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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2007 > April
April 2007
‘Gracie’ star plenty tough, with the scars to prove it
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Actress Carly Schroeder, 17, has a few lasting souvenirs from the shoot of “Gracie,” this summer’s inspirational soccer movie.
“I still have a couple of scars on my ankles from the cleats,” Schroeder confided to Buzz over a breakfast of French toast Monday morning at the Four Seasons in Midtown.
Picturehouse
Actress Carly Schroeder muscles onto an all-boy soccer team in “Gracie,” coming in June. The “fierce competitor” was in town to promote the film, set in 1978 and loosely based on a true story.
The girl-powered family movie, set in 1978 New Jersey, centers on high school soccer player Gracie Bowen’s fight to become the first female to play on her school’s all-boy team. The film is loosely based on the soccer-centric childhoods of actors Elisabeth and Andrew Shue growing up in the Garden State. Elisabeth faced similar obstacles in real life. The senior Shue plays Gracie’s mom in the film while her younger brother is the entrepreneur who produced the film.
“With ‘Gracie,’ we wanted to demonstrate that girls can succeed on any field,” Andrew Shue explained. “We’ve come a long way from my sister’s challenges to where we now have 5 million girls playing the game [in the U.S.].”
And in a summer filled with testosterone-fueled sequels on the big screen, the Shues have a nearly empty field all to themselves with the female-targeted $10 million independent film, scheduled to open June 1.
Between bites, Schroeder caused Shue, 40, to beam as the high school athlete described pinning all the boys in her class during wrestling matches. “I made one boy pass out!” she said.
“As you can see, Carly has this wonderful vulnerable quality but is also this fierce competitor,” says Shue. “That’s why she was so perfect for the role.”
Aside from acting these days (he has a small role in “Gracie”), Andrew Shue has started the popular resource Web site, Cafe Mom for harried mothers (“It’s a MySpace for moms,” Shue says. “We’re signing up 3,000 moms every day.”)
The former “Melrose Place” heartthrob — now the father of three soccer-playing boys, ages 10, 8 and 3 — is quietly raising his family back east.
“My kids literally didn’t find out about all that until a couple of years ago,” a relieved-looking Shue says. “I just told them, ‘It was a fun thing Dad used to do!’ “
BALLET AND BIG BOI
Earlier this season, the Atlanta Ballet axed its pit orchestra. But for a world premiere next season, it’s looking to the stars for musical accompaniment. Big Boi, half of the chart-topping duo OutKast, will perform onstage with the ballet in a new work scheduled for April 10-13. Few details of the yet-to-be-named work have been decided, according to ballet spokesman Jeff Al-Mashat.
Big Boi and musicians from his Purple Ribbon Entertainment will collaborate with choreographer Lauri Stallings. They plan to meet today to discuss the project.
The Atlanta Ballet has staged works with pop performers before. In October 2001, the ballet collaborated with the Indigo Girls on “Shed Your Skin,” which featured the Decatur duo performing songs onstage behind the dancers. It was presented again in 2004.The ballet’s 2007-08 season includes five other shows, opening Oct. 25 with artistic director John McFall’s production of “Peter Pan.” For tickets, info: www.atlantaballet.org.
OVERSCENE
Although it was his day off, Ron Massey of Carter-Barnes Hair Artisans was on the job at 6:55 a.m. Monday to style the hair of Ireland’s president, Mary McAleese. At the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead hotel, he combed her short blond hair in a classic simple look, with light bangs. “She’s a very down-to-earth, very sweet person who commented on what a beautiful city we have and how different our weather is from Ireland’s,” said Massey. The Irish president liked her hair so much she booked the stylist for a repeat performance at 5:30
p.m. President McAleese is on an official visit this week, meeting politicians and stopping by historic landmarks and universities in Georgia and New York. She met with Gov. Sonny Perdue on Monday. She will fly to the Big Apple today. She even plans to take in a Broadway show, “The Pirate Queen,” later in the week.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Singer Judy Collins is 68. Atlanta bassist Johnny Colt (Black Crowes) is 41. Country singer Tim McGraw is 40. Bassist D’Arcy Wretzky (Smashing Pumpkins) is 39.
COUPLING
“Survivor” producer Mark Burnett and former “Touched by an Angel” star Roma Downey were married Saturday in a private ceremony at their Malibu, Calif., home. The ceremony was officiated by Downey’s “Angel” co-star Della Reese, an ordained minister, the couple’s publicist, Jim Dowd, confirmed Monday. “It was wonderful to have shared our big day with our family — Roma, myself, our children and our parents,” Burnett, 46, told People magazine in an interview. “It was so meaningful and so intimate.”
STORK REPORT
Brace yourself for incoming, thoroughly wholesome baby chat. Elisabeth Hasselbeck, a co-host on “The View,” is pregnant again. She announced the news Monday on the daytime ABC talk show.
Hasselbeck, 29, and her husband, pro football player Tim Hasselbeck, have a 2-year-old daughter, Grace.
She said the baby is due in Nov-ember, just in time for sweeps.
Contributing: Marylin Johnson, Pierre Ruhe and news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Saloon shoots for own piece of the action
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lowe’s will often place a store by a Home Depot. Burger King will plant itself catty-corner to McDonald’s.
Kennesaw’s Saddle Rack Saloon, which opened Friday, is taking the theory to nightclubbing: It parked itself in a former Just for Feet store at Town Center at Cobb, just 2.9 miles from the most established country music club in metro Atlanta, Cowboys.
Saddle Rack, with faux-burnt pine and cedar and a big dance floor, is smaller than Cowboys, fitting 1,500 people compared with 3,000-plus. But general manager Bob Hearn hopes to draw corporate support via VIP memberships and a more upscale audience. (All new nightclubs like to throw around that term, “upscale,” don’t they?).
Rodney Ho / AJC
Rhett Akins performs
“We can’t be bigger than Cowboys but we can be better,” said Hearn, who used to promote Coors beer and said he’s friends with the folks at Cowboys.
On opening night, the club drew more than 1,400 people, a solid crowd considering the relatively low-star wattage of the headliner, Rhett Akins, who had two big country hits in the mid-’90s but nothing much since. (“A washed-up has been,” sneered 23-year-old Matt Rhodes of Kennesaw, who visited the club but wasn’t impressed.)
Marietta’s Carolyn Phillips, 39, didn’t like the “flow” of the club’s layout and blanched at the $100 a month fee for individual VIP access. “They better serve free sushi and beer for that price!” she said. They don’t, but one-time entry to the VIP area upstairs was only $8 Friday.
Others were more enthused.
“It’s a cool new place to go,” said Michael Christie, 23, of Warner Robins, in the area to visit his girlfriend. “It beats Cowboys. It’s cleaner and a nicer environment.”
Teddy Lucas, 33, of Kennesaw agreed: “Great service! I brought 14 people here, and they got my tab exactly right,” he said. “I’ll be back!”
IDOL APPEARANCE SUITED TO A T
Rodney Ho / AJC
“American Idol” finalist Lisa Tucker (Season 5) promoted “Idol” T-shirts at Macy’s at North Point Mall in Alpharetta Saturday and took time to chat it up with Ashley Lombres, 5, of Charlotte.
BEATS IN A BUBBLE
Atlanta rock band Cartel is pulling a David Blaine: the band will sit in a huge transparent bubble on a public pier in New York City, where the act will record its next album from May 24 to June 12.
Cartel, which had a modest hit (“Honestly”), is using this shameless gimmick to get attention in this era of declining CD sales, MySpace pages and Bob Dylan allowing Victoria’s Secret to use one of his songs for an ad.
Fans will be able to watch Cartel 24/7 via a Web cam (sponsored by Dr Pepper.) MTV will also air four 30-minute episodes of the recording process.
MAKING HISTORY
James Fitts
Honorary chairs Nancy (from left) and Dan Carithers join Swan House Ball co-chair Elizabeth Allen for the annual black-tie gala.
The 430 guests who attended the 22nd annual Swan House Ball on Saturday made history while celebrating it. For the first time, the black-tie party raised more than $1 million — $1,044,000 to be exact — for the Atlanta History Center.
The four chairs who pulled off this feat were Elizabeth Allen, Eileen DuBose, Cindy Fowler and Rebecca Smith. Well-known Atlanta interior designer Dan Carithers and his wife, Nancy, were the ball’s honorary chairs. When Buzz asked Dan Carithers what it meant to be an honorary chair, he said with chuckle, “It means I’m not yet out to pasture. I’m overwhelmed by the honor, and the history center along with the Swan House are among my pet projects.”
After cocktails at the 1928 Swan House, a Philip Shutze-designed Italianate mansion, guests were shuttled to dinner at the history center’s Grand Overlook ballroom. Wolfgang Puck Catering, a ball sponsor, served an organic mix salad, an artful arrangement of smoked salmon with accouterments, lamb and a white and dark chocolate mousse bombe.
LUDACRIS WON’T BITE
Hip-hop legend Russell Simmons created a bit of a stir last week when he called for rappers to stop using words such as “ho” and the n-word. During a conference call to promote his return appearance next month for the season finale of “Law & Order: SVU,” Atlanta’s Chris “Ludacris” Bridges punted when asked about Simmons’ comments. “There’s a time and place for everything,” he said last week. “But I feel like this is about ‘Law & Order: SVU.’ “ Coincidentally or not, Ludacris once recorded a song titled “Ho.”
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Actress Cloris Leachman is 81. Singer Willie Nelson is 74. Actor Adrian Pasdar (“Heroes”) is 42. Singer Akon is 34. Actress Kirsten Dunst is 25.
Q100’S TOP 5
Covering April 22-28
1. “It’s Not Over” Daughtry
2. “Sweet Escape” Gwen Stefani
3. “Glamorous” Fergie
4. “What Goes Around” Justin Timberlake
5. “Don’t Matter” Akon
— MediaBase 24/7
Contributing: Marylin Johnson and news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Thanks for a million
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Giving away $1 million is a family affair Saturday night at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Hope for a Cure gala, a black-tie affair at the InterContinental Hotel in Buckhead.
Jim McDonald, CEO of Scientific Atlanta, a Cisco company, along with his wife, Paula, daughter Ashley and her husband, Jeff Taylor, are giving the foundation the seven-figure donation and have been chosen to receive the Living & Giving award.
“Our family has been involved with JDRF since my daughter, Ashley, was diagnosed with the disease 16 years ago,” McDonald said. “In recent years, researchers have made significant progress in understanding the causes of the disease and have identified a few promising treatments, and possibly a cure. We believe now is the right time to accelerate research, and are pleased to help in doing so.”
Get ready to bleep
Pretty potty-mouth Sarah Silverman will host the 2007 MTV Movie Awards in June, replacing the just plain pretty Jessica Alba. The awards show airs live, ensuring the guy on the bleep button will earn his union wages.
Silverman stars in “The Sarah Silverman Program,” which returns for a second season on Comedy Central in the fall. She also hosted the Independent Spirit Awards in 2006.
High five
Top five music video downloads at iTunes:
1. “If I Can Dream,” Celine Dion & Elvis
2. “I’ll Stand by You,” Carrie Underwood
3. “Ford Music Video,” Various artists
4. “Make Me Wonder.” Maroon 5
5. “Beautiful Liar,” Beyonce & Shakira
Quote of the day
“Obviously, calling your child a pig or anything else is improper and inappropriate, and I apologize to my daughter for that.” — Short-tempered actor and father Alec Baldwin in a mea culpa broadcast Friday on “The View.”
Celebrity birthdays
Saturday: Actress-singer Ann-Margret is 66. Actor Paul Guilfoyle (“CSI”) is 58. “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno is 57. Actress Mary McDonnell is 54. Singer-bassist Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth is 54. Rapper Too Short is 41. Actress Bridget Moynahan is 36. Rapper Big Gipp of the Goodie Mob is 34. Actor Jorge Garcia (“Lost”) is 34. Actress Penelope Cruz is 33. Actress Jessica Alba (“Dark Angel”) is 26.
Sunday: Singer Carl Gardner of the Coasters is 79. Actor Keith Baxter is 74. Country singer Duane Allen of the Oak Ridge Boys is 64. Singer Tommy James is 60. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld is 53. Actor Daniel Day-Lewis is 50. Actress Michelle Pfeiffer is 49. Actress Eve Plumb (“The Brady Bunch”) is 49. Singer Carnie Wilson of Wilson Phillips is 39. Actress Uma Thurman is 37. Rapper Master P is 37. Actor Zane Carney (“Dave’s World”) is 22.
Contributing: Sonia Murray, Nick Marino and news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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ATL men over 35 rank on ‘Oprah’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Leave it to Oprah Winfrey to blab about one of our little secrets. On today’s episode of “Oprah” (4 p.m. WSB-TV), Atlanta makes the list of “The Best Places to Find Men Over 35: Gayle King Reports.” Somehow we figured that Oprah’s BFF wasn’t just in town last week to chat up those Spelman gals and to dine with director Tyler Perry. Representing our area on today’s show are the following eligible bachelors: Craig Massa, 39; Jonathan Mason, 41; Matthew Allen, 37; Scott Zahler, 44; Tim Ryan, 35; all of Atlanta, and David Artman, 45, of Roswell.
Ryan, a Buckhead nursing school student and professional baker, opted to up the ante for his “Oprah” appearance. Ryan told us Thursday that he baked 101 cookies for the bachelorettes in the audience and Oprah even takes a bite of one of his confections on-air. But Ryan, (who, incidentally, used to tip us on celebrity sightings as a college kid while working at Melissa Libby and Associates) says he didn’t need the national exposure to secure dates here. “It’s a 2-to-1 ratio between men and women here,” he explained. “The women in Atlanta have got it way worse than we do.”
SIR ELTON UPDATE
Our very own knight, Elton John, has been named one of the performers for this summer’s Princess Diana tribute concert being organized by her boys Princes William and Harry. The July 1 celebration at Wembley Stadium in London will mark what would have been her 46th birthday. This August is the 10th anniversary of Diana’s death. Other performers booked for the show include Kanye West, Rod Stewart and Lily Allen, Duran Duran, Joss Stone and Pharrell Williams.
The concert will include a performance by the English National Ballet and songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber in honor of Diana’s love of dancing and theater, organizers said Thursday.
The concert will benefit charities Diana supported.
A memorial service is planned for Aug. 31. For info: www.concertfordiana.com.
Sir Elton, we hear, meanwhile, has been here working in the studio, recording a cover of the rock ‘n’ roll classic “Blueberry Hill” for an upcoming Fats Domino tribute disc. Artists from around the globe have been recruited for the benefit disc, which will raise funds to help to rebuild the New Orleans home of the rock legend and Hurricane Katrina evacuee.
WXIA’S WES SARGINSON TO RETIRE AS ANCHORMAN
Veteran WXIA-TV newsman Wes Sarginson has decided to retire from the anchor desk after more than 40 years in broadcast news. The anchor announced his retirement on-air Thursday.
Sarginson, who also anchored beside Monica Kauf-, er, Pearson, on WSB-TV from 1978 to 1984, has been at the NBC affiliate for the past decade. At the end of 2005, the award-winning evening anchor cut back his hours and the station hired Ted Hall from Knoxville to co-anchor the 11 p.m. news in his place.
Sarginson told Buzz on Thursday that although he was no longer doing the 11 o’clock anchor job, “I ended up working more hours and doing more stories. My wife was constantly on my case.” He said through the decades, he never spent enough time with his kids and wanted to do more for his two grandchildren (one more is on the way in August). “One year when I was in Atlanta, I was made ‘Father of the Year’ by one group,” he told us. “I thought it was the worst decision I ever heard. I was never home.”
Sarginson will stay on the desk until the end of May. In the coming months, viewers can anticipate Sarginson continuing his popular “Wes Side” stories featuring profiles in courage. Over the years, the anchor also devoted many hours off-camera working with the city’s many charitable nonprofits.
In his official retirement release, Sarginson praised viewers: “Every time I’ve told them about the need to save something worthwhile in our community, they have delivered. I’ve always said if we can fix a problem with money, our viewers will reach deep into their pockets and come to the rescue.”
HIGH FIVE
Top-selling albums at Criminal Records in Little Five Points and Virginia-Highland:
1. Kings of Leon, “Because of the Times”
2. Jarvis Cocker, “Jarvis”
3. Modest Mouse, “We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank”
4. Arcade Fire, “Neon Bible”
5. Amy Winehouse, “Back to Black”
— Criminal.com
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor Jack Klugman is 85. Announcer Casey Kasem is 75. Singer Cuba Gooding of the Main Ingredient is 63. Soul singer Ann Peebles is 60. Singer Kate Pierson of the B-52’s is 59. Guitarist Ace Frehley (Kiss) is 56. Singer-guitarist Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy is 23.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“My first bypass was actually the ‘Tonight Show.’ We’re just a couple of heart patients here. This isn’t a talk show, it’s a recovery room.”
