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Starlet finds a new ZIP code
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Former Georgia resident AnnaLynne McCord played evil teen temptress Eden last season in FX’s “Nip/Tuck,” a memorable role in which she seduced one of the adult characters, poisoned her mom’s lesbian lover Julia, then shot Julia in the head.
Now McCord is on CW’s highly hyped remake of “Beverly Hills 90210,” simply called “90210,” which debuted to relatively big ratings Tuesday night. (It was the top show in Atlanta.)
This time, the 21-year-old plays bad girl Naomi, who in the first episode befriended the main character Annie Wilson, then was caught copying Annie’s English paper. By the end of hour two, she had lost her main squeeze Ethan.
“Eden was a pure sociopath. Naomi is a PG version of Eden,” McCord told Buzz Wednesday by phone during a break while shooting episode six.
Naomi may be manipulative but she’s not stupid. McCord said she ad-libbed the line in which she snidely said she could have easily written the paper she copied on her own — if she had bothered.
McCord missed out on these high school shenanigans since she grew up home schooled in Tucker and Monroe. She acted in local plays, her first at age 9 when she memorized the entire script. “I’m blessed with a photographic memory,” she said.
She moved to New York at age 15 but her acting career only took off when she moved to Los Angeles in 2006. She quickly nabbed a lead role in “Day of the Dead 2” (“I got to shoot guns!”), guest spots in shows such as “Ugly Betty” and “Cold Case,” then the bigger jobs in “Nip/Tuck” and “90210.”
Though McCord was too young to catch the original “90210” in its prime, she quickly caught up via DVD. And she naturally has nothing but good things to say about Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth, who reprised their old personas. “Shannen and Jennie are super nice,” she said. “I think a lot of people watched the first episode to see them. Let’s hope they stay to see the rest of us.”
2ND SHOW ADDED
While pop icons Madonna and Janet Jackson’s fall tours are still struggling because of our lean economic times, legend Tina Turner has added a second Philips Arena show to her itinerary. The singer also will perform Nov. 10 at the venue. Advance tickets go on sale Sept. 8 for American Express card users; general public tickets will go on sale Sept. 15 at 10 a.m.
RULING FAVORS NE-YO
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has ordered a concert promoter to pay Atlanta singer-songwriter Ne-Yo more than $700,000 stemming from a lawsuit filed earlier this year.
Ne-Yo was dropped from R. Kelly’s tour last year after two shows. He claimed he was dropped because he had upstaged Kelly, an allegation the singer vehemently denied.
Kelly was not a party to the lawsuit. Ne-Yo (real name: Shaffer Smith) instead sued the tour’s promoter, Georgia-based Rowe Entertainment Inc.
Rowe Entertainment never answered the lawsuit, and last week Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Malcolm Mackey ordered the company to pay Ne-Yo and his touring company $700,320. Rowe Entertainment said in a statement posted on its Web site after the lawsuit’s filing that it couldn’t obtain a “final, fully executed contract” from Ne-Yo’s agent.
CELEBRITY DOCKET
Atlanta singer Akon is headed to trial on criminal charges he tossed a fan offstage at an upstate New York concert last summer.
The 35-year-old singer is accused of ejecting a teenager from the stage during a June 2007 concert at a minor league baseball stadium near Poughkeepsie. Another concertgoer said she suffered a concussion when the boy landed on her.
Akon, whose real name is Aliaune Thiam, asked for the jury trial during a brief appearance with his lawyer in Fishkill Town Court on Wednesday. He’s due back in court for trial Dec. 1 unless a deal is negotiated.
He pleaded not guilty in December to misdemeanor charges of endangering the welfare of a minor and second-degree harassment.
In court Wednesday, Judge Harold Epstein met privately with Akon’s lawyer, Andrea Zellan, and Dutchess County Assistant District Attorney Anthony Parisi before announcing the case would go to trial unless a deal is reached.
“We are pleased that Judge Epstein adjourned the case to a date certain for either a trial or a negotiated resolution,” Zellan said in a prepared statement. “Akon looks forward to putting this incident behind him, and in the meantime he will continue to meet every requirement set forth by the court.”
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Comedian-actor Bob Newhart is 79. Actor George Lazenby is 69. Actor William Devane is 69. Actress Raquel Welch is 68. Singer Loudon Wainwright III is 62. Cartoonist Cathy Guisewite (“Cathy”) is 58. TV personality-musician Dweezil Zappa is 39. Actress Rose McGowan is 35. Actor Skandar Keynes (“The Chronicles of Narnia”) is 17.
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A biodiesel run
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlantan Nik Bristol is a man who comes up with harebrained ideas. His friend Brian Pierce usually knocks him down.
But when Bristol suggested a nonstop “Cannonball Run”-type drive from New York to Los Angeles using biodiesel, Pierce didn’t flinch.
They hooked up with Willie Nelson’s BioWillie biodiesel company, and will start the tour in Manhattan on Sept. 22 in a Volks-wagen Jetta diesel. The pair plans to drive to Los Angeles in under 40 hours with zero fuel stops.
“With the current fuel crisis, we want to highlight the fact diesel is more fuel efficient than regular gasoline,” Bristol said, noting the Jetta can get 45 mpg.
They will carry 75 gallons of fuel, with the ability to refill from inside the vehicle while driving. The duo will stop only to switch drivers, eschewing bathroom breaks.
