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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2007 > September > 26
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Ocean Drive, Trump to revive magazine
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Little did Buzz know when we were busy trying to squeeze scoop out of Atlanta Peach magazine publisher Jerry Powers and Trump Towers Atlanta developer Donald Trump during the glossy’s first anniversary party at Puritan Mills downtown back in April, that the duo was busy working a deal.
On Wednesday, Powers phoned Buzz from Miami to tell us that his Ocean Drive Media Group is partnering with The Donald to re-launch Trump Magazine, starting next month.
“We made the deal right there in that room at Puritan Mill,” Powers said. “I’ve known Donald for 20 years but we had never done business together. He told me, ‘I’ve got this [expletive] magazine and the deal is about to expire. Why don’t you take it over?’ “
Powers says that when the “completely reinvented” Trump glossy hits stands in Atlanta, New York, Miami, Palm Beach, Chicago, Los Angeles and other cities next month, it will re-emerge as a “beautiful high-end coffee table book” devoted to the sort of folks who are going to reside at Trump’s new West Peachtree high-rise address.
Powers told us that both he and Trump had their eye on Atlanta at the same time a few years back as a market both were eager to expand into.
“I remember talking to him and saying that I was looking seriously at Chicago and Atlanta and he told me, ‘Coincidentally, so am I,’ ” Powers recalls. “Atlanta represents a place of great opportunity for us, I think. Plus, we both wanna have a place there! But since Donald’s the builder, I’ll let him handle that and I just buy where he does.”
While Powers acknowledges that Trump can sometimes be dismissed as a late-night TV punchline, he says the business tycoon’s stamp will be all over the new version of Trump Magazine.
“Absolutely,” Powers confirmed. “It’s going to be 100-percent Donald. We’re gonna get philosophical, business serious, and then throw in some fun, fashion and flair.”
Added Trump in a statement sent to Buzz: “I know that with Ocean Drive’s reputation as a leading luxury magazine and its strong editorial and advertising team that this partnership will be a success both in terms of quality and sales.”
And when the rejuvenated quarterly hits stands around Thanksgiving with a special holiday edition, can Atlantans expect another of Powers’ trademark top-notch social gatherings here?
“Are you kidding?” Powers said. “Of course, we’re gonna party there. That’s where the deal was made!”
Turner: ‘Humanity down by 2 runs’
A familiar face joined CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta on camera Wednesday from the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City. As the 10-year anniversary of his $1 billion gift to the United Nations draws near, CNN founder Ted Turner reflected on the philanthropic decision, saying that he has no regrets.
“In fact, it is the best thing I ever did other than having my children,” he explained.
Addressing pressing global issues, the former Braves owner provided this analogy: “I think it’s the seventh inning and humanity is down by two runs. Now, we’ve got to score three runs in the next two innings and we’ve got to hold them right where they are. So it’s real tricky. We’re in a dangerous spot but we can pull it out if we really work together … and stop doing the dumb things like bombing Third World countries.”
‘Offensive’ art?
Elton John confirmed that he owns a photo of two naked girls taken by award-winning photographer Nan Goldin that was seized by police at a British gallery over concerns it amounted to child pornography.
John disclosed ownership of “Klara and Edda Belly-Dancing” in a statement on his Web site. He said it is among 149 images comprising Goldin’s “Thanksgiving” installation.
Northumbria police said the photo was taken from the BALTIC Center for Contemporary Art in Gateshead, northeastern England. They confirmed that an image had been taken from an exhibit “to assess whether or not an offense had been committed.”
Both Goldin and the gallery have declined to comment.
“The photograph exists as part of the installation as a whole and has been widely published and exhibited throughout the world,” said the 60-year-old Peachtree Road resident. John purchased the “Thanksgiving” installation in 1999, his statement said.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Let’s face it, we all have to make a living. What do they want us to do? Go gently into that good night? Hell, no!”
— Rolling Stones keyboardist and Georgia tree farmer Chuck Leavell on veteran rock acts bringing millions into the world’s concert halls this year even as the digital age continues to ding the music biz in the Oct. 1 issue of Fortune.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Producer Don Cornelius (“Soul Train”) is 71. Actress Liz Torres is 60. Singer Meat Loaf is 56. Singer-actor-director Shaun Cassidy is 49. Actress Gwyneth Paltrow is 35. Rapper Lil Wayne is 25. Singer Avril Lavigne is 23.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Inspiring songstress shares ‘Love’ message
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fans did joyful double-takes outside the Flying Biscuit Cafe in Midtown when Grammy-winning singer Ann Nesby popped by for breakfast Tuesday morning. The former Sounds of Blackness powerhouse (who’s also known by younger folks as “American Idol” contestant Paris Bennett’s grandma) was in town to introduce her latest inspirational R&B album, “This is Love.”