— “Live With Regis & Kelly” guest and fellow heart bypass surgery survivor David Letterman (above) Thursday, welcoming Reege back to work six weeks after his life-saving procedure.
‘IDOL’ RAISES FUNDS
Through a combination of corporate and private donations, the special “Idol Gives Back” show Wednesday night raised more than $60 million, Fox announced Thursday.
The money will go to various charities to address poverty in the United States and Africa. How it will be specifically disseminated was not disclosed but at least one Atlanta charity will benefit: SafeHouse Outreach, which provides services to homeless people.
Contributing: Rodney Ho, Nick Marino and news services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Music stars turn out for Recording Academy Honors
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For country superstar Garth Brooks, it was a break from the constant scavenger hunt that is finding the kids’ soccer uniforms. For Antwan “Big Boi” Patton of rap duo OutKast, it was just the right place to pull up in his burgundy Rolls-Royce Phantom. And for fellow rapper-actor Ludacris, “Hey, it’s one of the biggest nights of my life! ” It was the benefit ceremony formerly known as the Heroes Awards — now called the Recording Academy Honors — Thursday night at the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel.
Photos: Stars at the presentation ceremony
Brooks was there to support wife and honoree, country singer Trisha Yearwood. Ludacris — along with production trio Organized Noize and the late co-owner of Southern Tracks Recording, Mike Clark — rounded out the list of recipients from the Atlanta Chapter of the Recording Academy, which puts on the prestigious Grammy Awards.
And Patton was there to honor Organized’s Rico Wade, Pat “Sleepy” Brown and Ray Murray; as well as take up for hip-hop while the cameras and microphones were pointed in his direction. When asked about recent attacks on the genre for its language, Patton replied: “What about the movies? What about Martin Scorsese? What about [his movie] ‘Goodfellas’? Nobody’s getting on the movies. They just call it art, right? Leave the brothers alone.”
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Dove Awards stun Duluth musician Shust
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The first time that Aaron Shust heard his name announced as a Dove Award winner Wednesday night in Nashville, he had a little panic attack walking up to accept his award — he feared that he’d misheard the winner of songwriter of the year, and that it wasn’t actually him. (Click here to see photos from the Dove Awards.)
But then the Duluth musician heard his name called again at the Christian music awards show, as the man behind the song of the year, “My Savior My God.” And then again, as the Doves named him the year’s best new artist.
In the end, in his first year as a Dove nominee, Shust walked away with three trophies.
When he phoned Buzz Central yesterday, he was just heading back to Georgia with his wife and baby. Where were the awards?
“They are wrapped up in the baby’s blanket,” he said, “behind the driver’s seat.”
Shust celebrated the wins with an afterparty. And then, he said, “I took a wonderful seven-hour nap, and then we celebrated this morning with the Pancake Pantry here in Nashville.”
Shust’s success is all the more remarkable given that he’s on a secular record label, the Atlanta-based Brash.
Brash founder and CEO Mike McQuary told us yesterday that his company will also release Shust’s follow-up album in June. Golly, we thought, what convenient timing.
“We may appear somewhat mystified on the surface,” McQuary said, “but there’s a lot of smart thinking and hard work going on behind the scenes.”
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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It’s all good with fans of domestic diva
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Martha-tinis will be flowing at 10 a.m. Friday when the members of the Atlanta Martha Stewart Good Things Group gather to watch themselves on the domestic diva’s “Martha Stewart Show” (seen locally on WXIA-TV).
The nine-gal group that ranges in age from 19 to 44 will be toasting their trip to New York City this month for two tapings of the daytime show.
“It was a stupendous experience,” Ana Raquel Ruiz, the group’s Powder Springs-based leader, told Buzz. “We were all very impressed with how very organized Martha’s staff is and how clean the studio was.”
Courtesy of Ana Raquel Ruiz
Atlanta Martha Stewart Good Things Group members (from left) Robyn Coward, Darcy Harper, Dawn Klempf, Victoria Clearfield and Shalomie Ruiz and leader Ana Raquel Ruiz celebrate their club’s ninth anniversary at two tapings of Stewart’s show in New York City.
Not surprisingly, the nine-year-old group was first introduced to Stewart and her staff this year when the author came to town to sign copies of “Martha Stewart’s Homekeeping Handbook.” Stewart’s people asked the Good Things members to send in a video of themselves. A few weeks later, they received the studio invitation.
On Friday’s show, Stewart asks Ruiz, 44, about the group and asks for “good things” tips from the self-described “Spanglish domestic diva.”
“I told Martha about my food scrapbooking,” Ruiz explains. “My passion is cooking. I have 4,500 cookbooks. I like to document the recipes that I cook, and I take pictures of each dish.”
So what’s exactly in those Martha-tinis?
“Oh, it’s a combination of citrus and vanilla vodka, lime and simple syrup,” Ruiz spills. “I’m the martini queen of the group.”
For Ruiz and her friends, keeping Atlanta’s Good Things group together after Stewart’s much-publicized trial and prison stint was simple: “Martha brought us together. Our friendship is very solid.”
WHAT IS THAT UNFORGIVABLE SMELL?
Look for a new, fancier edition of Atlanta restaurateur Sean “Diddy” Combs fragrance: Unforgivable Multi Platinum.
The new cologne is a limited-edition, amped-up version of Unforgivable, which the 37-year-old rapper-producer introduced last year and watched it become one of the top launches of 2006.
“In the world of fragrances, perfumes and colognes, the actual products we use are based on ‘the juice.’ There are different grades of ‘juice,’ ” Combs said during a recent phone interview. “This is the luxury version.”
He compared it to a fine wine: One year might be a great vintage for a particular wine, and you love it. Then you taste the wine from one of those once-in-a-decade vintages, and you go crazy for it.
Even at $65 for 2.5 ounces, $10 more than the regular version, Unforgivable Multi Platinum is likely to be in short supply.
“I’m definitely attracted to something that won’t be around a long time,” Combs said.
There was no immediate reaction from Diddy’s longtime girlfriend — and a mother of his children — Kim Porter regarding that last quote.
SERENBE’S NEW CHEF
Serenbe braintrust Steve Nygren has snapped up former 103 West chef Hilary White to head the kitchen in the burgeoning Palmetto community that boasts residential living, organic farming and destination eateries south of the city.
Not coincidentally, we suspect, the new restaurant will be named the Hil, and White’s husband, Jim White, has been hired as the restaurant’s manager. We’re told that the Hil is set for an August launch.
‘IDOL’ MARKS A FIRST
In a first, “American Idol” didn’t cut anybody at all Wednesday night.
Indeed, host Ryan Seacrest said the show had raised nearly $30 million for various charities in Africa and the United States before the two-hour special results show had even ended.
The producers basically yanked the viewers’ chains by acting as if they were going to drop somebody. (The consensus on the Web was either Chris Richardson or LaKisha Jones.) In fact, they ended the night with Richardson and favorite Jordin Sparks standing. And for a moment, Seacrest implied that Sparks was out, which would have been truly shocking. But no, he said everybody was safe and that the 70 million votes tallied Tuesday night would be added to next week’s vote. Then, two people will be ousted, leaving four.
The special featured performances by the likes of Rascal Flatts, Josh Groban, former “Idol” winner Kelly Clarkson and a strange duet between a live Celine Dion and a dead Elvis Presley, who was made to look like he was standing next to Dion, at least on camera. For the uninitiated, it was semiconvincing, if not incredibly cheesy.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actress-comedian Carol Burnett is 74. Actor Jet Li is 44. Actor-comedian Kevin James (“The King of Queens”) is 42. Singer Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins of TLC is 37. Country bassist Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts is 36. Incubus drummer Jose Pasillas is 31. Actor Tom Welling (“Smallville”) is 30. Actress Jordana Brewster (“The Fast and the Furious”) is 27.
SICK BAY UPDATE
Film critic Roger Ebert says he won’t miss his annual Overlooked Film Festival in Illinois despite the advice from some who said he should sit out this year.
The 64-year-old’s participation at his film festival this week is expected to be his first public appearance since a cancerous growth was removed from his salivary gland last June. Doctors removed a portion of his jaw in the process and needed to perform a tracheotomy to allow him to breathe. It has left him unable to speak.
“I was told photos of me in this condition would attract the gossip papers,” he wrote in a column published this week in the Chicago Sun-Times. “So what?”
“To paraphrase a line from ‘Raging Bull,’ I ain’t a pretty boy no more,” Ebert wrote.
Ebert will watch the movies from a recliner. He’s written occasional movie reviews since last summer and has called his return to the festival a starting point on the road back to full-time film criticism in print and on the syndicated “Ebert & Roeper” TV show.
Contributing: News services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Mayer and Simpson sup on sea bass, steak in Buckhead
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Bluepointe staffers and diners got quite the jolt Monday night when celebrity couple Jessica Simpson and John Mayer arrived at the posh Buckhead eatery for a late dinner.
We’re told that the couple slid into a booth (yes, on the same side of the table) and split a bottle of wine. Chef Doug Turbush prepared sea bass for the Chicken of the Sea-challenged Simpson, while Mayer had a filet mignon.
Apparently, Simpson had a fan among the diners. The couple received complimentary dessert from an anonymous patron.
We’re told that former Buckhead resident Mayer and Simpson later closed down the restaurant.
On Tuesday, sans Simpson, Mayer was spotted stepping out of a Lincoln Town Car near Castleberry Point Lofts to shoot a GQ magazine cover featuring the Atlanta skyline as a backdrop. Dressed in jeans, a green army jacket and aviator shades, Mayer was approached by Jerry Miller of Miller Gallman Developers (builders of the lofts), who naturally tried to coax the former Atlantan back to town.
At press time, there was no word on whether Mayer had yet opted to become a downtown loft owner in the hipster ‘hood.
A FASHIONABLE LUNCH
It’s almost a given that guests at Stephanie Blank’s charity luncheon May 2 at Ecco in Midtown will be salivating into their salads. To raise money for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Blank has persuaded New York fashion designer (and Phipps Plaza boutique owner) Tory Burch to unveil her fall line during a fashion show here.
“Tory has almost this cult following,” Blank told us Tuesday. “She’s doing classic American sportswear mixed with a youthful, bohemian edge. I feel comfortable going to a meeting in her clothes and then running carpool. It’s great for all those women who have to wear a lot of hats now.”
Without a single invitation being sent, only about 15 seats remain for the $175 per person benefit featuring celeb models Jane Fonda, Spanx founder Sara Blakely and Atlanta City Council President Lisa Borders.
Quipped Blank: “We just had our fittings and I discovered Jane is a size 2 and I’m a size 6. It’s just not fair!”
Call for tickets: 404-785-7316.
A STAR IN THE CROWD
Pop star Janet Jackson’s presence Monday night at the Stars of the Century seventh anniversary drag show at Jungle nightclub likely resulted in a few jangled nerves for performers. We’re told that the part-time Atlantan and pals were spotted in the crowd and grooved in their seats to numbers featuring the music of the Black Eyed Peas’ Fergie and Beyoncé. Jackson remained polite even when someone ill-advisedly attempted to entertain with the music of her brother Michael.
IT’S A SCOTTISH THING
We’ve been to Scotland and we’ve hurled haggis, but the upcoming festivities at the Georgia Renaissance Festival sound infinitely more fun. Festival officials are requesting that attendees slap on kilts and warm up their throwing, er, arms for the ever-popular Scots and Kilts Weekend, May 5-6. Haggis-hurling competitors will be standing atop half a whisky barrel throwing a frozen sausage containing various unsettling ground- organ byproducts for distance — without falling off the barrel. Festival reps tell us that Guinness World Records shows the modern hurling record as 180 feet, 10 inches. The Renaissance Festival contest will be held in the Joust arena at 1:30 p.m. and will offer long-distance throwing categories for men and women. The men will lug an 8-pound frozen haggis, while the women will toss a daintier 4-pound version of the stuffed sheep’s intestine.
For more info: www.georgiarenaissancefestival.com or call 770-964-8575.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor Al Pacino is 67. Singer Bjorn Ulvaeus of Abba is 62. Actress Talia Shire is 61. Actor Hank Azaria (“The Simpsons”) is 43. Singer Andy Bell of Erasure is 43. Actress Gina Torres (“I Think I Love My Wife”) is 38. Actress Renée Zellweger is 38. Actor Jason Lee (“My Name Is Earl,” “Almost Famous”) is 37. Singer Jacob Underwood (O-Town) is 27.
HIGH FIVE
From ousted “American Idol” contestant/ponyhawk hawker Sanjaya Malakar’s list of “Things I Learned From ‘American Idol,’ ” which he read Monday night on “Late Show With David Letterman”:
1. “Nothing.”
2. “The camera adds 10 pounds to your mohawk.”
3. “Work hard and make sacrifices, you can finish in seventh place.”
4. “Voting for yourself 100 times an hour causes some wicked carpal tunnel.”
5. “America loves performers with bad hair — right Dave?”
OVERSCENE
> Food Network host and author Paula Deen and hubby Michael Groover dining on the barbecue special at South City Kitchen in Midtown. The couple shared house-made country sausage with chipotle and garlic, molasses-glazed pork shoulder and mustard-glazed smoked pork ribs. Sipping Coca-Cola, Deen was seen raving about the jalapeño coleslaw with manager Chris Dean. She also happily posed for cellphone pictures.
> Chicago interior designer, author and F.O.O. (Friend of Oprah) Nate Berkus shopping at J. Crew at Lenox Square.
Contributing: Lamar Wilson and news services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Golden Girl’s nuggets find many takers
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Monday’s luncheon at the Margaret Mitchell House was a testament to the power of Lifetime, television for women. And gay men.
About 150 fans of “Golden Girls” actress Rue McClanahan sold out her Q&A session and signing at the Midtown landmark as she hit town to promote her memoir, “My First Five Husbands … and the Ones Who Got Away” (Broadway Books, $24.95).
ANNE NETTLES STANFORD / Margaret Mitchell House & Museum
In town to promote “My First Five Husbands … and the Ones Who Got Away,” Rue McClanahan (left) was joined at a sold-out book signing by Linda Barone of Marietta, who earned a free pass.
Admirers of her alter ego, Blanche Devereaux, lined up to stammer compliments, request pictures and, in one case, a hug.
“My mother knew I was gay real early,” one man, clad in a pink Polo shirt, informed the author. “I taped every single episode of ‘The Golden Girls’ off Lifetime.”
That’s 166 episodes, dear readers.
Linda Barone of Marietta got into the boxed-lunch event for free. MMH reps offered that inducement to any divorcée who could prove she had been married four or more times.
“I just keep at it until I get it right,” Barone, 43, told us. Barone is married to her fourth and — she swears — final husband.
One fan even remembered McClanahan from her 1960s role as the evil Caroline Johnson on the NBC soap “Another World.”
Quipped McClanahan: “I was poisoning poor Pat so I could steal her husband. I lasted 14 months, which is pretty good for a killer!”
ON MY IPOD
Second Shift lead singer Jonathan Baker: “The Films, this kind of retro-infused rock band out of Brooklyn [N.Y.] Very punchy stuff. Lily Allen, who is this British pop sensation. Her new record [“Alright Still’] is pretty sick. Also, the new [U.K. singer-songwriter] Amy Winehouse is just awesome.”
OVERSCENE
Tour de France champ Lance Armstrong (right) and fashion designer Tori Burch dining at Chops in Buckhead. It’s likely that Armstrong was in town to catch a portion of the Tour de Georgia cycling race while Burch has a shop at nearby Phipps Plaza.
PROUD PUBLISHER
Busting open Watergate was likely a trip to Six Flags compared with unraveling the subject of Carl Bernstein’s upcoming book. “A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton,” written by the award-winning journalist, will be published in June. Explained Sonny Mehta, of the Knopf Publishing Group in an e-mail Monday: “Hillary Clinton is one of the most compelling figures in the world today and Carl Bernstein’s stunning portrait shows us … the true trajectory of her life and career. I believe his book will stand as the most detailed, comprehensive, and revealing account we have of a woman who helped define one presidency and may well step into another.”
G-CAPP PLEDGE
When Jane Fonda pats the seat next to her for a private chat, Buzz is always happy to oblige.
Even if it happens to be on MindSpring founder Charles Brewer’s coffee table.
Over the weekend, at a private Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention party in Ansley Park, the two-time Oscar winner gave us lots of details on her nonprofit’s May 7 benefit that will unveil “Georgia Rule,” her new film co-starring Felicity Huffman and Lindsay Lohan.
The local premiere in her adopted hometown promises to be a star-studded evening at the Woodruff Arts Center.