And no, they won’t be wearing diapers. Instead, they plan to go on a liquid diet featuring Ensure, chicken broth and juice five days before the trip. During the drive, they’ll use catheters feeding urine into a repository that solidifies the liquid into gelatinous bricks.
Neither man has talked to Nelson directly, though they’ve exchanged e-mails. They hope the singer can show up when they start their run, since he’ll be in the vicinity doing a concert.
For more info: www.willierun.com.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Radio personality Paul Harvey is 90. Singer Merald “Bubba” Knight of Gladys Knight and the Pips is 66. Drummer Martin Chambers of The Pretenders is 57. Actor-comedian Damon Wayans is 48. Actress Ione Skye is 37. Actor Wes Bentley (“American Beauty”) is 30. Singer Beyoncé Knowles is 27. Actor Trevor Gagnon (“The New Adventures of Old Christine”) is 13.
OVERSCENE
Actor Wesley Snipes (right) sitting on the patio at W Atlanta Midtown. Members of the R&B group Danity Kane were also spotted in the hotel lobby.
ATLANTA’S OWN
With the Braves 19 games out of first place, Jeff Francoeur batting .232 and their playoff hopes scotched, here’s an incentive to take in a remaining game or two at Turner Field in the next two weeks: $1 hot dogs! Yes, Braves reps announced Wednesday that beginning tonight and for all remaining Thursday night games, hot dogs will be a buck at several concession stands in the park. At deadline Wednesday, Buzz could not confirm a report that the park would begin offering an open bar if Chipper Jones (above) injures one more body part this season.
Contributing: Rodney Ho and news services
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‘Noah’s Arc’ stars celebrate at Atlanta festival
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s been lazily compared to “Sex and the City.” But in its two seasons, “Noah’s Arc” became not only the first original scripted series on the fledgling gay and lesbian-centric cable channel Logo, it was also the first TV drama to center on the lives of gay male African-Americans living in Los Angeles. And the show managed to delve into subjects that would surely stump even Carrie Bradshaw and Co.
The series blended comedy and high drama as budding screenwriter Noah and his friends Alex, Ricky and Chance dealt with brothers “on the down low,” dating HIV-positive partners, gay bashing, “thug loving” and the societal stigma involving masculine men dating more feminine guys.
And like “Sex and the City,” fans are rabid for more quality time with the characters. “Noah” actors Darryl Stephens and Jensen Atwood and series creator Patrik-Ian Polk were in town over the holiday weekend to attend the city’s annual Black Gay Pride celebration.
Oh, and to introduce fans to a sample of “Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom,” the feature film due in theaters Oct. 24.
“Everyone was so excited,” Stephens told Buzz Tuesday morning. “It’s been over a year [since the last original TV episode aired on Logo]. I didn’t know if people would still care about these characters or not.”
Polk says that in lieu of a third season, Logo approached him about a theatrical extension of the franchise that has attracted female fans like Janet Jackson, Wanda Sykes and Phoebe Snow (who has a cameo in and contributed a song for “Broom”).
Explains Polk: “We’re hopeful that ‘Noah’s’ fans will be as dedicated as the ‘Sex and the City’ fans who made that film a priority. I’ve heard from guys who look like your typical thug from South Central Los Angeles who’s got his grandmother watching ‘Noah!’ For a lot of families, watching it together creates an opportunity for dialogue.”
Atwood’s character of Wade, who began in the series as a successful Hollywood screenwriter questioning his sexuality, is back for the feature film as well.
Says Atwood: “We’d been away from each other for over a year but when the cast got back together for the film, it all came back. The ‘Noah’s Arc’ cast just has an energy of its own. We spark off each other.”
BUILDING HIS BRAND TO A ‘BOWL’?
Like the NFL teams beginning their new seasons, Usher is hoping to go all the way to the Super Bowl.
The Atlanta R&B singer will perform the season’s kickoff concert on Thursday in New York’s Columbus Circle along with Keith Urban and Natasha Bedingfield. The 3 p.m. concert will take place just before the season opener, when the Washington Redskins take on the Super Bowl champion New York Giants.
Like the Redskins and Giants, Usher is aiming for the big game in February. The Super Bowl is one of the most sought-after gigs in music.
“I don’t think it’s too early to consider it,” said Usher, speaking from Atlanta. “Certainly being associated with the organization makes that a lot more possible. There have been conversations for a lot of years about me being part of a performance at a Super Bowl. I’m hoping that this leads, definitely, to that. This whole process is basically you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”
Usher feels that he’s sufficiently built up his “brand” during the past decade (sometimes it’s easy to forget that the 29-year-old singer has been around that long). Recent Super Bowl performers include Prince and Tom Petty.
BREAKING THE ‘BAR’
Mark-Paul Gosselaar’s scraggly hair didn’t scare away curious viewers of Atlanta-based TNT’s new drama “Raising the Bar.”
On Labor Day, the Steve Bochco (“NYPD Blue”) production opened at 7.7 million viewers, the biggest series debut ever for an ad-supported cable network. That excludes the likes of HBO, Disney and the broadcast networks but is still impressive.
Two factors helped the drama, which is about lawyers in the district attorney’s office and public defenders’ office: coming on after TNT’s biggest show “The Closer”; and the fact the broadcast networks were airing political and hurricane-related news and no scripted dramas at 10 p.m.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
“Beetle Bailey” creator Mort Walker is 85. Singer-guitarist Al Jardine (Beach Boys) is 66. Guitarist Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols is 53. Actor Charlie Sheen is 43.
