Gainor Status: Wraps March 20 Location: New Orleans
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Feature - Sony Pictures Starring: Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Haley Bennett Director: Antoine Fuqua LP: Guy Riedel Status: May 18 Location: Baton Rouge
Underground
TV Series - Sony Television Starring Christopher Meloni, Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Aldis Hodge, Jessica De Gouw Director: Anthony Hemingway Resumes: undergroundcrewresumes@gmail.com/undergroundasst@gmail.com Status: April 13 LP: Mark McNair Location Baton Rouge JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014
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Feature - Millennium Films Starring Sylvester Stallone Director: Sylvester Stallone Resumes: rambo5resumes@gmail.com Phone: 318.226.5585 LP: Ed Cathell Status: 2015? Active Development Location: Shreveport
Cut to the Chase Feature - Independent Starring TBA Director: Blayne Weaver Status: March 26 Location: Shreveport
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Masters of the Air
Miniseries - HBO Producer: Steven Spielberg Status: Active Development Location: Louisiana Follow up to Band of Brothers and The Pacific that focuses on officers and enlisted in the Eighth Air Force. Based in England, the men fought in the air against Germany in WWII.
Reptiles (Will shoot on the Northshore) Girl’s Trip The Unholy (Gold Circle) The Raven (Gold Circle) Blood Red Sky (Gold Circle) Independence Day 2 Guilty Silence Savage Destiny 23 Jump Street (Currently in Development) The Trust Welcome to Peril (Baton Rouge) Scream (MTV)
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the magazine! You’re the guys at the front door. You have so many original things that give it a real weight, yet can still be pro-local.” Matthew McConaughey Actor, Dallas Buyers Club sceneent.com | 59
THE UNSCENE EXTRA EXTRA There is a pernicious lie that permeates the modern media’s perception of hard news and it’s this: objective reporting is possible. It’s not. All of us carry our biases with us, from our pillows to the office and back. The fifty year experiment in masking our biases under the moniker of objectivity failed. Writing carries bias. Word selection carries bias and perhaps above all else, editing carries bias. Most audiences just want to know what your biases are. There’s a reason Scene Magazine has prospered in its first five years. Film in Louisiana is popular. While these pages are the authority in entertainment, that doesn’t stop other media outlets, both locally and nationally, from commentating on the growth of a thriving industry. But those outlets ought to do their due diligence. As film in Louisiana has grown to become a billion dollar industry, it has begun to resemble many other industries. Like the automotive industry, there are cars being built, cars being sold and businesses specializing in support services have popped up everywhere. There are large, established car dealerships and small, upstart lots renting space in a bad part of town. There are dealerships that have done business for decades, and there are independent dealerships that fail in their first year. But when a lemon lot that’s selling price-inflated jalopies gets run out of town, the media doesn’t use it to paint the entire car industry with that brush. It’s one example of malfeasance that exists alongside the good work being done by many. A man rents a house in a neighborhood filled with homeowners, and then he’s arrested for murder. When the neighbor is interviewed, should the media paint the neighbor as a co-conspirator? Should there be a conversation about whether or not to bulldoze the entire neighborhood? More than anything, the good people doing great work in Louisiana’s newest billion dollar industry want a fair shake. They’re not carnies: they are homeowners and taxpayers. And, fellow members of the media, they are in your audience, too. The UnScene Writer Submit tips to unscene@sceneent.com. Anonymity guaranteed.
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