New url for Peach Buzz
Bookmark this new url for Peach Buzz.. We have moved to Wordpress!
Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2009 > March
March 2009
New url for Peach Buzz
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Bookmark this new url for Peach Buzz.. We have moved to Wordpress!
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Alert
A GOP, YouTube hit from Duluth
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As the national Republican Party seeks to regain its political footing, Jonathan Krohn, a 14-year-old home schooled child actor from Duluth, is rapidly giving Rush Limbaugh something to sweat about.
Last month, during just three minutes of remarks at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, the pint-sized, sweater vest-favoring author of an 86-page book, “Define Conservatism,” energized the conservative base and inspired attendees, who were on their feet by the end of his brief speech.
On Monday, a YouTube clip of Jonathan’s live remarks on C-Span had generated 299,327 views online. Explaining the origins of the book he wrote last summer, Krohn told the crowd, “There were too many people throwing around this term who didn’t understand what conservatism was.”
The crowd got on its feet after Jonathan finished with: “I want the American people to understand that conservatism is not an ideology of feelings or romanticism. It is an ideology of protecting the people and the people’s rights.”
Needless to say, Fox News and CNN nearly adopted the straight-talking kid instantly. He also is making the rounds on talk radio and already has been the subject of barbs by Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.” He also was featured in a Sunday New York Times piece.
A Facebook tribute page, “Jonathan Krohn: The Future of Conservatism,” also had attracted 836 members as of Monday. And naturally, a few mean-spirited folks have launched a few less-than-flattering Facebook pages as well.
The only one we can repeat by name in a family newspaper? A group calling itself: “I Explode With Laughter Every Time I See/Hear Jonathan Krohn.”
On Monday, the group had a scant six members.
‘HOUSEWIVES’ NAME LEAKED
Since the filming of the second season of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” has been under way for two weeks, it was inevitable the name of the new fifth housewife was going to be leaked. Entertainment Weekly is reporting that Kandi Burruss, a former singer-songwriter for the ’90s R&B group Xscape, will take over for ousted housewife DeShawn Snow.
Burruss is perhaps the most notable member from Xscape. Since the group parted ways in the late ’90s, she had a somewhat successful solo singing career (her biggest hit: “Don’t Think I’m Not”) but has seen ever greater successes with songwriting. Along with Tameka “Tiny” Cottle (who’s engaged to rap superstar T.I.), she wrote TLC’s 1999 smash hit “No Scrubs.” Burruss also has penned jams for Mariah Carey, Destiny’s Child and Boyz II Men.
Translation: There may be less bankruptcy and/or rental house evictions fodder for Buzz Central generated by this newest housewife.
MUSEUM BREAKS RECORD
The High Museum had some good news to share Monday. “The First Emperor: China’s Terracotta Army” has set a new record as the highest-attended exhibition in the Midtown museum’s history. Since its debut last fall, the 100-plus works and 15 fascinating terracotta figures have been visited by more than 260,000 attendees.
Hence, with the exhibit set to close April 19, the High is announcing plans to extend its hours and has scheduled special viewing hours for its members.
Extended hours include 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursdays and for members only Saturdays in March and April from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. There also will be $5 college admission throughout March for all students with a valid ID.
For more info: www.high.org.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Singer Dean Torrence of Jan and Dean is 69. Actor Chuck Norris is 69. Actress Katharine Houghton is 64. Actress Sharon Stone is 51. Actress Jasmine Guy (“A Different World”) is 47. Actor Jon Hamm (“Mad Men”) is 38. Country singer Daryle Singletary is 38. Rapper-producer Timbaland is 37. Singer Robin Thicke is 32. Singer Carrie Underwood (“American Idol”) is 26. Below, actress Emily Osment (“Hannah Montana”) is 17.
OVERSCENE
Outkast duo of Big Boi and Andre 3000 drinking wine and socializing on the third floor of Trois in Midtown.
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.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Rally raises $10,000-plus
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Duluth attorney Gary Martin Hays and his three teammates were recovering Sunday after a grueling 60-mile bike ride.
On big-wheel tricycles.
The third annual Big Wheel Rally, a wacky stunt held at the Gwinnett Arena in Duluth, benefits Keep Georgia Safe, a nonprofit crime prevention and safety organization.
For 48 hours, Hays (pictured in a 2005 race) and his co-workers, lawyers Derek Hays, Philip Milam and Eric Ripper, rode the over-sized trikes continuously around the Gwinnett Arena before, during and after Gwinnett Gladiators games.
The minor league hockey team’s players even helped rack up some miles for the charity and were cheered on by fans, starting Thursday night and ending on Saturday.
“I think it’s just fun for folks to watch overweight, middle-aged lawyers out there,” Hays told Buzz Sunday.
