Star sightings, get your star sightings.
First up, rapper Ludacris. The artist knows something about restaurants, with plans to open a new spot called Chicken and Beer at the airport and having just shut down Straits after four years. The Juniper Street spot hosted any number of famous diners over the years. Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas held a private launch party there for her VH1 reality show “What Chilli Wants.” Clifford “T.I.” Harris, his wife, Tameka “Tiny” Cottle, and artist Trey Songz were fans. Sean Garrett, Andre Harrell, Bryan-Michael Cox and Brandy all stopped by one night last summer. And the cast of “Fast Five,” in which Luda starred as a wise-cracking computer whiz, held its wrap party there last year. Anyway, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges dined at Blt Steak Atlanta on Saturday night with a party of five to celebrate his cousin’s birthday.
● Comic actor Vince Vaughn, who’s been in town filming “Neighborhood Watch,” was spotted Sunday night at the Punchline Comedy Club in Sandy Springs. He must be a fan; he’s been there before.
● So you think you can eat? Cat Deeley, in town for the “So You Think You Can Dance?” auditions at the Fox Theatre, dined at Spice Market on Sunday, enjoying a repast of samosas with Ketel One vodka and soda. She serves as the show’s host. So you think you’d like to see photos of the auditions? See my colleague Rodney Ho’s blog at blogs.ajc.com/radio-tv-talk.
● What do HLN host Nancy Grace and boxer Evander Holyfield have in common? Well, a few things, it turns out. Both are known for their aggressive tendencies (although her jabs are verbal). Both showed their moves on “Dancing With the Stars.” And both have taken in “Mission Impossible” at the Brookhaven Cinebistro lately.
● Richard Dreyfuss in town filming “Coma,” an A&E miniseries also starring Ellen Burstyn, James Woods and Geena Davis, stopped by the Buckhead Diner the other day. The project has been filming around metro Atlanta including Decatur, Midtown, Sandy Springs, at Southern Regional Hospital in Riverdale and in the same $15 million Castleberry Hill loft where Tyler Perry shot scenes for “The Marriage Counselor.”
● Add young actor Colin Ford to the list of artists with ties to Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School in Sandy Springs. The teen appeared in “We Bought a Zoo,” starring Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson and Elle Fanning, and attended Holy Innocents during his preschool and part of his elementary school years, we’re told. The school’s alum roster includes Brian Baumgartner, who plays Kevin on “The Office.” Gene Wilder, whose stepgrandson is a student there, made a visit not long ago to discuss all things Willy Wonka with some inquisitive first-graders.
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A presidential book signing on Emory campus
The Emory University Barnes & Noble, at 1390 Oxford Road, plans to host former President Jimmy Carter from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday.
He will sign his new devotional, “Through the Year With Jimmy Carter: 366 Daily Meditations from the 39th President,” published by Zondervan.
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