OVERSCENE
Taking in the Atlanta Dream-Connecticut Sun basketball game at Philips Arena downtown: WNBA President Donna Orender; rapper/ restaurateur Ludacris; R&B artist Jarvis, NBA legend Julius “Dr. J” Erving; 76er Royal Ivey; Atlanta Hawk Solomon Jones; Q of the musical group 112; V103’s Ryan Cameron; WXIA anchor Karyn Greer; and Atlanta City Council president Lisa Borders.
Contributing: Rodney Ho and news services
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Very special T-shirt a tribute to Skip Caray
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta boys behind the Esperanza Clothing Co. have come up with a way to pay tribute to beloved Braves announcer Skip Caray while raising funds for one of the late Atlanta icon’s favorite charities.
This week, Esperanza is offering 100 limited-edition, individually numbered, custom-made “Remember Skip” T-shirts, complete with a microphone-and-baseball-bat emblazoned logo.
“Baseball lost a broadcasting legend this summer with Skip Caray’s passing,” explains Esperanza’s Bart Sasso. “Being the Braves fans we are here, we felt it only right to create a shirt in his memory.”
Twenty percent of the proceeds from the sales of each shirt will be donated to Camp Twin Lakes, one of Caray’s favorite local charities. The shirts are $30 and can be ordered from esperanza-atl.com.
We’re told that given the limited run of the commemorative shirt, each T will be made to order, according to each customer’s requested size specifics.
LOCALS LAND ON ‘TOP DESIGN’
NOVEMBERAtlanta’s population of reality show contestants will grow by two Wednesday thanks to a double dose of local love on Bravo’s new season of “Top Design.”
Kerry Howard, who owns Howard House Interiors (www.howardhouseinc.
NOVEMBERcom), and Natalie Williams, the youngest contestant this season, both are vying for $100,000 and mucho publicity.
Judge India Hicks, a fashion model and designer, told Buzz she loved Howard’s sense of humor as well as his nickname “Big Daddy.”
“He asked me to call him George Clooney,” she said. “He’s a true gent.”
Williams, said designer and show mentor Todd Oldham, “was referred to as the party gal. She has a lot of youthful energy.”
Howard himself describes his style as “very eclectic. I like to mix old and new pieces, antiques and contemporary. I prefer clean lines, not a lot of frou frou.”
Williams, a SCAD graduate who had been working at Yessicks Design Center in Alpharetta, said the show producers found her and she has no clue how.
“Being 24, I’m still a baby,” she told Buzz. “The show was nothing I expected. In the real world, we have our own contractors and seamstresses. Here, you have to do stuff on your own.”
Season 2 of “Top Design” starts Wednesday at 10 p.m. after “Project Runway.”
TRISHA YEARWOOD’S UNEXPECTED LANDING
Monticello native Trisha Yearwood had a harrowing experience on a recent flight to Oklahoma when her plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Baltimore.
The country singer was shaken but undeterred; she caught another flight home a few hours later.
“I’m pretty spiritual about it,” she explains. “I turn it over to God and think, ‘There’s nothing I can do about it.’ “
Yearwood, her sister and some friends were returning Aug. 18 from a three-day walk in Boston to benefit the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast cancer research fund when they heard a loud pop.
Yearwood, 43, said the front left window of the plane had cracked.
“By the time we got on the ground, the crack on the front of the plane’s window was huge, and getting bigger by the second,” she said.
When they reached the ground, she recalled, “It was like in the movies when they land and you see all the firetrucks and emergency crews. That’s a real experience.”
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor Meinhardt Raabe (Munchkin coroner in “The Wizard of Oz”) is 93. Jazz pianist Horace Silver is 80. Sportscaster Terry Bradshaw is 60. Actor Mark Harmon is 57. Actor Keanu Reeves is 44. Actress Salma Hayek is 42. Drummer Spencer Smith of Panic at the Disco is 21.
OVERSCENE
Former Buckhead boy John Mayer surprising his old pal, performer David Ryan Harris, during his set at Loft in Midtown. Later, the singer-songwriter was spotted at the Cheetah strip club in Midtown and at Tongue & Groove in Buckhead. Mayer was in town for a weekend gig at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Alpharetta.
Contributing: Rodney Ho and news services
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Brown took stage — and took control
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On Labor Day 2008, Buzz thought it appropriate to recognize “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business,” who played his final Atlanta concert at Chastain Park five years ago this weekend.
Augusta’s own R&B legend, the late James Brown, is the subject of the brand new “I Got the Feelin’: James Brown in the ’60s,” a fascinating, sometimes horrifying, three-DVD set from Shout Factory.
The package contains the ultra-rare April 5, 1968, concert Brown performed at the Boston Garden, just 24 hours after the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. American cities had descended into chaos as racial tensions spilled into the streets and Boston officials were desperate to keep the peace.
At the last minute, Boston Mayor Kevin White opted against canceling Brown’s scheduled show in his city. Instead, White urged Bostonians to stay home. Just hours before the show, White contacted WGBH and requested the station broadcast the show live.