“It’s a lot of fun, but we also raise some money and help raise awareness about the important work Keep Georgia Safe is doing as well.”
This year, the lawyers also did special fund-raising stints labeled Lauren’s Laps and Meredith’s Miles in memory of crime victims Lauren Burk and Meredith Emerson.
“One of us was always out there pedaling the entire time,” Hays explained. “They put down blue tape for us to follow, and believe me, we need that at about 2 a.m.”
On Sunday, Hays was going on a picnic with his family and cursing the inconvenient time change.
“Losing that hour was the good lord’s cruel joke on us,” Hays said laughing. “I’m popping a lot of Aleve today. The kids are going to go picnic and play after they prop daddy up against a tree!”
The marathon raised more than $10,000.
For more info: keepgeorgiasafe.org
FENTY SEEKS ATTACK INFO
Rihanna’s father is reportedly waiting for her to tell him about the alleged attack by R&B singer Chris Brown.
Ronald Fenty is the father of the Barbados native. The Barbados Nation News says Fenty is disturbed by reports of last month’s altercation.
The Sunday newspaper quotes Fenty as saying, “all I have been seeing is the Internet reports. I am waiting on her to call me.”
A Los Angeles police affidavit alleges that on Feb. 8, Brown punched, bit and choked Rihanna until she nearly lost consciousness.
Brown’s arrest prompted a retreat into secrecy for the singers. He has been charged with two felonies.
Rihanna, 21, is known for “Umbrella” and other hits.
KENNEDY TO BE HONORED
The stars are coming out in Washington for a musical birthday salute to ailing Sen. Edward Kennedy.
The Massachusetts Democrat will be honored Sunday night at the Kennedy Center at an event hosted by comedian Bill Cosby. Actresses Lauren Bacall and Bernadette Peters and conductor John Williams are among those expected to appear. The 77-year-old Kennedy is battling brain cancer. He returned to Washington for a White House health care summit last week from Florida where he has been continuing his treatment and physical rehabilitation. Kennedy was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor after he had a seizure last May.
PLAINS FIGHTS FOR CENTER
On the outskirts of Jimmy Carter’s hometown, miles from the nearest interstate, sits a state shrine to Georgia’s native president.
The Plains Visitor Information Center not only pays tribute to the peanut farmer-turned-president but also stands as a reminder that even one of the most sacred names in Georgia politics can fall victim to a budget crisis.
Only a ferocious battle led by leaders of Carter’s hometown — and the Democrats who represent his district — apparently has spared the center from the budget ax, for now.
“It’s shortsighted to even contemplate closing the welcome center,” said state Rep. Mike Cheokas (D-Americus), who counts Carter as one of his constituents.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Singer-actress Keely Smith is 77. “ABC World News” anchor Charles Gibson is 66. Bassist Robert Sledge (Ben Folds Five) is 41. Actor Emmanuel Lewis (“Webster”) is 38. Rapper Chingy is 27. Actress Brittany Snow (“American Dreams”) is 23. Rapper Bow Wow is 22. Actor Luis Armand Garcia (“George Lopez”) is 17.
OVERSCENE
Actor Bill Murray hanging out and playing the
Connect Four at the Cypress Street Pint & Plate in Midtown over the weekend. He’s in town shooting “Get Low” with Robert Duvall and Sissy Spacek.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Legal woes latest trouble for housewife
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Bravo may have to rename this show “The Legal Woes of the Real Housewives of Atlanta.”
As Buzz readers will recall, “RHA” cast member Sheree Whitfield recently dismissed an appeal that sought alimony from her ex-husband Bob Whitfield, saying the former NFL player was now broke.
Now Sheree herself is being sued for more than $87,000 by her former legal representative for the divorce, Levine & Smith.
The complaint, dated Feb. 2, 2009, and filed at the Superior Court of Fulton County, states that Sheree Whitfield owes $69,343.98
in principal going back to May 10, 2006.
Interest on the unpaid amount, based on a monthly interest rate of 1.5%, is $17,832.93 through January 31, 2009, according to the filing.
According to the complaint: “Defendant’s refusal to pay said debt as agreed constitutes an act of bad faith and has caused the plaintiff unnecessary trouble and expense, thereby entitling plaintiff to an award of its expenses of litigation, including reasonable attorney’s fees in an amount to be proven by the evidence at trial.”
Steven Montalto, the attorney representing Levine & Smith, told us the firm has been unable to find Sheree Whitfield in order to serve her the summons and a copy of the complaint.
Efforts to reach Sheree Whitfield for comment have been unsuccessful.
“The Real Housewives of Atlanta” is currently shooting season two.
BROADCAST TRANSITIONS
Star 94 let go The Morning Mess morning show Friday morning, according to General Manager Rick Mack. He said they are now looking for another morning show. He didn’t say whether Cindy and Ray, the successful afternoon show, would take over.
