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Access Atlanta > Blog > Archives > 2007 > December
December 2007
Atlantans plan to have fun, get fit
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
New Year’s Day 2008. New calendar, fresh start. This year, Peach Buzz readers are resolving to do better with everything from keeping cleaner rooms to a closer walk with thee, breaking up, making up and to cut back on all that fun.
Oh, and to stop cursing in the Kroger cracker aisle.
As the black-eyed peas and collards bubble on the stove, why not pop the cap on that aspirin bottle, take another swig of coffee and read through your fellow readers’ resolutions.
And Happy New Year from Buzz Central.
Will Gara, Atlanta: “In 2008, I will not curse at the omnipresent Rachael Ray every time I see her endorse something else. This should cut back on my swearing in front of the Ritz crackers at the Ansley Kroger.”
Paula McGuire Saunders, Ellenwood: “I have been writing a book for the past 10 years and most of my family, friends and colleagues know it. I resolve that I will complete my book in 2008, so much so that I resolve not to read anyone else’s book until I finish mine.”
Jackie Goodman, Atlanta: “To have fun every other day. In past years, my motto has been ‘have fun every day’ and having fun every day has become too much like work!”
David Holcomb, Atlanta: “I’m going to call one or two people every day during 2008 and make them laugh!”
Sam Massell, Buckhead Coalition president: “I resolve to ease up a little on Midtown and downtown so that they can try to catch up to a level competition field with Buckhead, as we all continue to improve and prosper.”
Shirley Franklin, Atlanta mayor: “Every year I have the same New Year’s resolution: To exercise and to be heart healthy. I don’t get enough exercise, even as mayor!”
Natalie Embrey, Woodstock: “To try every day to be a patient parent, a resourceful wife, learn from my mistakes, laugh out loud more and burn dinner less.”
Victoria Smith, Tears for Hope Foundation: “For 2008, I will finish up on an event that I started putting together in 2007. This event is to get items donated for women, single fathers and families battling HIV/AIDS.”
Debbie Lary, Lithonia: “To lose more (weight), to give more (time and money) and to work smarter, not harder. I plan to stop dilly- dallying around with several charities and to pick one charity that I think could benefit the most from my help. I teach high school, so I resolve to go the extra mile for students who need help completing their studies. This will be my ongoing effort to help lower Georgia’s high school dropout rate.”
Johhny Esposito, Johnny’s Hideaway nightclub namesake: “To find someone who will hire me at my age. I’m starting to get a little low on chips!”
Mike Casey, Johnny’s Hideaway: “To remind our customers that Truman is not running in 2008, food will no longer be pureed and to explain to our customers that Wi-Fi is not a new dance craze.”
Vicki Van Der Hoek, Morrow: “Ten years ago I went back to college to get a degree in film and video and so far have done nothing with that knowledge. I will write a screenplay this year. I will take a baby step to help abused animals by buying my eggs from a local farmer who raises [chickens] outside a coop. When I see trash at the entrance to my subdivision, I will pick it up and not care whose responsibility it is supposed to be. I firmly believe in the power of one.”
Reva Ezell, Buckhead: “My resolution is to weigh what my driver’s license says I weigh.”
Tonya Cook, southwest Atlanta: “For 2008, I look forward to new beginnings in career, housing, relationships, performing arts, health, travel, finances and a milestone (celebrating my 40th birthday).”
Jamie Toney, Atlanta: “To break up with my boyfriend if he doesn’t propose to me. And stick to it.”
Noah Budnitz, age 3, Norcross (submitted by mom Tina Budnitz): “To clean up my whole room every day, or maybe just once.”
Jacob Budnitz, age 6, Norcross: “To be more patient.”
Allison C. Gilmore, Tucker: “To do a better job of following the five simple rules for life that my grandchildren are expected to follow at my house: Be kind, be careful, be happy, be helpful and be honest.”
Jerry Schwartz, Alpharetta: “For the past year, I’ve been asking myself the question, ‘Does God seem far away?’ And a voice in my head gives me the same answer every time, ‘Who do you think moved?’ My resolution for 2008 is to get back in God’s neighborhood.”
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Singer-guitarist Country Joe McDonald of Country Joe and the Fish is 66. Comedian Don Novello (Father Guido Sarducci) is 65. Country singer Steve Ripley of the Tractors is 58. Rapper Grandmaster Flash is 50. Actor Morris Chestnut (“The Brothers,” “The Best Man”) is 39. Actor Verne Troyer (“Austin Powers”) is 39.
Contributing: News services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Coaches’ wives: Do you have that in orange?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
While their husbands were gearing up for today’s Chick-fil-A Bowl, the wives of the coaching and administrative staffs from Clemson and Auburn were out enjoying our fair city last week. The group’s stops included Phipps Plaza, Lenox Square and the Brookwood Station Spa Sydell in Midtown.
We caught up with Linda Bowden, wife of Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden, and Suzanne Tuberville, wife of Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville, for a quick chat Friday afternoon after lunch at Sweet Lowdown on Peachtree, where the menu included blackened salmon, oven herb-roasted chicken, meatloaf, vegetables, mashed potatoes and mac and cheese.
Q: How do you balance the demands of football and family and get used to new towns when you move or travel?
LB: The first thing we do is get involved with church and Bible study. That’s been my rock and foundation. The people there don’t care about what happens on Saturdays.
ST: We’ve been fortunate that every time we’ve moved, we’ve stayed with the same coaching staff. It’s not too bad when you can take all your friends with you. I have two boys, 10 and 11. It’s entertainment for them. They enjoy hanging out with their dad.
Q: If you were going to offer advice to someone who’s new to the coaching life, what tips would you offer?
ST: If I was talking to a young woman who’d just married a football coach, I’d tell her to get involved in your church, your kids’ school, your community. You’re going to have a lot of time on your hands.
LB: Look at the positives. You get to travel and meet all sorts of people.
Q: You both face a similar challenge: looking good in orange. How do you manage it?
LB: Embrace it. Every time I’m in a store I scan for anything orange.
ST: You wouldn’t believe how much orange stuff I have. I have six or seven orange suede jackets. It’s been a really big color in recent years. It really looks cool.
Sweet Honey concert to honor poet Angelou
Sweet Honey In The Rock plans an evening of spirituals, blues, hymns, jazz and gospel music on Feb. 16 at historic Sisters Chapel on the campus of Spelman College. Proceeds from the event, which will include a silent auction of items from AirTran Airways, Heritage Prints and Framing, High Museum, Children’s Museum of Atlanta, COREBODY Decatur, Actor’s Express, City Segway Tours, Camp Woof, Atlanta Rocks, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Dangles, Atlanta Ballet, Art Institute of Atlanta and Jai Shanti Yoga, support the Fund for Southern Communities. The event also bestows the 2008 Torchbearer Award to poet and social commentator Maya Angelou. Tickets are $30. Tix: 404-371-8404, tickets@fundforsouth.org, www.fundforsouth.org/sweet_honey.htm.
No charges for young entertainer
The Los Angeles city attorney’s office said Friday it will not charge popster Brandy in a deadly December 2006 crash. Spokesman Nick Velasquez said there is “insufficient evidence” for a jury to find the 28-year-old actress-singer guilty of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter beyond a reasonable doubt. The decision runs counter to a recommendation from the California Highway Patrol that Brandy, nee Brandy Norwood, be charged. Brandy was driving on a Los Angeles freeway when traffic slowed and her Land Rover smashed into the back of a Honda. That car was involved in several other collisions. The driver, 38-year-old Awatef Aboudihaj, died in the accident.
A sobering statistic
The Georgia State Patrol and Georgia Department of Transportation estimate as many as 12 people could be killed on Georgia roads over the New Year’s holiday. Last year, Georgia recorded 2,482 traffic crashes over the Christmas holiday that injured 1,107 people and killed 22. Over New Year’s, seven people were killed. There were 2,196 crashes and 877 injuries reported.
Y’all stay safe tonight.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Singer Odetta is 77. Actor Anthony Hopkins is 70. Actor Tim Considine (“My Three Sons”) is 67. Actress Sarah Miles is 66. Guitarist Andy Summers (The Police) is 65. Actor Ben Kingsley is 64. Bassist Pete Quaife (The Kinks) is 64. Actor Tim Matheson is 60. Singer Burton Cummings of The Guess Who is 60. Singer Donna Summer is 59. Bassist Tom Hamilton of Aerosmith is 56. Actress Bebe Neuwirth (“Cheers”) is 49. Singer Paul Westerberg is 48. Actor Val Kilmer is 48. Guitarist Ric Ivanisevich of Oleander is 45. Guitarist Scott Ian of Anthrax is 44. Singer-actor Joe McIntyre of New Kids on the Block is 35.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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The year that kept us buzzing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Surreal. It’s the only word that properly describes 2007 here at Buzz Central. In a single calendar year, we found ourselves writing about bank robber makeovers, an awards show red carpet that morphed into breaking news, an e-mail of support for Ted Turner dating someone else’s wife and a birthday celebration where “Barbarella,” “Norma Rae” and Rosie O’Donnell became backup vocalists for Bonnie Raitt.
In our 11 years overseeing Buzz, this was indeed the wackiest year ever. Don’t believe us? Read on as we recount the year in Buzz.
Best e-mail: Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Olen Butler’s memorable missive about his wife, novelist Elizabeth Dewberry, departing their marriage for a relationship with Turner. The original e-mail to Butler’s grad students ended up on Gawker.com. “He’s a decent, loyal man,” Butler told Buzz. “There’s a connection between them that’s quite profound.”
Best Makeover: If the tip hadn’t come from an impeccable source, we would have hung up in March when we were first informed that suspected Barbie Bandits Heather Lyn Johnston and Ashley Nichole Miller had stopped by Carter-Barnes Hair Artisans in Buckhead for pricey post-heist makeovers. Of the pair, Carter-Barnes manager Melissa Methier told us: “They were as ditzy as the day is long.”
Best Musical Moment: “Dreamgirls” diva Jennifer Holliday reclaiming her Tony Award-winning role during a revival at the Fox Theatre in July: “I think I’m finally ready to let Effie go,” Holliday told Buzz. “I was so blessed and grateful to be able to do the show here one last time. Atlanta holds such an emotional connection for me for this show.”
Best Cocktail Party Surprise: Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne becoming the unexpected star at a party for “Young Frankenstein” star Gene Wilder. The pair were in town for a September Gilda’s Club benefit. Delighted TCM fans mobbed Osborne for photo ops. Wilder took it all in stride. As the classic movie fan explained: “My wife and I go to bed with Robert every night!”
Best Cocktail Party Surprise Involving Buzz: The Secret Service ejecting us from a private UNICEF reception for first daughter Jenna Bush, citing an unflattering story on Bush that week in The New Yorker.
