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Thursday, September 14, 2006
New Monopoly has Centennial Olympic Park
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
While on the subject of America voting on things that don’t necessarily improve our culture, the latest edition of venerable board game Monopoly thudded into Buzz Central on Wednesday. The “Here and Now” edition jettisons the old metal Scottie dog, top hat and race car playing pieces in favor of a Labradoodle, a cellphone and a laptop.
As Ryan Seacrest would no doubt intone, Atlanta, America voted and Centennial Olympic Park beat out Stone Mountain and Peachtree Street to be included as a property in the new edition. According to the deed card in the game, rent at the downtown park will run you $100,000. Additionally, you now score $2 million for passing “Go” and you can go to jail for identity theft.
There was no word whether that guy in the top hat and bushy mustache planned to file charges against Parker Brothers. The revamped board game arrives in stores today.
‘Brother’ bucks for ATL?
Mercifully, “Big Brother All Stars” finally concluded Tuesday night, and Atlanta may just reap part of the $500,000 cash prize. The reality show’s winner, restaurateur Mike “Boogie” Malin, is an investor with “That ’70s Show” actors/business partners Ashton Kutcher, Wilmer Valderrama, Danny Masterson and Laura Prepon, who are bringing their Geisha House Japanese restaurant, Dolce classic Italian eatery, and Kingpin (a high-end bowling club and cocktail lounge) concepts to Atlantic Station. Malin told “The View”: “We have three restaurants in Atlanta, Georgia, so we’re going to re-invest the money in that.”
Fonda: Lohan needs a little love, discipline
Oh, fine. Just when we were beginning to believe that Jane Fonda had taken us off her Poncey-Highland dartboard, she forsakes our little column in favor of the nationally syndicated “Access Hollywood” to dish about life on the set with Lindsay Lohan.
The two-time Oscar winner sat down with malnourished “AH” correspondent Maria Menounos to discuss her tardy, partying “Georgia Rule” co-star in a segment that aired Tuesday night.
“I just want to take her in my arms and hold her until she becomes grown-up,” Fonda said. “She’s so young and she’s so alone out there in the world in terms of structure and, you know, people to nurture her. And she’s so talented. She can access emotion like nothing. She just made me cry a lot. When she was on the set, she was really good.”
Lohan plays Fonda’s troubled granddaughter and Felicity Huffman’s offspring in the upcoming Garry Marshall-directed dramedy currently in production on the Left Coast. This summer, after repeated problems with Lohan, Morgan Creek Productions sent Lohan a scathing letter warning her about future tardiness and then promptly leaked the missive to the press.
“It’s hard after a while to party very hard and work very hard,” Fonda said. “She’ll learn that. I think every once in a while, a very, very young person who is burning both ends of the candle needs to have somebody say, ‘You know, you’re going to pay the piper, you better slow down.’ A whistle was blown. So I think it was good.”
When Menounos asked Fonda what advice she might offer Lohan, she replied: “This is not a dress rehearsal. This is it. If you blow it, you don’t get another chance.”
And we’ll admit that the cocktail shaker fell clean out of our hands when Menounos asked Fonda, “What were you doing at her age?” and Fonda cracked, “Not that!”
Hicks back for the Olde gang
A year ago, an unknown Taylor Hicks played Midtown’s Smith’s Olde Bar before a handful of his old college buddies.
On Tuesday night, “American Idol” winner Hicks returned to Smith’s, playing more than 90 minutes of blues and soul before 150-plus fans, mostly ga-ga middle-aged women snapping pictures galore.
About three hours after finishing the “Idols Live!” concert at the sold-out Arena at Gwinnett, Hicks hit the stage with his old band, the Little Memphis Blues Orchestra, which has been shadowing the tour the past two months.
The gray-haired crooner, dressed in a tan jacket, blue button-down shirt, jeans and alligator shoes, gave fans who paid $15 a full-fledged concert of mostly bluesy originals. He brought on stage three of his college musician friends to jam with him and even whipped out his trademark harmonica.
At one point, he name-checked, of all cities, Doraville, and riffed a bit of Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World.” He finished the gig at 2:30 a.m. sitting in a chair caressing one of his favorite songs of all time: “Georgia on My Mind.”
Coupling
The end of the Braves’ run of division titles isn’t the only thing that has young female fans disappointed.
Jeff Francoeur is no longer available.
The Braves’ 22-year-old outfielder is engaged to Catie McCoy, his girlfriend since their days at Parkview High School in Lilburn. Francoeur popped the question Sunday night and made sure it caught her off-guard.
The couple arrived early for “Beauty and the Beast” at the Fox Theatre and went to the balcony as part of a staged ticket mixup. Once there, Francoeur dropped to a knee and proposed. “Who says I can’t be romantic?” Francoeur said Wednesday.
The wedding won’t take place until after next season. McCoy graduated from the University of Georgia in May and teaches English and coaches cheerleaders at Mill Creek High School in Gwinnett County.
Uncoupling
Dave FM and Steve Barnes have agreed to split up after two years. Dave is dropping its “radio without rules” moniker and opting for “where the music matters.” Ratings have flagged the past year at Dave. “No hard feelings,” program director Michelle Engel said.
“I don’t agree with their philosophy,” said Barnes, who will continue his movie career and won’t rule out another radio job. His co-host, Holly Firfer, will stay.
Celebrity birthdays
Country singer John Berry is 47. Actress Faith Ford (“Hope and Faith”) is 42. Rapper Nas is 33.
Contributing: Guy Curtright, Rodney Ho 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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