Norm Schrutt, who represents the Mess and Cindy & Ray, said Cindy & Ray could take over, but he has no insight whether that will happen.
Schrutt thinks in retrospect that the Morning Mess skewed too young for the station.
“I think I made a mistake,” Schrutt said. “I put them in a place where they shouldn’t have been… We got caught up with the economy and the fit wasn’t right. I think the team really understood it before I did. They figured Star wanted a little older demo and they played a little younger and that was their comfort zone. It’s like a stone in your shoe. The shoe is a little too tight. It was not their fault. They’re still extremely talented. I’m still a huge fan of the show. The radio station was very honorable in the way they severed our relationship.”
The trio, Shannon Murphy, Superphat Mikey (Michael Dennison) and Marc “Marco” Orem, came from Indianapolis in December 2007. The Mess’ last big gig was the Miley Cyrus appearance Thursday. Star has already scrubbed evidence of the Morning Mess off its Web site.
LOCAL ‘CHORUS’ BOY DOES IT FOR LOVE
In this current economy, Pebblebrook High School grad Colt Prattes is psyched not only to be working but he’s hoofing it in the touring production of the Tony Award-winning Broadway classic “A Chorus Line” running through Sunday at the Fox Theatre.
At a cast party the other night, the 23-year-old, who the plays Bronx-born, devoted husband Al in the musical, told Buzz the entire cast recently signed extensions on their “Chorus” contracts.
“It’s extremely tough out there for a lot of our friends in New York,” Prattes told us. “Thirteen shows closed in January alone. We’re all just happy to be employed right now, let alone being involved in a show like this.”
His old Cobb County classmates will no doubt want to check out “Sing,” the number in “Chorus” where Prattes gets to show off his impressive voice.
Offstage, he’s been busy showing off his hometown to castmates.
“I’m taking them all to The Varsity,” he said smiling. But first, Prattes planned to take in a birthday dinner with his mom at Scalini’s in Marietta, a tradition that dates back to his childhood.
“Oh, man, their red snapper Francese is just crazy good,” he said. “I’ve ordered it every year for the last 12 years!”
HIGH FIVE
Music
The top-selling albums this week at Decatur CD:
1. Neko Case, “Middle Cyclone”
2. U2, “No Line on the Horizon”
3. Buddy & Julie Miller, “Written in Chalk”
4. Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3, “Goodnight Oslo”
5. Justin Townes Earle, “Midnight at the Movies”
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Saturday: TV personality Willard Scott is 75. Actor Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad”) is 53. Comedian Wanda Sykes (above) is 45. Singer Taylor Dayne is 44. Actress Jenna Fischer (“The Office”) is 35. Actress Laura Prepon (“That 70’s Show”) is 29.
Sunday: Musician-actor Micky Dolenz of the Monkees is 64. Singer Shawn Mullins (below) is 41. Actress Andrea Parker (“The Pretender”) is 39. Actor Freddie Prinze Jr. is 33. Actor James Van Der Beek (“Dawson’s Creek”) is 32. Singer Tom Chaplin of Keane is 30. Guitarist Andy Ross of OK Go is 30.
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.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Atlantan competes for spot at grill
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Food Network master griller Bobby Flay better watch his butt. Specifically, his grilled Boston butt recipe.
East Atlanta resident Leigh Temple is among the Food Network fanatics who have submitted a three-minute video for a guest spot on the food cable channel’s popular “Grill It With Bobby Flay.”
For starters, Temple has a pair of impressive nicknames from childhood — “Hot Rod” and “Elvis.” He revs up his video submission atop his motorcycle in his East Atlanta Village backyard and proceeds to gun it near the grill.
“You gotta add that smoke for good flavor,” cracked Temple to Buzz on Thursday.
His impressive pompadour, tats and camouflage shorts aside, Temple, 31, is an experienced griller. His “low and slow” pork butt recipe calls for a fresh garlic and oregano-spiked marinade, followed by a basting with fresh coconut and soy sauce.
“I don’t care what the weather is, I’m out there grilling,” he says. “Rain, snow? I don’t care. I’m out there on it.”
The slow smoking allows the self-professed gearhead time to tune up his various cars and trucks or shoot a game of pool out on the back porch.
As friends gathered last month to help him and wife, longtime Atlanta fashion stylist and writer Anita Finkelstein Temple, shoot his Food Network entry, “Elvis” suddenly realized no one was leaving the building at dinner time.
“I ended up cooking for 12,” he recalled. “But it was all right. Two of them were vegetarians, too. But I had a lot of stuff in the fridge besides the grilled meat. Brussels sprouts, stuff like that.”