Best Guest DJ: B-52’s frontman Fred Schneider’s two stints spinning at Bazzaar in Midtown in February and November. Not only did Schneider get on the dance floor with fans, he ended up playing six tracks from the band’s latest album, “Funplex,” due out early next year.
Best Backstage Interview: Her two sold-out September “Paula Deen Live” shows at the Civic Center came complete with beefy security guards and a small army of publicists, producers, publishers and primpers for the Food Network host. Our old pal however, pulled us into a deserted dressing room for a one-on-one. Of the crazy pace of her current life, Deen conceded: “I haven’t learned how to say no. But after where I’ve been in my life, it’s hard to look a gift horse in the mouth. I realize it could all be gone in a minute.”
Best Zoo Atlanta Birthday: Baby giant panda Mei Lan’s first in September. As Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and esteemed foreign dignitaries praised the panda nearby, the birthday girl happily snoozed through it.
Best Awards Show Red Carpet/Federal Investigation: October’s second annual B.E.T. Hip Hop Awards outside the Civic Center. Thanks to T.I.’s arrest on weapons charges down the street in a Walgreen’s parking lot, we started the day asking ‘Who are you wearing?’ and ended it writing about the lead nominee in an orange jumpsuit.
Best Birthday Parties: Sir Elton’s 60th at Madison Square Garden in March and this month’s 70th celebration for Jane Fonda at the Biltmore. In New York, Beach Boy Brian Wilson boogied to “Crocodile Rock” next to Scissor Sisters frontman Jake Shears. In Atlanta, Fonda and pals Sally Field and O’Donnell jumped onstage to provide backup for Raitt as she banged out “Something to Talk About” for the birthday girl.
Best Train Wreck: Cybill Shepherd’s jaw- (and dialogue-) dropping, character-breaking one-woman collision in “Curvy Widow” at the Alliance in November. It was “Showgirls” without the stripper pole. Actually, that particular prop could have been added after opening night as the script was continually tweaked.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Saturday: Actress Mary Tyler Moore is 70. Actor Jon Voight is 69. Singer Marianne Faithfull is 61. Actor Ted Danson is 60. Actor Jude Law is 35. Actor Mekhi Phifer (“ER”) is 33.
Sunday: Singer-guitarist Bo Diddley is 79. Singer Davy Jones of the Monkees is 62. Singer Patti Smith is 61. TV host Meredith Vieira (“Today”) is 54. TV host Matt Lauer (“Today”) is 50. Singer-actor Tyrese is 29.
Contributing: News services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Sean Penn, wife divorcing after 11 years
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Academy Award-winning actor Sean Penn is divorcing his wife, actress Robin Wright Penn, according to People magazine.
The couple’s spokeswoman, Mara Buxbaum, reportedly confirmed the breakup to the magazine but didn’t offer additional details.
Penn, who won a best actor Oscar in 2004 for his role in “Mystic River” and is generating major awards buzz now for directing “Into the Wild”, married Wright in 1996. They have two teenage children. Wright has appeared in films including 1998’s “Hurlyburly” and 1997’s “She’s So Lovely.”
Pop culture geeks might also remember Penn’s earlier marriage to pop icon Madonna from 1985 and 1989.
PHOTOS: OTHER NOTABLE DIVORCES
Not all is lost for celebs… PHOTOS: NOTABLE ENGAGEMENTS/
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Compound closing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Compound, one of Midtown’s few remaining big dance clubs, is shutting its doors after New Year’s.
But the space isn’t going to become condos or high-end retail. Rather, the owners plan to tear down the two existing buildings on the property and rebuild a brand new hotspot by the end of 2008, according to spokeswoman Tara Murphy.
She said the Gidewons, who owned Vision nightclub before it was torn down in 2006 for condos, aren’t yet divulging the new concept but they promise more parking.
Compound, in a former industrial area that’s rapidly filling up with condos and homes, opened in 2004 and quickly became a draw for musicians, athletes and Paris Hilton types, punctuated by its lovely Japanese outdoor garden, a trendy lounge space and a separate dance club.
The Gidewons purchased Compound in 2006 at about the same time Vision closed.
Murphy said the Gidewons are also building out a dance club and restaurant at 1068 Peachtree St., a space which used to house the Cotton Club and Velvet nightclub. She said they hope to have that still unnamed club open by late winter.
The going-away Compound party New Year’s Eve costs $30 in advance and $40 at the door. Go to www.compoundatl.com for tickets. Q100’s Dylan Sprague will be there to pop the champagne.
LAST CALL FOR READER RESOLUTIONS
If you’re resolving not to procrastinate in 2008, email us your unique original New Year’s resolution today, along with your name, where you live, a daytime phone number and a photo if you’d like to buzz@ajc.com. The best reader resolutions will appear in our annual New Year’s Day Peach Buzz column.
MISCHA BARTON LATEST
MUG-SHOT CELEB
Mischa Barton became the latest celebrity to say cheese for an unscheduled photo shoot with the Po-Po after her DUI arrest Thursday in Hollywood.
Deputies saw her car - thank God it was her car - straddling two lanes of traffic.
The police mug shot - which can make or break DUI notoriety and even spark Halloween costumes (ask Nick Nolte) - was an instant classic and should be distributed to public relations specialists throughout Tinseltown as a how-to for wayward stars.
A subtle hint of smile suggests the 21-year-old actress knew this would be the day’s main Web item, which it in fact seemed to be.
The bags under the confident eyes couldn’t hide the early morning arrest time; the former star of the Fox teen drama “The O.C.” was stopped at 2:45 a.m.
But that hair, that slightly tussled blond mop hanging off the shoulders - “that’s it Mischa, you’re ashamed, but still a tad defiant and mischievious - work it baby, work it!”
Buzz’s analysis of a celebrity DUI photo gallery at www.dose.ca likens the Barton mug as a cross between Nicole Richie’s late-night “I want to hook up” look from a Dec. 11, 2006 police photo and a subtle pose from Laguna Beach’s Jessica Smith after her March 26, 2007 arrest. Photos: See our celeb busts for 2007.
Of couse, driving drunk was just a part of the arrest; Barton doesn’t have a license. She was held at a West Hollywood jail on $10,000 bail.
Barton played Marissa Cooper on “The O.C.” from 2003 to 2006.
Her character died in a car crash.
In May, the actress was hospitalized after an antibiotic she was taking interacted badly with alcohol.
JESSICA ALBA ENGAGED
The 26-year-old actress Jessica Alba, who announced earlier this month that she’s expecting, is now engaged to her boyfriend and the baby’s father, producer Cash Warren.
“I can confirm that they are engaged,” Alba’s publicist, Brad Cafarelli, said Thursday.
The couple is expecting their first child in late spring or early summer, Cafarelli said.
Alba stars in the thriller “Awake,” and recently appeared in “Good Luck Chuck” and “The Ten.” The sex symbol first gained fame as an action star on TV’s “Dark Angel,” then in films including “Fantastic Four” and “Sin City.”
HIGH-FIVE
Most literate cities
Below is a top-5 ranking of the 2007 list of most literate cities, based on a variety of factors. For the story (and for more on Atlanta’s top-10 ranking) see F3 in Friday’s Living section.
1. Minneapolis, Minn.
2. Seattle, Wash.
3. St. Paul, Minn.
4. Denver, Colo.
5. Washington, D.C.
Source: Central Connecticut State University
Contributing: Richard L. Eldredge, Rodney Ho, Katie Leslie and news services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
North Dakotan will be Scarlett in GWTW musical
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Turnabout’s fair play
When famed producer David O. Selznick was making “Gone With the Wind” in 1939, he wound up casting the veddy British Vivien Leigh as Southern belle Scarlett O’Hara.
Now famed British director Trevor Nunn (“Cats,” “Les Miserables”) has reached across the pond to find his Scarlett for a musical version premiering in London on April 22. It’ll be Minot, N.D., native Jill Paice singing, dancing and fiddle-dee-dee-ing onstage at the New London Theater, Playbill and The Daily Mail report. Paice, 27, currently co-stars with Tony Award winner David Hyde Pierce in “Curtains” on Broadway (And Scarlett made a ball gown out of curtains, hmm … )
Sara Krulwich/NYT
David Hyde Pierce, left, Jill Paice and Joe Aaron Reid in “Curtains,” at the Al Hirschfeld Theater in New York
Paice couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday, but according to the show’s official Web site (www.gwtwthemusical.com), Scarlett “embarks on an incredible journey of romantic ecstasy and tragic grief spanning 10 years” in circa-1860s Atlanta. Spunk-wise, she seems to have nothing on Margaret Martin, the UCLA-educated Ph.D. (in public health!) who wrote the show’s book, music and lyrics.
“As a single mother, [Martin] identified closely with the challenges faced by ‘Gone With the Wind’s’ young protagonist, Scarlett O’Hara,” the Web site states. “She also felt the filmed adaptation left considerably more within Margaret Mitchell’s epic tale to be explored.”
Martin initially approached Mitchell estate reps with the idea for the musical, Atlanta lawyer Paul Anderson Jr. told the AJC earlier this year.
The Mitchell estate felt her enthusiasm and let her proceed, said Anderson Jr., who is part of the three-member committee that advises the estate on protecting and exercising the original book’s copyright. “And here we are.”
Well, not quite.
There’s still the matter of casting Rhett Butler. No word yet on who’ll play the charming blockade runner, but the same British theater Web site that tipped folks to Paice’s possible casting way back in October is saying Hugh Jackman ( “X-Men,” Nunn’s stunning stage revival of “Oklahoma”) is a possibility.
The Wolverine meets Scarlett O’Hara? Fiddle-dee-dee indeed!
CELEBRITY DOCKET
Atlanta rapper Yung Joc failed to show up at his arraignment in Cleveland Wednesday on a felony charge of carrying a concealed weapon and is considered a fugitive, a prosecutor said.
A judge issued an arrest warrant for the rapper, whose real name is Jasiel Robinson.
Robinson, 27, was accused of attempting to take a loaded gun onto a Delta Air Lines flight Sunday and was charged with carrying a concealed weapon. Cuyahoga County assistant prosecutor Gayle Williams said Robinson was considered a fugitive.
Robinson’s attorney, Stanley Jackson Jr., told the court Robinson had personal financial and family obligations. Jackson has said his client maintains his innocence.
Robinson was arrested early Sunday at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport at a security checkpoint as he was heading to a departing flight. Police said they found a semiautomatic handgun and ammunition in his carry-on bag.
He told police he didn’t know the weapon was there and was released Monday on $50,000 bond, authorities said.
Williams said the charge, carries a possible jail sentence of up to 18 months.
“He is alleged to have taken a loaded firearm with 20 rounds of ammunition into the airport. It is also alleged that some of the ammunition in his possession was armor piercing.”