Huffman and “Rule” director Garry Marshall are set to accompany Fonda on the red carpet. During the evening’s live auction, Huffman will help the G-CAPP founder auction off a walk-on role on Huffman’s hit show “Desperate Housewives” (for info and tickets: gcapp.org).
While Fonda is encouraged that Georgia has dropped to 10th in the nation in teen pregnancies (it was No. 1 when she started the charity 13 years ago), the activist isn’t resting.
“You’ve got to take the long view,” Fonda explained. “We’ve got to keep this issue on the front burner. Even 10th in the country is too high. We’re aiming for zero [unplanned pregnancies].”
To help in that goal, Fonda announced that she’ll celebrate her 70th birthday in December with a new G-CAPP initiative: to track 70 at-risk kids over seven years, with $7,000 pledged to each participant. A major fund-raising party is being planned.
The program will track current sixth-graders in three southeast Atlanta middle schools through their high school graduations.
The program will teach health, finances, community service and sex education, along with other topics important to a successful future that’s, hopefully, free of unexpected pregnancies.
The actress laughed when asked to compare her relatively compressed planned media campaign for “Georgia Rule” with the way Hollywood used to roll out films.
“When I started in this business, you had to travel the entire country to promote a film,” she said. “You did parades, visited orphanages, everything. Now, it’s pretty much two days.”
Fonda has booked appearances on “Late Show With David Letterman,” “Larry King Live” and “The Colbert Report.”
Wearing a white suit and gold-tinted glasses, Fonda turned heads all evening at the $1,500-a-ticket party. When quizzed about her luminous look, Fonda sounded more than a little like her feisty “Georgia Rule” character.
She leaned in and whispered, “It’s the sex!”
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actress Shirley MacLaine is 73. Actress-singer-director Barbra Streisand is 65. Actor-comedian Cedric the Entertainer is 43. Actor Djimon Hounsou (“Blood Diamond”) is 43. Actor Eric Balfour (“24”) is 30. Singer Kelly Clarkson (“American Idol”) is 25.
Contributing: news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Some real babes catch disco fever
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For parents with young children, the nightclub scene has long receded into the past, along with drunken one-night stands, deafening music and 4 a.m. Waffle House runs.
But the organizers of the national phenomenon called “Baby Loves Disco” tried to bring back at least some of those elements to the Loft in Midtown Saturday afternoon — except nearly half the dancing crowd of 300 were babies and toddlers.
RODNEY HO / Staff
Kimberly Kersery (left), Payton Hunter and her aunt Jodi Hunter show some moves as Donna Summer’s “Last Dance” plays at the end of “Baby Loves Disco” Saturday.
DJ Rob Wonder, who normally spins at MJQ Concourse, woke up early to give the kids a mix of actual disco (as in “Disco Inferno” and “Shake Your Booty”) all the way up to “One Two Step” and “SexyBack.” He refuses to do weddings, which he feels “compromises his integrity” as a DJ, but in this case, he simply had to ensure the songs were clean versions.
And get this: The bar was open and Loft bar manager Garrett Hockin was surprised he sold a bit of liquor. “It was more than I expected,” he said. Organizer Dina Fuchs Beresin, who has a 2-year-old daughter, didn’t notice: “I saw mostly juice boxes and Diet Coke.”
Regardless, Jodi Hunter of Sandy Springs said the Loft evoked some frat-house nostalgia: “It smells like stale beer.”
MONTEL HAS LIMITS
Montel Williams is an amiable dude, and he said he has no problems signing autographs and posing for pictures if he’s by himself. But he does draw the line at the urinal.
“I’m literally in the bathroom, and people want to shake my hand,” he told Buzz before his visit to Atlanta Saturday at the Buckhead Barnes & Noble to promote his “Living Well With Montel” DVD series. ” ‘Dude, back away from the urinal. It’s not happening. I’m sorry! ’ “
After 16 years on TV with his successful “Montel Williams Show” (seen locally weekdays on WSB-TV at 10 a.m.), he felt he needed to consolidate his knowledge about life on DVD, bringing in life coaches to help talk about relationships, finances and family. And even after tackling the same topics over and over , he still enjoys his job: “I love talking to people and dispensing information.”
DA BRAT WORKS OUT
Da Brat, the part-time Atlanta hip-hop artist, hated her time on VH1’s “The Surreal Life,” partly because she believed the producers misled her.
“I was fooled,” she told Buzz last week. “They told me everyone would be current people. I didn’t want to be in a house with a bunch of people who hadn’t done anything in a long time.”
But Da Brat’s back on VH1 for “Celebrity Fit Club 5,” which debuted last night. “I don’t have a problem with VH1,” she said. “It was the producers of the other show. In this case, I knew who was going to be on the show.”
They include Tiffany (“I Think I’m Alone Now”), Maureen McCormick (“The Brady Bunch”) and Dustin Diamond (“Saved by the Bell.”)
At 172 pounds, Da Brat was hardly in Bone Crusher territory, but she said she needs to trim a bit from the hip and booty area. But don’t “disrespect” her, as shown Sunday when she clashed frequently with stone-faced trainer Harvey Walden. “I’m brutally honest,” she said.
She said she liked everybody on the show — except mouthy Diamond: “For the cameras, he was being unruly. Once I got to know him, I didn’t like him.”
RANDOM BITS
At the inaugural “Evening of Hope” benefit Saturday night at the Atlanta History Center, 225 guests and sponsors raised about $150,000 for the American Cancer Society. Secretary of State Karen Handel served as honorary chairwoman, while WGCL-TV meteorologist Gene Norman emceed. Outback Steakhouse provided the food: rack of lamb, grilled chicken and chocolate cake …
Fans of Paul Harvey flooded the Eagle lines last week after the beloved 88-year-old’s folksy daily commentaries were taken off the country station. General manager Victor Sansone said the station wanted to focus more on music, but Buzz figures the real reason is Harvey’s aging fans weren’t compatible with Eagle’s regular listeners …
Brandi Carlile, the Seattle singer-songwriter recently featured on “Grey’s Anatomy,” told the sold-out Variety Playhouse crowd last week that her hero Elton John had sent her flowers and a bottle of wine. “I called my brother. He said, ‘I just got a job as a concrete- truck driver,’ ” she said. “Nothing like family to put things in perspective!”
Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls joined Carlile onstage to sing “Cannonball” and “Folsom Prison Blues.”
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor Lee Majors is 68. Director Michael Moore is 53. Actress Valerie Bertinelli is 47. Comedian George Lopez is 46.
HIGH FIVE
V-103 For April 15-21
1. “Buy U a Drank” T-Pain
2. “Lost Without U” Robin Thicke
3. “Like a Boy” Ciara
4. “I’m a Flirt” R. Kelly
5. “Last Night” Diddy
— Mediabase 24/7
QUOTABLE
“Although I have been told by numerous people not to worry too much, as all parents lose their patience with their kids, I am most saddened that this was released to the media because of what it does to a child. I’m sorry … for losing my temper with my child. I have been driven to the edge by parental alienation for many years now. … I am sorry for what happened. But I am equally sorry that a court order was violated.”
Alec Baldwin on his Web site Friday after TMZ.com publicized a voice mail between Baldwin and his 11-year-old daughter, Ireland, in which he resorted to name-calling. (Did his ex-wife Kim Basinger leak it? TMZ won’t say.)
Contributing: Marylin Johnson and news services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Arie may have Big Apple in her future
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Stone Mountain songstress India Arie confided to us that she may well be headed for the Big White Way. At the red-carpet Atlanta Film Festival premiere of “Last Days of Left Eye” Thursday night, the singer said she’s hoping to be part of a “major” Broadway musical this year.
While we attempted to coax the name or more details out of her, Arie graciously resisted spilling too much info. But local fans shouldn’t be fearful that Arie will leave us for good.
“Oh, no. It would only be for a while. I’ve always got to come back to my home.”
We haven’t been able to determine whether it might be a new musical or an existing hit (i.e., shows like “The Color Purple” and “Hairspray” that routinely book household names to bolster ticket sales). “But you’d better come up to New York and see the show and write nice things about it whether you like me or not,” Arie joked. We’ve already booked our plane ticket.
Tennis … jewelry
GoGo Ferguson has a love affair with tennis. The Georgia designer, who makes jewelry out of nature’s bounty, is the presenting sponsor of this year’s Cloister Cup Tennis Tournament Tuesday-April 29, hosted by the Sea Island Resort on Sea Island. Qualifying rounds will be held Sunday and Monday. Players in the $50,000 pro circuit event will each receive a pair of Ferguson’s sand-dollar earrings and a sand-dollar pendant on a ribbon. The top six winners will take home her silver and gold rattlesnake logo necklaces. Ranked players entered in the clay court tournament include Ashley Harkleroad, formerly of Flintstone, Ga., and Varvara Lepchenko of Uzbekistan.
Ferguson, who designed the wedding bands of her late friend John F. Kennedy Jr. and his wife, Carolyn, lives part time on Cumberland Island with her husband, David Sayre. During tournament week, Ferguson’s jewelry, which is worn by Laura Bush and Hillary Rodham Clinton, will be available at the Sea Island tennis pro shop. Admission is $10 a day or $50 for an event pass. Call 912-638-5168 for more information.
Private eyes’ reality
And here we were under the impression that the coolest thing about Atlanta businesswoman Jeanene Weiner’s job was the way employees answered the phone, saying: “Good afternoon, Busted.”
Now, Busted, the local all-female private investigations (as in “Cover me, Bree, I’m going in!”) firm, will be featured on an NBC reality show filming here.
And since Busted specializes in infidelity cases, the firm is looking for a few fresh perps to pop on national television. If you suspect you’re being cheated on (and Weiner decides your case has merit), the company may take your case for free in exchange for you having your personal life splashed across NBC. Interested parties can contact Weiner at 770-956-1105 or at info@bustedpi.com.
Oh, and the show’s working title? “Busted!” natch. We’re told to look for it to air on NBC in June or July.
In and out
Singer Brandy is being replaced by Sharon Osbourne as a judge on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent.”
Osbourne, 54, the wife/manager of rocker Ozzy Osbourne, will make her debut May 29, when the reality competition returns for its second season, NBC announced.
“On this show, it just had to be Sharon Osbourne,” executive producer Simon Cowell said in a statement.
Osbourne will join returning judges David Hasselhoff and British media figure Piers Morgan. Jerry Springer is the new host of the $1 million-prize contest.
Brandy, 28, was involved in a Los Angeles freeway crash last December that killed a 38-year-old woman. Two wrongful death lawsuits have been filed against the actress-singer on behalf of the woman’s family.
“Brandy has enjoyed her association with the program. However, she felt she couldn’t give the new season the attention and commitment it deserved,” said a statement by Brandy’s spokesman, Courtney Barnes, which was released by NBC.
Celebrity birthdays
Saturday: Actor Charles Grodin is 72. Singer Iggy Pop is 60. Actress Patti LuPone is 58. Actor Tony Danza is 56. Actress Andie MacDowell is 49. Singer Robert Smith of the Cure is 48.
Sunday: Actress Charlotte Rae (“The Facts of Life”) is 81. Actress Estelle Harris (“Seinfeld”) is 75. Singer Glen Campbell is 71. Actor Jack Nicholson is 70. Director John Waters is 61. Singer Peter Frampton is 57. Actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan (“Grey’s Anatomy”) is 41. Actor Eric Mabius (“Ugly Betty”) is 36.
Contributing: Marylin Johnson and news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Deen’s a friend of Decatur Book Festival
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We’re gonna take a wild guess here and say that the AJC Decatur Book Festival is about to come into a few new friends. The organization’s next “Friends of the Festival” private reception with a notable author will be 8:30 p.m. Monday at the Emory University Woodruff Library. The visiting writer? Savannah restaurateur and Food Network star Paula Deen, who’s in town to discuss her new memoir, “It Ain’t All About the Cookin.’ ” For a minimum donation of $20, Deen’s fanatical following will gain admission, get to hang with Miss Paula and sample some wine and hors d’oeuvres. “It’s a great opportunity for these folks to meet with writers one-on-one,” festival rep Ryan Klee told us when we rang. Let’s hope they’re preparing pimento cheese by the barrel …
For info: www.decaturbookfestival.com.
A PEACH OF A PRICE
Even the city’s most dedicated martini sipper may choke on the audacious libation being served up May 4 to June 30 at The Capital Grille in Buckhead. The special peach martini will cost $1,000 a pop. The upside? It’s benefitting the national Share Our Strength charity that is helping to end childhood hunger in America. The concoction is made with Absolut Apeach Vodka and Bottlegreen English Summer Berry Cordial and topped with champagne. To help the tab go down a bit easier, each cocktail comes with a citrine and diamond caviar rope bracelet by jewelry designer Steven Lagos. Also, Capital Grille reps added that $500 of each drink sold will be donated to SOS. Still, we’re betting that particular expenditure would not go undetected on the Buzz Central expense form …
HIGH FIVE
Top downloaded films this week
1. “The Thomas Crown Affair”
2. “School of Rock”
3. “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dean Man’s Chest”
4. “The Longest Yard”
5. “Mean Girls”
— Source: iTunes
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor George Takei (“Star Trek”) is 70. Actor Ryan O’Neal is 66. Keyboardist Craig Frost of Grand Funk Railroad is 59. Actor Gregory Itzin (“24”) is 59. Actress Jessica Lange is 58. Actor Clint Howard is 48. Actor Crispin Glover is 43. Country singer Wade Hayes is 38. Actress Carmen Electra is 35. Bassist-keyboardist Marty Crandall of the Shins is 32. Actor Joey Lawrence (“Dancing With the Stars”) is 31.
ON MY iPOD
British singer-songwriter James Morrison: “You mean if my iPod weren’t out of action right now? Right now on my iTunes library that I travel with, I’m listening to Citizen Cope. He’s this white guy who’s doing really good R&B. Also, [singer-songwriter] Jessie Baylin. I’m on tour with her right now. She’s got great songs and a fantastic voice. Plus, she’s a darling.”
Contributing: News services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Lisa Lopes’ mother reluctantly attends film premiere
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wanda Lopes-Colemon reacted like any mother Thursday night when asked her thoughts about the final minutes of “Last Days of Left Eye,” the thought-provoking documentary that opened the 31st annual Atlanta Film Festival at Atlantic Station.
The film chronicles the final weeks of TLC member Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes’ life as she sought to cleanse and spiritually center herself in Honduras. As most Atlantans recall, the controversial and always outspoken performer was killed in a car crash there. Her subsequent funeral drew international media to Georgia.
In “Last Days,” footage from that fateful final ride (obtained from a documentary crew filming Left Eye on the trip) provides the film’s most chilling moments.
Trying to contain her emotions, Lopes-Colemon told us softly: “I never wanted to see it. No mother would want to see that.”
Sensing her discomfort, her co-producers on the project, son Ronald and daughter Reindrop Lopes, added that the decision to use the footage had been a family decision. But Wanda planned to exit the theater Thursday night prior to the film’s conclusion.
As expected, there was a wide range of emotions mixed with the glitz and glamour at the premiere.
Blaque member Shamari DeVoe, a girl group Left Eye was mentoring at the time of her death, was also emotional on the red carpet. “I haven’t really prepared myself for tonight,” she conceded, her eyes filling with tears. “I was supposed to be down there in Honduras with her but we were recording. I realize though that I’m a part of her legacy. She helped me fulfill my dreams.”
New Edition member and Sharmari’s husband Ronnie DeVoe clutched her hand throughout.
The film’s director Lauren Lazin told us that she had one conversation with Lopes a month before her death.
“She was never afraid of death,” Lazin said. “She considered it a transformation. In a way, the film is very inspiring.”
Other notables in attendance: Pop singer Monica, Outkast member Big Boi, Atlanta Falcon Ovie Mughelli, “American Idol” contestant and actress Tamyra Gray and former San Antonio Spurs player Terry Cummings.
A wide smile crossed singer-songwriter India Arie’s face when she recalled how TLC had impacted her as a high schooler, homesick for Georgia while watching MTV in Denver.
“I felt connected to home,” Arie said. “I knew girls who dressed like that, spoke like that and carried themselves the way TLC did. It was a little bit of home reaching out to me.”
One notable no-show on the red carpet: former Atlanta Falcon and Lopes’ ex-boyfriend Andre Rison. Lopes famously burned down Rison’s mansion following an argument between the couple in 1994.
In the doc, Lopes discusses the pair’s often stormy relationship, why she set the fire and Rison’s alleged physical abuse.
Reporters were told that Rison had missed a flight out of Detroit Thursday.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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An ATL bookstore bash for ‘Trainspotting’ author
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fans of “Trainspotting” author Irvine Welsh will want to circle May 12 on their calendars (or make note in their BlackBerries, if the infernal vibrating contraptions happen to be working today).