Atlantans can help Temple become one of the 13 people picked to grill alongside Flay by going to foodtv.com and clicking on the link to the “Grill It With Bobby Flay” contest. Temple’s video clip is featured on the third page of the contest and labeled “Spiced, Smoked Butt.”
OVERSCENE
Pop star Whitney Houston lunching at Kozmo Gastro Pub in Johns Creek. The performer ordered the popcorn shrimp with spicy mayonnaise and the restaurant’s signature drink, the Klassic Kozmopolitan.
Disney’s “Hannah Montana” star Miley Cyrus seen eating lunch at Dantanna’s Buckhead with her mother.
CHASTAIN SEASON CONFIRMED
For some, spring will be in the air this weekend as clocks once again “spring” forward. But, for many music-loving Atlantans, spring has officially arrived when the Chastain Series lineup is announced.
Here’s the Concert A series booked so far: Daryl Hall & John Oates, April 17; Seal with Peter Cincotti, April 18; Heart with Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, May 24; Zac Brown Band Memorial Day Picnic, May 25; Al Green and Etta James, June 10; The Fray with Jack’s Mannequin, June 12; Gipsy Kings, June 14; Bad Company and The Doobie Brothers, June 19; John Legend, July 5; Blondie and Pat Benatar with The Donnas, Aug. 2; Jackson Browne, Aug. 6; Bonnie Raitt and Taj Mahal, Aug. 18.
Tickets for the full series or any combination of two or more shows go on sale this Sunday at 10 a.m., at www.chastainseries.com or charge by phone at Chastain Tickets, 404-233-2227. Individual tickets will go on sale at a later date.
SURPRISE DUE FROM NASCAR’S LABONTE
Local elementary school students might want to keep a watch out the window this morning for NASCAR driver Bobby Labonte idling up in his No. 96 Ford Fusion.
Labonte will team up with Ask.com to surprise one local school with new computers. The school was selected from those who “demonstrated they are doing a good job of teaching their students about Internet safety,” reps tell Buzz.
One lucky fifth-grader from the selected school also will receive a ride to school from Labonte in the No. 96 Fusion.
In other words, getting the kids to concentrate this morning might be trickier than usual.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
TV personality Ed McMahon is 86. Singer Mary Wilson of The Supremes is 65. Singer-guitarist David Gilmour of Pink Floyd is 63. Actor-director Rob Reiner is 62. Singer Kiki Dee is 62. Actress Connie Britton (“Friday Night Lights”) is 41. Actress Moira Kelly (“One Tree Hill”) is 41. Rapper Bubba Sparxxx (below) is 32. Drummer Chris Tomson of Vampire Weekend is 25.
SICK BAY
The Atlantans who got to see comic Robin Williams last week were lucky. The ones who have tickets for his March 12 gig back here? Not so much. The actor’s publicist confirmed Thursday that Williams needs heart surgery and must cancel the remainder of his one-man comedy show, “Weapons of Self-Destruction.”
The 57-year-old actor needs an aortic valve replacement, Diane Rosen said in a news release.
Said Williams in a statement: “This tour has been amazing fun, and I can’t wait to get back out on the road after a little tune-up.”
Williams canceled four shows this week after experiencing shortness of breath. Since September, he had been on the sold-out, 80-city tour, which is expected to resume in the fall, his publicist said. Ticket holders can either return them for a refund or hold on to them for the rescheduled date.
Contributing: 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.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Country star, driver team to help kids
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dierks Bentley has had six No. 1 country hits over the past six years, along with plenty of respect and love from fans and critics, but isn’t terribly well known outside of country circles. And he doesn’t mind.
“I really enjoy being a regular dude,” he told Buzz, ringing us from Spokane, Wash., to promote a charity concert he’s holding with hot, up-and-coming NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne at Wild Bill’s tonight in Duluth (www.wildbillsatlanta.com).
The charity helps chronically ill children. In return, Kahne helps Bentley raise money for Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in Nashville.
“You build up some celebrity currency,” Bentley said. “You then find ways to spend it as wisely as you can.”
Bentley has never been to Wild Bill’s but enjoys the idea of playing a smaller place after working mostly bigger venues recently. “I love playing rowdy clubs, getting some tequila on our boots!”
The curly-haired Arizona native isn’t like his brethren Keith Urban or Brad Paisley, who both married Hollywood types. He got hitched to a gal he’s known since age 13, who has no stomach for the limelight.
So he was bemused recently when a TMZ cameraman actually recognized him in New York.
“I told him, ‘Dude. You have the wrong guy,’ ” Bentley recalled. “‘I’m not famous enough to be on TMZ!’ He must have been having a slow news day!”