On Wednesday, Municipal Judge Michael John Ryan doubled Robinson’s bail to $100,000.
WANTED: READER RESOLUTIONS
Buzz Central is still assembling our annual reader-driven New Year’s resolutions column for Jan 1. E-mail us your unique, creative resolution along with your full name, where you live, a daytime phone number and a photo if you’d like to buzz@ajc.com.
HIGH FIVE
Television
The top On Demand programs for the week of Dec. 10-16, 2007, as determined by Comcast customers in metro Atlanta:
1. “A Present for Santa,” Dora the Explorer, Nickelodeon,
2. “Harry Potter and the Order Of The Phoenix,” Warner Bros.
3. “South Park 150,” Comedy Central
4. “Soulja Girl” Soulja Boy music video, Music Choice
5. “Jungle Love,” “Family Guy,” TBS
Source: Rentrak’s OnDemand Essentials
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Guitarist Scotty Moore (Elvis Presley’s band) is 76. Actor John Amos (“Men In Trees,” “The West Wing”) is 68. ABC News correspondent Cokie Roberts is 64. Guitarist Mick Jones of Foreigner is 63. Actor Gerard Depardieu is 59. Actor Wilson Cruz (“My So-Called Life”) is 34. Actor Masi Oka (right) (“Heroes”) is 33. Actress Emilie de Ravin (“Lost”) is 26.
Contributing: Jill Vejnoska and news services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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After ‘SNL,’ Nealon’s star still shining
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Actor Kevin Nealon readily admits he generally avoids commercials courtesy of his DVR. “But I do appreciate good ones,” he told Buzz recently to promote TBS’s special “World’s Funniest Commercials,” which he hosts tonight from New York City (Wednesday, December 26) at 9 p.m.
But how does he know a good commercial if he’s speeding through them? “I usually overshoot and have to go back so I’ve seen the ends of lots of good commercials,” he said.
Besides this twice-yearly gig, the former “Saturday Night Live” star is thriving as Doug, the hilarious pot-loving accountant on Showtime’s popular show “Weeds,” which recently wrapped season three just as a major wildfire threatened to take down the entire suburban enclave of Agrestic (which merged with Majestic during the season.)
His character spent the final episode walking around the wildfire shelter with a banjo singing obnoxious on-the-spot commentary about the idiots around him. “It was almost like some bad acid trip,” Nealon mused.
Nealon has no clue what will happen to the show’s characters if Agrestic burns down. “I’d like my character to be more involved with the bad guys” that lead character Nancy constantly grapples with in the pot trade. And he’d love to see Doug pursue higher office — “but he’s probably too lazy.”
The seven-week-old writers strike won’t affect “Weeds” yet since it doesn’t start season four production until the spring. But after joining the picket lines earlier this month, Nealon noticed an upside to the strike: “This is the first time the writers have gotten this much exercise in a long time.”
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Let the bad food mocking resume
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Like most of us, author and humorist James Lileks is entirely all too familiar with the condensed soup-clogged casseroles and gravity-defying Technicolor Jell-O molds that will inevitably creep onto holiday tables today.
After all, as the author of “Gastroanomalies: Questionable Culinary Creations From the Golden Age of American Cookery” (Crown, $23.95), it’s Lileks’ job to joke about our sordid food history. What started as some harmless riffing on recipes via his Web site, www.lileks.com, has turned into a full-time job as Lileks now plows through acres of old cookbooks and ads that readers thoughtfully send him, in hopes that he’ll mock old Aunt Gladys’ prized corned beef slaw mold.
In 2001, Lileks published his instant-classic first tome on the topic, “The Gallery of Regrettable Food.”
“I could easily do two more,” Lileks tells us. “There’s just an inexhaustible supply of horrors out there. For baby boomers, there’s just something comforting about looking at discomforting food.”
Naturally, Lileks dedicates an entire section of “Gastroanomalies” to aspics and Jell-O molds, staples in the South.
“You can still wander into any church basement in this country and find shreds of carrots entombed in Jell-O,” Lileks marvels. “It’s just part of who we are.”
In addition to wretched recipes, Lileks also includes a chapter on refrigerated oddities of the past, as manufacturers tried to sell us various icebox incarnations. Among his faves: the wall refrigerator (it was divided into kitchen cabinet-size compartments) and the short-lived practice of spray-painting your fridge to alter the decor of your kitchen.
“Even now, I have to wonder how many husbands came home from work in 1958 to find their wives sprawled on the floor, can in hand, with half the fridge spray-painted coral,” Lileks says.
But the author appreciates our stubborn devotion to outdated holiday food traditions.
“In my house, it was the relish tray,” he explains. “It was just some celery and olives and pickles that my mother sat out every year. No one ever eats it. You could shellac it and dust it off and haul out the same stuff every year and no one would know the difference. It was just comforting to know it’s there. Even now, I’m prone to ask, ‘Where’s the relish tray?’ “
Lileks himself isn’t immune to some irrational impulse purchases either.
“You know that white chocolate liqueur that if you have more than one sip will make you deathly sick?” he asks. “The stuff that could give diabetes to a table leg? I buy that stuff every year. And I have no idea why! It’s tradition, right? That’s what makes these books so universal.”
WANTED: READER RESOLUTIONS
Don’t be left out of the annual reader-driven New Year’s Day tradition of having your unique resolution published in the first Peach Buzz of 2008. E-mail us your original New Year’s resolution, along with your full name, where you live, a daytime phone number, and a photo if you’d like, to buzz@ajc.com. As always, we’ll publish the best offerings on Jan. 1.
SEASON’S GREETINGS
Today’s card: From the Atlanta Braves
Inside salutation: “Happy Holidays from the Atlanta Braves”
‘YULE LOG’ BRANCHES OUT
Those of us who hailed originally from the Northeast, annually wax (and whine) about missing the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day “Yule Log” telecasts on New York City’s WPIX. In what was perhaps the very first reality show, then-station general manager Fred Thrower decided in 1966 to air a repeating loop of a fireplace log burning on air as carols played in the background. The cozy hearth scene served as a gift to countless NYC apartment dwellers, few of whom had the real thing available to them. The tradition lasted more than 20 years before being mothballed. But after Sept. 11, 2001, however, the tradition made a comeback, resulting in WPIX achieving its highest holiday ratings while airing what is essentially a log burning. Now, the tradition is offered as a laptop download for fans who have to travel over the holiday. And thanks to Cider Mill Press, “The Holiday Yule Log” is available as a deluxe DVD package ($14.95), complete with sing-along sheets of music and a history booklet written by Carlo DeVito. Our favorite piece of trivia contained in the book? Then-New York Mayor John Lindsay banned all further filmings of the yule log at his residence after a stray spark leapt out during one shoot and destroyed his prized antique Persian rug.
And judging from the reaction it received Sunday night during a holiday party at Buzz Central, “The Yule Log” has lost none of its magic. Plus, the DVD offers an audio option featuring the snaps and crackles of the actual fire without the accompanying cheesy carols. …
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Singer John Edwards of the Spinners is 63. Actor Gary Sandy (“WKRP in Cincinnati”) is 62. Singer Jimmy Buffett is 61. Country singer Barbara Mandrell is 59. Actress Sissy Spacek is 58. Actress Annie Lennox is 53. Singer Steve Wariner is 53. Singer Shane MacGowan (the Pogues) is 50. Actress Klea Scott (“Robbery Homicide Division”) is 39. Singer Dido is 36. Country singer Alecia Elliott is 25.
Contributing: News services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Parade marks a ‘Makeover’ family reunion
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A year ago Cherokee County single mom Faith Tipton-Smith received a brand new house for a late Christmas present from the hot television show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” (featuring Atlanta expatriate Ty Pennington). Tipton-Smith was handed another gift that week: A chance to meet the young girl whose life her son had saved. Her 16-year-old Ransom, who died in an auto accident, was an organ donor. His heart went to Rachel Ball, a 19-year-old heart patient in Amanda, Ohio. The television producers arranged for a meeting between the two families, a tearful reunion that was incorporated into the telecast.
This season the families will meet again, in Pasadena, Calif., at the Tournament of Roses parade, where Ball and Tipton-Smith’s daughter Missy, 17, will walk together along the parade route. They will hold the tow lines to an oversized balloon bearing an image of Ransom’s face reproduced in flowers. The event is sponsored by LifeLink, the nonprofit organization promoting organ donation. The children are excited. “But Christmastime’s always hard,” said Tipton-Smith. “On Dec. 4 [Ransom] would have celebrated his 19th birthday.”
Emily Smith (left) and Missy Tipton will travel to Pasadena, Calif., for the Tournament of Roses parade, where Missy will march in honor of their late brother Ransom, an organ donor, along with Rachel Ball, the teenager who received Ransom’s heart.
In the meantime, the family, including Emily, 9, is enjoying their completely rebuilt house, in the Lake Arrowhead subdivision. “We’re still finding stuff,” gift items that were stocked in the house by the producers, said the mom, a flight-line inspector with Lockheed. “I found a brand new pair of tennis shoes I didn’t know I had.”
USHER TO TEAM WITH MICHAEL JACKSON
A round-up of what’s up with Usher.
* His next CD: “I’ve been diligently working on creating a masterpiece. It’s going to be out first or maybe the second quarter. I see the second quarter of next year. And there will be a video and single out at the top of the year. … I think [Atlanta producer] Polow Da Don is going to have the first one. I think that’s going to be the single “Love In The Club”. (Usher added that a collaboration with Michael Jackson and Atlanta rapper-singer T-Pain is in the early stages as well. “It’s been created, but it’s not recorded. And as long as Michael is open to it, hey, anything goes!”)
* His new role: “I’m really like super dad. Really. I really cook for the family. … Now I basically do chicken and broccoli and steamed vegetables, because I’m on this diet. But believe me, I can fry some chicken too … I really clean up. I walk the dog, myself. I burp the baby. I change the diapers. I trim the tree. I’m about to get the things for the tree after this because it’s bare. … I’m super dad. And it’s only begun!”
* His new hobby: While he and wife Tameka are still figuring out how they will release the first baby photos of Usher V, Usher IV did graciously pull a few from his wallet. One is a black and white he took when his first child was born. “I’ve become an instant photographer,” he offers. “Developing them and everything.” Another shot is of the near-month-old— who may have more hair than daddy, and at least in this pic, looks just like him — during his first bath in the sink. “It looks like he’s posing doesn’t it?” the admiring father asks. “I wonder where he gets that from? He’s going to be a ladykiller!”