Famed Little Five Points indie shop A Cappella Books is partnering with the Chattahoochee Review literary journal to throw a private bash for the Scottish author as he celebrates the paperback release of “The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs” here. The reception will take place in the freshly refurbished ballroom at the Highland Inn in Poncey-Highland, starting at 8 p.m.
And the ticket price? A measly $15, which includes admission, an autographed copy of the book and a free copy of the latest Chattahoochee Review.
Naturally, we rang up A Cappella owner Frank Reiss to ask the obvious: Isn’t he taking a financial bath on this?
“We probably could have asked for a little more,” Reiss reasoned Wednesday. “But this is the first time for us doing an event of this nature, and we just wanted to have a great event for Irvine Welsh.” Tickets can be purchased in advance at A Cappella Books or at the door, if any remain. The ballroom holds between 100 and 150.
Tonight, meanwhile, our former AJC colleague Steve Dollar returns to his former city for a 7 p.m. signing and discussion at A Cappella to mark the release of the second edition of “Jazz Guide, NYC,” written and researched by the author in his current hometown. Local jazz combo New South Subterraneans will provide the tunes.
TRIO FOR OGLETHORPE
Instead of one speaker, we received word Wednesday that Oglethorpe University officials have booked three notable Atlantans for the school’s May 12 commencement ceremony. Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, WSB-TV news anchor Monica Kauf, er, Pearson and real estate developer Tom Cousins will share their combined wisdom with grads on the academic quadrangle beginning at 9 a.m. Lapel flowers and midceremony hair makeovers will be optional.
OFF WITH HIS HEAD
Voters finally decided to send Sanjaya Malakar, the talk of “American Idol” this season, home. Malakar, with his shifting hair styles and modest vocal skills, outlasted five other finalists and there was even talk of him possibly winning. But after his miserable take on Bonnie Raitt’s “Something to Talk About” Tuesday, he couldn’t rally enough voters to survive.
LaKisha Jones, the vocal powerhouse, stumbled Tuesday attempting Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus Take the Wheel” and came in second to last. Blake Lewis, following a so-so cover of a Tim McGraw song, was in the bottom three for the first time.
Simon Cowell also cleared up a misunderstanding. He rolled his eyes after finalist Chris Richardson sent out condolences related to the Virginia Tech tragedy, but he explained he did so over a conversation with Paula Abdul, that he didn’t even hear what Richardson had said. “I may not be the nicest person in the world,” he said, “but I would never ever ever disrespect those families and
victims.”
STYLISH MEN HONORED
The 2007 “Men of Style” as selected by The Atlantan magazine for the glossy’s April issue had more than their share of female admirers at a party in their honor Wednesday night at Mason Murer Gallery.
Outside the venue, Jonathan Baker, the frontman of the Atlanta rock band Second Shift and “Style” inductee was trying to take in the ginormous framed black and white photo of himself from the mag’s photo session.
“It was definitely an honor to be selected,” Baker told Buzz. “But encountering an enormous life-sized portrait of yourself is something that takes a minute to get used to!”
Inside, the other honorees, including menswear businessmen Ryan Glover and Kenny Burns, hair and makeup artist Stephen Mancuso, Pecan Pie Couture designer Clint Zeagler, singer/songwriter/producer Sleepy Brown and Epic Records A&R rep Jay Harren had doppelganger male model versions of themselves posing on black boxes.
“We worked really hard to make selections that would best represent the incredibly unique style of Atlanta men,” Atlantan editor Travis Ward said. “Judging by how much the men are being fawned over, I think we did our job.”
Before the evening was over, one honoree whispered to Buzz: “They told me I get to take home the large framed portrait of myself. But I’d rather take the model version of me home.”
SICK BAY
Pop icon Tony Bennett has postponed two concert appearances in Ohio this week because he’s recovering from the flu. Bennett, 80, postponed tonight’s appearance in Columbus and Friday’s show in Cleveland because of congestion and other symptoms, his publicist, Sylvia Weiner, said in a statement Wednesday.
“[He] was advised by his doctor to restrict plane travel and to rest for the next five days. Both concert appearances are in the process of being rescheduled,” Weiner said.
The flu prompted Bennett to cancel a guest performance on Fox network’s “American Idol” this month.
“His condition is improving, and he is expected to return to his full concert schedule.” Bennett is booked to perform at Chastain Park Amphitheater on June 2.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actress Elinor Donahue (“Father Knows Best”) is 70. Actor Tim Curry is 61. Hip-hop mogul Suge Knight is 42. Actress Ashley Judd is 39. Actor James Franco (“Spider-Man” films) is 29. Actress Kate Hudson is 28. Actor Hayden Christensen (“Star Wars: Episodes II and III”) is 26.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I need money! I love to travel with friends and family. Eight of us recently made a trip to Barbados. To do that, I have to make a lot of money. To do that, I sing.”
— 96-year-old Kitty Carlisle Hart in an e-mail to Buzz in response to why she had booked four performances of her one-woman show at the 14th Street Playhouse in a single weekend. The incomparable dame passed away Wednesday.
Contributing: Rodney Ho and news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Image honors ‘Stomp the Yard’ producer
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Will Packer, of Marietta-based Rainforest Films, didn’t have just family, friends and fellow local filmmakers fete him at Tuesday night’s Image Film & Video Center gala. Also on hand at the Fox Theatre ballroom was a line of seven performing local step dancers, all who appeared in the producer’s hit drama “Stomp the Yard” for Sony’s Screen Gems.
Packer, along with the indie filmmaking team of John Sayles and Maggie Renzi and others, were honored by Image at its annual fund-raiser, which precedes the Thursday start of the 31st annual Atlanta Film Festival.
“Oh, man, this award means the world to me,” Packer said. “I remember coming to Atlanta years ago from Tallahassee and being really bright-eyed and naive and how could I ever make an impact on a market this size? This means validation from my peers, the film community and Atlanta.”
Since 2000, Packer and his Rainforest Films directing-producing partner Rob Hardy have made several films in Atlanta, including “Trois” and “The Gospel.”
To date, “Stomp the Yard,” a drama involving the African-American fraternity and sorority tradition of stepping, has earned more than $65 million worldwide.
FRANKLIN NAMED ‘BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL’
Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin has been named one of Essence Magazine’s “Bold and Beautiful” in the publication’s May issue on newsstands this week. City Hall reps tell us herzzoner has earned a spot on the 2007 list, which includes “Grey’s Anatomy” actress Chandra Wilson; the black female cadets of the U.S Military Academy; activists Kadiatou Diallo and Marie Dorismond; and poet Maya Angelou. The issue salutes “the strength, courage and wisdom of inspiring black women.”
OVERSCENE
“Training Day” actor Denzel Washington and “Blade” action star Wesley Snipes enjoying a late dinner at Bluepointe in Buckhead, along with 14 friends and business associates. We’re told the movie stars dined on appetizers and steaks whipped up personally by Bluepointe executive chef Doug Turbush. The dinner was hosted by Buckhead Life Restaurant Group regular Daniel Meachum. The table also enjoyed samples of pastry chef Lisa Smith’s chai tea crème brûlée and palm sugar panna cotta. Afterward, the group hung in the eatery’s lounge area, where a few overly enthusiastic fans were politely kept at bay by Bluepointe managers.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actress Barbara Hale (“Perry Mason”) is 86. Actress Hayley Mills is 61. Actor James Woods is 60. Actor Rick Moranis is 54. Actor Eric Roberts is 51. Actress Melody Thomas Scott (“The Young and the Restless”) is 51. Actor John James (“Dynasty,” “All My Children”) is 51. Actress Jane Leeves (“Frasier”) is 46. Talk show host Conan O’Brien is 44. Actor Eric McCormack (“Will & Grace”) is 44. Actress America Ferrera (“Ugly Betty”) is 23. Actress Alia Shawkat (“Arrested Development”) is 18.
QUOTABLE
“Oh, my God, I love you, Paula Deen. Can I come home with you?”
—“The View” co-host Rosie O’Donnell upon meeting the Savannah Food Network queen on Tuesday’s show, after Deen disclosed that she consumes chili with a generous amount of corn chips hidden in the bottom of her bowl.
STORK REPORT
It’s a girl!
Kyma executive chef Pano Karatassos and wife Angela welcomed baby Sophia Angela into the world at 3:30 a.m. Saturday. The newest Karatassos weighed in at 8 pounds, 10 ounces and measured 20 3/4 inches long. She is welcomed by excited big brothers Pano, 5, and Lucas, 3.
Contributing: Bob Longino and news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Introducing James Morrison
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ben Rose/www.BenRosePhotography.com
James Morrison.
So, you’re in this relationship and you’re trying to figure out if it’s love or not. You don’t want to lead anyone on but you don’t necessarily want to break it off, either. You don’t send flowers because you’re uncertain of what message that would be sending.
But it would kill you to see them with someone else.
Now, combine that cauldron of emotion with a hook, horns and strings into “You Give Me Something,” a 3-minute, 33-second pop symphony that resembles one of Dusty Springfield’s musical godchildren.
Welcome to the song writing of UK singer-songwriter James Morrison.
Oh, and he’s 22.
Ben Rose / www.
BenRose
Photography.com
“Yeah, I get that a lot!,” Morrison laughs, while brushing a stray lock of hair dangling out from under his gray ski cap. The singer is in Atlanta this week to promote the U.S. version of his debut album, “Undiscovered.” He will perform and sign CDs Tuesday at Borders in Buckhead at 12:30 p.m.
“I just tend to write about things that affect me, things that I’ve been through. I might be young but I’ve seen a lot. That line about the flowers was actually inspired by my girlfriend who was complaining that I never sent her any. I was trying to figure out if I was in love with her or not at the time. I just think candy and flowers is all a bit cliched, isn’t it?”
Across the pond, the fifth single from “Undiscovered” is now hitting the airwaves. “You Give Me Something,” the first single from the project is just now attracting some attention in the states. The album and single have both become iTunes buyer faves. But Morrison’s voice and almost retro approach to recording has far more in common with Otis Redding and old scratchy Atlantic Records 45s than Beyonce and Nickelback.
Even as he performed Monday night for a private cluster of DAVE FM listeners on a windy patio at Paramount condos in Buckhead, attendees found it difficult to believe that the throaty soulful voice was actually coming out of that skinny dude shivering up there with a guitar.
The voice may be both the product of a near-fatal bout of whooping cough Morrison survived as an infant and a daily series of hand-rolled cigarettes. Taking the mike, the former English sidewalk busker told the crowd: “Hopefully, you’ll be blown away. If the music doesn’t do it, the wind will!” Moments before, a radio contest winner had launched a pile of salad across the patio when a gust of wind made it airborne.
After his promo tour of the states and a pop back to Britain to do the summer festival circuit, Morrison returns to the U.S. for a stadium tour with John Mayer and Ben Folds. The trio comes to Philips Arena Aug. 5.
Morrison admits the schedule is a bit overwhelming but the former commercial van washer isn’t complaining.
“I’ve actually forgotten what it feels like not to wake up tired at this point,” he says. “But who cares? This is the best job you could possibly ask for. I’m gonna keep doing it for as long as I’m allowed.”
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Janet Jackson out on the ATL
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Judging from the growing number of sightings across the city, Janet Jackson is really getting to know her new home. The girlfriend of Atlanta music mogul Jermaine Dupri was spotted last week at a “Stars of the Century” drag show at the Jungle, featuring a Jackson look-alike, V-103’s Miss Sophia reported. And over the weekend, the upper area of the SugarHill night spot in Underground Atlanta downtown was cleared out so she and Dupri could see R&B singer Chrisette Michele in relative privacy.
Michele tried really hard not to let the music icon’s presence rattle her. “I thought having my mom and my family in the audience would be bad on the nerves,” the obviously honored newcomer said after her show. “But with her — whew! —I was just trying make believe that it wasn’t happening.”
OVERSCENE
Film director and Morehouse grad Spike Lee and friend enjoying a private booth at the Bar at Trois in Midtown, drinking Moet Chandon White Star champagne and watching the Lakers game … Gayle King, editor of O magazine (and Oprah BFF) dining at Two Urban Licks in Midtown with “Daddy’s Little Girls” writer/director Tyler Perry. King had the stack salad, and Perry preferred the gumbo. They split the chicken and brisket entrees and enjoyed coconut cream pie for dessert.
AND SPEAKING OF OPRAH …
It won’t count toward the comparative women’s studies degree she is pursuing, but when Buzz caught up with Spelman College sophomore Angela Boudreaux on Monday afternoon, she was getting lots of credit — and high-fives and hugs — from passing classmates. “I’m going to be on Oprah! I’m going to be on Oprah!” the 19-year-old said to students as she walked and fielded our questions at the same time. Yes, Boudreaux and six other Spelman students — Leana Cabral, Deven Sanders, D’Lynn Jacobs, Laura Rahman, Kelli J. Haywood and Cashauna Lattimore — took part in Winfrey’s two-part, post-Don Imus discussion, airing on her afternoon talk show Monday and today. The young women got the heads-up on the opportunity Friday. Saturday there were pre-interviews. And Monday morning Gayle King was on campus, interviewing them for the show. “I think it went very, very well,” said Boudreaux, who recently founded a student group called WORTH (Women Offering Representations That Heal). “Ms. King was extremely, extremely nice. … And Ms. Winfrey’s staff was really, really professional.”
‘MAGICAL MYSTERY’ DAY DOWNTOWN
Roll up, Atlanta. The Beatles’ psychedelic Magical Mystery Tour bus is waiting to take you away. OK, so technically, the 1960s counter-
culture artifact will just be parked out in front of the Hard Rock Cafe downtown starting at 2 p.m. today. The bus is the first piece of rock memorabilia donated to Myrtle Beach, S.C.’s, upcoming Hard Rock Park, touted as the world’s first rock-themed amusement park. In addition to the tourist photo op, Hard Rock reps also will donate the shiny black shirt Godfather of Soul icon James Brown wore for the cover shot of his classic 1966 album, “James Brown Plays New Breed.” At 8 p.m., rockers Sister Hazel will play a free concert at the venue.
EVERYBODY LOVES A PROPOSAL
Those sitcom stars who have done more than their share to deglamorize domestic life, Ray Romano and Brad Garrett, showed they have a heart by helping an attendee at their Sunday night show at the Fox propose onstage. After his girlfriend said yes, the ever-helpful Garrett volunteered $1,000 of Romano’s dough to the happy couple toward their wedding. Since it was April 15, Romano wondered aloud whether the charitable gift could be written off. At press time, Fox reps had not answered our call inquiring about the couple’s identity.
HIGH FIVE
Hot cellphone ringtones For the week of April 15
1. Rascal Flatts, “What Hurts the Most”
2. Chris Brown featuring Jay Biz, “Poppin’ “
3. Buckcherry, “Crazy”
4. Gym Class Heroes featuring Patrick Stump, “Cupid’s Chokehold”
5. 50 Cent featuring Olivia, “Candy Shop”
Source: Billboard
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Composer-musician Jan Hammer is 59. Actress Olivia Hussey is 56. Singer-guitarist Pete Shelley of the Buzzcocks is 52. Singer Liz Phair is 40. Rapper-actor Redman is 37. Actress Jennifer Garner (“Alias”, right) is 35. Singer Victoria Beckham of the Spice Girls is 33. Actress Dee Dee Davis (“The Bernie Mac Show”) is 11.
Contributing: Sonia Murray, Chris Reinolds and news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Katrina losses spurred Roberts to write ‘Heart’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Robin Roberts, the personable “Good Morning America” co-anchor, has nothing but warm memories of her time in Atlanta nearly two decades ago, when she juggled two jobs: sports anchor at WAGA-TV and morning co-host on V-103 radio.
Rodney Ho / AJC Staff
“More people remember me from V-103,” Roberts told Buzz before a speech Saturday night to promote her inspirational book, “From the Heart” (Hyperion, $19.95), at the Margaret Mitchell House. “Even today, at Piedmont Park [where she had a book signing during the Dogwood Festival], people would say, ‘Mike Roberts in the morning, right?’ And I’d say this stupid thing, ‘Come on! Come on!’ “
The two Robertses are not related. Mike Roberts, who runs radio stations in Macon, was her co-host at the time.
Robin Roberts said her current show is a lot like her time at V-103: “It’s the same principle of winging it a lot.”
During her talk with the 150 or so attendees, she said Hurricane Katrina was her impetus for writing the book. Roberts grew up in Mississippi, and many family members lost homes in the hurricane.
“I wanted to bring attention to the Gulf Coast,” she said. “That’s the reason I wrote the book, despite being so low and feeling so much loss.”