RESTAURANT CLOSING
The meat spigots have been permanently shut off at the Buckhead Chima Brazilian Steakhouse. The meat emporium quietly closed Wednesday. According to a statement sent to Buzz Central, the economic crisis just compounded the chain eatery’s modest growth here since debuting a year ago. “We are saddened to close our Atlanta location,” said owner-founder Bruno Silva via the statement. “Although Chima opened their Atlanta location with a 12-month track record of moderate sales, they anticipated and projected a much greater sales volume. Our decision to close comes from a combination of Atlanta’s declining fine dining industry and the overall significant downturn in the convention and visitors market. We made every effort to make Atlanta a great success, from working with various localized Atlanta-based marketing and sales experts to applying our winning business model used in our other locations.”
The chain still operates eateries in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Charlotte; Tysons Corner, Va.; and Philadelphia. Chima plans to resume its national expansion next year.
Oh, and thanks to the news release, we learned Wednesday that we’ve been mispronouncing the name of the restaurant for the past year. According to Chima reps, the name is pronounced “She-ma.”
MARTHA’S ATL EPISODE AIRS TODAY
For those of you (like us) who didn’t brave those long lines last month, set your machines to record today’s “Martha Stewart Show” (2 p.m. WXIA) if you’d like a peek at the domestic diva’s recent dive into the Georgia Aquarium and environs.
Also featured: Repast chef Joe Truex demonstrates his Asian-influence crabcakes, and Atlanta alum and “Saturday Night Live” cast member Kenan Thompson pops by for a visit.
Still, for Buzz, the most hilarious part of the heads- up from Martha’s New York City-based publicists was this ego-enlarging snippet of the e-mail: “Martha heads down South to the fast-growing city of Atlanta this Thursday.”
Little ole us? “Fast-growin’ “? Well, fiddle dee-dee.
Bless their hearts …
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor James B. Sikking (“Hill Street Blues,” “Doogie Howser, M.D.”) is 75. Actor Dean Stockwell is 73. Actor Fred Williamson is 71. Comedian-magician Penn Jillette (above) is 54. Guitarist John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers is 39. Actor Kevin Connolly (“Entourage”) is 35. Actress Eva Mendes (below) is 34. Model Niki Taylor is 34. Actor Jake Lloyd (“Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace”) is 20.
OVERSCENE
R&B singer-songwriter Ne-Yo dining at Spice Market inside Midtown’s W hotel. The “Closer” performer ordered chicken samosas with cilantro yogurt, shrimp satay and Vietnamese spring rolls.
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.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Comic ruins TV chance for charity
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Keith Sanders, the national director of corporate development for the downtown Atlanta-based charity Stand up for Kids, was psyched last summer to hear that a celebrity on Donald Trump’s “Celebrity Apprentice” had latched on to his volunteer group, which helps homeless and street kids.
Unfortunately for him, that celebrity was washed-up comic Andrew “Dice” Clay.
Sanders watched with dismay as Clay was eliminated on the first show Sunday before 8.8 million viewers. Clay was his usual absurd self, complaining about a lack of bagels while waiting, refusing to make cupcakes because it wasn’t cool enough for him, then talking his way out of the game in front of Trump. (Former Georgia Bulldog hero Herschel Walker and TLC member Tionne “T Boz” Watkins of Atlanta survived.)
“Andrew ‘Dice’ Clay,” Sanders told Buzz on Tuesday, “was just being Andrew ‘Dice’ Clay. He makes no apologies for it.”
But it also meant his charity group didn’t get any mention at all on the NBC show.
Still, Sanders hopes his group will get some recognition since it’s referenced on the show’s Web site. If you’re interested in contributing or helping the group, go to www.standupforkids.org.
MOSE ALLISON’S JAZZ WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY
When jazz and blues legend Mose Allison settles in at the piano Wednesday onight at Blind Willie’s, Atlanta bassist Neal Starkey, as usual, will be behind the stand-up bass. Starkey tells Buzz his association with the 81-year-old William Faulkner of Jazz dates to 1962 in Schenectady, N.Y.
“I was about 21 and real green behind the ears,” Starkey recalled Tuesday, laughing. “Mose handed out these books of his tunes, and there were only four or eight bars in there for each tune. A lot of what he wanted wasn’t written down. During the gig, suddenly, I realized the chords that I was playing weren’t matching up with what he was playing. I was scared to death! I looked over at the piano and saw Mose peering above the keyboard with a Cheshire grin.”
All these decades later, Starkey (at right) is less nervous because Allison’s other sage sidemen through the years have provided some valuable crib sheets. And those songs, featuring Allison’s trademark irony and wit-laced lyrics, may be the perfect tonic for these treacherous times, including his classics “Your Mind Is on Vacation,” “Ever Since the World Ended,” “The Gettin’ Paid Waltz,” “Stop This World” and “Gettin’ There.”
“His tunes are just a lot of fun to play,” Starkey said. “Mose is the only person I know who can transform a happy tune like ‘You Are My Sunshine’ into a ballad!”
