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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2007 > September > 04
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Purported Vick notes on dogfighting case on eBay
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hand-written talking points purportedly to have been scrawled by NFL player Michael Vick before his one (and thus far only) public statement since pleading guilty in federal court were fetching more than $100 on eBay on Tuesday. Reps from the Humane Society of the United States claim to have picked up the abandoned notes from the podium after Vick’s statement last month.
The six talking points scratched on a page from an Omni Hotels note pad included: 1) “Apologize for what I’ve done, 2) Apologize to commissioner, A.B. (Arthur Blank], [Falcons head coach Bobby] Petrino, ashamed, disappointed, 3) Young kids, I acted immature, 4) Forgiveness and understanding, 5) Take full responsibility for my actions and 6) We all make mistakes. I’ve made mistakes.” Below his final line, Vick added in smaller letters: “dogs have suffered.”
On its Web site, the HSUS states it will use money raised from the eBay auction “to end dogfighting and other forms of animal cruelty by contributing to the Animal Cruelty Response and Reward Fund.”
Usher update
On Tuesday, we received additional details from Usher’s second wedding reception at Chateau Elan over the weekend. We’re told that South City Kitchen in Midtown catered the Charleston she-crab soup, fried green tomatoes, Caesar salads with fried okra, buttermilk fried chicken, truffled mac and cheese and peach cobbler for the 130 guests. The eats were served in a tent near where Doug E. Fresh was busy performing.
Meanwhile, as Hot-107.9 morning announcer Rashan Ali was spilling details about the second ceremony on air Tuesday, a distinct giggle could be heard in the background. It was Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas of TLC, a one-time, longtime girlfriend of the Atlanta R&B superstar. Ali broke from her entertainment report to ask Thomas what she thought about the nuptials — or more specifically, about Usher’s mother reportedly not attending. “I don’t think anything,” she replied, still laughing. “I don’t think anything.” Thomas did add that she stays in touch with Jonnetta Patton, or as she calls her “Mama J.” She also said that she and Usher “had chemistry.” “I wish [Usher] well in everything he does.”
Relocating the cave
One regional embarrassment we won’t have to endure this fall? The dreaded ABC sitcom “Cavemen” that was originally set here.
The sitcom based on the GEICO commercials hasn’t even aired yet and it’s now moved locations three times. Earlier this year, the show originally was set in modern-day Atlanta but when the pilot episode was shot, they moved it to Virginia Beach, Va. (The show is actually produced in Los Angeles so the location is purely fictional.)
ABC muckety-mucks decided the pilot wasn’t funny enough and re-shot it from scratch. In July, a publicist told Buzz that the show was moving back to Atlanta. But Jeff Fortis, an ABC spokesman, Tuesday said for logistical reasons, “Cavemen” is now set in San Diego.
“They wanted to do it in the South, but it’s kind of hard to replicate the South” in Los Angeles, Fortis said. “There are only so many magnolia trees they could find.” In all seriousness, “the city isn’t a character on the show, like ‘NYPD Blue,’ just a background.” The producers didn’t want to base it in Los Angeles, but realized it was easier to make L.A. look like San Diego than Atlanta. The show is set to debut Oct. 2.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Comedian-actor Bob Newhart is 78. Actor George Lazenby is 68. Actor William Devane is 68. Actress Raquel Welch is 67. Singer Loudon Wainwright III is 61. Actor Michael Keaton is 56. Musician Dweezil Zappa is 38. Actress Rose McGowan is 33.
OVERSCENE
NBA legend Michael Jordan checking out the VIP section of Compound nightclub with pal and Atlanta rapper/actor Ludacris. Jordan was also spotted at Phipps Plaza’s the Grape with 18 pals, including actress Gabrielle Union. The Grape’s general manager Carlos Toro spills that Jordan was enjoying the White Haven pinot noir.
Contributing: Rodney Ho, 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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Goldberg creates stir on ‘View’ debut
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Exactly one commercial break into her tenure as brand-new moderator on “The View” Tuesday, co-host Whoopi Goldberg found a way to instantly endear herself to Southerners.
In what appeared to be an attempt at defending disgraced Atlanta Falcon quarterback Michael Vick, Goldberg pointed to geography as a possible reason for Vick’s extracurricular dogfighting activities.
“You know from his background, this is not an unusual thing for where he comes from,” Goldberg explained on the live telecast. “There are certain things that are indicative to certain parts of our country.” The Oscar winner went on to explain that Vick is from “the deep South” and that “this is part of his cultural upbringing.” As co-host Joy Behar shook her head in disagreement, “View” co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck went on to point out that in some cultures it’s also deemed acceptable to beat your wife as well.
In her new role as “Hot Topics” moderator, Goldberg may have been taking the pro-Vick stance in order to help drive the conversation. Tuesday’s edition of “The View” was the first new broadcast of the ABC daytime talk show since Vick pleaded guilty in federal court last month on dogfighting charges.