SINGER R. KELLY GETS TRIAL DATE
R. Kelly finally has a trial date: May 9. Kelly, 40, has pleaded not guilty to child pornography charges for allegedly videotaping sex acts with a young teenage girl in or before 2000. The case has dragged on for years with no trial so far.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor Hector Elizondo is 71. TV anchor Diane Sawyer is 62. Guitarist Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick is 61. Singer Robin Gibb of The Bee Gees is 58. Rapper Luther Campbell is 47. Actor Ralph Fiennes is 45. Actress Heather Donahue (“The Blair Witch Project”) is 33. Actor Chris Carmack (“The O.C.”) is 27. Singer Jordin Sparks (above) (“American Idol”) is 18.
THIS DATE IN HISTORY
Happy birthday, you old coupe!
This one should be accompanied by “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” music. On this date in 1952, the first Corvette ever made, a prototype, rolled out of the factory and was shipped to New York for an appearance at the GM Motorama show.
Contributing: Bo Emerson, Sonia Murray and news services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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He may be just a cow, but Doraville mascot has whole herd of fans
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Some cows are content to be part of the herd. Some, however, show great potential and are recognized for being somehow more impressive in their cowhood. Enter — dancing upright in a cow costume — 20-year-old Matt Lingerfelt of Doraville, a student at Georgia Perimeter College and, more importantly, one of Chick-fil-A’s most honored cow mascots.
Lingerfelt already traveled to New York in September to cavort in his cow costume when the Chick-fil-A cows were honored by the Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame; he was the cow. Now he has been selected as one of 10 cows who will perform Dec. 31 at halftime in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, which used to be known as the Peach Bowl.
“My brother is the owner of the Doraville store,” Lingerfelt told Buzz, “and three years ago he needed a cow. It’s the best thing you could ever do. You get to dress up and be goofy.” He isn’t sure what he and the other mascots will do at halftime, but it will probably be choreographed rather than freestyle.
Lingerfelt doesn’t even work at the Doraville store as a regular employee. “I am,” he explains, “just the cow.”
WHITNEY, BOBBY’S ‘I DON’T’ ON HOLD
Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown’s pending divorce is now on hold, according to the TV show “Extra.” They say that court papers show that Brown’s lawyer has resigned because their relationship had gotten to the point where they couldn’t work together any more. Imagine.
GEORGIA MUSIC SERIES LAUNCHES
Arrested Development, Michelle Malone, Francine Reed and Cartel are among the headliners scheduled for the new Georgia Music Concert Series. The six-day event will be Jan. 24-26 and Jan. 31-Feb. 2, featuring some 30 acts either from Georgia or influenced by its musicians. All the performances will take place at the CW Midtown Music Complex (Center Stage Theater, the Loft and Vinyl). Tickets go on sale Friday at Ticketmaster (404-249-6400 or www.ticketmaster.com) and the Center Stage box office for Center Stage shows. For the Loft and Vinyl concerts, tickets are available at www.ticketalternative.com, 1-877-725-8849 or the Center Stage box office.
MAMA SPEARS’ BOOK ON HOLD FOR NOW
Shock du jour. Lynne Spears’ book about parenting has been delayed indefinitely. “Pop Culture Mom: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World” was initially scheduled for release May 11, Mother’s Day. Spears, the mother of three children with ex-husband Jamie Spears, had been working with a Michigan-based freelancer since March on the memoir chronicling Spears’ experiences raising a family in the public eye.
But Lindsey Nobles, a spokeswoman for Christian book publisher Thomas Nelson Inc., has confirmed rumors that the book is now on hold. Nice touch: She declined to comment on whether the delay was connected to the revelation that Spears’ 16-year-old daughter, Jamie Lynn, is pregnant.
R. KELLY FINALLY MAKES IT TO COURT
R. Kelly avoided arrest Thursday by appearing in a Chicago court for a hearing in his child pornography case. A warrant for the singer was entered Wednesday after he missed a scheduled appearance. Kelly’s lawyer said his tour bus was stopped by police in Utah after a log showed the driver hadn’t had enough rest, causing Kelly to miss the 9 a.m. hearing. Kelly is in the midst of a prolonged legal fight after prosecutors say he allegedly videotaped sex acts with a teenage girl. He has pleaded not guilty.
HAPPY SOLSTICE
And finally, from the Buzz desk, Happy Winter Solstice — the first day of winter. If Buzz is remembering seventh grade science correctly, that means that after today’s shortest day of the year, the days start getting longer.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Talk show host Phil Donahue is 72. Actress Jane Fonda is 70. Guitarist Albert Lee is 64. Actor Samuel L. Jackson is 59. Singer Betty Wright is 54. Actress Jane Kaczmarek (“Malcolm in the Middle”) is 52. Country singer Lee Roy Parnell is 51. Actor-comedian Ray Romano (“Everybody Loves Raymond”) is 50. Actor-comedian Andy Dick (“Newsradio”) is 42. Actor Kiefer Sutherland is 41. Actress Julie Delpy is 38. Singer-guitarist Brett Scallions (Fuel) is 36.
THIS DATE IN HISTORY
Walt Disney debuted a new movie on Dec. 21, 1937, 70 years ago today, at the Cathay Circle Theater in Hollywood. It was the first full-length animated film ever made, and its name was “Cinderella.” Although Disney had been successful with short cartoons, the immediate success of “Cinderella” not only helped build the Disney empire, it led directly to much of kid culture today, from “Beauty and the Beast” to “The Lion King.”
Contributing: Sonia Murray, news services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Chris Tucker to be Santa in DeKalb
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When 100 underprivileged kids gather Friday at the Gresham Recreational Center in DeKalb County to receive special gifts, there’s likely to be even more high-pitched squealing and shrieking than usual. That’s because former Atlanta comedian turned movie star Chris Tucker will be in the house passing out gifts in a “surprise” appearance. The kids may squeal as well. And parents, be cool. The invitations and arrangements have already been made, so don’t just show up and try to talk your way in.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Stars shine at Young Jeezy’s kids’ benefit
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If the rest of Atlanta rapper Young Jeezy’s week-long “1,000 Toys For 1,000 Kids” benefit goes as well as its launch Tuesday night, we can already declare it a success. The artist had a star-studded turnout for his dinner and party at Justin’s restaurant in Buckhead, where the cost of admission was simply a new toy or $25.
Among the notables were the Miami Heat’s Shaquille O’Neal, Dwyane Wade (right, with Young Jeezy) and Alonzo Mourning, R&B singer, actor and curious new porn star Ray J, Disturbing Tha Peace co-president Chaka Zulu and Hot-107.9’s Mizz Shyneka.
“I know there’s a lot of star power around, people dancing and whatnot,” Jeezy noted between bites of fried chicken and macaroni and cheese, as DJ Salah Ananse spun classic soul and hip-hop. “But I need to see toys in hand when they’re dancing. Toys in hand when they walk in the door. This is about the kids.”
The charity series was scheduled to continue Wednesday with a Celebrity Bowling Challenge at 300 Atlanta. Today there’s another toy drive planned at the Cascade Family Skating Center (3337 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive) from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday. Jeezy’s giving away toys at the Union Gym in Macon from 4 to 7 p.m. And the wrap-up is Christmas Eve in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward community, with V-103’s Greg Street.
SIBLING RIVALRY
So, the day after Britney Spears wins the coveted and prestigious “Bestie” award as People.com’s Most Talked About Star in 2007, her kid sister just happens to turn up presto preggo. Web sites everywhere lit up with news that the 16-year-old Jamie Lynn Spears, the star of “Zoey 101” was 12 weeks pregnant, something she disclosed in the most recent edition of OK! magazine. The father, she said, is Casey Aldridge. “It was a shock for both of us, so unexpected,” she said. “I was in complete and total shock and so was he.” The Spears’ mom, Lynn, said Jamie Lynn has known Aldridge for years and began dating him in high school. But in a recent interview, Spears said she had no steady boyfriend. “I kind of just keep my options open,” she said. “I have a bunch of friends that I always hang out with, a bunch of guy friends.”
It’s that she only gets pregnant with one of them.
Meanwhile, the Nickelodeon show will be faced with the always-awkward task of writing teen pregnancy into the script of a family show, although producers say the fourth season, which starts in February, has been completed. On a positive note, Jamie Lynn can benefit from her big sister’s baby-related hand-me-downs, including a “lightly used” car seat.
VANILLA ICE LUKEWARM ON ATL SONGS OF THE ‘90S
When VH1 invited Vanilla Ice for an interview to promote its weeklong “100 Greatest Songs of the ’90s,” Buzz jumped at the chance to pick the rap star’s brain on songs by artists with Atlanta ties. But the Ice man, calling in from Palm Beach, didn’t hit the mark with witty bon mots every time. His thoughts on No. 8 song “Waterfalls” by TLC: “That’s not one of their better songs.” How about R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion” (No. 10)? “I didn’t really like that song too much.” Collective Soul’s “Shine” (No. 42)? “I barely even know that song.” Phew. OK. He finally got excited when we mentioned No. 60, Bell Biv DeVoe’s “Poison” (Ronnie DeVoe is a local real estate agent): “When those three broke off from New Edition, everybody wrote them off. Then they came out with this and blew everybody away.
“They’re cool guys.”
Further down, Atlanta’s Arrested Development landed at No. 71 with “Tennessee.” “They were on the same label as me. They were great. They came out of nowhere. They went back to nowhere.” Ice supported the No. 1 song, Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” “That’s my No. 1, too. They created grunge. Then Kurt [Cobain] took himself out. That sealed it. Not that you have to take yourself out to be No. 1.”
He groaned when he heard former Atlantan Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” landed at No. 3. “That’s the song every girl who thinks they can sing sings. If I hear another girl try to copy Whitney Houston, I’ll puke.” Ice keeps himself in the spotlight touring (he sold out the Masquerade last year) and doing reality shows such as “Surreal Life” and most recently, CMT’s “Celebrity Bull Riding.” “Hell yeah! Talk about an adrenaline rush!” He said he invested his “Ice Ice Baby” day money well and can do what he wants. “Ice Ice Baby,” which landed at No. 29, will be on tonight at 10 when the countdown goes from 40 to 21.
BERNHARD CANCELS ATLANTA DATES
Actress and singer Sandra Bernhard has canceled dates at the 14th Street Playhouse Dec. 29 and 30 because the show’s producer got into a car accident and was in a coma, her publicist Len Evans told Buzz Wednesday. The New York social commentator/satirist is best known for her roles in the 1983 film “The King of Comedy” and TV’s “Roseanne” as well as her fluid one-woman shows. Evans didn’t know when Bernhard would be back to Atlanta.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor John Hillerman (“Magnum P.I.”) is 75. Drummer Peter Criss (Kiss) is 62. Musician Alan Parsons is 58. Singer Billy Bragg is 50. Singer Chris Robinson of Black Crowes is 41. Actor Jonah Hill (“Superbad”) is 24.
THIS DATE IN HISTORY
Tabloid Wedding Week?
