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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2007 > August > 13
Monday, August 13, 2007
Native Atlantans Club making Mei Lan a member
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Early presents continue to stack up for Mei Lan, Zoo Atlanta’s star attraction, as the panda cub nears her first birthday Sept. 6. Native Atlantans Club reps tell us that the 200-member organization is planning to make Mei Lan a lifetime member during an event at 11:30 a.m. Sept. 8. Former Atlanta mayor Sam Massell will make the presentation.
“Once, when I was mayor, our friends Down Under in Australia sent a baby kangaroo to the city,” Massell recalled Monday. “It could really kick too as I recall. This will be considerably easier, I think, as I’ll be at some distance from the panda.”
As we were concluding our business with him, the Buckhead Coalition president couldn’t resist adding: “You do realize that it’s much hotter downtown today than it is in Buckhead, don’t you?”
As the Buzz Central summer intern staff fanned us with large palm leaves, we politely replied: “Of course, sir.”
Springsteen’s latest due in fall
According to Mrs. Bruce Springsteen, Patti Scialfa, the recording project that her hubby has been working on here at Southern Tracks with Brendan O’Brien may be out as early as October. In an interview with Billboard.com, the singer-songwriter says that both her third solo album and Springsteen’s next studio project may be issued within weeks of each other this fall.
“It’s just the way it worked out,” Scialfa tells Billboard.com. Her disc, “Play It As It Lays” which also features her hubby, is being readied for a Sept. 4 release. Says Scialfa: “It’s been an exciting time at home because we’re both pretty busy. It feels like a great, creative time. It just feels very positive.”
Springsteen’s E Street Band members contributed to both projects.
Queen of Soul decides to cool off
Aretha Franklin’s heat-related cancellation in Detroit over the weekend, meanwhile, must have Camille Love over in our fair city’s Office of Cultural Affairs praying for a cold snap over Labor Day weekend. That’s when the Queen of Soul is booked on Sept. 1 at Chastain Amphitheatre.
With temperatures in Detroit climbing into the 90s last week, Franklin released a statement saying: “I am exhausted from the heat and cannot tolerate heat in these extremely high numbers and being in concert simultaneously.”
Brown trustee pays, resigns
Even though he’s technically no longer around, the drama in soul legend James Brown’s personal life continues on. A trustee accused of misappropriating $350,000 of the singer’s money has resigned and handed over a check in that amount during a court hearing.
David Cannon also resigned Friday as co-executor of the late soul singer’s will during a four-hour hearing before Circuit Judge Jack Early, The Augusta Chronicle reports.
Cannon has an unlisted telephone number and another trustee, Buddy Dallas, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
A follow-up hearing has been scheduled for Sept. 24 as various people wrangle over the late soul singer’s estate.
It’s not clear how much money is left in the estate, says Louis Levenson, the Atlanta attorney who is representing several of the singer’s children. Before he died Christmas Day at age 73, Brown had been on an allowance of $100,000 a month.
Levenson said his firm is trying to find out where the singer’s money went.
Brown’s former pastor has filed a motion to intervene on behalf of needy children who are supposed to benefit from the James Brown “I Feel Good” Trust. That is one of two trusts Brown had set up: one to pay for poor children in South Carolina and Georgia to attend school, the other to pay for Brown’s grandchildren to go to school.
The Rev. Larry Fryer said he’s worried the money meant for poor children is being squandered by the court battles. “If we’re paying all of the money to all of the legal sources,” Fryer said, “what’s left for the children?”
One of Brown’s grandchildren, Forlando Brown, meanwhile, is accusing his aunts and uncles of trying to break the trusts to get their father’s money.
“People are greedy,” the West Georgia University student tells the Chronicle.
Forlando Brown said he, his brother and his father, Terry Brown, have been ostracized by the rest of the family for siding with the trustees.
Overscene
CNN founder Ted Turner (below) dining with “a beautiful blonde” at French-American Brasserie downtown. … Outkast member Andre 3000 taking in the “Art in the City” event at the High Museum in Midtown.