The book is breezy and conversational, focused on her seven rules to live by. “My book publisher wanted nine, but my father always said, ‘Leave ‘em wanting more!’ “
OUT AT WSB
That was quick. Collins Spencer is out as morning and noon co-anchor at top-rated WSB-TV after just 18 months on the job.
Bill Hoffman, station general manager, declined to say why Spencer is gone but praised the man’s deep affinity for community service. (That’s similar to the way the “American Idol” judges praised Haley Scarnato’s legs, instead of her singing, before voters ousted her last week.)
Spencer, who couldn’t be reached for comment, had replaced Warren Savage, who suddenly quit in 2005 and last year was arrested twice for alleged drug possession. Spencer previously worked at CNN and Fox News.
DIFFERENT ‘FLAVOR’
If Don Imus had gone after the catty, desperate-for-attention women of VH1’s inexplicably popular series “Flavor of Love,” he’d probably still have a job.
Many black leaders have criticized the series, so VH1 is trying to balance the tables by taking 13 of those women to a facetious “charm school,” with comedian Mo’Nique as the headmistress.
Some of the women say they were embarrassed (in retrospect) about their nasty behavior on “Flavor of Love” and want to make amends. Others, Mo’Nique noted, simply want more TV time.
“It was worth it because it’s TV done in love,” Mo’Nique told Buzz last week during a break on the set of “The Better Man,” a movie she’s working on with Martin Lawrence. “You watch some women transform, grow up and mature.” Among the challenges: learning etiquette, doing community service and finding the right man. The winner gets $50,000.
HILLARY KNOWS VOTERS
Presidential contender Hillary Clinton gave a typical politician’s answer when asked during a radio call-in show Saturday in New Hampshire about Sanjaya Malakar, the “Idol” contestant known more for his hair than his vocals.
“That’s the best question I’ve been asked in a long time,” Clinton said. (Buzz hopes that’s not true!) “Well, you know, people can vote for whomever they want. That’s true in my election, and it’s true on ‘American Idol.’ “
HIGH FIVE
94.9/The Bull Top 5 April 8-14
1. Dierks Bentley, “Long Trip Alone”
2. Tim McGraw, “Last Dollar”
3. Kenny Chesney, “Beer in Mexico”
4. Billy Currington, “Good Directions”
5. Sugarland, “Settlin’ “
— Mediabase 24/7
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Singer Bobby Vinton is 72. Singer Gerry Rafferty is 60. Actress Ellen Barkin is 53. Actor-comedian Martin Lawrence is 42. Actor Jon Cryer is 42.
QUOTABLE
“Last night on Fox News, host Sean Hannity said his opinion of the Don Imus scandal is that conservatives are going to be the victims of this. So Don Imus insults the Rutgers women’s basketball team, and who’s the victim? Rich white guys.”
— Jay Leno
“Carmen Electra has agreed to be the host of a TV show where women wrestle each other naked. The bad news is, the show is called ‘The View.’ “
— Conan O’Brien
RADIO BUZZ
Despite a weak signal, syndicated morning host and actor-comedian Steve Harvey has pulled in great ratings since he joined Grown Folks Radio 102.5 eight months ago. He’ll be doing a victory lap Friday morning in Atlanta at the Wesley Chapel Home Depot at 4325 New Snapfinger Woods Drive. Expect a big crowd.
Kiss 104.1 has let Sasha the Diva go from her midday DJ duties after five years. Though she enjoyed her time at Kiss, Sasha told Buzz that she wished the R&B station would take more chances. In the meantime, she wants to spend more of her energy acting, with plans to move to either New York or Los Angeles.
Contributing: news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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The Apprentice comes to the ATL
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta just might end up being the prize at the conclusion of “The Apprentice Los Angeles” later this month.
At the one-year anniversary party for Atlanta Peach magazine at Puritan Mills downtown Friday night, the international business mogul who is bringing Trump Towers Atlanta to West Peachtree let some scoop slip. “I’ll be choosing Atlanta,” The Donald, clad in a dark suit and signature pink tie told Buzz, indicating that the winner of the NBC reality show would be assigned to Trump’s new Atlanta real estate project. “I’m blowing it by telling you. You’ll have to tune in in two weeks.” Trump’s real estate mogul/model daughter (and current Atlanta Peach cover subject) Ivanka, dressed in a 1950s era pink dress, told us she’s looking forward to spending more time here (she had several friends who attended Emory). “It’s the right time for us and Atlanta,” Ivanka explained. “It’s a growing city, a young city and a city that appreciates architecture. The market is here but the product wasn’t. With Trump Towers Atlanta, we’re creating that product.” Atlanta Peach editor in chief Elizabeth Roth said that she feels the mag’s first year has helped establish the glossy’s identity in an ever-crowded market. “We have great writers covering what’s remarkable about Atlanta,” she said. “That, along with great photography and fashion is what distinguishes us.” About 400 invitation-only guests turned up for the soiree featuring celebrity guest DJs Dallas Austin, Big Boi and Collective Soul singer Ed Roland.
Miami hits Buckhead
With a soggy forecast today, shoppers at Lenox Square may well gravitate to the Neiman Marcus entrance of the Buckhead shopping emporium. That’s where the Miami Lounge will be situated, courtesy of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau and Ocean Drive magazine. Tourism officials hope the mini dose of sun and sand will entice Atlantans to make summer plans to visit the Florida city, with giveaway trips and special getaway deals available for purchase. There was no immediate word if consumers would receive a deeper discount for relinquishing a ticket stub from last year’s ill-conceived, shot-in-the-city big-screen “Miami Vice” starring Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx.
Dating ritual becomes equal opportunity
(See photos: here and read more in the Radio Talk blog here.) Star 94, after four years of having single men promote themselves on Peachtree Road, added an equal number of women Friday morning to the mix.
But this was no Freaknik — or Six Flags promotion. Traffic moved slowly but steadily as many “shoppers” circled the block multiple times, beeping at the men and women they liked. The annual Star 94 dating ritual is among the station’s most popular promotions.
Rebecca Kaufman, a 34-year-old Buckhead nanny, brought her dog Chloe to help attract guys. “I tried the bar scene and the club scene. I’ve tried Internet dating, J-Date,” she told Buzz. “I figured why not add something new to the mix?”
Felicity Warren decided to parlay her profession as a dermatologist by holding up a sign offering a tongue-in-cheek “free full body skin exam.” “It’s hard to meet people in Atlanta,” said the 40-year-old Dunwoody resident.
Aaron Faubli, a 36-year-old sales guy from Little Five Points, promoted himself via his guitar, strumming David Gray’s “Babylon,” and singing the line “If you want it/come and get it.” He said he was inspired by a friend who met his future wife at a previous “Mile of Men” promotion.
U.K. native Daniel Clarke simply wrapped himself in the British flag and a top hat, the same gimmick he used at the 2006 “Mile of Men.”
“Last year,” the 26-year-old software developer noted, “I got two months’ worth of dates from this!”
Celebrity birthdays
Today: Country singer Loretta Lynn is 72. Actress Julie Christie is 67. Actor Brad Garrett (“Everybody Loves Raymond”) is 47. Actor Anthony Michael Hall is 39. Actor Adrien Brody (“The Pianist”) is 34. Rapper Da Brat is 33. Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar is 30. Actress Abigail Breslin (“Little Miss Sunshine”) is 11. Sunday: Country singer Roy Clark is 74. Singer-guitarist Dave Edmunds is 63. Actress Emma Thompson is 48. Actor Danny Pino (“Cold Case”) is 33. Actress Emma Watson (“Harry Potter” movies) is 17.
Contributing: Rodney Ho and news services
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“News thrives on the same thing entertainment does: character and narrative. In this case, a barely repentant curmudgeon had effectively mugged Cinderella.” — New York Times media critic David Carr on the firing of radio/TV talker Don Imus after he made racist comments about the Rutgers University women’s basketball team
OVERSCENE
Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin (the lapel flower was red, incidentally); former heavyweight champ Evander Holyfield (dressed in Thrashers duds); Atlanta Hawks Anthony Johnson, Josh Childress and Zaza Pachulia; Atlanta Thrashers President/CEO Bernie Mullin; and Atlanta Spirit co-owner Michael Gearon were in the sold-out crowd at Philips Arena for the Stanley Cup playoff game that the Thrashers ended up dropping to the New York Rangers 4 to 3 Thursday night. Game 2 is at 3 p.m. today.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Brasserie owner, staff say ‘oui’ to new location
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Finally, finally we are here,” French American Brasserie owner Fabrice Vergez whispered while warmly welcoming Buzz to his gorgeous new downtown eatery Wednesday night. For more than a year, longtime diners at Vergez’s now-closed Brasserie Le Coze at Lenox Square have been quietly craving sauteed skate wings in brown butter and frites — and being doted on by the ultra-loyal Brasserie staff. Skyrocketing Buckhead rents (not to mention Neiman Marcus coveting the adjacent space) prompted Vergez to move to a lavish 15,000-square-foot space — the main room has a stained-glass ceiling — on four floors at 30 Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd.
Indeed, much of the wait and kitchen staffs, including Le Coze executive chef Kaighn B. Raymond, are back on the job at the new location. Wednesday night’s private launch party, filled with hugs for former Le Coze diners and staff, had the feel of a family reunion (Table 1280 and the Globe offered 10 Brasserie servers temporary positions until their new home was finished).
In addition to a rooftop terrace for 80, an 80-seat private dining room and a streetside patio for 32, FAB (as the gold sign out front reads) also pays tribute with a 50-seat Le Coze Corner, complete with black-and-white photographs and furniture from the old location.
“We used a little corner to replicate the Lenox location as a way to pay tribute to our roots,” Vergez explained.
As Allen Plaza developer Hal Barry toasted the new dining destination in the bustling mixed-use area near the Georgia Aquarium, Vergez had a request for guests: “Please, before you leave, make sure to make a reservation!”
Hours: 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays; 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays; closed Sundays. Information: 404-266-1440 or www.fabatlanta.com.
PUCK’S CATERING BRANCHES OUT
We got word Wednesday that Los Angeles celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck is planning further inroads here. First, he opened the ever-busy Wolfgang Puck Express in Buckhead. Last year, Wolfgang Puck Catering inked an exclusive contract to handle the eats for hungry fish fans at the Georgia Aquarium. Now, WPC is expanding in Atlanta to off-premise catering as well. Its first big event? The Swan House Ball, the annual black-tie Atlanta History Center benefit, set for April 28. Just out of curiosity, we rang Tony Conway, whose company, A Legendary Event, has catered the event in the past. “I welcome Wolfgang,” Conway told us graciously. “They’re a great company. It helps to raise the bar for all of us. Plus, having their established quality and price point in Atlanta doesn’t hurt our industry at all.”
ECOMANOR READY FOR MAGAZINE CLOSE-UP
EcoManor, Captain Planet Foundation chair Laura Turner Seydel’s and Hawks/Thrashers co-owner/attorney hubby Rutherford Seydel’s ultra-green home, is getting a house call next week. A camera crew from House & Garden magazine will be in town for two days to shoot the eco-friendly joint for a spread in the Condé Nast publication’s September issue. House & Garden design director Wendy Goodman will have a tough job making the home look more presentable than it already does on ecomanor.com, the couple’s Web site dedicated to the home. At press time Thursday, Turner Seydel had not yet indicated whether she’ll need to borrow our hypo-allergenic Swiffer this weekend.
ROCKERS HAVE NEW DATE FOR ATL
Those pesky “personal issues” must have been worked out. Emo rockers Fall Out Boy, who were supposed to gig here next week, have set a fresh Atlanta date on their tour — June 14 at HiFi Buys Amphitheatre. Tickets from next week’s show will be honored.
CELEBRITY DOCKET
In an eerie case of life imitating art, former “Prison Break” actor Lane Garrison will plead guilty to vehicular manslaughter for a crash that killed a 17-year-old boy who was a passenger in his car, his attorney said this week.
Garrison, 26, will make the plea May 21 in Beverly Hills Superior Court, attorney Harland Braun said after a hearing at which Garrison’s arraignment was postponed. Braun said Garrison might plead guilty to some other charges, too.
The charges carry up to six years and eight months in prison. Garrison remains free on bail.
“He realizes that he has to step up and take responsibility for what he did,” Braun said.
HIGH FIVE
Top downloaded TV episodes
1. “The Negotiation,” “The Office”
2. “10:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.,” “24”
3. “Left Behind,” “Lost”
4. “Fantastic Easter Special,” “South Park”
5. “Dress Big,” “Desperate Housewives”
— Source: iTunes
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor Lyle Waggoner is 72. Actor Tony Dow (“Leave It to Beaver”) is 62. Musician Al Green is 61. Singer Peabo Bryson is 56. “Late Night With Conan O’Brien” bandleader Max Weinberg is 56. Actress-comedian Caroline Rhea (“The Biggest Loser”) is 43. Actor Ricky Schroder is 37. Singer Nellie McKay is 25.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“See, now aren’t you glad you came back after that Six Flags thing?”
— Q100’s Bert Weiss to listeners Thursday, after helpful callers offered shortcuts around lengthy customer service telephone wait times. Last week, a Q100 ratings stunt at Six Flags amusement park resulted in craazy-bad rush-hour gridlock, ticking off commuters and listeners and making national headlines.
STORK REPORT
It’s a boy!
Talk about working up to your due date. “Boston Legal” star Julie Bowen (right) went into labor on the set Tuesday. “Her little muscles contracted until the scene was over and bang,” co-star William Shatner explained to “Extra” of Bowen’s water breaking on the job. “Talk about method acting!”
The actress gave birth Tuesday to Oliver McLanahan Phillips at a Los Angeles hospital.
Bowen, 37, is married to Scott Phillips. Her pregnancy was written into her role.
Contributing: news services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Leavell gets shout-out for forest preservation
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Amy Leavell Bransford, the “very proud daughter” of Rolling Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell, talked about her father’s appearance in the current “Green Issue” of Vanity Fair to Buzz on Wednesday.
Inside the mag, the Georgia conservationist is featured in the “Soundtrack of Change” section alongside surfer rocker Jack Johnson, singer-songwriter Jackson Browne, Jane’s Addiction co-founder Perry Ferrell, bluesman Keb’ Mo’, singer-songwriter Alanis Morrisette, Eurythmic Dave Stewart and guitarist-singer Bonnie Raitt. The green-minded musicians were shot by noted celebrity shutterbug Mark Seliger.
“You can go electric and still be green — as these rockers can attest,” Vanity Fair praises. Of Leavell, the mag writes: “Rock snobs like to name-drop him as the consummate Southern rock session pro, a man who’s played with the Allman Brothers and Black Crowes, not to mention the Rolling Stones — but who knew he was also a dedicated campaigner for sustainable forestry?
“Moonlighting as the noble proprietor of the Charlane Plantation, in his native Georgia, he has twice been named that state’s Tree Forester of the Year.”
In addition, Leavell Bransford tells Buzz: “Chuck and Rose Lane Leavell have recently committed to a conservation easement on 300 acres of their own family forests, Charlane Plantation, thus encouraging other like-minded environmentalists to do the same.”
Here’s hoping that, armed with his new status, Leavell can now keep tour mate Keith Richards out of those coconut trees in Fiji …
ROCKIN’ AROUND CLASSIC CHASTAIN
Georgia native and 1950s pop legend Brenda Lee is coming home this summer for an appearance as part of the Classic Chastain music series. The itty-bitty singer (who once patted the chair next to her when she spotted our AJC press credentials at the Country Music Hall of Fame dedication in Nashville and cooed, “There’s a boy from mah hometown newspaper. You come sit next to me, sugar!”) will perform Aug. 11 on a bill with Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs (“Stay”).
Other shows announced Wednesday at the amphitheater include: The Decemberists with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra on July 13 and Boney James on Aug. 29.
Subscription tickets are on sale, while single tickets go on sale May 21 For info: www.classicchastain.com.
LEGS, 10; VOICE, ZERO
Haley Scarnato, known more for her stunning legs than her forgettable vocals, survived far longer than many expected but finally got the boot Wednesday night on “American Idol,” leaving seven. And yes, that includes teen Sanjaya Malakar, who wore noticeable facial hair for the first time.
Scarnato, a 24-year-old from San Antonio, Tuesday personified a fairly tepid night of Latin music by attempting the old disco nugget “Turn the Beat Around,” originally sung by Vicki Sue Robinson and revived two decades later by Gloria Estefan. “That was really karaoke tonight for me,” said judge Randy Jackson, a basic insult in the “Idol” playbook. Simon Cowell said her strategy was simply to “wear the least amount of clothes as possible. You can’t do well in this competition on your voice.”