The week before Christmas has seen some juicy marriages from a celebrity standpoint. In 1990, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman got married in Colorado. They had met while filming “Days of Thunder.” In 1997, Woody Allen married Soon-Yi Previn in a secret wedding in Venice, Italy. In 1999, comedian Jerry Seinfeld married public relations executive Jessica Sklar in New York.
Contributing: Rodney Ho, Sonia Murray and news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Date auction winner still in the bidding
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Buzz has an update on Karen Adler, the Atlanta woman who held an online auction for a date to her company’s holiday party. Adler and the winning bidder, a friend of a friend who promised Adler a home-cooked meal, may be headed for a second date.
Adler told Buzz her date was “a perfect gentleman.”
“The date was fantastic,” says Adler. “Hands-down the best party I have ever been to. I’m crossing my fingers for another date. I think the odds are in my favor.”
Earlier this month, Adler decided to turn her single-girl dilemma into a game after her company, Fitzgerald & Co., announced plans for a lavish holiday party. She received about 30 bids — none of which came from Buzz.
She said her date was polite and a good conversationalist. One highlight from the Saturday evening event, she said, was when they gathered around the piano and sang holiday tunes. Buzz could have topped that.
BUN B IN ATL
With Bun B of beloved Southern hip-hop group UGK in town Monday, Buzz had to ask how he was faring since the loss earlier this month of his partner in rhyme, Chad “Pimp C” Butler. “I’m doing as well as could be expected,” said the artist born Bernard Freeman, who was in Atlanta to participate in the video shoot of rapper Yung Joc’s single, “I’m A G”, also featuring local artist Young Dro.
B added that the news of UGK’s Grammy nomination — which came two days after Butler’s death — “is somewhat bittersweet.” (The group is up for best rap performance by a duo or group for “Int’l Players Anthem [I Choose You],” featuring Atlanta duo OutKast.) “But I’m definitely happy that we can add that to Pimp’s legacy.” Butler, 33, was found dead Dec. 4 in a Los Angeles hotel room; autopsy and toxicology reports are not expected for weeks.
SERIOUSLY, HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED
Rihanna continues to shoot down rumors that she hooked up with actor Josh Hartnett.
“This is what really happened,” the 19-year-old singer tells Allure magazine. “He and my management, they have each other’s contact information. I went to [the New York club] Pink Elephant, and he came by. All of a sudden, the next day, I’m seeing that we were kissing and hugging up each other.”
“You can’t even go out with a friend who’s a celebrity and have a good time without people making [bleep] up,” Rihanna says in the magazine’s January issue. “Well, at least he’s good-looking, right?”
The Barbados-born sensation also has been romantically linked to actor Shia LaBeouf and Jay-Z, her boss — and Beyonce’s boyfriend. She has denied a hookup with the 38-year-old rapper, who is president of her record label, Def Jam.
Of Jay-Z’s Grammy-winning gal pal, Rihanna says: “She’s Beyonce, and I’m [his] new protegee. When we see each other we say hi. We’re not enemies, but we’re not ‘friends’ friends.”
BEST ‘BESTIES’ EVER
We know award season is upon us when People.com releases its Besties, which is voted on by readers. Among the categories: Couple Most Likely to Make it to 2017 (Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner), Best Dressed Celebrity Kid (Suri Cruise) and Best Behaved Star (Affleck again). But the grand prize, the head Bestress of them all, goes to Britney Spears, who won the Most Talked About Star in 2007 over Angelina Jolie.
GIVE ‘EM SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT
Moving on to some non-Britney news … oh, wait. Looks like Spears will again contend for top Bestie as the custody battle with ex-husband Kevin Federline is destined for 2008. A court commissioner in Los Angeles on Tuesday made no changes to the couple’s custody arrangements after a 90-minute hearing behind closed doors. The duo have been wrangling for months over the custody of their sons, 2-year-old Sean Preston and 1-year-old Jayden James.
Fed-Ex, 29, has temporary custody because Spears, who has limited visitation rights, has defied court orders.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actress Cicely Tyson (above) is 74. Actor Mike Lookinland (“The Brady Bunch”) is 47. Actress Jennifer Beals is 44. Actress Alyssa Milano is 35. Actor Jake Gyllenhaal (“Brokeback Mountain,” “October Sky”) is 27. Actress Marla Sokoloff (“The Practice”) is 27. Rapper Lady Sovereign is 22.
OVERSCENE
Nelly (right) at Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta about 9 p.m. last Thursday. A reader reports that the frequent guest hugged all the employees after he arrived — in a Bentley, trailed by a security crew in an SUV. Marsha Middleton, the hotel’s director of public relations, said she didn’t know how long Nelly stayed or if he even spent the night (stars often use an alias when registering overnight, making it difficult to track). But here’s a question — can you officially register at a hotel under the name “Nelly?”
Contributing: Helena Oliviero and news services
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Diddy is weekend’s No. 1 party man
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sure the Iowa caucuses are still weeks away, but Buzz would like to cast its vote now for Diddy — as the No. 1 party man in Atlanta this past weekend. First, the entertainment mogul threw a 16th birthday celebration at the Velvet Room on Saturday for Quincy Brown, son of Combs’ on-again, off-again Atlanta love Kim Porter (highlights from which are scheduled to air on MTV). Then he hosted a more intimate gathering for Porter at the Luckie Food Lounge. (Looks like it’s currently on-again love).
After Frank Ski’s charity wine auction, there he was again on the Philips Arena stage Sunday night, with Atlanta rapper-actor Bow Wow; part of the Up Close and Personal tour co-headlined by R&B singer-actor Chris Brown.
GIVING, RECEIVING
Alex Wan, founder of For the Kid in All of Us, presented 1,200 toys and a check for $40,000 to Sheltering Arms Early Education and Family Center last week. The holiday gifts were the proceeds from the fifth annual Toy Party, held earlier this month at the Atlanta Apparel Mart. Accepting the toys and check were Elaine P. Draeger, Sheltering Arms’ president and CEO, and Paige McKay Kubik, vice president of development and communications. The young people at Sheltering Arms responded with gifts from the heart: handmade bags containing Sheltering Arms T-shirts and cards telling how Sheltering Arms has affected their lives.
Wan told us over lunch recently, by the way, that he’s stepping aside from For the Kid in All of Us, which grew from a small gathering of friends to the bash of thousands it’s become today. He says he’ll surely find something else to jump into, so stay tuned. Meanwhile, Frank Bragg is Kid’s incoming board chief.
WINE AUCTION PULLS IN BUCKS FOR THE KIDS
V-103’s Frank Ski loves hobnobbing with the big names, but on Sunday, he did so at his spacious Dunwoody home in the name of charity, raising more than $100,000 for his kids foundation during his fourth annual wine auction.
Although confirmed guest and A-lister Ne-Yo was a no-show, Sean “Diddy” Combs stayed long enough to purchase a six-liter bottle of Opus One for $14,000, and R&B mogul Dallas Austin dropped in as well. Publicist Cherry Banez said actor Emmanuel “Webster” Lewis boogied on the dance floor after most of the attendees had left.
Former Brave Brian Jordan, dressed in a sharp pinstripe suit, enjoyed the scene virtually the entire time. Buzz also saw Atlanta City Councilwoman Lisa Borders, a casually dressed DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones, Q100 host Bert Weiss, R&B singer Keith Sweat, actor Malik Yoba and injured Falcons defensive tackle Rod Coleman, who was probably happier to be there than in Tampa, where his team got drubbed by the Bucs 37-3. Ski’s foundation sends kids to summer camps, NASA space camp and for a dozen teens this past year, the Galapagos Islands. Three of them came to the mike to extol the experience of seeing such a beautiful, isolated place. “I came there as a person who cared,” said Asha Carter, an eloquent 15-year-old. After seeing poverty first-hand, she said, “I left as a person with a purpose.”
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor Roger Smith is 75. Blues guitarist Lonnie Brooks is 74. Guitarist Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones is 64. Director Steven Spielberg is 61. Guitarist Elliot Easton of The Cars is 54. Actor Ray Liotta is 52. Actor Brad Pitt is 44. Country singer Tracy Byrd is 41. Actress Rachel Griffiths (“Brothers and Sisters,” “Six Feet Under”) is 39. Country singer Cowboy Troy is 37. Rapper DMX is 37. Actress Katie Holmes (“Dawson’s Creek”) is 29. Singer Christina Aguilera is 27.
Contributing: Rodney Ho, Sonia Murray and news services. If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749 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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No concealing importance of MASKED ball
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hundreds turned out Saturday night for the 24th annual Mayor’s MASKED Ball — Mankind Assisting Students Kindle Educational Dreams — at the Atlanta Hilton downtown.
Mayor Shirley Franklin glowed in a golden gown, although she confessed that she’s not one to get her glam on unless duty calls.
“I get dressed up when I have to,” she chuckled. “My favorite outfit is jeans and T-shirts.”
On a serious note, Franklin saluted the cause behind the black-tie affair. The ball benefits the United Negro College Fund.
“It’s important to young people to have a chance to go to college,” she said. “UNCF provides an umbrella for small, excellent liberal arts colleges.”
The list of prominent attendees included Ambassador and former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young; Michael L. Lomax, president and CEO of UNCF; Maurice E. Jenkins, the UNCF’s senior vice president for Southern field operations; Shirley Mitchell, senior vice president, Georgia Market Development for Bank of America; and ING Foundation President Rhonda Mims. Mitchell and Mims served as the ball’s chairs. The Clark Atlanta University Jazz Orchestra, directed by James Patterson, provided entertainment during dinner. Afterward, guests danced to music by Ashford & Simpson.
This year’s award honorees included William H. Linginfelter, former Georgia CEO of Wachovia and chair of the 2005-06 UNCF metro Atlanta campaign; retired Paine College President Shirley A.R. Lewis; and Morehouse College President Emeritus Walter E. Massey.
The masked minglers we met included actor and Norfolk State University grad Tim Reid and wife Daphne; Yvonne Yancy and her mother, Dorothy Yancy, who serves as president of Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte; former Lithonia Mayor Marcia Glenn-Hunter and Vanessa Howard; James Anderson and Stephanie Robinson.
And Aristide J. Collins Jr., vice president of institutional advancement and university relations at Clark Atlanta University. After we admired his smashing bow tie, the debonair Collins made sure to point out that he’s new in town and single. Not for long, we predict.
Strike? Pish! We’ll conjure our own smut
Comes now Entertainment Tonight with clutch-the-pearls details about actress Eva Longoria and basketball player Tony Parker’s marriage. It seems one Alexandra Paressant, a 26-year-old French model, alleges she and Parker spent some meaningful time together recently, having supposedly caught his eye at his wedding.
Classy, no?
Both Longoria and Parker say the story’s fiction.
“I love my wife,” says Parker. “She’s the best thing in my life, and I have never been happier.”