“On her first day, we want to give Whoopi the benefit of the doubt,” Humane Society of the United States president and CEO Wayne Pacelle told Buzz from Washington D.C. “Still, I hope she was being analytical instead of being apologetic about Michael Vick’s conduct.”
Pacelle was quick to take Goldberg to task on the accuracy of her comments, however.
“She’s flat wrong when she says that dog fighting is acceptable in the South or any other part of the country for that matter,” Pacelle said. “It’s treated as a felony in the South. And while there’s a history of dogfighting in the rural South among whites, urban dogfighting is a much more recent phenomenon. We want Whoopi Goldberg to come out and state that she finds dog-fighting despicable and deplorable.”
There was no immediate response from ABC Daytime on Goldberg’s comments.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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‘Shield’ star is calling on Sir Elton John
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here at Buzz Central, we normally resist requests to play matchmaker for a heterosexual guy with a girlfriend and a happily married gay man. However, when “The Shield” actor and former Lithia Springs boy Walton Goggins rang the BuzzBerry from the Los Angeles set of the gritty FX series, we were powerless to refuse his request — especially since he was brimming with “Shield” scoop for Buzz readers.
The Oscar winner, who took home the award for the short “The Accountant” in 2001 (with Ray McKinnon and Lisa Blount, his two fellow Georgian Ginny Mule Productions filmmakers), is headed back here Sept. 18 for the premiere of the trio’s new comedy “Randy and the Mob.”
Goggins wants to extend a personal invitation to fellow Oscar winner and part-time Atlantan Sir Elton John to join him and the other celebs at the glitzy Atlantic Station premiere.
“I first met Elton the night we won the Oscar and suddenly we were at every party in Hollywood,” Goggins told Buzz. “He was so sweet and generous with his time. It was surreal since I’ve been an out-of-the-closet Elton John fan since my teens.”
Since John is a savvy film buff, Goggins feels certain that the pop star will respond favorably to the Southern Gothic black comedy that “teaches humility and tolerance and a strong sense of family.”
As for his triple-crossing cop character Shane Vendrell on “The Shield,” there’s good news: “We’re shooting episode seven of the seventh season today, and I’m still here, buddy!” Goggins said. “But we’re all watching our backs. It’s frenetic. The writing this season is as good and as twisting and as rich as ever. It’s a pleasure to play, especially with the actors I get to work with here.”
While Goggins doesn’t know if Shane will make it out of the season breathing, he speculated: “Let’s just say I paid off my car, and I refuse to get a new one. It’s probably prudent to be frugal right now. I’m dodging bullets here as we speak!”
More than ‘Hope’-ful sales
With the current cost of stamps, co-chairs Carey Carter and Dr. Nancy Gallups thankfully won’t have to spend much on postage this fall to solicit interest in “Hope for Children: A Musical Tribute,” their inaugural fund-raiser for Murphy-Harpst Children’s Centers in Cedartown. The evening — starring former “American Idol” contestant Diana DeGarmo, the Grady High School Marching Band and Choral Group, and other talented small fry — is scheduled for Oct. 27 at the Grand Hyatt in Buckhead. The posh dinner and show will raise much-needed funds for Murphy-Harpst Centers’ ambitious planned state-of-the-art treatment center.
The first invitation has yet to go out, and the event is already 97 percent sold out.
“It’s really a wonderful problem to have,” concedes Carter to Buzz. “The response has been really gratifying to me since this cause is so close to my heart.”
Additionally, two high-end retail giants, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, have signed on as sponsors for the fund-raiser, a generous corporate double-bill normally unheard of in the city’s charitable circles.
So will Carter use the occasion to unveil his talents as a song and dance man?
“That would be a no,” he told us. “I’ll enjoy the evening much more if other people are actually in the room with me!”
For information, visit: www.murphyharpst.org.
Stork report
When we met up with Atlanta Peach magazine editor in chief Elizabeth Schulte Roth the other night, she showed up with more than just copies of the September Fall fashion issue. Roth had a baby bump. She told us that she and hubby Thomas Roth are due to become parents at the end of January. Said Roth: “I told [Atlanta Peach founder] Jerry [Powers], your Atlanta Peach baby now has a baby Peach on the way as well.”
Celebrity birthdays
Radio personality Paul Harvey is 89. Singer Merald “Bubba” Knight of Gladys Knight and the Pips is 65. Actress Judith Ivey is 56. Drummer Martin Chambers of the Pretenders is 56. Actress Khandi Alexander (below, “CSI: Miami,” “NewsRadio”) is 50. Actor-comedian Damon Wayans is 47. Actress Ione Skye is 36. Actor Wes Bentley (“American Beauty”) is 29. Singer Beyonce Knowles (Destiny’s Child) is 26. Actor Trevor Gagnon (“The New Adventures of Old Christine”) is 12.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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