Don’t let his age fool you — the hipster singer-pianist has his own MySpace and Facebook pages to keep fans updated on his latest gigs and news. His entire Blue Note catalog recently hit iTunes as well.
Doors open at 7 tonight and Thursday at Blind Willie’s, 808 N. Highland Ave. For more information, call 404-873-2583.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Atlanta fashionista Teresa Hebert had quite the eclectic guest list at the birthday party thrown for her Monday night at the W hotel in Buckhead. First, “Elvis” turned up to serenade the birthday girl. Then, the wife of former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Bobby Hebert was greeted by former Falcons Brian Kozlowski and Brian Finneran and their wives Ellen Kozlowski and Erin Finneran, plus Sandee Bartkowski, the wife of former Falcons quarterback Steve Bartkowski.
Former Atlanta Hawks player Jon Koncak and Atlanta Domino’s Pizza exec Mike Orcutt also joined the party as did one notable late arrival: the aforementioned former UGA football legend Walker.
Guests sipped champagne and nibbled on a Barbie birthday cake.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Singer Bobby Womack is 65. Bassist Chris Squire of Yes is 61. Actor-singer Ronn Moss of Player (“The Bold and the Beautiful”) is 57. Actress Catherine O’Hara is 55. Actress Patricia Heaton (below) is 51. Actor Steven Weber (“Brothers & Sisters”) is 48. Country singer Jason Sellers is 38. Actress Andrea Bowen (“Desperate Housewives”) is 19.
OVERSCENE
Sir Elton John and friends dining at Spice Market in Midtown, sampling the chicken skewers with lime dipping sauce, vegetables in green curry, pork vindaloo, Thai jewels and the Vietnamese coffee Ice cream.
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.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Joël to Joël: No backsies. Good luck!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The novelist Thomas Wolfe apparently had it right when he wrote, “you can’t go home again.”
Even if your name is on the sign out in front of the joint.
In the case of recently ousted Oak Room executive chef Joël Antunes, his former Atlanta employer even issued a news release Monday to clarify the matter.
Joë restaurant’s current executive chef and managing partner Cyrille Holota issued a news release Monday stating: “Over the last two days, numerous media outlets have reported that Chef Joël Antunes has stepped down as executive chef at New York’s lauded Plaza Hotel’s Oak Room, leaving many to wonder if he will return to his namesake restaurant in Atlanta. Holota confirms that Antunes will not be returning to Joël and is not affiliated with the restaurant any longer.”
In other words, ouch.
Last week, it was reported that, after lackluster reviews in The New York Times and New York magazine, Antunes had been let go from the position he’d held for the past year.
After delivering the verbal folding chair to the face, however, Holota, softened a bit, adding via the statement: “Joël was and always will be a magnificent chef and friend. My staff and I wish him the best of luck in whatever he does in the future.”
As for the unusual announcement, Joël rep Kempten Taylor told us Monday, “The restaurant and staff have received a ton of questions about whether he might be coming back, and we wanted to set the record straight. We just thought this was the best way to solve the problem.”
Still, diners should not expect the Joël signage to change anytime soon, Taylor said.
As for Antunes himself, his whereabouts remained unclear Monday. Close local friends of the highly regarded chef tell us he hasn’t returned their voice mails or texts since last week’s Oak Room announcement.
OVERSHRIEK
After the Jonas Brothers’ surprise appearance at Regal Hollywood 24 to promote their new 3D Disney concert film Saturday night, Nick, Joe and Kevin made one final stop before leaving Georgia. We’re told they popped into a private showing in Johns Creek at Regal Medlock Crossing. It was held for Netjets, their tour sponsor.
The JoBros and their ‘rents (that’s textspeak for “parents,” you know …) ordered pepperoni and cheese pizza from Romeo’s NY Pizza next door to the movie complex and dined in the theater’s private room, usually reserved for birthday parties. (Interestingly, the room actually smells like cake.) The Jonas Brothers then greeted the screaming, crying crowd with a two-song set of “SOS” and “Burning Up.”
But the boys didn’t exactly make a clean getaway as they ducked out the back exit. There were about 100 screaming tweens waiting for them and, most embarrassingly, one babyboomer-aged mom, who, according to eyewitnesses, attached herself to the back of the group’s SUV and held on until security demanded that she loosen her Vulcan death grip on the vehicle.
The brothers had one request as they boarded their plane bound for Dallas: a post-dinner snack of sandwiches from Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A.
KVAPIL TO MAKE HENRY PIT STOP
NASCAR fans, take note. Travis Kvapil, driver of the No. 28 Golden Corral Ford Fusion, will idle into the Golden Corral restaurant in McDonough Friday morning before flooring it to the 2009 Kobalt Tools 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend.