She lost to married Navy officer Phil Stacy, who for the third week in a row just skirted elimination. Boy-band soundalike Chris Richardson also landed in the bottom three. Next week: Martina McBride coaches country week.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Jazz musician Herbie Hancock is 67. Musician John Kay of Steppenwolf is 63. Actor Ed O’Neill (“Married…With Children”) is 61. Actor Dan Lauria (“The Wonder Years”) is 60. Talk show host David Letterman is 60. Singer-actor David Cassidy is 57. Actor Andy Garcia is 51. Country singer Vince Gill is 50. Singer Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls is 43. Singer Nicholas Hexum of 311 is 37. Actor Nicholas Brendon (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) is 36. Actress Shannen Doherty is 36. Actress Claire Danes is 28. Actress Jennifer Morrison (“House”) is 28. Singer-guitarist Brendon Urie of Panic at the Disco is 20.
OVERSCENE
Presidential ponderer and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani being feted by Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus at a fund-raiser at 103 West in Buckhead. On chef Hilary White’s menu: braised beef brisket with barbecue dip; caprese bruschetta; smoked salmon on potato blini with creme fraiche and caviar; and grilled chicken canapes with cilantro guacamole. 103 West is becoming quite the power party place for potential presidential candidates. Earlier this year, the special event facility held a fund-raiser for former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney as well.
NOW HEAR THIS
Organizer Jay Richey informed us Wednesday that the recent “Evolve!” concert and silent auction benefiting Youth Pride’s new program to combat gay and lesbian teen suicide raised more than $10,000 for the nonprofit’s new initiative. Richey says that all proceeds will go directly to funding and counseling. Plans are already afoot for “Evolve! 2008.”
Contributing: news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Hamburger craving serves select few well
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Each of the two times that Sgt. Bonnie Middlebrooks was deployed to Iraq, she took a sackful of her favorite cheeseburgers.
She did, however, eat them before she reached the combat zone.
The Snellville resident’s loyalty has earned her a sort of fast-food immortality. In a twist on the old picture-on-the-Wheaties-box cereal promotion, Middlebrooks’ picture and a quote — “I pack a sackful every time I redeploy to Iraq, and when I return on leave, I head straight to Krystal” — will soon appear on millions of Krystal burger boxes to be sold at the chain’s restaurants in 12 states.
Middlebrooks, who works as an accounting manager, is one of three metro Atlantans inducted Tuesday into what the chain calls its Krystal Lovers Hall of Fame. The others are DaShundra Waldon of Douglasville, who claims to have a regular afternoon craving of 20 years she calls her “chili cheese pup alarm”; and Jeff Carlisi of Atlanta, former lead guitarist of the rock band .38 Special, who routinely counts on forays to Krystal to help him make it through late-night recording sessions.
While in Iraq, Middlebrooks said her duties included mostly budgeting and finance assignments.
“When we were over there, all we wanted was fast food,” Middlebrooks said.
Middlebrooks is officially a civilian again, though there’s a chance the Army might recall her to duty. All things considered, she said, she’d just as soon stay near her family and her cheeseburgers.
FOXWORTHY’S RIDE
You don’t need to be smarter than a fifth-grader to see the marketing logic of inviting Alpharetta comic Jeff Foxworthy to serve as the grand marshal April 29 of the Aaron’s 499 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. Foxworthy’s new hit reality series is broadcast on Fox. Perhaps, not coincidentally, the race will also be broadcast at 1:30 p.m. on Fox. Said speedway vice president Rick Humphrey via a statement sent to Buzz Central: “We are excited to have someone as entertaining as Jeff participating in our pre-race festivities and feel certain our fans will love him.”
Really? The guy who immortalized the phrase “You might be a redneck if …” might fit in at a NASCAR race? (We’re personally adopting a wait-and-see attitude.)
OVERSCENE
Pocket-size funny boy/ “Robot Chicken” co-creator Seth Green, “The Sarah Silverman Program” co-star/Adult Swim “Moral Orel” voice artist Jay Johnston, “Space Ghost” portrayer George Lowe and singer/guitarist Blaine Cartwright attending Monday night’s premiere of “Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters” at the Plaza Theatre on Ponce de Leon Avenue. The Cartoon Network feature-length toon debuts in theaters Friday.
NEW TO WRITERS HALL
The Georgia Writers Hall of Fame has an impressive list of 2006 inductees. Late “Lamb in His Bosom” novelist Caroline Miller, the first Georgian to win a Pulitzer Prize for fiction; physician/novelist Ferrol Sams; “Peachtree Road” novelist Anne Rivers Siddons; poet John Henry Stone; and the late Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter/columnist Celestine Sibley will be honorees at an induction ceremony Thursday at the University of Georgia Student Learning Center.
Celebrity birthdays
Actor Joel Grey is 75. Actress Louise Lasser is 68. Country singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale is 50. Singer Joss Stone is 20.
COUPLING
“Scrubs” star John C. McGinley is a newlywed. McGinley, 47, married yoga instructor Nichole Kessler, 34, Saturday in Malibu, Calif., publicist Nancy Iannios told The Associated Press.
He proposed last August, Iannios said. He has a son, Max, 9, from a previous marriage.
McGinley plays the acid-tongued Dr. Perry Cox on the loopy NBC hospital sitcom.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Now I bypass anything involving the upsetting parts of ‘American Idol,’ most of which involve Ryan Seacrest, who makes me squirm, something about his malleable equanimity suggesting a propaganda minister whose talents, in a different world, could be pointed toward bad instead of good.” — Los Angeles Times TV critic Paul Brownfield, on why he TiVos through chunks of the Fox reality show featuring the Dunwoody High School grad.
Contributing: Bill Osinski and news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Conquering foodie has us in her sights
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Much like the generous helpings of mayonnaise and butter in her recipes, there will be no shortage of Food Network queen Paula Deen here in the coming months.
First up, Savannah’s Lady and Sons restaurateur will be in town April 22-23 to promote her upcoming memoir, “It Ain’t All About the Cookin’ ” (Simon & Schuster, $25).
According to pauladeen.com, Deen will sign books for Costco Perimeter members only from 1 to 3 p.m. on April 22 (for info: 770-352-8660), and she’ll do a discussion and Q&A at Emory University’s Glenn Auditorium at 7 p.m. April 23 (only pre-signed books will be available; for info: 404-370-8450).
And as she promised us months ago, our advance copy of “Ain’t” contains more than a few brutally frank moments.
For example, in the foreword, Deen writes: “If I could get back one wrong I did to my family, if I could choose some words I could take back and eat ‘em down so they would never have seen the light, it would be the day I told my son Jamie I hated him. I can barely write those words now. I love my sons more than life, but we were in the heat of the battle of starting a restaurant business … and I felt Jamie was pulling against me, rather than with me.”
On Sept. 8, Deen returns to the Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center in Midtown for “Paula Deen Live,” a live cooking demo and Q&A session, similar to the format of her successful prime-time “Paula’s Party” show on Food Network. Tickets are $45-$65 with shows at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. For info: www.ticketmaster.com.
RUE WATCH!
Buzz’s fave “Golden Girl,” Rue McClanahan, has added another Atlanta appearance to her upcoming book tour for her memoir, “My First Five Husbands … And the Ones Who Got Away” (Broadway, $24.95). And the venue could not be more appropriate for the former Southern belle/vixen Blanche Devereaux: McClanahan will host a “Lunch and Lit” session at the Margaret Mitchell House at 11 a.m. April 23 in Midtown.
For $35, fans will get lunch, valet parking and lots of Rue. Plus, if you’ve been married four or more times, you’ll get in free (providing you have proof) by calling the MMH’s special “divorcée hotline,” 404-814-2063. If you don’t fall into that particular category, you can still make reservations at 770-578-3502.
Explained MMH rep Anne Nettles Stanford: “We thought by scaling it back to four marriages, we might open it up to a few more people.”
One additional note: Divorcées should be comfortable around nosy reporters. Buzz plans to sit in your section. …
FALL OUT BOY TOUR HITS PERSONAL SNAG
Are the members of Fall Out Boy having a falling out?
All we know for sure is that the rock quartet’s tour — which was scheduled to hit Atlanta on April 19 — has been postponed due to “personal issues.”
In a statement on the band’s Web site, pinup bassist Pete Wentz says, “Just wanted to give everyone a heads up, we are planning on this being the biggest and best Fall Out Boy show that we could possibly have. Unfortunately, because of some personal issues we had to delay the tour a few weeks. This extra couple of weeks will give us the time to put ourselves in the right place to put on the best show we can.”
Wentz’s statement goes on to say that tickets to the original shows — except for the Sacramento, Calif., date — will be valid on the rescheduled concert dates.
TRUCKER GONE
Speaking of band-related “personal issues,” guitarist, singer and songwriter Jason Isbell, who joined Athens’ Drive-By Truckers in 2001, is out of the band. There’s a long explanation by DBT leader Patterson Hood at the band’s Web site (www.drivebytruckers.com), which says that the separation is entirely peaceable. “It’s with a wide range of emotions and feelings that I’m announcing that we have parted ways with Jason,” Hood writes on the opening page of the band’s site. “The split, which I consider extremely amicable, is the result of a period of personal and artistic growth from all sides which has left us with differing dreams and goals.”
The terse tone of the announcement on Isbell’s MySpace page, meanwhile, casts doubt on that — “I am not in the Drive-By Truckers anymore. Go figure. I wish them luck. I will not answer questions about it.” A later posting seems more measured (www.myspace.com/jason
isbellmusic). The Truckers begin recording their eighth album this summer, and Isbell has a solo album due out in July.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor Harry Morgan (“Dragnet,” “MASH”) is 92. Actor Omar Sharif is 75. Sportscaster John Madden is 71. Reggae artist Bunny Wailer is 60. Actor Steven Seagal is 56. Actor Peter MacNicol (“Numbers,” “24”) is 53. Singer-producer Babyface is 49. Comedian Orlando Jones is 39. Singer-actress Mandy Moore is 23. Actor Haley Joel Osment (“The Sixth Sense”) is 19.
WHERE WE RANK
Last week’s two-hour prime-time concert special “Happy Birthday Elton,” from Madison Square Garden, helped fledgling MyNetwork get its highest ratings ever, peaking in households in Cleveland with a 3.3 rating. In the part-time Atlanta knight’s adopted U.S. hometown, Sir Elton John ranked No. 1 among women 25-54, scoring a 2.7 rating in the demographic (give it up, girls, he’s taken) …
Contributing: Shane Harrison, Nick Marino and news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Second Sibley show set for Marietta stage
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With temperatures forecast in the 20s this weekend, it’s somehow appropriate that Theatre in the Square is already planning its Christmas production. The Cobb County theater’s reps tell Buzz that our beloved late AJC colleague Celestine Sibley will once again take center stage at the venue over the holidays. You’ll recall that the theater kicked off its 25th season last summer with the world premiere of “Turned Funny,” based on the AJC columnist’s memoir.
Now, for the 2007 holiday season, Theatre in the Square is creating a production, “Christmas at Sweet Apple,” based on stories from Sibley’s best-selling Christmas books.
Once again, playwright Phillip DePoy will handle the adaptation and will write original music for the show. While a script is still being completed (the theater plans a series of readings and revisions this spring), it appears that the Constitution reporter will be represented onstage as a young woman.
For more than 20 years, Sibley’s two holiday-themed books, “Especially at Christmas” and “Christmas in Georgia,” remained local best-sellers. In recent years, the tomes have been increasingly difficult to find in stores.
“Christmas at Sweet Apple” is set to run Nov. 14-Dec. 30 on Theatre in the Square’s Alley Stage. Also, this summer, “Turned Funny” (which sold out its entire run ) returns for an encore June 17-July 29.
For info: www.theatreinthesquare.com.
TV Food lineup
Look for a ladle full of Atlantans next week on the Food Network. First up, Restaurant Eugene chef Linton Hopkins challenges Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto on “Iron Chef America” at 9 p.m. Sunday. Then on Tuesday’s edition of “Road Tasted” at 10:30 p.m., Paula Deen’s baby boys Jamie and Bobby Deen roll through Atlanta and visit Breadwinner, a family-owned gourmet bread company, sample the open pit ribs at Dreamland BBQ, discover Via Elisa’s fresh spinach and ricotta ravioli and then head over to Auburn Avenue to partake of the sweet potato cheesecake at Sonya Jones’ Sweet Auburn Bread Co.
Tasty Pastry party
OK, you have an open bar, free bowling (that’s usually at least $60 an hour) and rows of buffet offerings, including sweet potato fries with two kinds of dipping sauce. So what was the big hit Thursday at Ten Pin Alley at Atlantic Station?
The cupcakes.
Not inappropriate snacks, considering this was the big launch party for Vanessa and Angela Simmons’ Pastry footwear collection. Days before the launch of the latest season of MTV’s “Run’s House,” in which the Simmons daughters co-star (their dad is Joseph “DJ Run” Simmons), the duo stopped in Atlanta to celebrate their entry into the fashion world.
“I feel like there are a lot of people here who we need to come and touch,” said Vanessa, whose guests included R&B singer Bobby Valentino, Hot-107.9’s Miss Shynekia, producer Ike Dirty and DJs Trauma and Kai Alce. “It’s an important place.” There was no immediate word on whether she also touched the cupcakes.
Big Day on June 2
For 99X Freeloaders, tickets will go on sale at noon Saturday for the return of 99X’s Big Day Out concert bonanza, set for June 2 at HiFi Buys Amphitheatre. After a brief hiatus, Big Day Out returns with a lineup including Chris Cornell, Interpol, the Bravery, Plain White T’s and the Almost. Listeners registered as Freeloaders can go online at 99X.com today to get tickets. For everyone else, Ticketmaster starts selling seats at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
June 2 appears to be a busy day for Atlanta radio blowout concerts. The date also brings Star 94’s Star Fest featuring Daughtry, Dashboard Confessional and Katharine McPhee at Gwinnett Arena.
Wiggle your nose
Who wouldn’t want bunnies for Easter brunch? No, we don’t mean that way. We mean to snuggle and pet. There will be plenty waiting Sunday at Agnes & Muriel’s restaurant in Midtown, thanks to the North Georgia chapter of the House Rabbit Society, a rabbit rescue group. While the group has been doing the Easter event for several years, it wasn’t sure it would be invited back this Easter after the restaurant sold to new owner David Kitfield Jr. Kitfield said he had been hunting around for a restaurant when he found out the popular Midtown nosh spot was available. “My mother’s name is Agnes,” he said. “I had to buy it.” The fact that it was five minutes from his house didn’t hurt, either. And though he admits he never visited the restaurant or the bunnies at Easter, he never considered discontinuing the fund-raiser for the homeless rabbits (donations accepted). “I think people actually expect them to be here now,” he said. “And I like bunnies. Who doesn’t like bunnies?” 10 a.m.-4 p.m. 1514 Monroe Drive, Atlanta. 404-885-1000, www.mominthekitchen.com.
High five
Top music videos downloaded this week
1. “What I’ve Done,” Linkin Park
2. “Beautiful Liar,” Beyonce and Shakira
- “Give It to Me,” Timbaland featuring Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake
4. “Girlfriend,” Avril Lavigne
5. “Candyman,” Christina Aguilera
Source: iTunes
Celebrity birthdays
Saturday: Sitar player Ravi Shankar is 87. Actor James Garner is 79. Movie director Francis Ford Coppola is 68. Singer Janis Ian is 56. Actor Jackie Chan is 53. Actor Russell Crowe is 43. Actor Bill Bellamy (“Last Comic Standing,” “Fastlane”) is 42.
Sunday: Comedian Shecky Greene is 81. Singer-actor John Schneider is 47. Guitarist Izzy Stradlin (Guns N’ Roses) is 45. Singer Julian Lennon is 44. Rapper Biz Markie is 43.
Contributing: Sandra Eckstein, Sonia Murray and news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Simmons girls launch Pastry footwear
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just imagine that you’ve got an open bar, free bowling (that’s usually at least $60 an hour) and rows of buffet offerings including sweet potato fries with two kinds of dipping sauce. And what do you think is the big hit at Ten Pin Alley at Atlantic Station Thursday night? The cupcakes.
That’s because this was the big launch party for Vanessa and Angela Simmons’ Pastry footwear collection — a colorful mix of athletic shoes which come with themed lipgloss.
Days before the debut of the latest season of MTV’s “Run’s House,” in which the Simmons daughters co-star, the duo stopped in Atlanta to celebrate their entry into the fashion world. “I feel like there are a lot of people here who we need to come and touch,” said Vanessa, whose guests included R&B singer Bobby Valentino, Hot-107.9’s Miss Shynekia, producer Ike Dirty and DJs Trauma and Kai Alce. “It’s an important place.”
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Let’s hope dancers didn’t get cold feet
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The audition line outside the Fox Theatre on Thursday morning might have been dubbed, “So You Think You Can Freeze?”