WGBH producer and director Russ Morash and crew turned up. Today, Morash is best known as one of the creators of “The French Chef,” Julia Child’s ground-breaking public television cooking show. Suffice it to say, Morash didn’t know much about soul music.
Says Morash in the set’s excellent accompanying doc: “To have a madman belting it out and destroying our equipment was not something we were used to.”
Facing a mostly empty venue, an unseen TV audience and a small squadron of cops lining the stage, Brown got up on stage and performed an epic 90-minute concert. His jacket soaked through with sweat, Brown was about to launch into his encore of “I Can’t Stand Myself” when things threatened to unravel.
In the DVD’s most-difficult-to-watch sequence, a young fan gets up on stage to dance with his idol and a uniformed cop flings him off the stage.
Other fans and cops rushed the stage when the singer stopped the show.
“Wait a minute, wait a minute!” Brown tells both parties as the lights come up. “We are black, don’t make us all look bad. I asked the police to step back because I thought I could get some respect from my own people. Are we together or ain’t we?!”
The crowd and the cops did as the Godfather of Soul instructed.
Brown finished the show and promptly mash-potatoed off stage.
WGBH re-aired the concert throughout the night. Calm was maintained.
CORRESPONDENCE FROM CELEBRITY
Local jewelry designer Mickey Lynn got a star-studded surprise when she opened her mail this month and found a handwritten note from none other than A-list celeb Courteney Cox. Lynn had sent Cox a special necklace from her zodiac collection aimed at moms (Cox and her daughter are both Geminis). Considering Cox probably gets tons of swag from more well-known designers, the note was super sweet, especially the un-Courteney-like pink ink with which it was written.
1980S LIVE ON
A nearly full house at Chastain Park Amphitheatre on Friday night got a four-hour dollop of ’80s nostalgia.
The Human Regeneration tour featuring Naked Eyes, Flock of Seagulls, ABC, Belinda Carlisle and the Human League wrapped up in Atlanta with a big push by B98.5 pegged to the arrival of Steve McCoy and Vikki Locke.
Many of the acts were loose and happy. Pete Byrne, lead singer of Naked Eyes, changed the lyrics to one of his songs for a gal in the front row: “How’s your sandwich?” He then had fans in 1980s garb dance on stage to “Promises, Promises.”
Martin Fry, lead singer of ABC, had purchased Halloween masks of Barack Obama and John McCain and had his two keyboardists wear them during “Look of Love.” And he high-fived the front row, saying, “If Neil Diamond can do this, so can I!”
And Belinda Carlisle looked and sounded great at age 50, getting the crowd pumped with Go Go’s classics such as “We Got the Beat” and “Our Lips Are Sealed.” She even bounced back with a smile after tripping backward on a floor speaker during “Leave a Light On.”
“I haven’t done that in a long time!” she mused on stage.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Comedian-actress Lily Tomlin is 69. Singer Barry Gibb (above) of the Bee Gees is 62. Talk show host Dr. Phil is 58. Singer Gloria Estefan is 51. Actor Ricardo Antonio Chavira (“Desperate Housewives”) is 37. Guitarist Joe Trohman of Fall Out Boy is 24.
Contributing: Rodney Ho, Nedra Rhone and news services
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Smooth Jazz, Hot, Praise lose air staff
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Radio One, which owns Hot 107.9, Smooth Jazz 107.5 and Praise 97.5, cut air staff this week locally and nationally. Among the victims: Morning man Griff and mid-day jock Maria More at Hot, veteran DJ Rene Miller at Smooth and mid-day host Sonja Hamm at Praise.
This appears to be a cost-cutting measure, though bosses at Radio One have not returned calls for comment. For now at Hot, Rashan Ali and Emperor Searcy will continue to hold the fort on the morning show, the A Team, minus standup comic Griff.
In a written statement to the press, Griff thanked God for his time at Hot: “When I got home today, I read a book that said: ‘On this day the will of God is done in my life.’ That was all the closure I needed.”
Kevin Watson, manager for comic Rickey Smiley, told Buzz Friday that Smiley is in negotiations to add his syndicated show to Hot, but nothing has been finalized yet.
Smiley is in 20 markets nationwide including Dallas and Miami. Radio One handles syndication for Smiley.
CON, FOOTBALL FANS INVADE DOWNTOWN
It’s Tigers vs. Trekkies today in downtown Atlanta as a fun little clash of cultures plays out. Tens of thousands of fans of Alabama and Clemson football are here for the Chick-fil-A College Kickoff, and tens of thousands of revelers are here for DragonCon, the massive pop culture and fantasy convention.
Actually, maybe the two groups will get along very well wherever they encounter one another. Both have lots of hard-core obsessives who like to dress up in eye-catching outfits and paint their faces. Both are partial to insider jargon and intense group bonding. And both have been known to get a little drink on.
The Con folks have their big parade at 10 a.m. today, starting at Woodruff Park and working north on Peachtree Street. That’s where you will find your grown-ups dressed as Imperial Stormtroopers from “Star Wars.”
The College Kickoff FanFest and FanZone for both teams’ fans starts at noon at Centennial Olympic Park. That’s where you’ll find your grown-ups with tiger paws painted on their faces. Is this a great city or what?
‘LIKE’-ING IT AT NO. 1
According to the Billboard Hot 100 chart at least, pleading guilty to federal weapons possession charges has only enhanced rapper T.I.’s sales figures.