Longoria, who plays hottie Gabrielle Solis on Desperate Housewives, defends her man without reservation: “Tony has been nothing short of the perfect husband.”
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Ex-mayor to present series on Rwanda
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There’s wonder in Andrew Young’s voice as he describes the current climate in Rwanda, a mere 12 years after the devastating genocide in the central African country wiped out 800,000 human beings. The former United Nations ambassador and Atlanta mayor serves as producer of the new critically acclaimed documentary on the transformation, “Rwanda Rising.”
“By far, the most extraordinary thing I saw on our trips to Africa is how these people, just 12 years after these mass murders, seem to be totally reconciled with each other,” Young told Buzz this week. “Here were people who were killing each other. Somehow, they’ve been able to transform the country intellectually, morally and politically. It’s been an amazing thing to observe.”
Young, 75, also had a nice scoop for us — he’s producing, narrating and hosting “Andrew Young Presents,” a series of syndicated documentaries on the region to begin airing next year (TV station WSB will carry the program locally). The films are an outgrowth of the positive experiences the ambassador has had with “Rwanda Rising” (portions of that doc are scheduled to air as part of the new series).
“After the 1996 Summer Olympics here, I originally planned to write a book on Africa,” Young explains. “But the region is changing so rapidly that by the time a book could be printed, it would likely be outdated. Film provides us with a much more immediate way to communicate.”
And Young is no stranger to visual mediums either. He’s studied photography all his life (one of his first jobs was in a photography studio, the mayor told us). “It’s true that a photo is worth a thousand words,” he adds. “I keep a camera in my pocket most of the time now.”
On his most recent trip to Nigeria, Young and series director C.B. Hackworth took along “Rush Hour” star and Atlantan Chris Tucker.
Included in the visit: Tucker’s introduction to Nigerian farmer Olesegun Obasanjo, who also just happens to be the country’s former president and a friend of Young’s.
So the comic’s inclusion on the trip didn’t result in any international incidents?
“If anybody had been responsible for that, it would have likely been me!” jokes Young. “No, Chris has a genuine interest in the region. He wants to learn more. And everywhere we went, everyone knew him from the ‘Rush Hour’ movies. He’s very famous there. Everyone wanted a picture.”
And when Young’s wife, Carolyn, needed an unexpected root canal while the couple was in South Africa, the ambassador, who grew up in a family of dentists, learned first-hand how cutting edge dentistry has become there.
“I watched the procedure on a TV screen,” Young says. “When I got back to Atlanta, I told my brother [Atlanta dentist Walter Young] ‘You really need to get up speed!’ “
Look for “Andrew Young Presents,” a quarterly series of hourlong films, to debut in February.
A ‘Metalsome’ Christmas
The folks who run the “Metalsome Mondays” gigs at the Ten High club in Virginia-Highland (well, technically, the enormously popular heavy metal karaoke with a live band experience has expanded to three nights a week now) needed a larger venue for its holiday benefit on Friday. So, all of the local headbangers who sign up to sing tonight will be doing it onstage at the Variety Playhouse in Little Five Points. Provided they spring for a $10 ticket, bring an unwrapped toy and two cans of food for the Atlanta Community Food Bank, that is. The evening benefits the city’s Genesis Shelter, which provides housing for homeless newborns and their families.
“The venue is a big part of the attraction for our regulars,” Metalsome’s Curtis Clark told us Thursday. “When is the average person ever going to get to experience singing onstage at a venue the size of the Variety Playhouse? I’ve been here 19 years and I’ve never been onstage there.”
Still, while Clark says there will be plenty of Bon Jovi and versions of Europe’s “The Final Countdown” to belt out at the benefit, he concedes there’s not a lot of awesome metal-tinged holiday fare out there to perform.
Explains Clark: “But we’re thinking about adding sleigh bells to the Motorhead songs. That might make them more Christmasy, right? And if anybody in the band wants to wear a Santa hat, I probably wouldn’t object. I mean, it’s all for a good cause, after all.”
“Metalsome” karaoke takes over the Variety beginning at 8:30 tonight.
Overscene
Talk show Emmy winner Rosie O’Donnell, her spouse Kelli Carpenter-O’Donnell and G-CAPP founder Jane Fonda partying at Compound nightclub Wednesday night. The gathering was a pre-birthday outing for Fonda and friends.
Magician conquers World
Lawrenceville magician Tony Chapek will get his biggest national exposure yet tonight on the World Magic Awards at 8 on WATL, hosted by Roger Moore and Joan Collins. He will receive an award for originality in which he interacts both verbally and physically with his video “alter ego” on a high-def plasma TV.
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2 Panthers meet again in ‘Drumroll’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thanks to “Drumroll: SWD,” his new original series on Peachtree TV, producer Dallas Austin has found a way to reunite members of Southwest DeKalb High School’s Marching Panthers and members of Clark Atlanta University’s Marching Panthers on screen again in the Dec. 18 episode.
The two bands originally were featured together in “Drumline,” Austin’s 2002 shot-in-Atlanta feature film.
We’re told that episode will follow SWD band members Keonta Hammond and Eric “Bobo” Barkley as they travel to the CAU campus, a school both are considering as a college option. While there, SWD band director James Seda and CAU band director James L. Camp arrange an exhibition between the two bands’ drumlines. The goal: to give the SWD high schoolers a chance to see what real nerve-wracking, drumstick-dropping college competition is all about.
“Clark Atlanta University is always seeking innovative ways to market the school to prospective students and parents,” explains CAU president Walter D. Broadnax in an e-mailed statement to Buzz. “We’re very pleased to be working with Peachtree TV on this initiative.”
CAU will also be prominently featured in the show’s on-air promo spots.
The increasingly addictive reality series (think MTV’s “The Hills” but with smarter, motivated and talented young people …) on the newest channel launched by Atlanta-based Turner airs at 8 p.m. Tuesdays.
Check out this link for more drumlines.
Overscene
Atlanta Falcons, including Michael Jenkins, Alge Crumpler, DeAngelo Hall, Michael Boley and Roddy White celebrating Michael Jenkins’ wife Tamara’s birthday at Fogo de Chao in Buckhead.
We’re told that pichana was the most requested cut of meat from the party of about 25, which included dates and children. Strains of “Happy Birthday to You” were served with dessert.
Sick bay
Singer Rosanne Cash is recovering at her Manhattan home following brain surgery last month for a rare but benign condition.
Cash was back home Dec. 4 and “recovering comfortably from her surgery, which took place on Nov. 27,” said a posting on her Web site. “She extends thanks and appreciation for all the love, good wishes, prayers and kindness.”
The 52-year-old is expected to make a full recovery and will resume recording her debut album for Manhattan Records early next year, the label owned by EMI Group said Wednesday in a statement. She will resume her touring schedule in the spring and finish writing a book to be published in early 2009.
Cash decided to have the surgery after being diagnosed with chiari I malformation, her manager said last month.
According to the American Syringomyelia Alliance Project, a nonprofit clearinghouse for information about chiari and related disorders, the condition is a congenital malformation of the skull that affects the brain and spinal cord.
Paris in Berlin
As one of our co-workers articulately put it when this riveting piece of news hit Buzz Central Wednesday: “What a dim bulb.”
Natch, we’re only referring, of course, to the environmentally friendly light sources in hotel heiress Paris Hilton’s home.
“I changed all the light bulbs to energy-safe light bulbs and I’m buying a hybrid car right now,” the 26-year-old told reporters in Berlin Wednesday.
Hilton said she turns off the lights, doesn’t leave the TV on or leave the water running when she leaves her house (that sort of thing could land you on “ABC World News” if you happen to live here …).
“Little things that people can do every day to make a huge difference,” she said.
The “Simple Life” reality star was in Berlin to take part in an advertising campaign for Rich Prosecco, a product described thusly: “sparkling wine sold in cans.”
Hilton told reporters she’s looking for a boyfriend and knows exactly what qualities Mr. Right should possess.
“Right now I’m single, but I am looking for a nice boy,” she said. “He should be funny, smart and loyal.”
At press time, it remained unclear if any cocker spaniels had applied for the position.
Contributing: News services
HIGH FIVE
Ring tones For the week ending Dec. 15
1. “Jingle Bells,” Perry Como
2. “Crank That (Soulja Boy),” Soulja Boy
3. “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” Perry Como
4. “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies,” Tchaikovsky
5. “Adios Amor Te Vas,” Grupo Montez De Durango
— Billboard.com
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor Dick Van Dyke is 82. Actor Christopher Plummer is 80. Singer Ted Nugent is 59. Actress Wendie Malick (“Just Shoot Me”) is 57. Actor Steve Buscemi is 50. Actor Johnny Whitaker (“Family Affair”) is 48. Actor-comedian Jamie Foxx (right) is 40. Singer-guitarist Tom Delonge of Angels and Airwaves (and Blink-182) is 32. Singer Amy Lee of Evanescence is 26.
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Design show says thanks to firefighters
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Back in September, Atlanta Fire Station No. 16 near the Georgia Dome was awash in Christmas decor, including fake snow, a Santa Claus and lights galore. Sure, it was three months early and almost 80 degrees, but Atlanta designer Vern Yip was there to shoot a special Christmas episode of his hit HGTV show “Deserving Design,” set to air tonight at 9.
Yip chose this 44-year-old fire station because it hosts an annual Christmas party for more than 200 children (this year’s is set for Saturday), and he wanted to give back by redesigning the station’s rec room and bunk room.
“They spend more time at the firehouse than their homes,” Yip told Buzz on Tuesday, fresh from a three-week vacation in Laos and Vietnam. “They truly deserved this.”
Yip is in especially good spirits because he’s about to start casting for reality competition program “Design Star 3” and recently was given a green light to shoot a second season of “Deserving Design,” a show that is “a physical manifestation of me. It has restored my faith in humanity.”
The firefighters were given canopied beds in the bunk room for privacy. “That took a little time for the guys to get used to,” said Capt. Al Howard, a shift leader at the firehouse. And the rec room with the leather couch and flat-screen TV? “We can’t stay out of it,” he said.
The only problem: The leather is white to brighten the room, but that also means it gets dirty easily. “We might,” Howard said, “have to put covers on it.”
Overscene
Atlanta businesswoman and Spanx pantyhose founder Sara Blakely renting out the Food Studio downtown for her company holiday party. We’re told the buffet supper for 70 included grilled beef tenderloin with horseradish cream, dijon mustard and veal jus; shrimp and chorizo sausage risotto; seared polenta cakes with mushroom ragout; roasted fingerling potatoes with caramelized onions and crumbled feta cheese and grilled asparagus with lemon aioli.
