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Mr. Britney Spears scores Atlanta gig
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This just in: Britney Spears’ househusband Kevin Federline has finally secured a j-o-b and it’s right here in Atlanta. Well, OK, for like three hours next Saturday anyway.
Unbelievably, the budding white boy rapper and former backup dancer can now be rented as nightclub “entertainment.”
Chris Kappy, who runs Elevation Media Group, secured the pseudo-celebrity booking for Vision nightclub in Midtown, where K-Fed will be placed on display in the “VIP circle” at 11 p.m. March 25. VIP tables for 10 are budget priced at $1,500 each for the evening.
So will people actually pay dough to go hang in a club with a guy most famous for dumping his pregnant girlfriend to shack up with the Southern-fried Spears?
“It’s unbelievable how high he ranked as a club draw,” Kappy told Buzz on Friday as we desperately tried to reclaim our jaw from the Buzz Central recycling bin on the floor. “Only Paris Hilton ranked higher in the survey we did. He’s just such an oddity. He’s a guy who bagged the hottest pop icon in the world. Not even Justin Timberlake closed that deal.”
And Kappy says that local club-hopping females can’t wait to get up close and personal to the scruffy, corn-row braided Mr. Spears.
Explains Kappy: “He’s just got some kind of sex appeal that other men don’t have.”
While Kappy wouldn’t disclose exactly how much Federline is bagging for the three-hour appearance (Buzz has heard whispers that it’s as much as $20,000), he did acknowledge: “For a guy who used to be a backup dancer, he’s pulling down some nice coin for this.”
Dunwoody dining
We don’t navigate the rush- hour “Escape From New York”-esque, twisted metal horrors of 285 for just any old restaurant opening. But when owner Duc Tran invited Buzz to a preview night of his Com Dunwoody Vietnamese Grill on the corner of Chamblee Dunwoody and Mount Vernon roads the other night, we felt compelled to check it out. After all, the original Com on Buford Highway received raves from every dining critic in the city last year and went on to be named one of the best new Asian restaurants in the United States by Food and Wine magazine last fall.
Tran’s second restaurant, Com Dunwoody, which officially opened to the public on Friday, offers the same warmth, from the soft mustard-hued walls to the comfy sofas near the window to the gracious female servers beautifully garbed in gowns from the Orient.
Atlanta architect Stephen Flanagan worked with Tran on the eatery’s interiors. “Since there isn’t a huge call for Vietnam-inspired decors in Dunwoody, I had a lot of fun doing research and looking at architecture,” Flanagan told us. He went with a lot of bold reds and bamboo in the design.
When asked about his inspiration for the second location, Tran smiled and conceded, “I had much influence from the wife. We live in Chamblee. This is much closer to where we are and where she will work. Also, Dunwoody and its growth is amazing. We’re very honored to be here.”
Phone: 770-512-7410 or www.comgrill.com.
Golden chance
Not that most Buzz readers need an excuse to party on a Saturday night, but here’s a good cause that includes good booze, good food and even good art. “Goldens in the Gallery” is a benefit for Adopt a Golden Atlanta, a group that rescues unwanted golden retrievers and finds homes for them.
The event takes place tonight from 7 to 9 at the Tula Art Center galleries at 75 Bennett St. A $25 cover charge will buy you Skyy Vodka martinis, cosmopolitans, Trinchero Family Estates wine, SweetWater ales and hors d’oeuvres from hot restaurants like Paul’s Restaurant Bar and Sushi, P’cheen and Anis Cafe & Bistro.
Tour the galleries to the tunes of a jazz trio, then place your bids in the silent auction of dog-related art. For directions, call the Matre Gallery at 404-350-8399. For more info on homeless goldens, check out www.adoptagoldenatlanta.com.
Celebrity docket
Tom Wopat, who played Luke Duke in the TV series “The Dukes of Hazzard,” faces a drunken driving charge in northern New Jersey, authorities said Friday.
Wopat was arrested in Ringwood and charged with driving while intoxicated and reckless driving, said Bill Maer, a spokesman for the Passaic County sheriff’s department.
Wopat was pulled from a Ford Bronco on Wednesday night after hitting orange traffic cones and nearly striking a Ringwood police car, Maer said.
Wopat, 54, of West Milford, was released into the custody of his girlfriend, Maer said.
In the series, which aired from 1979 to 1985, Luke Duke and his cousin Bo, played by John Schneider, were known for driving a speedy 1969 Dodge Charger, the General Lee.
A movie based on the series was released last year.
In recent years, Wopat has worked on Broadway.
Celebrity birthdays
Today: Actor Peter Graves is 80. Country singer Charley Pride is 68. Actor Kevin Dobson (“Knots Landing”) is 63. Singer Vanessa Williams is 43. Singer-actress Queen Latifah is 36. Singer Adam Levine of Maroon 5 is 27.
Sunday: Actress Ursula Andress is 70. Singer Ruth Pointer of the Pointer Sisters is 60. Actress Glenn Close is 59. Actor Bruce Willis is 51.
Contributing: Sandra Eckstein and news services. If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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