This week, the Atlantan scored a new record for the biggest jump to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, as his latest single, “Whatever You Like” rocketed up the charts from No. 71 to No. 1 in its third week on the chart.
According to Billboard, “A No. 1 opening on Hot Digital Songs with debut-week sales of 205,000 downloads is the impetus for the record-setting Hot 100 move, which surpasses the 64-1 hike taken by Maroon 5’s ‘Makes Me Wonder’ in the May 12, 2007, issue.”
Billboard also observes that “Like” is T.I.’s first chart-topper as a lead artist (he contributed to Justin Timberlake’s 2006 chart-topper, “My Love”) and his opening-week digital sales is the best by a rap track since Nielsen SoundScan began compiling download data in 2003.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Saturday: Country singer Kitty Wells is 89. Actor Bill Daily (“I Dream of Jeannie,” “The Bob Newhart Show”) is 81. Actor-turned-politician Ben Jones (“The Dukes of Hazzard”) is 67. Actress Peggy Lipton (“The Mod Squad”) is 61. Comedian Lewis Black (“The Daily Show”) is 60. Actor Michael Chiklis (“The Fantastic Four,” “The Shield”) is 45. Actress Cameron Diaz is 36. Guitarist Ryan Ross of Panic At The Disco is 22.
Sunday: Singer Van Morrison is 63. Actor Richard Gere is 59. Drummer Gina Schock of The Go-Go’s is 51. Singer Deborah Gibson is 38. Actor Chris Tucker (“Rush Hour”) is 36. Actress Sara Ramirez (“Grey’s Anatomy”) is 33.
HIGH FIVE
Music
The top-selling albums this week at Decatur CD:
1. Randy Newman, “Harps and Angels”
2. Stereolab, “Chemical Chords”
3. Gentleman Jesse, “Gentleman Jesse”
4. Janelle Monae, “Metropolis”
5. Matthew Sweet, “Sunshine Lies”
Courtesy: Decatur CD
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I cried my eyelashes off.”
Talk show queen, faux eyelash and Barack Obama supporter Oprah Winfrey to the Associated Press following his acceptance speech Thursday night.
Contributing: Rodney Ho, Phil Kloer and news services.
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Scent-centric dinner aids library group
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A critic from The New York Times was busy nosing around Decatur’s Sage on Sycamore restaurant Thursday night but executive chef Wayne Hamilton wasn’t breaking a sweat.
Hamilton was even a collaborator in arranging the evening.
The six-course, $200-per person scent-centric dinner, a benefit for the DeKalb Library Foundation, was hosted by New York Times perfume critic Chandler Burr. The journalist is in town to conduct primers on gourmand perfumes.
“When we think about perfumes, most of us, for some reason, just think about it in terms of florals and woods,” Burr told Buzz Thursday. “But real food that we consume is a huge source of raw materials for perfume.”
Elements of pink peppercorns, for example, are utilized in Pleasures by Estee Lauder.
On his job as Scent Notes columnist for the Times, Burr allows: “It’s an extremely strange job.”
As far as Burr knows, he and biophysicist Luca Turin hold the world’s only two jobs as professional perfume critics.
But he says the fundamentals of perfume criticism are similar to any other arts critic’s job description.
“Perfume is a work of art just like a composition by Bach or a dish by Mario Batali,” explains Burr.
And NYT readers are no less ruthless when they disagree with a less-than-aromatic perfume review.
Take Burr’s recent assessment of Un Jardin Apres la Mousson by Hermes. Burr called it “a failure on every level … the olfactory equivalent of corn syrup.”
One online reader sniffed in response: “Perfume-making is not to be dissected like this. If you don’t like it, leave it at that. This reads like someone with his knickers in a twist.”
“You do have to endure some of the most stupid comments you’ve ever heard in your life,” Burr says laughing. “Essentially, I was just doing my job.”
Friday night and Saturday night at Sage, curious diners who missed Thursday’s Scent & Savor dinner can order a four-course version of it for $30 per person.
Burr will lecture and sign copies of his new book, “The Perfect Scent: A Year Inside the Perfume Industry in Paris and New York” Saturday at 1:45 p.m. at the AJC Decatur Book Festival.
For more info: decaturbookfestival.com. To donate to the DeKalb Library Foundation: www.dekalblibrary.org/support/.
‘RAISING THE BAR’ ON TOLLS
The fictional lawyers of Steven Bochco’s new TNT drama, “Raising the Bar,” are offering you a little, well, financial incentive to tune into the new series Labor Day night at 10.
And let’s just say, if an actual attorney tried this, he or she might be staring at disbarment.
Commuters who hit Ga. 400 today, in either the north- or south-bound lanes between 4 and 6 p.m., will have their tolls paid for them, courtesy of the Atlanta-based cable network.
“With so many people on the roads Labor Day weekend, it’s a perfect time to get our message out about the premiere of this outstanding new drama series,” says Tricia Melton, senior vice president of marketing for TNT. “We are literally raising the bar by paying tolls on Labor Day weekend.”