Entertainment included a DJ and a dance floor, a karaoke machine and flat-screen TVs in the main dining room. Blakely herself enjoyed a gluten and meat-free meal. Alas, at deadline Tuesday, Buzz was still trying to determine what Blakely performed during karaoke …
Early holiday with the Hawks
We hear that the hospital-bound kids at Children’s at Scottish Rite and Children’s at Egleston have a special surprise coming today: The entire roster of the Atlanta Hawks, including players, coaches, mascots and front office staffers will be popping in to spread some holiday cheer at the two facilities by visiting with patients and families, playing bingo, signing autographs and handing out gifts. Among the scheduled participants: Speedy Claxton, Al Horford, Joe Johnson, Tyronn Lue, Salim Stoudamire, Shelden Williams, Lorenzen Wright, Josh Childress, Anthony Johnson, Solomon Jones, Acie Law, Zaza Pachulia, Josh Smith, Mario West, Marvin Williams; head coach Mike Woodson and assistant coaches Bob Bender, Larry Drew, David Fizdale, Herb Brown and Alton Lister.
Protesters again dog Deen
Paula Deen’s gig as celebrity spokesperson for Smithfield hams continued to serve up salty slices of controversy as unhappy union workers again targeted the Food Network personality Monday outside her popular Savannah eatery.
After months spent dogging Deen at book signings and paid appearances from Charlotte to Portland, Ore., (two words, Paula: restraining order), the United Food and Commercial Workers union staged a rally Monday.
The union has targeted Deen, 60, because of her endorsement deal with Smithfield Foods Inc. The union has fought with the company for more than a decade in attempts to unionize plant workers.
Union organizers want Deen to meet with workers and take their concerns about wages and poor working conditions to Smithfield executives. They also want her to stop endorsing Smithfield products if the company refuses to make changes.
Deen, just home from a tour promoting her book “Christmas With Paula Deen,” told The Associated Press she has no plans to intervene.
“I feel that I’m being dragged into something that I’m certainly no expert at,” Deen said.
Celebrity birthdays
Game-show host Bob Barker is 84. Singer Connie Francis is 69. Singer Dionne Warwick is 67. Singer-guitarist Dickey Betts (Allman Brothers) is 64. Actor Bill Nighy (“Pirates of the Caribbean”) is 58. Bassist Nicholas Dimichino of Nine Days is 40. Actress Jennifer Connelly is 37. Actress Mayim Bialik (“Blossom”) is 32.
Sick bay
Longtime “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek was hospitalized Tuesday after a minor heart attack, a spokesman for the game show said.
Trebek, 67, was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles late Monday night and was expected to remain there about two days for tests and observation, said show spokesman Jeff Ritter.
“Thankfully it was a minor heart attack,” Ritter said. He did not give other details. A post on the official “Jeopardy!” Web site said Trebek was “resting comfortably in a Los Angeles hospital, and he will be back in the studio for the next scheduled tapings in January.” His heart attack was first reported by “Entertainment Tonight.” Trebek has been the host of “Jeopardy!” since 1984.
Contributing: Rodney Ho and news services
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Weather just right for spring collection
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A fashionable crowd packed the Ritz-Carlton’s Buckhead ballroom Monday for the Forward Arts Foundation’s luncheon and fashion show featuring Oscar de la Renta’s cruise and spring 2008 collection. The designer was seated at the head table, where his dining companions included Stephanie Blank and Betsy West, who served as the event’s chair.
“Atlanta is a very sophisticated city, a very cosmopolitan city,” de la Renta declared after models clad in his work had taken spins down the runway. “It’s a center for business and it has attracted a lot of wonderful people.”
But it’s a little tricky dressing properly in December when it’s 70 degrees and sunny, is it not? The debonair de la Renta declared our unseasonably warm weather to be a welcome respite from the dreary drizzle he left behind. Wonder if others felt a little jealous at the mention of, you know, rain?
Proceeds from Monday’s event will benefit the High Museum and Atlanta History Center. The crowd included Marlene Alexander, Melanie Boltax, Tony Conway, Jada Loveless, Betty Hollister, Marilyn Johnson, Anne Ostholthoff, Dominique Sinyard, Dottie Smith, Elizabeth Spiegel, Alice Sheets, Susan Tucker and Nicole White. Oh, and Jan K. Bennett, whose name you probably recognize. (She’s president of the Atlanta chapter of ARCS, or Achievement Rewards for College Scientists Foundation, which had its luncheon at the downtown Ritz not long ago.) Bennett’s sure to be even more smashing than ever next year; she won Monday’s drawing for a $5,000 de la Renta ensemble.
Radio station to the rescue
Dear creeps who stole gifts meant for needy children: The good in Atlantans’ hearts is greater than the evil in yours. After unknown losers stole the Empty Stocking Fund stash that had been stored at City Hall East last month, the community rallied. The Project 9-6-1 radio station launched an on-air fund-raiser and on Monday delivered a check for more than $100,000 to replace what the Grinches swiped.
Film fight
This year’s movie awards derby so far is East Coast versus West Coast. On Monday, the New York Film Critics Circle named “No Country for Old Men” the best picture of 2007. On Sunday, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association selected “There Will Be Blood” as best movie. The two major film groups don’t often agree. Last year, the L.A. critics chose Clint Eastwood’s “Letters from Iwo Jima” while the New York group selected “United 93.” The eventual Oscar winner for best picture was “The Departed.”
Among other winners named by New York critics: Daniel Day-Lewis (“There Will Be Blood”) for best actor; Julie Christie (“Away From Her”) for best actress; Joel and Ethan Coen (“No Country for Old Men”) for best director; Javier Bardem (“No Country for Old Men”) for best supporting actor; Amy Ryan (“Gone Baby Gone”) for best supporting actress; “No Country for Old Men” for screenplay; “There Will Be Blood” for cinematography; “No End In Sight” for documentary; “Persepolis” for animated film and writer-director Sarah Polley (“Away From Her”) for best first film.
In addition, the group chose “The Lives Of Others,” which did not play in New York until this year, as best foreign language film. Among other winners named by L.A. critics: Daniel Day-Lewis (“There Will Be Blood”) for best actor; Marion Cotillard (“La Vie En Rose”) for best actress; Paul Thomas Anderson (“There Will Be Blood”) for best director; “The Savages” for best screenplay; Amy Ryan (“Gone Baby Gone” and “The Devil Knows You’re Dead”) for supporting actress; Vlad Ivanov (“4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” for supporting actor; “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” for best foreign language film; “No End In Sight” for best documentary; “There Will Be Blood” for best production design; “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” for best cinematography; “Once” for best music and “Ratatouille” and “Persepolis” in a tie for best animated film. Sarah Polley (“Away From Her”) also took the new generation award.
Celebrity birthday Actress Rita Moreno is 76. Singer David Gates of Bread is 67. Actress Donna Mills (“Knots Landing”) is 65. Singer Brenda Lee is 63. Actress Lynda Day George is 63. Actress Teri Garr is 59. Actress Bess Armstrong is 54. Singer Jermaine Jackson is 53. Bassist Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue is 49. Bassist David Schools of Widespread Panic is 43. Actor Gary Dourdan (“C.S.I.”) is 41. Actress-comedian Mo’Nique (above) (“The Parkers”) is 39. Rapper-actor Mos Def is 34. Actor Rider Strong (“Boy Meets World”) is 28.
On my iPod/TiVo “I just went on iTunes and got Alicia Keys’ “As I Am.” I try to get whatever’s new and good. And I live in Best Buy and Virgin — for music, and I have a large film catalog. And I’m so totally a TiVo guy. I tape everything from ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ to ‘Desperate Housewives,’ ‘Heroes’ — so many shows. Oh yeah, and ‘Dancing With The Stars’ … I’ve been asked to be on that, but that’s not going to happen. I have two right feet.”
— R&B singer, songwriter and producer Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, whose latest CD, aptly enough, is called “Playlist.”
Contributing: Sonia Murray, Alan Smithee and news services
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Singer, celebrities party like it’s 1980
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Buzz must admit, we’d never heard of Atlanta songwriter Keri Hilson. So when an invitation came to attend her birthday bash hosted by music maestros Timbaland and Polow Da Don, the whole “flashback” theme caught our attention.
Being such a knucklehead for old-school jams, we went back in time Saturday night at King Plow Arts Center. There were plenty of Adidas jogging suits, Jheri Curl wigs and girls in napkin-size shorts and roller skates. It was a hoot.
Up in the VIP area, guests noshed on lavish, savory, decadent — McDonald’s. Yep, the buffet was catered by the Golden Arches, complete with cheeseburgers and Happy Meal boxes scattered about for effect.
Buzz loved the whole vibe, stopping to groove a bit to Salt N Pepa’s “Push It” and Kurtis Blow’s “The Breaks.”
Then, since we were there to check out Hilson, who turned 25, we got a surprise.
The leggy, wonderfully polite and beautiful Hilson gets writing credit for Britney Spears’ “Gimme More,” Ludacris’ “Runaway Love,” Ciara’s “Ooh Baby,” and is featured on Timbaland’s No. 1 hit “The Way I Are.” You could’ve sooo slapped us silly.
We also found out the wizard of words is about to release her own CD next year.
“Writing songs has always been a means to make this happen,” Hilson says, referring to “In a Perfect World,” on which “Henny and Apple Juice” with Snoop Dogg and Ludacris is slated as the first single. “I’ve been in the background, and now I get to live both lives, and it feels great.”
Well, here’s to you, Keri, and, at a mere 25, knowing how to party glam-style.
Celebrities pack the room
And speaking of Keri Hilson’s flashback party, the night was packed with ridiculous star power. Here’s a Buzz breakdown.
Producer Polow Da Don, host of the event, arrived on the red carpet in a nifty green, white and yellow Lacoste jumpsuit (we think it was supposed to scream ’80s). Timbaland, co-host, was a no-show because of an emergency.
Jagged Edge, who arrived beyond fashionably late, almost didn’t get inside because of security, but managed to talk their way in. Those guys always have been smooth.
Bone Crusher was spotted in the VIP area chilling on the balcony (no, he didn’t touch the cheeseburgers).
“It was definitely worth it,” the rapper said, referring to his stint on the “Celebrity Fit Club” reality show on VH1. “I lost, like, 54 pounds and my stomach was way out here.”
We asked Usher’s brother, James, how it feels to be a new uncle. “It feels good,” says the young hipster who’s a spitting image of the superstar.
Has he bought his newphew a gift yet?
“Uhh, no, not yet,” he noted with an almost embarrassed grin — Gasp! Get to Lenox now, James.
Chamillionaire, Jazze Pha, Johnta Austin and Cee-Lo were also in attendance. Buzz asked Cee-Lo about Gnarls Barkley’s Grammy nod for “Gone Daddy Gone.”
“I was surprised,” he said, admitting he didn’t watch when the nominees were announced last week.
