John Travolta, who has come South to film a movie co-starring Robert De Niro, was spotted dining in Buckhead the other night. We're told he and three friends dined at The Palm, where he already has a signed caricature on the wall. Folks recognized him, of course, but let him enjoy his lobster and flourless chocolate cake in peace. He was gracious and friendly to those who did stop by to say hello.
Oh, just coincidentally, former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin happened to be dining at The Palm at the same time. A happening place, The Palm.
The Travolta-DeNiro movie is called “Killing Season.” De Niro plays an American military veteran who befriends a guy he thinks is just a European tourist, but it turns out there's more to Travolta's character. The thriller is set in the Appalachian Mountains, and it'll be filming north of here. Dispatches from the Buzz North Georgia Mountains bureau indicate the project was shooting at Tallulah Gorge State Park this week.
Made in Georgia, premiering in Germany
Billy Bob Thornton spent a good bit of time in Atlanta last year filming "Jayne Mansfield's Car," which is set to premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival next month.
The project also stars Kevin Bacon, John Hurt, Robert Patrick and Robert Duvall and was filmed in Atlanta and beyond. If you happen to be in Berlin during the festival, planned for Feb. 9-19, keep an eye out for Oakhurst Church in Decatur, which was redone to look like an old hardware store for the movie. Other scenes were filmed in LaGrange and Cedartown.
Another little tidbit: Sam Huff's east Cobb County restaurant, BBQ1, provided the vittles for a backyard barbecue scene filmed in LaGrange. The props director for "Jayne Mansfield's Car" visited the restaurant ahead of filming and ordered a huge spread of chicken, ribs, deviled eggs, corn, slaw, peach pie and other delicacies. While the preparations were meant to be props, the cast made short work of it all, Huff told us at the time. "They ate till it was coming out their ears!" he said.
By the way, Thornton's ex Angelina Jolie also has a film headed to Berlin: her directorial debut, "In The Land of Blood and Honey," which tells the story of the Bosnian War.
"At the end of the day we do have a responsibility to educate ourselves," Jolie told us during an interview about the movie (personal questions about partner Brad Pitt and their kids were off-limits). "I just hope people feel and want to learn. I really care about this part of the world and these people. Hopefully, artistically I won't disappoint them."
The film is memorable and not a little disturbing, but is not meant to take sides, Jolie said.
“Instead of pointing fingers, we have to understand what went wrong to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” said Jolie, whose film was nominated for a Golden Globe award in the foreign language category; “A Separation,” about Iran, won.. “I tried to write something I thought was balanced and didn’t try to lay judgment. It’s not a documentary. It’s not a political statement. It’s a dramatic film that deals with human beings.” (Unfortunately, the film has not yet come to the Atlanta market.)
Our entire interview with Jolie is online at blogs.ajc.com/the-buzz.
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