Golden Corral reps tell us that Kvapil will greet his Golden Corral fans and sign autographs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, and the first 200 fans in line will receive an autographed hat. And get this. Unlike a lot of other persnickety personalities, Kvapil’s fans actually are being encouraged to bring additional items for the driver to sign.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Singer Jennifer Warnes is 62. Singer-guitarist Robyn Hitchcock is 56. Rapper Tone-Loc is 43. Actress Julie Bowen (“Boston Legal”) is 39. Country singer Brett Warren of The Warren Brothers is 38. Actor David Faustino (“Married … With Children”) is 35. Actress Jessica Biel (below) is 27.
Contributing: News services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
TCM film series to focus on Latinos
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Armchair film school students, take note: Your next Turner Classic Movies course begins May 5. Buzz Central has received word that this month, TCM host Robert Osborne will be in Atlanta to shoot intros and interviews with UCLA professor Chon A. Noriega for the classic film cable network’s fourth annual film festival devoted to diversity, “Race in Hollywood: Latino Images in Film.”
The monthlong look at Latinos in film will feature 40 films ranging from the silent era up to John Sayles’ 1996 film “Lone Star.”
Previous editions have studied African-American, gay and lesbian and Asian images in film. As with those other courses, there will be some unflattering and dated images in some of this year’s films that will be uncomfortable for modern viewers to watch.
That’s where Noriega’s expertise comes in. The professor is the director of UCLA’s Chicano Studies Research Center and the author of “Shot in America: Television, the State, and the Rise of Chicano Cinema.”
“It’s one of the things that I’m most proud of,” TCM programming vice president Charlie Tabesh told Buzz. “I’m glad that our viewers have come to think of it as an annual film school. That’s why it’s important for us to have a strong academic element. We worked with various professors when making the selections for the festival. Viewers have really come to anticipate this every year now, which is gratifying. They’re even having discussions on the TCM.com message boards about what they think this year’s topic will be.”
The earliest films in the festival are silent pictures like the rarely seen 1910’s “Ramona” and 1920’s “Mark of Zorro,” loaned out by the Library of Congress.
But it was one of Hollywood’s biggest blockbuster musicals that provided a challenge for Tabesh when trying to win the licensing rights for the Latino series.
” ‘West Side Story’ was a critical film that we knew had to be included,” Tabesh said. “But we didn’t currently have it in license. We had to do some begging and pleading but we got it!”
“Latino Images in Film” will run Tuesday and Thursday nights throughout May.
‘MADEA’ TOPS ‘JONAS BROTHERS’
Despite a cameo live appearance in Atlanta over the weekend, those prefabricated Disney moptops for the new millennium, the Jonas Brothers, were no match for Atlanta director Tyler Perry’s mouthy matriarch at the box office over the weekend. Perry’s comedy, “Madea Goes to Jail,” remained the nation’s top film for a second weekend, bringing in an additional $16.5 million while “Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience” netted $12.7 million in its opening weekend. Newly crowned Best Picture Oscar winner “Slumdog Millionaire” brought in $12.1 million over the weekend, coming in third place.
ACTION-PACKED, BUT CARBON-NEUTRAL
When a dark-colored SUV raced through the streets of Washington, flipped over and burst into flames on Fox’s fast-paced action show “24” last week, viewers probably were not calculating how much carbon dioxide the explosion produced.
Executives at Fox have been paying close attention.
On Monday, the network will announce that “24” is going green, becoming the first “carbon-neutral” television series.
Among other things, Fox says, it has hired consultants to measure the carbon-dioxide output, started using 20 percent biodiesel fuel in generators and installed motion monitors in bathrooms and kitchens to make the lights more efficient.
Car crashes posed a bigger problem. To achieve true carbon neutrality the scripts would have to avoid shooting on location and staging chase scenes, something likely to disappoint viewers.
So the producers decided to settle for buying carbon offsets, which in theory make up for emissions of carbon dioxide, the main heat-trapping gas linked to global warming, by paying other people to generate enough clean energy to compensate.
SNOOP, T.I. SPEAK TO NATION OF ISLAM
Snoop Dogg has made an appearance at the Nation of Islam’s annual convention in a Chicago suburb.
Wearing sunglasses, a dark suit and a tie, the rapper spoke briefly in front of a crowd of thousands Sunday and praised the Chicago-based movement’s minister Louis Farrakhan.
Snoop, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, called himself the leader of the “hip-hop community” and says he’ll always seek out the minister.
Rapper T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris, appeared via recorded video. He said that education is the key to success.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Bluegrass musician Doc Watson is 86. Author Tom Wolfe is 79. Author John Irving is 67. Singer Lou Reed is 67. Singer Jon Bon Jovi of Bon Jovi is 47. Actor Daniel Craig (“Casino Royale”) is 41. Singer Chris Martin of Coldplay is 32. Actor Robert Iler (“The Sopranos”) is 24.
