In the film, she plays a movie publicist who is A) involved in a bad car crash, and B) attacked by a werewolf. Right. Werewolf. That's what Wes Craven, the Nightmare on Elm Street/Scream guy, does after all. "This is really a straight horror film," says Ricci. "Making it, there was tons of running around and fight scenes and gross special effects. And I was screaming. A lot."

Luckily, there's no shortage of cold beverages in the Crescent City to soothe those sore vocal chords. "We had drinks at The Columns," Ricci says of The Columns Hotel in New Orleans' Uptown neighborhood. The Columns' bar - the Victorian Lounge - is rightly acclaimed as one of the best-looking watering holes in the city. Truman Capote, no doubt, drank there, if at least in spirit. "Wow. The bar and the hotel are both so beautiful," says Ricci. "We did cocktail hour there on the balcony. It was amazing."

It's also pretty upscale at the Victorian Lounge. And though Ricci appears these days in Louis Vuitton ads and even recently sashayed down a Paris runway for the design house, she's generally dressed casually. Where to drink in your denim, then? "There were two bars in New Orleans I really loved," says Ricci. "We saw a lot of live music at one of them. It's called One-Eyed Jack's and it's in the French Quarter. The other is called Pal's Lounge. It's in more of a residential area, called Mid-City. That place was so laid-back. I brought The Sheriff, my dog, and there were other dogs there."

Pal's is a hipster hangout that's a bit farther afield than a typical tourist might go on a New Orleans visit. But Ricci picked up the recommendation from the bar's owner (also the owner of One-Eyed Jack's). By coincidence - or not - the owner, Rio Hackford, has Hollywood connections. He had a small part in the film Swingers and his father, Taylor Hackford, directed An Officer and a Gentleman.