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Music

3.15.2021

Oscar Nominations, Grammy Wins Highlight Louisiana’s Creative Talent

Louisiana-made films earn four Academy Award nominations; local artists snare six Grammy Awards

BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana’s creative talent held the gaze of the entertainment world with Sunday’s Grammy Award presentations and Monday’s Academy Award nominations. Six Louisiana acts scored Grammy wins, in categories ranging from jazz to blues to gospel. Two Louisiana-made motion pictures earned a total of four Academy Award nominations, and four additional Oscar nominations went to Louisiana-based artists for other projects.

“The success of Louisiana artists with this year’s Grammy Awards wins and Academy Award nominations demonstrates that our traditional leadership role in entertainment is still recognized as best-in-class,” Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Don Pierson said. “At LED, we are pleased to provide programs that spark the creation and production of the best entertainment content – in music, digital media, film and TV production. Motion picture production and other entertainment projects generate hundreds of millions of dollars every year in project-based spending across the state. Our programs also encourage Louisiana’s creative leaders to invest more permanently in our state. We congratulate these latest winners and nominees as we look forward to continued success for our state in the entertainment industry.”

One Night in Miami, which filmed in LaPlace, New Orleans and Thibodaux, picked up three Academy Award nominations: Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Leslie Odom Jr.), Best Adapted Screenplay (Kemp Powers) and Best Original Song (Odom’s Speak Now). The production reported $13.9 million in Louisiana spending, including $4.5 million in Louisiana resident payroll.

Greyhound, the World War II drama filmed in Baton Rouge aboard the USS Kidd and at Celtic Studios, was nominated for Best Sound (Odin Benitez, Jason King, Christian P. Minkler, Michael Minkler and Jeff Sawyer). The production spent more than $31.6 million in Louisiana, including $6.34 million in Louisiana resident payroll.

Louisiana artists nominated for Academy Awards in other projects include:

  • Jon Batiste and Trent Reznor, Best Original Score for Soul, with Atticus Ross. The trio won a Golden Globe in this category in February. The Pixar film also is nominated in the Sound and Animated Feature Film categories.
  • Terence Blanchard, Best Original Score for Da 5 Bloods.
  • Garrett Bradley, Best Documentary Feature for Amazon Studios’ Time.
  • Dan Janvey of New Orleans-based Court 13 Arts, Best Picture for Nomadland. Janvey, one of several producers of the film, also produced 2012’s Louisiana-filmed Beasts of the Southern Wild. Nomadland also earned nominations for Best Director, Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing.

Sixteen Louisiana acts were nominated for 23 Grammy Awards, and six of them were winners in Sunday’s awards event.

PJ Morton, a 14-time nominee, won a Grammy for the third consecutive year. His Gospel According to PJ won for Best Gospel Album.

John Beasley, a nine-time Grammy nominee, won for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella for Donna Lee. Beasley was nominated in four categories this year.

Bobby Rush won the Best Traditional Blues Album award for Rawer Than Raw. The Homer native also won the Grammy in that category in 2016.

Ledisi won for Best Traditional R&B Performance for Anything For You. This was the first Grammy win for the New Orleans native, who had been nominated 13 times.

Brian Blade of Shreveport won for Best Jazz Instrumental Album for Trilogy 2, with Chick Corea and Christian McBride. Blade had two nominations this year and won his last Grammy in 2018.

Three of the five contenders for Best Regional Roots Album were Louisiana acts, and the Grammy was won by the New Orleans Nightcrawlers brass band for Atmosphere. Band members are Matt Perrine, sousaphone and producer; Craig Klein, trombone/vocals; Kevin Clark and Barney Floyd, trumpet; Jason Mingledorff and Brent Rose, saxophone; Miles Lyons, trombone; Caytanio Hingle, bass drum; and Kerry Hunter, snare drum.

About Louisiana Entertainment
Louisiana is one of the top destinations in the world for motion picture production; digital interactive and software development projects; live performance; and sound recording. With state-of-the-art facilities, a wealth of talent, production-friendly communities and a competitive incentive program, Louisiana is the perfect location for the entertainment industries. For more information on Louisiana film, digital interactive, live performance and sound recording programs, visit Louisiana Entertainment, a division of Louisiana Economic Development, at louisianaentertainment.gov.