News services contributed to this report
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment |
Here’s your chance to be a movie star
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Want to “hang out” with Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek and Bill Murray on Wednesday (weather permitting) as an extra in a movie?
You’ll get your chance if you’re willing to arrive before sunrise, endure some possibly chilly weather and wear your hair like it’s 1938. (No streaks or highlights!).
The $7 million film “Get Low” is shooting a major scene at Pickett’s Mill Park that needs as many extras as possible.
The film, based on a true story of Tennessee man Felix “Bush” Breazeale, features Duvall playing a man who decides to hold his funeral — before he dies. In the real story, as many as 12,000 people showed up.
Dean Zanuck, the producer (whose father shot “Driving Miss Daisy” in Georgia 20 years ago), told Buzz he hopes for 300 to 400 people.
He said prizes will be given out and Grammy nominated bluegrass band The Steel Drivers will entertain the masses. The filmmakers will provide food and drink as well. “It’ll be kind of a Depression-era Woodstock,” he joked.
The producers are asking folks who have already been “pre-fit” for 1930s era clothing to arrive at 3:30 a.m. to get a better spot in the film. Those who haven’t been “pre-fit” can show up around 5 to 5:30 a.m.
Go to www.getlowextras.com for more details.
“We will have plenty of coffee and soup and other great warm stuff along with heated tents, etc.,” the Web site notes. “But filming will still be outside, so make sure to wear long underwear and plan simple jackets that you can take on and off as needed!!!”
There also will be shooting on Tuesday.
For folks familiar with film production, there’s plenty of standing around and waiting.
It could take many, many hours.
In other words, it’s not as sexy as it sounds.
Plus, we’re not sure how much you’ll realistically get to mingle with the big
stars, but you’ll certainly see them.
‘FOLLOWING YOUR DREAMS’ WITH FONZWORTH
A group of Mableton middle school boys got lessons in manners, confidence and style Friday when a surprise visitor stopped by.
Former hip-hop sidekick Derek Watkins — known in the entertainment world as Fonzworth Bentley — encouraged 300 kids at Lindley 6th Grade Academy to do the right thing.
Even principal Landon Brown was excited to have Atlanta-native Watkins as a guest for the school’s boys conference.
“He is very positive,” Brown said. “He talks about following your dreams.”
Watkins, 35, is best known for being a personal assistant to Sean Diddy Combs. He is currently the host of “From G’s to Gents,” an MTV reality show.
Gender-based learning programs are part of a school mission that includes giving students more face time with teachers, Brown said. A similar event is planned for girls in March.
TV TASTE OF REPAST
Repast’s chef-owner Joe Truex will appear on “The Martha Stewart Show” Thursday, March 5. The deal between chef and Stewart was struck as part of Stewart’s recent visit to Atlanta last week.
“I got a call from one of the show’s producers,” explains Truex. “And they asked me to come and cook. I said absolutely.”
Truex plans to make his Asian/European-inspired crab cakes, made with Georgia shrimp mousse with cream infused with lemongrass, ginger, star anise and chilies, then dusted with cornmeal before they hit the skillet.
Truex’s wife and partner, Mihoko Obunai, will accompany the chef to New York for the taping — the show is aired live before an audience — but will sit ringside. The two are expecting their second child later this year.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Today: Actress Kelly Bishop (“Gilmore Girls”) is 65. Singer Cindy Wilson (above) of The B-52’s is 52. Actor Robert Sean Leonard is 40. Singer Pat Monahan of Train is 40.
Sunday: Singer Roger Daltrey (below) is 65. Actor-director Ron Howard is 55. Actress Catherine Bach (“The Dukes of Hazzard”) is 55. Actor Tim Daly (“Private Practice”) is 53. Actor Mark-Paul Gosselaar (“NYPD Blue,” “Saved By the Bell”) is 35. “Blues Clues” host Donovan Patton is 31.
HIGH FIVE
The top-selling albums at Decatur CD this week:
1. Black Lips, “200 Hundred Million Thousand”
2. Van Morrison, “Astral Weeks: Live at the Hollywood Bowl”
3. Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, “Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit”
4. Various Artists, “Dark Was the Night,”
5. Beirut, “March of the Zapotec”
— Courtesy Decatur CD
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“You stand too close to Flockhart and you look like Harry Belafonte.”
“Brothers & Sisters” actor Rob Lowe on “The View” Friday discussing his porcelain-skinned TV wife Calista Flockhart and why the network requested that he limit his outdoors recreation after he began appearing too tanned on camera.
Contributing: Rodney Ho, Alexis Stevens, Meridith Ford Goldman and news services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