The “relationship songs” co-written by the Fayetteville resident for “Love” were inspired by our cultural addictions to buzzing PDAs, incessant text-messaging and “Halo 3”-related trances in an age where we’re actually communicating less effectively with each other. The singer slyly suggests “turning off the cellphone and grabbing some candles” on “Special Occasion” from “Love.”
“We’ve gotten so caught up in technology that we’ve become kind of like computers ourselves,” she explains. “We need to step back and deal with each other more. We need to tell each other that we’re sorry when we’ve wronged someone. We need to tell each other that we love them.”
To that end, two of the singer’s fave new tracks on “Love” are “I Apologize” and “Never Forget You Remembered,” a song about the prized folks who remember your birthday.
Between delicate bites of a healthy turkey burger, Nesby told Buzz: “When you’re grown, life just goes on on your birthday. You tell yourself, ‘If nobody buys me a cake, I’m not going to trip about it.’ But when people take that time to remember, it’s a very tender thing. It’s really the little things in life that have the biggest effect on us.”
While the now-svelte singer is staunchly dedicated to maintaining her healthy lifestyle, we did manage to coax the experienced Southern cook to sample a bite of Flying Biscuit grits and the spicy collard-dotted Southern Scramble.
Nesby just shakes her head when it’s pointed out to her that it’s now been 20 years since she first helped to record soul classics like “I Believe,” “The Pressure” and “Optimistic” as a member of The Sounds of Blackness.
“[Producers] Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis were a big reason those songs struck such a chord,” she recalls. “I’m so blessed and elated that those songs continue to inspire people and help folks in crisis. Every time I get a chance to record, I hope the music will reach and touch somebody.”
Thursday at 7 p.m., Nesby will appear in a rare live Atlanta show at the Blue Room in Buckhead on a bill with Peabo Bryson. For info: www.sidebarbuckhead.com.
On the airwaves
After three weeks of on-air auditions, Tom Sullivan, best known as the sidekick for the Star 94 Steve & Vikki show, has nabbed the full-time co-hosting gig on WXIA’s entertainment/infomercial show “Atlanta & Company.” Sullivan, who starts Monday, had been the primary substitute for Ryan Cameron, who now has his own Starz variety talk show, which debuts in November. He beat out former radio/TV personality Tom Clark, talk-show host Conn Jackson and former 99X host Jimmy Baron.
Meanwhile, 790/The Zone’s 2 Live Stews — who already contribute to a sports talk show on ESPN2 called “First Take” — will host eight episodes of “Black Men Revealed” early next year on cable network TV One. Doug and Ryan Stewart will discuss topics related to living as African-American males.
And CNN Headline News talk-show host Glenn Beck is returning to the Atlanta radio airwaves after a two-year break, rejoining 640/WGST-AM from 9 to noon. The syndicated talker was in that slot from 2001 to 2005.
Dupri at 35
Backstage at the taping of “Ryan Cameron Uncensored,” Buzz asked Jermaine Dupri how he celebrated his birthday this week and the Atlanta music mogul gave a typical 35-year-old’s reply: “I relaxed. I rested. Had to, because I went extremely hard Saturday night.” Dupri threw himself a party at his new Tucker nightclub, Studio 72. “And it was the most star-studded party in a long time in Atlanta. …” Dupri said before his appearance on the late night talk show, recorded at Center Stage, and scheduled to air on Starz in November. “It was crazy — Allen Iverson, Carmelo [Anthony], Usher, Josh Smith, Jazze Pha, Polow Da Don, [Yung] Joc, Jagged [Edge], Keyshia Cole, there were so many people there. It was going down.”
And when he got up on Sunday — his actual birthday — did he get what he wanted? “I haven’t really wanted anything for a long time,” Dupri said with a smile. “I get what I want.”
CELEBRITY DOCKET
“24” star Kiefer Sutherland was arrested early Tuesday on misdemeanor drunken driving charges after failing a field sobriety test, police officials said.
The actor was pulled over about 1:10 a.m. in West Los Angeles after officers spotted him making an illegal U-turn.
Sutherland, 40, tested over the state’s legal blood alcohol limit of .08 percent, and was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence. He was released about 4 a.m. after posting $25,000 bail, according to Sheriff’s Department records. Sutherland is scheduled to appear in court Oct. 16.
ON MY TiVO and iPOD
Warrick Dunn, Atlanta Falcons running back:
“I have DirectTV, not TiVO, and I haven’t really gotten into that recording thing yet. I did just download Kanye [West’s CD ‘Graduation’]. Fire! That album is fire!”
Celebrity birthdays
Fitness expert Jack LaLanne is 93. Singer Bryan Ferry is 62. Country singer Lynn Anderson is 60.
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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