We’re told that drivers will be greeted at the toll plaza with TNT signs informing them about who paid their toll. And yes, the toll bars will be automatically raised for the two-hour stunt …
SUNDAY NIGHT ‘TAKEOVER’
NBA fans will want to be in the house Sunday night at Opera nightclub in Midtown for the NBA Takeover. The Labor Day Eve bash will be hosted by Seattle Supersonics Damien Wilkins, Kevin Durant, Chris Wilcox and Earl Watson, Boston Celtic Ray Allen, Atlanta Hawk Acie Law, Orlando Magic man Rashard Lewis, 76er Royal Ivey and Indiana Pacer Jarret Jack. Oh, and organizers are promising a surprise appearance by “The Greatest Basketball Player of All Time,” which, the last time we checked, was one Michael Jordan. But again, no exact names are being bandied about. Buyer beware. Tickets: $40 and $15. Info: www.nbatakeover.com.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor-director Richard Attenborough is 85. Movie director William Friedkin is 73. Actor Elliott Gould is 70. Singer Michael Jackson is 50. Actress Rebecca De Mornay is 46. Bassist-singer Me’Shell NdegeOcello is 39. Guitarist Kyle Cook of Matchbox Twenty is 33. Actor John Hensley (“Nip/Tuck”) is 31. Bassist David Desrosiers of Simple Plan is 28.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Flags were waving and people shouting. It looked as if we had the whole city rocking. I hadn’t planned to start a revival meeting. They said later my singing seemed to bounce off the dome of the Capitol far down the Mall. I’ve always hoped it reached inside to where some of those congressmen were sitting!”
Late gospel great Mahalia Jackson reflecting in her 1966 autobiography on singing “I Been Buked” prior to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington 45 years ago Thursday.
Contributing: News services
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Dragons finally get props at DragonCon
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For years, Cartoon Network’s late-night Adult Swim animators have pleaded in vain with the organizers of the DragonCon convention to host one particular panel at the annual Labor Day weekend sci-fi/comics convention downtown.
A discussion about dragons.
“There has never been a shortage of superheroes or Star Trek characters at DragonCon,” Adult Swim senior vice-president Mike Lazzo (right) explained Wednesday as he busied himself SuperGlueing his tongue to the side of his face. “But we were always disappointed about the lack of attention being paid to actual dragons. We really wanted to help re-establish the purity of their brand.”
Hence, Friday at 5:30 p.m., Lazzo and Adult Swimmers, including Kim Manning, Jennifer Stephens, Dana Swanson, Vanessa Palacios, Eddie Ray, Drew Dominey, Merrill Hagan and Dana Snyder will conduct the first-ever DragonCon session on dragons at the convention.
They’ll also bring along clips from Adult Swim favorites like “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” and “Squidbillies” and dragon-related clips from the company’s vault of classic Hanna-Barbera animation.
And on the off-chance, the session doesn’t exactly catch fire?
“We’re also prepared to discuss Adult Swim content and golf,” Lazzo says.
The Cartoon Network crazies also have created dragon costumes to wear to the session.
“But I have to say, the men have made a pretty pathetic attempt at it so far,” relates Lazzo. “But the women are really hooked up with their dragon wardrobes.”
Over the weekend, Cartoon Network reps also will have a strong presence at the convention as they introduce their new hotly anticipated CGI weekly series, “Star Wars: The Clone Wars.”
So how iconic has the Williams Street Adult Swim production headquarters become over the years since the Williams Street logo flashes at the end of each late-night offering either on the air or via various boxed-set collections?
Explains Lazzo: “Every DragonCon weekend, we show up to work and invariably there will be convention attendees hanging outside. It’s actually pretty flattering that they seek us out.”
Oh, and as a public service to the Adult Swim staff, Buzz has graciously agreed to alternately describe their workplace as either a “fortress” or a “compound.”
For info: www.dragoncon.org.
COOKING UP ‘DINNER’
While Kenny Leon polishes August Wilson’s “Gem of the Ocean” at the Alliance Theatre, Todd Kreidler, his True Colors associate artistic director, is cooking up Leon’s “Dinner.”
We’re talking, of course, about “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” Kreidler’s adaptation of the classic 1967 film that starred Sidney Poitier, Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. Kreidler has spent the past year toiling over his and Leon’s next Broadway project.
No “Dinner” date has been set for Broadway. “But we’re still aiming to go in the fall,” Kreidler says. “Right now, we’re planning to gather for a reading in New York after Labor Day, then hopefully begin rehearsals in October.”
Meanwhile, “Gem” starts previews Aug. 30 at the Alliance, and “Radio Golf,” the final installment of Wilson’s epic 10-play cycle, begins previews at the Woodruff Arts Center playhouse on Aug. 29. Alliance associate artistic director Kent Gash directs “Radio Golf.” The two-play repertory’s official opening is Sept. 6.
Kreidler, a close personal associate of Wilson, was dramaturg for both “Gem of the Ocean” and “Radio Golf,” which played regional theaters before eventually moving to Broadway under Leon’s direction. The Chicago-based artist will arrive in Atlanta in mid-September, presumably to check out the bookended dramas.
LUDA LOVES LATTA
Ludacris graciously is supplying Jarvis, his latest Disturbing Tha Peace record label R&B artist for this Friday night’s half-time performance at the WNBA Atlanta Dream/Connecticut Sun basketball game at Philips Arena downtown. And the Atlantan himself also will be present. The rapper-restaurateur is an admirer of Atlanta Dream point guard Ivory Latta.
“I have been a longtime fan and supporter of Ivory since she was at [University of] North Carolina,” Luda told us via an e-mail from the Atlanta Dream. “She is a little sister and family to me. It’s even greater that she plays for an Atlanta team. I want to be there to show my love and support.”
