A jazz club, actually. Clint Eastwood, who is in Atlanta filming "Trouble With the Curve," stopped by Cafe 290 this week to hear his buddy Joe Gransden and his big band. The actor and the jazz artist are longtime pals. "He heard one of my CDs years ago," Gransden said. "They called and asked if I would come out and perform at a party. Since then we've been really good friends." During Eastwood's time here, he and Gransden have dined at spots including R Thomas and Veni Vidi Vici and have played some golf. "He's just so laid back and nice and relaxed," Gransden said. He told his friend about this week's show at Cafe 290 and Eastwood said he'd try to make it. Well, he did. "He had to take a million pictures and sign a million autographs," Gransden said. "He's always so great about that." So, was it nerve wracking to have the famous guest in the audience? "When a guy like that comes in we want to pump it up a notch," Gransden said. His upcoming gigs include performances at 7 p.m. March 24 and March 31 at Loews Hotel in Midtown; at 8:30 p.m. April 2 and April 16 at Cafe 290 and at 9:30 p.m. April 14 at Churchill Grounds. You never know who might show up.
Overscene
Bruce Springsteen, who packed Philips Arena Sunday night, was an audience member Saturday night. We're told he stopped by the Red Light Cafe to check out Atlanta guitarist Glenn Phillips. Meanwhile, members of his E Street Band enjoyed a pre-show night out at Twist at Phipps Plaza... Actor Kevin Bacon, who's here working on a television pilot in which he plays an FBI profiler, stopped by Krog Bar on Saturday and dined at BLT Steak on Tuesday night... San Diego Chargers linebacker Takeo Spikes was spotted at The Tavern at Phipps on Friday afternoon and Sunday night... Pro golfer Dustin Johnson had lunch at Joey D's Oak Room on Tuesday. Actor Adam Scott, who's in Atlanta filming "ACOD," stopped by the Legoland grand opening at Phipps Plaza over the weekend with his family.
Filming soon on a street near you?
"ID Theft," starring Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy, is going to be filming in Atlanta this spring. Bateman was here in 2010 and early 2011 filming "The Change-Up" with Ryan Reynolds and Olivia Wilde. It was released last year to not-great reviews. The movie "42,″ starring Harrison Ford, gets cranked up soon, too. It tells the story of the great Jackie Robinson, who will be played by Chadwick Boseman. Ford will play Branch Rickey, the baseball executive who signed Robinson. Industry reports have indicated this one will film some in Chattanooga, which has a lovely minor league ball park, but we're told that it'll be headquartered here. In less edifying news we're hearing that another gem in the "Dumb and Dumber" crown may be about to film here, too. This would be another project from the Farrelly brothers, who filmed "Hall Pass" and "The Three Stooges" here in the past.
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