Winter decided to pay a return visit just in time for the hundreds of dancers who slept overnight to audition for the hit summer Fox series “So You Think You Can Dance.” (Click here to see photos from the audition.) Some wore flip-flops and thin cotton shirts, unprepared for the biting wind. A few borrowed hotel blankets, while some purchased what warm clothing they could find at the nearby Wal-Mart.
“I can’t feel my toes or my fingers,” said Laura Ayala, 28, a dance school owner who drove 18 hours with her family from Long Island, N.Y. “I had no idea it was going to be this cold. I’m sooooo grumpy.”
The shivering Ayala had been waiting 10 hours, which was nothing compared to Vanessa Vaughn, a 30-year-old actress from Kansas City who now lives in D.C. She was first in line, arriving the day before at 10:30 a.m., nearly 24 hours before she entered the Fox for her audition.
“I didn’t know anybody here and didn’t have anything better to do,” she said, far more chipper than Ayala. Since the age limit is 30, “this is my last chance.”
While most folks we interviewed were from out of town, Buzz finally found a local in Rikki McKinney, a 24-year-old professional dancer from Midtown who works at Gotta Dance Atlanta. “Most Atlanta dancers just know hip-hop,” he said. “I can do ballet, modern jazz, anything. I’m all about versatility.”
Meeting Mei Lan
When your job description calls for interacting with Jane Fonda and Elton John, who each consistently prove polite and accommodating, it’s difficult then, when you’re dissed by a diva.
Alas, that’s been our experience over the past few months with Mei Lan, Zoo Atlanta’s baby panda rock star, who somehow prefers sleep to media attention. This week, with the help of zoo rep Susan Elliott, our luck improved greatly. Early Wednesday morning, Mei Lan was not only out when we arrived for a visit, but was engaged in a wrestling match with her mother, Lun Lun. With increasing skill (and nice sets of claws), Mei Lan also scaled tree limbs in her habitat.
Outside, when zoo members arrived promptly at 9 a.m. (with the fervor of Beatles fans in 1964, incidentally), Mei Lan demonstrated her drunken sailor style of running. Elliott tells us that this week’s Spring Break crowds are up 76 percent from 2006’s numbers. Also, Budweiser’s famed Clydesdales are back receiving visitors at the zoo through Sunday.
Bull-ish on morning
New country station 94.9 The Bull has hired a Nashville duo named Big D & Bubba to helm the morning show starting Monday.
The station’s definition of mornings is narrower than others: You’ll only hear them from 5 to 8 a.m. weekdays.
Despite being syndicated in more than 25 markets, they promise a “customized” product for Atlanta listeners, especially since this is by far their largest city. Big D (no real names for privacy reasons) told Buzz he believes most listeners want music first, personality second. Bubba, a huge Braves fan, said the pair will be in Atlanta a lot. He even married a Marietta gal.
Celebrity docket
Whitney Houston’s 14-year marriage to Bobby Brown will officially end this month, and she will get custody of their teenage daughter, a California judge has ruled.
The former Alpharetta resident dabbed her eyes with a tissue as Orange County Superior Court Judge Franz E. Miller ruled Wednesday that the divorce will become final April 24. Brown did not attend the hearing.
In court, Houston testified that she did not need spousal or child support and that the couple’s 14-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina, could not depend on Brown.
“He’s unreliable,” Houston told the judge. “If he says he’s going to come, sometimes he does. Usually he doesn’t.”
Houston declined to comment to reporters after the hearing.
Brown’s attorney, Ram Cogan, said he will seek to overturn the judge’s decision.
Houston filed for divorce in October, citing irreconcilable differences.
Quote of the day
“The Boondocks staff is thrilled to receive this award, despite the fact such a distinguished honor may hurt our street cred.”
— “Boondocks” creator Aaron McGruder on news that his Cartoon Network series had won a prestigious Peabody Award.
Celebrity birthdays
Country singer Merle Haggard is 70. Actor Billy Dee Williams is 70. Actor John Ratzenberger (“Cheers”) is 60. Actor Paul Rudd is 38. Actor Zach Braff (“Scrubs”) is 32.
Contributing: Rodney Ho, Sonia Murray, Jill Vejnoska and news services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Fonda part of all-star cast for V-Day event
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jane Fonda will remind her adopted hometown exactly how spoiled we’ve become tonight when she takes the stage with playwright pal Eve Ensler and author Pearl Cleage in a special performance of “The Vagina Monologues” at the Tabernacle downtown.
The evening will benefit women’s rights charities, including Ensler’s worldwide V-Day campaign and Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin’s Dear John charity, which battles the sexual exploitation of children in Atlanta. Singer-songwriter Doria Roberts also will perform.
Judging from the host committee, co-chairs Laura Turner Seydel and Pat Mitchell have attracted some of the city’s most high-profile folks, including Franklin and Wendy Babchin, London Andes, Richie Arpino, Wendy Belkin, Linda K. Bryant, Merry and Chris Carlos, Tony Conway, Marilyn Krone, Randi Lane, and Ginair and George McKerrow Jr., to be in the audience tonight. It’s a safe bet that CNN founder Ted Turner will be in attendance as well.
Tickets range from $25 for students to $200 VIP tickets, available at Ticketmaster and at Charis Books and More in Little Five Points.
For more info: myspace.com/vdayatlanta.
NO STORK TO REPORT
Here’s one Usher/Tameka Foster rumor we can clear up for you — and we got it from Foster’s publicist herself. Sasha Brookner rang Buzz Central on her stylist client’s behalf to let readers know that despite rampant talk this week, Foster is not pregnant. (Usher’s publicist Simone Smalls confirmed this.) There’s no date set for their wedding, “so she hasn’t even considered things like a wedding dress and all of those details,” Brookner said. “But they are anxious to be married, and they’re happy.”
ROCKIN’ HOMECOMING
Singer-songwriter Kevin Lawson is calling his homecoming gig tonight at Vinyl “a class reunion.” The former Atlantan, who makes his home in Nashville, is in town to celebrate the release of his new album, “Nashville to Jesus” with his many local friends.
We first caught Lawson onstage at Trackside Tavern the better part of 20 years ago (we were scribbling for our elementary school gazette at the time, mind you) as part of an acoustic duo he would prefer us not to name. “I was working underage,” Lawson joked Wednesday. Back then, as part of the city’s burgeoning acoustic scene, along with the Indigo Girls and future Sugarland member Kristian Bush, Lawson never was bashful about blending his faith and his fondness for Cheap Trick. His latest recording continues that exploration.
“Elvis did it, Jerry Lee Lewis did it, and so did Johnny Cash,” Lawson rationalizes. “That’s not bad company to be in. Sure, I’m a Christian, but I’m a freakin’ rock star, too!”
Take it from us, Lawson isn’t exaggerating. Expect a who’s who of the city’s music scene (past and present) to be present when the singer takes the stage around 9. For info: kevinlawson.com.
EXECS JOIN ASO BOARD
Although the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is struggling to raise $300 million for its concert hall in Midtown, the South’s largest performing-arts organization keeps itself in the black by wooing the latest generation of Atlanta CEOs and power brokers onto its board of directors.
The 60-member board, which rotates on three-year terms, on Wednesday announced the additions of: Gary P. Fayard, executive vice president and chief financial officer for Coca-Cola ; Willem O. Hattink Sr., a SunTrust vice president ; Jeff Mango, president of Verizon Wireless’ Georgia/Alabama region; Gorgio Medici, president of Medici Consulting and Investment; and Richard A. Walker, managing partner of Clements Walker. Mango’s involvement with the ASO extends to the naming of its new outdoor pavilion in Alpharetta: the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park, to be operated by the ASO and owned by the orchestra’s parent organization, the Woodruff Arts Center. The amphitheater is scheduled to open for summer 2008.
GLOCKSEN OUSTED
In a mild surprise, Gina Glocksen, the Naperville, Ill., rocker with the red streak in her hair and the tongue ring, became the fourth ousted “American Idol” contestant Wednesday night.
“Thank you for getting me this far,” a teary Glocksen said before singing her farewell song “Smile,” by Charlie Chaplin. The judges Tuesday actually gave her good marks. But overall, she lacked that rare “it” factor to win it all.
Haley Scarnato, the second-lowest vote getter, received much harsher critiques. The best Paula Abdul could say is “Did I mention green is a good color for you?” Chrome-domed Phil Stacey fell in the bottom three for the second week in a row but escaped elimination again. And Sanjaya Malakar makes it to the final eight. Next week’s guest is Jennifer Lopez and the theme will be Latino music.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Country singer Troy Gentry of Montgomery Gentry is 40. Singer Paula Cole is 39. Country singer Pat Green is 35. Producer-rapper Pharrell Williams is 34.
OVERSCENE
NBA legend Michael Jordan and friends dining at Bluepointe on Tuesday night. We’re told that regular Tom Tuchschmidt sent over an $800 bottle of Château Lafite Rothschild Bordeaux. Bluepointe staffers picked up premium cigars from sister restaurant Chops for the group.
Over the weekend, Jordan was spotted at the Atlanta Fish Market, snacking on Oysters Rockefeller and Alaskan king crab legs for appetizers before moving on to the restaurant’s signature batter-fried lobster tails and sushi rolls of lobster maki and shrimp tempura.
Spotted at Chops Lobster Bar: actor David Arquette and R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills.
Contributing: Sonia Murray, Pierre Ruhe and news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Mike-E stops by Morehouse
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Rapper, poet and actor Mike-E and nine other artists have been performing at black colleges on the East Coast for the past five weeks, and they stop at Morehouse’s King’s Chapel at 7 this evening. He’s billing it as the Afro Flow Tour, and the American Cancer Society is behind the free concert because he talks about cancer and other risks involved with smoking. “My music is hard-hitting and entertaining without being preachy, without being corny,” Mike-E told Buzz on Tuesday. “My aunt is a cancer survivor, and I’ve lost several people who were close to me, so it wasn’t a stretch for me to be a part of something like this…. I actually had anti-tobacco themes in my music before this, so it’s a natural fit.”
Mike-E is a former publicist turned independent hip-hop act. “And people look at me kind of crazy for going from wearing tailored suits all of the time, getting tickets to all of the games, to doing poetry and rap without a major deal,” he said with a laugh. “But I’m walking in my purpose now. … Plus I’ve been on Russell Simmons’ ‘Def Poetry Jam’!”
‘GMA’ AT CENTENNIAL OLYMPIC PARK
Tory Johnson, CEO of Women for Hire and ABC’s “Good Morning America’s” workplace contributor, is hitting the road to launch a Take Control of Your Life tour with anchor Diane Sawyer. The tour comes to town with the Atlanta Women for Hire Career Expo (a free event for women) to be held 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday at the Cobb Galleria. During today’s 7-9 a.m. segment, Johnson reports live on local women for “GMA” from the Southern Company Amphitheater in Centennial Olympic Park.
SCREEN ON THE GREEN MOVIE LINEUP
1. “A kiss is just a kiss.”
2. “The boss don’t mind sometimes if ya act a fool.”
3. “I’m never gonna stop the rain by complainin’. “
Turner Classic Movies’ annual free outdoor Screen on the Green will run for five consecutive Thursdays in Piedmont Park starting May 31.
The lineup:
May 31 — “Casablanca” (1942).
June 7 — “Car Wash” (1976).
June 14 — “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (1969).
June 21 — “Funny Girl” (1968)
June 28 — “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” (1982).
All films will be shown on a 45-by-24-foot screen in the meadow area behind the Park Tavern (10th Street and Monroe Drive). Each film starts at sunset (about 9). Last year’s total attendance topped 75,000 moviegoers. Attendees are asked not to bring pets.
ON MY IPOD
Susan V. Booth, artistic director of the Alliance Theatre: ” ‘Trouble’ by Ray LaMontagne, ‘No Mirrors in My Nana’s House’ by Sweet Honey in the Rock, ‘All My Friends’ by Amos Lee, ‘Avulekile Amasango’ by Soweto Gospel Choir and Bono, ‘Tall Trees in Georgia’ by Eve Cassidy. The litmus test for anything going on the iPod: It has to either make me dance or make me cry.”
TUNED OUT? WABE’S FUND DRIVE MISSES GOAL
For the first time in at least five years, public radio station 90.1 (WABE-FM) failed to reach its goal in its latest pledge drive, which ended Friday.
The station fell short by about $65,000 of its $900,000 goal, said John Weatherford, general manager for the past three years. A year ago, the station hit its $850,000 goal.
WABE shortened the pledge drive from 10 days to nine, which may have backfired. (The fall drive will certainly go back to 10 days, he said.) Other factors, he said, could have been the slowing economy, the distraction of the NCAA Final Four in town and spring break schedules.
The anticipated financial shortfall won’t affect programming, Weatherford said.
Perry Mitchell, a local resident who runs the Atlanta Public Radio Initiative and is pushing for more news/talk on WABE, said many of his group members have purchased HD radio, where WABE offers separate streams for news/talk and classical (as well as the hybrid format on 90.1). Others are listening online or picking up podcasts off the NPR Web site. “Some of my cohorts are opting out” of WABE and didn’t even hear the pledge drive, he said.
Weatherford also said WABE has a new hire: Steve Goss, who was a DJ on Peach and Lite 94.9 for 28 years until the station went country in December. Goss will be the local “Morning Edition” host starting next week and will do reporting and interviews as needed.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Author-poet Maya Angelou is 79. Actor Craig T. Nelson (“Coach”) is 63. Actress Caroline McWilliams (“Benson,” “Soap”) is 62. Actress Christine Lahti (“Chicago Hope”) is 57. Singer Steve Gatlin of the Gatlin Brothers is 56. Writer-producer David E. Kelley (“Ally McBeal,” “The Practice”) is 51. Actor Robert Downey Jr. is 42. Actress Nancy McKeon is 41. Country singer Clay Davidson is 36. Singer Jill Scott is 35. Magician David Blaine is 34. Singer Kelly Price is 34. Actor James Roday (“Psych”) is 31. Actor Heath Ledger is 28. Actress Jamie Lynn Spears (“Zoey 101”) is 16.
OVERSCENE
Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Richard Ford (“Independence Day,” “The Lay of the Land”) dining on a barbecue chicken burrito (which he stripped of its tortilla) at the Flying Biscuit in Candler Park. He is a big sports fan (he started out as a sports journalist), but had no allegiance to either team in Monday’s NCAA basketball final. He was with David Hershey, a senior VP at HarperCollins in New York. … Michael Connelly, author of the best-selling Harry Bosch mysteries, with his latte and laptop at the Starbucks on 14th Street near the Four Seasons. Connelly is one of six siblings, most of whom went to the University of Florida, where Connelly met his wife. He bleeds orange and blue — he was at the national football championship in Phoenix in January, too. Since coming to town, he’s had shrimp and grits at the Oceannaire on Peachtree and a cheeseburger at the Vortex in Little Five Points.
STORK REPORT
Former Spice Girl Melanie Brown has given birth to a daughter in California, her publicist says. No name has been chosen yet for the girl, publicist Nadine Bibi said. Brown has said ex-boyfriend Eddie Murphy is the father, but the actor has said he’s not sure.
Contributing: Rodney Ho, Bob Longino, Sonia Murray, Kirsten Tagami, Teresa K. Weaver and news services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Catching up with Jill Scott
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On the eve of her 2015 birthday — yes, that’s how Jill Scott asked us to refer to her 35th (20 + 15, get it?) — the singer/actress shared how Atlanta’s been treating her since she’s been here filming a new Tyler Perry movie; what’s happening with her new CD; and one particularly fun sighting in our fair city.
Here’s Scott on …
How she plans to spend her birthday (April 4): “I am working which is fine. This is a great job … Plus I have the weekend off, so it still remains to be seen how [she’ll celebrate].”
Her visit to Zoo Atlanta: “My 2-year-old nephew came to visit with his Aunt Jill and we went to the zoo. The line was too long for the [baby] panda, but I did see the cassowary! It was the most interesting bird I’ve ever seen! It has big, big feet — like a size 11, 12 men’s shoe. Dinosaur face. Turkey neck and a crown made of horns. It was fantastic. The best zoo I’ve ever seen. So many strange things!”
How the Southern hospitality has been: “Great … I’ve been just hanging out, kicking it over friends’ houses. It’s good to see some friends on a more consistent basis. You know, I’m living here and I’m working here. Usually [when visiting Atlanta] it’s work — come in, I do a show, sometimes two or three, and I’m out … The people are very friendly. Very friendly.”
Places she’s seen: “I went to Sugar Hill [in Undergound Atlanta], which is a real hot spot. And it was a lot of fun. We [jam session drummer Lil John and singer Keisha Jackson] were all celebrating our birthdays.”