Late reports Wednesday indicated that 9,000 tickets already have been sold for the game, making it a near-sellout. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. www.atlantadream.net.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Country singer Shania Twain is 43. Actor Billy Boyd (“Lord of the Rings”) is 40. Actor-singer Jack Black of Tenacious D is 39. Actor Jason Priestley (“Beverly Hills, 90210”) is 39. Singer-bassist Max Collins of Eve 6 is 30. Actress Carly Pope (“Popular”) is 28. Country singer LeAnn Rimes is 26.
UNCOUPLING
They famously trekked to Atlanta to pay tribute to Coretta Scott King at the civil rights matriarch’s 2006 memorial service. Now, “Desperate Housewives” actress Nicollette Sheridan and singer Michael Bolton quietly have ended their engagement.
The split was amicable, said Nicole Perna, a publicist for the pair.
The 44-year-old actress and 55-year-old singer have been engaged since March 2006. They first started dating in 1992 and spent five years together, Perna said, then rekindled their romance in 2005.
The couple’s split was first reported by People.com.
Contributing: Wendell Brock and news services
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Eco activist models for green cause
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Captain Planet Foundation chairwoman Laura Turner Seydel is brushing up on her catwalk skills as she preps for next week’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York. The eco activist will be among the celebrity runway models participating in the “Be EcoChic” fashion show at the Milstein Hall of Oceans at the American Museum of Natural History.
The other strutting celebs include: Lauren Hutton, “Ugly Betty” actor Mark Indelicato, “Desperate Housewives” actress Joy Lauren and singer-songwriter Jon McLaughlin.
Turner Seydel is set to wear a wood and sea shell embellished gown created by Carmen Marc Valvo. Other participating fashion icons include “Sex and the City” costumer Patricia Field, Perry Ellis and Calvin Klein.
“I’m very excited,” Turner Seydel told us Tuesday via cellphone from Denver, where she’s attending the Democratic National Convention. “I’ve seen a sketch of the dress. It looks gorgeous. I’m happy to do anything that helps to get the word out about alternative, sustainable and organic fashions and designs.”
Still, the nonprofit fund-raiser asked her old pal Atlanta runway model and Catwalk Productions owner Randi Layne to pass along a few runway tips.
“I’ve learned you have to put one leg in front of the other like you’re walking a balance beam,” Turner Seydel shared. “Also, your arms have to move and your fingers have to gently brush your legs when you move while standing very erect.”
Her husband, Atlanta attorney and Hawks and Thrashers co-owner Rutherford Seydel, has been helpful during his wife’s practice sessions.
“He’s very curious about what it is that I’m doing!” she said laughing. “I told him, ‘Rutherford, you need to know about this. You could be next!’ “
‘NAKED’ LUNCH
There may just be an uptick in noontime shoppers today at Lush, the health and beauty boutique at Lenox Square mall. As a way of promoting the shop’s new “naked” line of products, the clerks at Lush will be wearing nothing beneath specially designed “Ask Me Why I’m Naked” aprons sent in for the promotion.
“It’s a way for us to call attention to our efforts to reduce excess packaging and a way to produce less waste,” Lush assistant manager Aly Rabinowitz told us. “Many of our other stores have already held successful promotions with the theme.” As of Tuesday afternoon, Rabinowitz still was awaiting delivery of a crucial part of the promotion: The aprons.
‘AMERICA’S GOT’ KAZUAL QUARTET
Although NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” hosted auditions at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in March, not a single Atlanta act made it to the final 40 from those sessions.
One Atlanta singing quartet has made the cut, but the group actually applied through a special MySpace audition. Kazual, three brothers and a cousin, moved to Atlanta four years ago from Columbus but had yet to get a big break until now.
The group impressed the show’s producers with an a capella version of the Backstreet Boys’ “Inconsolable,” which also can be seen on YouTube.
Unlike many other acts, Kazual will have to compete for votes tonight with almost no airtime up to this point, a major disadvantage to get to the next round.
“It’s going to be pretty important to actually knock it out of the park because people haven’t seen us,” EJay (real name: Eugene Burt) said to Buzz.
SING-ALONG WITH ABBA AND STREEP
Finally, someone has devised a way to drown out Pierce Brosnan’s vocal performances in the hit musical “Mamma Mia!”
Starting Friday, fans of the Meryl Streep, Abba-infused flick can partake of “Mamma Mia!: The Sing Along Version.” Yes, a new lyrically enhanced edition of the film will screen this holiday weekend, enabling fans to belt out “Dancing Queen” en masse. Participating theaters? Regal Mall of Georgia in Buford, Regal Medlock Crossing in Duluth, AMC Parkway Pointe in Atlanta and AMC Phipps Plaza in Buckhead.
You’ve been warned.