High five
Television
The top On Demand features for the week of Aug. 1-8, as determined by Comcast customers in metro Atlanta:
1. “Can’t Leave ‘Em Alone,” Ciara music video, Music Choice
2. “South Park” “Ginger Kids” episode, Comedy Central
3. “Girlfriend,” Avril Lavigne music video, Music Choice
4. “Beautiful Girls,” Sean Kingston music video, Music Choice
5. “Cupid Shuffle,” Cupid music video, Music Choice
Courtesy: Comcast
Celebrity birthdays
Actress Alice Ghostley (“Designing Women”) is 81. Singer David Crosby is 66. Actor-comedian Steve Martin is 62. Actress Susan Olsen (“The Brady Bunch”) is 46. Actress Halle Berry is 41. Actress Mila Kunis (“That ’70s Show”) is 24.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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That’s ‘Mr. Sedgwick’ to you
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Actor Kevin Bacon used to be far better known than his wife and fellow thespian Kyra Sedgwick. But Sedgwick’s Emmy-nominated role as Detective Brenda Johnson on basic cable’s biggest drama, “The Closer,” has balanced the scales a bit.
Bacon isn’t shying away. He recently directed his second episode of “The Closer,” which airs at 9 Monday night on TNT.
“On the set, they give directors a chair with your name on it,” Bacon told Buzz last week while in New York shooting the HBO film “Taking Chance.” “Mine said, ‘Kevin Sedgwick.’ “
Then he joked, “It’s obvious. I’m shamelessly trying to ride her coattails.”
Bacon said directing his wife is easy because she knows the character so well. “I just say action and stay out of her way,” he said.
It’s the episode after Johnson killed a serial killer, and she’s still grappling with the ramifications — and a visit from her parents. “The murder,” Bacon said, “comes out of the blue.” (Buzz saw the episode and agrees.)
Compared with directing films, which is far more hands-on, being a TV director, Bacon noted, “is much more a hired gun. In this case, it’s an incredibly well-oiled machine. You can’t come in and change it.”
Friendship counts for Mo’Nique
So how exactly did the Uptown Comedy Corner — with a capacity of just under 400 — manage to snag Mo’Nique for four shows this coming weekend? A talent that sells out theaters? Well, Buzz asked Mo’Nique herself.
“The truth of it is, somebody who works at the club is a really good friend of mine,” said the actress-comedian, referring to Uptown’s Valarie Farrow. “When I first started out in Atlanta, she was really supportive. She let me know then how much money I should be making. So when she said, ‘Mo, I need you to come down,’ of course I’m coming down.”
Mo’Nique is scheduled to appear Aug. 17 and 18 at Uptown Comedy Corner, 800 Marietta St. For more information or tickets, call 404-881-0200, www.uptowncomedy.net.
M Bar cozy in Castleberry Hill
Castleberry Hill is really doing its thing. From restaurants to galleries and new lofts and nightspots, it’s developing into a hip, artsy gathering spot for young adults. (We just can’t help but wonder how area residents feel about the crowds and lack of street parking along Peters Street).
Buzz checked out M Bar lounge one evening and found the place to be rather small yet cozy and inviting. There are a few boutique chairs and tables up front, with four TVs on the wall playing VH1 Soul videos. The bar is a blue-tile mosaic, and the walls have a (stale) grayish-blue tint.
In the rear space, banquettes line the wall and has a separate bar. The place, which opened in September, gets packed with people listening to house, downtempo, R&B and acid jazz as they mingle.
Last Thursday, there was “the hired help” in the back blowing balloons for a private birthday party for the Oakland Raiders’ No. 1 draft pick JeMarcus Russell.
A nice assortment of food is served at M Bar, such as calamari, crab cakes and salads, and if you’re wondering what the “M” stands for, it’s music, martini and margaritas.
And speaking of drinks, Buzz found a spinachlike thingy floating in a $12 Long Island Iced Tea and was told, “Oh, it’s just a mint leaf from the shaker. Do you want me to make you another one?”
We were glad bartender Ariane Davis asked. “Yes, please.” And this go-round, the look and taste were spot on.
‘Voltron’ movie reportedly in the works
First “Transformers,” now this.
New Regency, a 20th-Century Fox-based production company, is looking to bring “Voltron: Defender of the Universe” to the big screen in the next year or so, according to Variety.com.
The company will team up with the Mark Gordon Co. to produce the live-action flick, which deals with five survivors of an alien attack who pilot five mechanical lions that form a warrior behemoth and slashes Earth invaders.
“Voltron,” which started as a 1980s animated cartoon series, has been in production for three years and is set in New York City and Mexico, according to Variety.com,
So what other cartoons and comic books are being developed for theaters? “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” “He-Man: Master of the Universe,” “Street Fighter” and “Supermax,” featuring Green Arrow, according to Variety.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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