More places … “I haven’t found any new great shopping places — I wish I had. But my 2-year-old nephew came to visit with his Aunt Jill, and we went to the zoo. The line was too long for the [baby] panda, but I did see the cassowary! It was the most interesting bird I’ve ever seen! It has big, big feet — like a size 11, 12 mens’ shoe. Dinosaur face, turkey neck and a crown made of horns. It was fantastic. The best zoo I’ve ever seen.”
What fans can expect from her upcoming album: “Oh I’m about 42 songs deep now,” she said of the CD tentatively scheduled for a fall release. “I always do it like that … I feel refreshed and revived. And I’m excited for everyone to hear the different tones and personalities and expressions in my voice. It’s a lot feistier. My fire has returned!”
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Snip and cut: Actors collect grist for show
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sure, they can act. But can they cut hair?
Actors in the upcoming Alliance Theatre production of “Cuttin’ Up” have been making the rounds of Atlanta barbershops to learn the finer points of cuttin’ hair and swappin’ stories for their roles in the play, which celebrates the traditions and hairstyles of African-American men.
Keith Hamilton Cobb (best known for creating the role of Noah Keefer on ABC’s “All My Children”) and three Atlanta actors — Donald Griffin, E. Roger Mitchell and Eugene H. Russell IV — are among the cast for the show, which opens April 11. The actors had some specific questions for the barbers, like, “How do you put the gown over the customer’s head?” said Bobby Jones of the Paramount Barber Shop on Ponce de Leon Avenue near the Fox Theatre. “They wanted to see how we treat the customers. In fact, some of them even got haircuts while they were here.”
CROWDS AT THE ZOO
Want to see the Empress of Cute (that’s Mei Lan, Zoo Atlanta’s baby giant panda) during spring break? Consider getting your tickets online. On Monday, the first day of spring break week for many families, people waited in line for timed viewings of the famed youngster and her mom, Lun Lun.
You have to have a ticket to see her (after paying the zoo’s admission fee) and people who got theirs on the Web had a far easier time getting a glimpse of the cub than people who bought tickets at the gate, said Susan Elliott, a spokeswoman for the zoo. The catch? Timed tickets cost $5 online versus nothing if you get them in person. For more details, go to www.zooatlanta.org.
HONORS FOR REVIEW
The Georgia Review, the Athens-based literary journal, is among this year’s recipients of the Governor’s Awards in the Humanities. Gov. Sonny Perdue makes the awards each year to individuals and organizations involved in humanities education. The Review also is a finalist in the annual National Magazine Awards. Win or lose, author John Berendt (“Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”) will host a party for the journal in his New York apartment May 2, a day after the award winners are announced, said Brenda Keen, the Review’s business editor.
ON MY iPOD
Michele Caplinger, executive director of the Atlanta chapter of the Recording Academy (the organization that gives out the Grammy Awards): “It’s so difficult to list my top three songs, but these always seem to make every playlist I create: ‘She Sells Sanctuary’ by the Cult; ‘Millennium’ by Robbie Williams; and ‘Dogs of Lust’ by the The. When I hear that song, I can literally recall all the sensations of falling in love (lust?) with my husband, Blair.”
CELEBRATING PEACH
The life of dynamic Atlanta singer Peach of the funk group Whild Peach will be celebrated tonight by longtime friend and frequent collaborator Joi at Sugar Hill in Underground Atlanta. Peach passed away Sunday of breast cancer, friend and business associate Carmen Lovelace told Buzz on Monday. And while there will probably be other tributes here — and in her home state of Texas — Lovelace said, this will be fans’ first opportunity to show appreciation for Peach, a frequent background singer for rap duo OutKast and a force in her own right. Doors open for the weekly jam session at Sugar Hill, 50 Upper Alabama St., at 9 p.m. For more information, call 404-658-0068 or go to www.sugarhillatl.com.
Speaking of departed local talents, the lineup for the April 12 memorial concert for Ken Batie continues to grow. The Center Stage show includes Roy Ayers, Maysa Leak, Anthony David, Vinx, Mike Phillips and Ken Ford, all playing for the former WCLK-FM announcer who kept them in rotation on his “Hot Ice” show. Tickets are $25 and available through Ticketmaster, 404-249-6400 or www.ticketmaster.com.
WEDDINGS A LA SOUTH
Whether you’re planning your first Southern wedding or your fifth — and whether it’s a tulle-strewn pageant or a shotgun affair — authors Gayden Metcalfe and Charlotte Hays can advise on the proper etiquette. Such as: the top 10 foods not to serve at your wedding (“anything on a saltine or Ritz cracker”) and what to do if your daughter brings home the wrong boy (“simply ignore him”). The native Mississippians and authors of the best-seller “Being Dead Is No Excuse: The Official Southern Ladies’ Guide to Hosting the Perfect Funeral” have turned their attention to matrimony in “Somebody Is Going to Die If Lilly Beth Doesn’t Catch That Bouquet: The Official Southern Ladies’ Guide to Hosting the Perfect Wedding.” They’ll discuss the book at 7 p.m. April 18 at the Margaret Mitchell House & Museum. “We love Atlanta,” Metcalfe says. “My mother read ‘Gone With the Wind’ during both her pregnancies. You know, like how Yankee mothers play Beethoven.” For more information, go to www.gwtw.org/csl.html.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Actress-singer Doris Day is 83. Actress Marsha Mason is 65. Singer Wayne Newton is 65. Singer Billy Joe Royal is 65. Singer Tony Orlando is 63. Singer Richard Thompson is 58. Guitarist Mick Mars of Motley Crue is 51. Actor Alec Baldwin is 49. Actor David Hyde Pierce (“Frasier”) is 48. Comedian-actor Eddie Murphy (left) is 46. Singer Sebastian Bach (Skid Row) is 39. Actress Jennie Garth (“Beverly Hills, 90210”) is 35. Actress Amanda Bynes is 21.
Contributing: Mark Davis, Sonia Murray and news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Robert Randolph plays loud, proud
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If Centennial Olympic Park had a roof, pedal steel guitar shredder Robert Randolph would’ve torn it off Monday night. When Buzz wandered into the park, Randolph and the Family Band were working their way through a cover of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” and basketball fans were walking around with fingers in the air, hoping to flag down a ticket source.
Then, for a song called “Ain’t Nothing Wrong With That,” Randolph was joined on stage by the Hard Steppers, a red-booted dance troupe from Dutchtown Middle School in Henry County. Together they performed for one of the most diverse crowds you could ever hope to see, which was fitting — the song, after all, is about how it doesn’t matter whether you’re at a “block party or frat party,” whether you’re from “Hollywood or in the hood.”
Before he left the stage, Randolph shouted out Gladys Knight and Ron Winans Chicken and Waffles restaurant, and said something every musician dreams of saying: “We’d like to thank the NCAA for having us here.”
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Final Four: ‘Idol’ hands find tequila
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sure, he looks all blow-dried and tailored on “American Idol.” But television’s most-watched TelePrompTer reader Ryan Seacrest secretly has a wild side.
And folks at Compound nightclub early Sunday morning got liberal doses of it.
Seacrest was in town this weekend to host Sunday’s Final Four My Coke Fest in Centennial Olympic Park with Maroon 5, LL Cool J, Sugarland and Chevelle.
The “A.I.” host and Dunwoody High School grad began the night sedately enough, having drinks with his parents at the Four Seasons hotel in Midtown.
Early Sunday, he turned up at Compound, where part-time Atlantan Janet Jackson and friends were partying in the club’s VIP suite, safely away from public consumption. After Seacrest popped in to say hello to Jackson, he and a few associates were whisked to their own VIP booth with bottle service.
That’s when Q100 “Bert Show” producer/celebrity enabler Jeff Dauler had a bottle of Patron tequila sent over. Dauler, “Bert Show” namesake Bert Weiss and Seacrest then did a series of tequila shots together.
“After the first round, Seacrest didn’t even use a piece of lime to chase it,” a still-recovering Dauler told Buzz on Sunday. “And the women? Let’s just say they all wanted a piece of him.”
We’re told that the “A.I.” fixture was gracious to every fan who approached and happily posed for pictures.
Meanwhile, with the precision of a presidential motorcade, Jackson’s security team safely transported the pop star and company into a waiting fleet of dark Escalades with tinted windows outside the club.
And after hitting the dance floor to Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” Seacrest officially declared himself out of the club around 3 a.m. Sunday.
Quote of the day
“Go to the strip clubs. All of them.” — Atlanta rapper/actor Ludacris, on what local sights Final Four attendees should hit while in the ATL
Clooney appearance falls flat
For weeks, the city’s A-listers gossiped endlessly about Castleberry Hill artists Carolyn Carr and Michael Gibson’s ultra-exclusive Final Four party. New frocks were purchased, jewelry was taken out of vaults, and hair was blown out. Backs were stabbed to get on the guest list. The reason: the guest of honor was to be actor George Clooney. Sure enough, guests, including philanthropist Laura Turner Seydel, artist Todd Murphy, fund-raiser Sally Dorsey, magazine editors Elizabeth Roth and Travis Ward, publicist Liz Lapidis and Pecan Pie fashion designer Clint Zeagler all dutifully turned up. A little past midnight, the couple hauled out a cardboard cutout of the actor and wished guests a “Happy April Fools Day!”
“I honestly didn’t detect any animosity,” Zeagler told Buzz on Sunday. “But it did thin out quite a bit after the cardboard George came out.”
There was no immediate word whether the folks at the ‘Se7en’ magazine launch party, who had the actor on their guest list, still sent a car for the hunk of cardboard.
Contributing: Elizabeth Cobb
Got scoop, celebrity sightings or fan craziness to report for Final Four Buzz? E-mail us at buzz@ajc.com or call: 404-526-7218.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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LL Cool J wins over the ladies
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
LL Cool J (AKA James Todd Smith) just finished an hour-long strip tease.
Onstage at the Cokefest, he took the stage in his requisite baggy pants topped with a long sleeve T-shirt. Hanging from his belt loop was a long silver chain connected to his back pocket. Occasionally pausing next to his gold mic stand with giant gold LL COOL J running down the side, Smith ripped through his material. He touched on his old standards (“Going Back to Cali”) and moved all the way through to new unreleased material (“Shake the Keys”).
And as he moved through the years, he peeled off the layers. Off went the shirt down to a clean white tank undershirt. Then reached into his pockets, pulling out wads of one-dollar bills, tossing them into the crowd. All the time pulling at his tee, finally stretching it off his shoulder.
(We’ve forgotten how good Smith — whose nickname is short for Ladies Luv Cool James — looks up close. From our vantage point, we would suggest that his book “LL Cool J’s Platinum Workout: Sculpt Your Best Body Ever with Hollywood’s Fittest Star” is no hyperbole.)
Declaring that he was going to “turn this stage into a club” Smith pulled women out of the VIP section and onto the stage, including the Star94 traffic reader, Shannon Holly.
(And it wasn’t just the female contingent rocking out. In the front row of the VIP section, wrapped in a clear Coke logo’d poncho, with his ball capped stuffed with Smith’s dollar bills, was Emanuel Lewis of television’s Webster fame.)
After each song, the dancing females would leave the stage, each snagging a hug from Smith. We couldn’t hear what they were saying to him, but he sweetly replied to each of them, “You, too.” Ahhh LL.
As he was flying through “Shake the Keys” a new song he’s working on in the studio, he hollered, “Do you want it? Should I flaunt it?” in what we can only assume was a rhetorical fashion. And off went the shirt, leaving him clad in just his baggy blue jeans hanging dangerously far down, revealing a wide swatch of white stretchy material.
Shortly thereafter, the set ended to the appreciative roar of the crowd, leaving us to wonder … boxers or briefs?
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Final Four: VIPs gather for ‘Se7en’ launch
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The VIPs hanging out in the seductively lit Glenn Hotel at the “Se7en Madness” party downtown barely blinked when the big dance ended for Georgetown on the wide screen TVs on Saturday night. Of course, potent mangopolitans and rubbernecking to see potential celebs like George Clooney and Ludacris might have been contributing reasons for the wavering attention spans.
The soiree, hosted by boxer Roy Jones Jr., Hawks legend Dominique Wilkins and Playboy Playmate Joanna Krupa, served as a launch party for “Se7en” magazine, a new national men’s magazine with a regional section devoted to Atlanta.
“Atlanta is such an amazing sports city, yet we didn’t have a men’s magazine,” explained “Se7en” co-publisher Brandon Lewis. “We’re hoping to fix all that.”
Also on the guest list for the late night/early morning private party: music producer Dallas Austin, rapper/actor/author L.L. Cool J and Oscar winner Jamie Foxx. And the evening’s special musical guest: 2007 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Grandmaster Flash.
Official madness
Each of the Final Four teams has an official fan headquarters downtown this weekend. On Saturday, Buzz popped in for a quick survey of the digs.
At Dailey’s restaurant, UCLA fans Renee Horton, Charles Thomas Jr. and Debra and Gary Elliott had been celebrating since 10 a.m. “It might be 3 o’clock here, but it’s only noon back home in California,” Horton said. Thomas, who suffers from allergies, said the pollen here has required some adjustment.
Explained Debra Elliott: “We’re used to smog, not pollen.”
Down Andrew Young International Boulevard, the scent of baking cornbread greeted Ohio State fans at Pittypat’s Porch. John and Candy Strawser, of Dublin, Ohio, were taking a breather with a couple of 24-ounce beers.
“He’s been to the Final Four before, but here it’s definitely more spread out,” Candy said.
Down at Azio, Florida Gators fans generously endured the Final Four apparel folks, selling Ohio State sweatshirts with Gators gear.
“It’s been very organized here,” said Karen Phelps, who drove from Columbus, Ga., with fellow Florida fan Chris Wightman. Since the pair visits Atlanta frequently, they didn’t have to contend with the wrap-around lines a few blocks away at the Georgia Aquarium.
Win or lose, the two said they would attend the final Monday night.
At Max Lager’s American Grill & Brewery, Georgetown fans were the most boisterous of the bunch, chanting “Hoyas, Hoyas!” as they awaited their next rounds. “We’re from New York, so this is a bit different,” explained Colleen Crawford, who was sporting some G-town face paint. “It’s spread out here. There, it’s just bar after bar after bar.”
Overscene
Michael Jordan dining at Dolce at Atlantic Station, Patrick Ewing Sr. lunching on a Caesar salad at the Lenox Square Houston’s and ESPN commentator and former UCLA coach Steve Lavin dining at Trois in Midtown.
Jethro vs. Britney
Now that the city has hosted Super Bowls, Final Fours, All-Star games and the 1996 Summer Olympics, Atlanta has become fair game to out-of-town journalists taking pot shots at our fair metropolis. This weekend, it’s rock-writer-turned-sports-blogger Chuck Klosterman, who described Atlanta thusly on his espn.com Final Four blog before he even he hit town: “Life on the streets of Atlanta … if by ‘life,’ you mean looking for bars that are womb-like and empty. I’ll try to write more when I arrive in Hot-lanta, perhaps while watching ‘Survivor’ and consuming foodstuffs that would make Jethro Bodine ecstatic.”
So, who exactly is this guy passing judgment on us? Why not have Klosterman tell us himself. Here’s an excerpt from page 16 of his memoir, “Killing Yourself to Live”: “I have everything Britney Spears has ever released to the public.”
Feel better?
Contributing: Jill Vejnoska.
Got Final Four Buzz scoop, celebrity sightings or fan craziness to report? E-mail us at buzz@ajc.com or phone 404-526-7218.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Daughtry doesn’t reel ‘em in at Tabernacle
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Late Saturday night, 44 year-old Steve Hansen sat in the top balcony of the Tabernacle feeling pretty good. Hansen, who hails from Milton, Wisc., was with his brother and a buddy — they had bought tickets to Atlanta hoping that their beloved Wisconsin Badgers would make it to the Final Four.
The Badgers didn’t make it, but the guys came anyway.
They hung out earlier in the evening at the downtown pub Sidebar, and as they were leaving someone handed them tickets to the Tabernacle concert by bald rocker Chris Daughtry.
“We’re happy as can be,” Hansen said. Hansen and his crew also had tickets for Jet the following night.
Perhaps Jet’s show will be better-attended than Daughtry’s. It wouldn’t take much. The Tabernacle was humiliatingly empty for the former “American Idol” contestant’s show. Early in the concert, we counted counted 26 ticketholders — including ourselves — in our balcony. When we counted later, the “crowd” had thinned considerably. Things weren’t much prettier on the floor.
Few people, it seems, wanted to spend their night listening to Daughtry and his four-piece band play outdated, mediocre rock.
Neither did we. After five songs, we high-tailed it out of the venue with the band still on stage, confident that we weren’t going to miss much. It was a free show, so we couldn’t ask for our money back. But we at least wanted to not waste any more of our time.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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