HIGH FIVE
Television
The top OnDemand programs for the week of Aug. 18-24, as determined by Comcast customers in metro Atlanta:
1. Lil Wayne, “A Milli,” music video, Music Choice
2. “SpongeBob Squarepants,” “Patty Hype” episode, Nickelodeon
3. “The Benchwarmers” movie, Disney Channel
4. Yung Berg, “The Business” music video, Music Choice
5. “South Park” Cartoon Wars (2)” episode, Comedy Central
— Courtesy: Rentrak’s OnDemand Essentials
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Musician Daryl Dragon of the Captain and Tennille is 66. Actress Tuesday Weld is 65. Actor Paul Reubens (Pee-Wee Herman) is 56. Gospel singer Yolanda Adams is 46. Actress Chandra Wilson (“Grey’s Anatomy”) is 39. Actress Sarah Chalke (“Scrubs”) is 32. Rapper Mase (below) is 31. Singer Mario is 22. Actress Alexa Vega (“Spy Kids”) is 20.
Contributing: Rodney Ho and news services
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Road crews, drivers get no holiday break
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The plays being run on the field this weekend at the inaugural Chick-fil-A College Kickoff game between Clemson and Alabama likely will lack the attention to detail being given the impressive downtown traffic plan devised for Saturday’s event. The Georgia Department of Transportation, you see, is continuing its interstate construction projects over Labor Day weekend.
“The last thing we wanted was that caravan coming down I-20 from Birmingham to encounter a mess,” Atlanta Sports Council communications vice president Eric Oberman told Buzz on Monday. “We’re hoping that this game becomes an annual event in Atlanta. We want people to have fun and enjoy themselves while they’re here.”
Translation: “Fun” does not equal spending the weekend idling in an interstate parking lot.
Fans are being urged to leave early for the 8 p.m. kickoff (game day activities will run all day downtown) or take MARTA into the downtown area. Locals who know alternative routes are being urged to use their vehicular inventiveness to get to the game as well.
Also, thanks to modern technology, each person who purchased a ticket for the sold-out legendary matchup should receive an e-mail advisory about the traffic conditions as well. Similar outreach is being performed in South Carolina and Alabama.
The DOT also has aided the effort by posting updates and advisories on its interstate message boards this week. Adding to the potential for gridlock: This weekend’s Atlanta Falcons game and the annual DragonCon comics convention booked for the very busy downtown area. Personally? Buzz tries to avoid ticking off those people who annually dress as Klingons and walk around downtown with large battle weapons.
TUESDAY NIGHT’S KICKOFF AT MANUEL’S DELAYED
Atlanta author Paul Hemphill is postponing Tuesday night’s much-anticipated Manuel’s Tavern launch party for his fascinating new history of the Auburn University football program, “A Tiger Walk Through History: The Complete Story of Auburn Football From 1892 to the Tuberville Era” ($39.95, Pebble Hill Books).
Hemphill has been recently undergoing chemotherapy treatments as he battles cancer. The former Atlanta Journal columnist was admitted to the hospital over the weekend after he experienced a strong reaction following his latest treatment.
But Hemphill assures us that once he’s up to it, the signing and launch party with his many admirers will be rescheduled.
We’re also pleased to report that Hemphill hasn’t lost his trademark sense of humor. When asked for comment, Hemphill had the Alabama school’s famous battle cry, “War Eagle,” e-mailed to Buzz Central.
‘GOLDEN GIRLS LIVE!’
This could be the kookiest fund-raiser of the year. Tonight, Atlanta playwright and actor Topher Payne and his thespian friends will present “The Golden Girls Live!” at Onstage Atlanta at 2597 North Decatur Road in Decatur. Did we mention that Payne, Greg Morris, DeWayne Morgan and Joey Ellington will all be in wigs, heels and painstakingly recreated frocks from the 1980s NBC sitcom, stitched by Atlanta costume designer Jane Kroessig? Payne has adapted two scripts for the stage originally penned by “Golden Girls” creator Susan Harris.
One hundred percent of the proceeds from tonight and Wednesday’s 8 p.m. performances will go to Atlanta Cotillion, an annual fund-raiser for AID Atlanta. Which means everyone involved is working for free.
“For years, I’ve been told that I’m the Bea Arthur in my group of friends,” Payne told us Monday. “I thought, ‘Let’s make some money off that!’ The frightening thing is that in drag as Bea Arthur I’m more mannish than I am dressed as myself.”
So how did Payne’s pal and Atlanta actor Morris land Rue McClannahan’s coveted signature role of Blanche Devereaux? Replied Payne: “How do you not cast Greg Morris as Blanche? The only major difference is now he’s acting trampy and wearing sling backs.”
Tickets: 404-289-2673.
BRAXTON ADDED TO ‘DANCING’
Part-time Alpharetta resident Toni Braxton will be among the gyrating celebs in the next edition of the inexplicably popular ABC reality show “Dancing With the Stars,” set to premiere Sept. 22. Other participants booked for the show include daytime diva Susan Lucci, former N’Sync member Lance Bass, celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito, retired NFL star Warren Sapp and 82-year-old former “Mary Tyler Moore Show” actress Cloris Leachman. Here’s hoping viewers aren’t inadvertently treated to a nationally televised hip fracture.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Singer Valerie Simpson of Ashford and Simpson is 62. Jazz saxophonist Branford Marsalis (right) is 48. Drummer Adrian Young of No Doubt is 39. Actress Melissa McCarthy (“Samantha Who?”) is 38. Actor Macaulay Culkin is 28.
OVERSCENE
One-time MTV “Laguna Beach” reality TV fixture Kristin Cavallari and an unidentified gentleman dining on sushi and snapper at Shout in Midtown. We’re told the pair did not imbibe during the visit. Sigh.
Contributing: News services