But the biggest grand entrance, though, had to go to Jermaine Dupri and Nelly, who arrived in a stylish black-on-black Bentley. Nelly drove, and after sitting in the car for about 20 minutes, they finally were whisked through the back door to the festivities.
Singer, jazz lounge ooze sophistication
Atlanta comedian Don “D.C.” Curry, famous for his BET “Comic View” standup and roles in “Friday After Next” and “Grace Under Fire,” opened in October his jazz and blues lounge, Star, in Castleberry Hill.
When Buzz checked out the place recently, we were totally smitten with singer Tabitha King’s live act.
King parlayed through Chaka Khan’s “Sweet Thing,” breezed through “My Funny Valentine,” and Curry even took the mike on “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay,” which the diners and drinkers really got into.
“The audience motivates me,” says King, who also performs at Grown Folks and Crows Nest in College Park. “When everybody enjoys what I’m doing, it makes me perform even better.”
And King performs wonders. Her sounds are a melodic stream of sophistication Castleberry Hill needs. Sure, there’s the commendable Noir, M Bar and Slice, but Star has potential to set itself apart from these cookie-cutter hangouts.
“We don’t have any anti-hip-hop sentiment here,” says Curry, in his suave black suit. “But we do have a distinct character.”
That character is marked by silver-haired couples dressed to the nines, young men in blazers, ladies in dresses, white people, black people, Asians. It was a joy to be in this crowd for its sheer diversity alone.
Curry and co-owner Billy Tyler are planning a grand opening in January.
This is David “The Leisure Guy” Graves’ final Monday Buzz.
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Grace delivers news of return to TV
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Confirming our worst fears, er, make that our most fervent hopes, CNN.com is reporting that Nancy Grace, the cable news network’s “feisty” anchor, will return to her Headline News anchor chair on Jan. 7, two months after giving birth to twins.
As readers may recall, Grace has been on maternity leave since Nov. 4, when she delivered a boy, John David, and a girl, Lucy Elizabeth, waay ahead of schedule.
Atlanta doctors induced labor after Grace developed symptoms of pulmonary edema (a risky buildup of fluid in the lungs).
At birth, John weighed 5 pounds, 1 ounce and Lucy weighed in at 2 pounds, 15 ounces.
In a scary post-delivery development, Grace returned to the hospital after she developed blood clots in her lungs. The former Fulton County prosecutor informed viewers of her return via her CNN Headline News Web page.
We’re told that Grace and her twins are resting at home with proud papa and hubby Atlanta investment banker David Linch.
“They are two little sunshines,” Grace informed viewers on her baby blog. “John David is up to seven pounds and little Lucy finally made it to five pounds, thank God! They were so tiny when they came into this world.”
Helping to fill the void during the real anchor’s absence from the airwaves, Gracie Jane, her “Boston Legal” alter ego, re-emerged on the ABC comedy-drama this week in an episode penned by creator David E. Kelley.
Naturally, the character weighed in on the subject of Denny Crane’s Larry Craig-like arrest (scarily re-enacted by Crane portrayer William Shatner) in a public bathroom.
Hooking up, nicely, at airport Speaking of public bathroom liaisons, the makers of AXE body spray have selected Hartsfield-Jackson as “The 18th Best Airport For Making a Love Connection.” The press release sent to Buzz Central Thursday, however, takes great pains to distance itself from those pesky restroom police patrols that have made headlines at the airport this year. The study specifies that the facility was ranked as one of the best airports for “guys and girls to make a connection.”
Why Hartsfield-Jackson?
AXE cites the airport’s reputation as a busy connection hub and “its 60 restaurants and 45 retail shops” in which to kill time. The study also references the airport’s reputation for having “very few computer spots for those who need to check their e-mail” so singles are more prone “to strike up a conversation.” Huh? Since our nose (along with most of our fellow travelers’) is frequently stuck in our laptop while there, we never noticed. …
We tried to reach customer services reps at the airport for comment but both numbers listed for customer service on the Hartsfield-Jackson Web site were, natch, answered by machines.
‘Auction’ on the air One of our favorite annual traditions? Dave FM’s “Call to Auction” running through Saturday. It’s the adult rock radio station’s fund-raiser for Atlanta Habitat for Humanity, where listeners dole out donations in exchange for requesting songs not normally a part of the station’s playlist.
For example, as morning hosts Holly Firfer and Orff joined midday personality Mara Davis in studio Thursday to kick things off, Firfer handed over dough to hear “When Doves Cry” (she and her husband played the entire Prince “Purple Rain” soundtrack at their 2006 wedding reception) while Davis paid to spin “The Long Way Around,” her fave Dixie Chicks ditty. V-103 morning show sidekick Miss Sophia wandered down to her sister radio station’s studios to plunk down cash for RuPaul’s “Supermodel (You Better Work).”
Also up for grabs? A one-of-a kind two-hour piano lesson with Rolling Stones keyboardist and Middle Georgia tree farmer conservationist Chuck Leavell. For details: www.davefm.com.
Wedding ‘Anatomy’ According to the issue of People magazine on stands today, Katherine Heigl’s “Grey’s Anatomy” castmate T.R. Knight will have a co-starring role in the actress’ wedding later this month. Knight tells People that he’s slated to be in his pal’s wedding party when she marries singer-songwriter and Augusta native Josh Kelley on Dec. 23. “I’m standing up there and all,” he tells the mag. “So I have to go and get the tux. And I am still deciding on a gift!” Also presumably having a major role in the wedding? The bride-to-be’s father Paul Heigl resides in metro Atlanta.
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Oh, for a quiet cup of herbal tea
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Watching John Mayer’s shutterbug-strewn exit this week from the Waverly Inn in New York with “Friday Night Lights” actress Minka Kelly on Tmz.com, we couldn’t help but recall simpler times with the former Buckhead singer-songwriter when we would meet him at the Peachtree Battle Starbucks near his home for a quiet cup of herbal tea.
Judging from the “in-your-face” temperament of the pack of paparazzi lying in wait for the performer (who got his start in rooms like Eddie’s Attic in Decatur in the late 1990s), being John Mayer currently doesn’t look like much fun.
The posted video clip on the celeb gossip Web site features a bundled up Mayer and Kelly attempting to get into a waiting car as members of the paparazzi goad him into a confrontation, asking “So, was Cameron Diaz’s body a wonderland, John?”
Mayer, who momentarily lost his cool (but not his sense of sarcasm) shot back: “That’s probably one of the most tasteful things a guy with a camera has ever said to me. Do you see that I’m with a woman? Do you see that I’m having dinner with a woman?”
Then the celeb stalkers continued to taunt him by singing a few bars of the aforementioned Mayer hit in the singer’s face as he replied: “See you on stage with me.”
As the camerapersons continued to taunt Mayer, just before he ducked inside the car, the singer said: “That’s why you’re standing out here with a camera and not inside. I’ll be thinking about you the rest of the night.”
At deadline Wednesday, Buzz was still trying to figure out why we didn’t spend more time at the agricultural engineering booth at our eighth-grade career fair.
Krok smoked out
Last week, WSB-AM (750) awarded the station’s nighttime talker Chris Krok with an Achievement in Radio Award for his contributions to the station. Buzz ran into him there, and he was a happy man. Less than a week later, just in time for Christmas, Krok was let go for unknown reasons.
So was that award a going-away gift?
“Not at all,” said WSB Program Director Pete Spriggs. “He earned it. The AIR award is for someone who has really made some impact at each radio station. Chris made an impact. He made a very good local talk show.”
If he was so good, why can him?
“I’d rather not comment on that,” Spriggs said. “That’s between me and Chris.”
Krok, an unrepentant smoker who became known as a vocal opponent of illegal immigration, spent two years at WSB airing from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., groomed originally as a possible heir apparent to either Neal Boortz or Clark Howard, who has talked about leaving to run for political office. Krok couldn’t be reached for comment.
Herman Cain, Boortz’s primary sub who already airs a Saturday show on WSB, will become the evening weekday local talk show host starting Jan. 2, Spriggs said. He wouldn’t say exactly what time period Cain will take, though he might end up nabbing syndicated talker Michael Savage’s 7 to 10 p.m. slot, forcing Savage later into the night.
Statue stature
Three years after his death, legendary singer and musician Ray Charles is still being honored — and by a fellow Georgian at that. McDonough sculptor Andy Davis will unveil his statue of the artist Friday at Ray Charles Plaza in Albany, Charles’ hometown. “He’s in my hero category,” Davis told Buzz Wednesday afternoon. “I know he had his demons … but he overcame tremendous obstacles to do tremendous things.”
It’s been two years since Davis made the initial call about doing the statue. And in that time he’s grown from a fan of such songs as “I Got a Woman” and “What I Say” to “having a real connection to Mr. Charles. This is an honor.” (To see Davis working on the clay figure of the statue in his Atlanta studio, go to www.andydavisgallery.com.)
TRANSITIONS
Evening anchor/reporter Cynne Simpson and meteorologist Gene Norman are departing WGCL. Simpson has been there for three years. Norman has been at the CBS affiliate since 2000. No word on where Simpson is going. Subscription-only Newsblues reports that Norman is moving to Fox affiliate KRIV-26 in Houston to be that station’s primary meteorologist.
In a memo sent to employees, news director Rick Erbach wrote: “I regret to announce the resignation of two key and beloved members of the CBS 46 News family. … Cynne’s last day with us is Dec. 7 and Gene will be staying through the holidays. His last day will be Jan. 18. Again, we thank both for their accomplishments and their passion. We are a better station today because of their efforts.”
Contributing: Rodney Ho, Sonia Murray and news services. buzz@ajc.com
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A celebration for Dunn, who’s not done
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
While the team has experienced a lot of drama on and off the field this season, the Atlanta Falcons had a substantial reason to celebrate Monday night.
Invited guests braved a chilly evening to help Warrick Dunn commemorate his Thanksgiving Day 10,000 career yards milestone during a party at Shout in Midtown. Dunn’s Falcons teammate and pal Brian Finneran threw him the party.
Brian Fineran with Warrick Dunn at Shout.
But planning it proved tricky since no one knew exactly when Dunn would hit the 10,000-yard mark.
“Warrick is a great guy on and off the field and you couldn’t ask for a better teammate,” Finneran told the assembled Monday night. “Me and the guys wanted to celebrate this occasion and take care of him while he’s still toting the rock. I mean, he’s no spring chicken anymore,” cracked Finneran (Finneran was born in January 1976 while Dunn was born in January 1975).
Keeping the age gag going, Falcons vet Wayne Gandy presented his pal with a gorgeous engraved black rocking chair reading: “Congratulations on 10,000. Rock on!”
Dunn’s family and friends celebrated by sipping cocktails, nibbling signature Shout pizzas and cutting a cake with an image of a dashing Dunn on the field.
The chair wasn’t the only rock-related item Dunn received at the party. He also scored an engraved diamond watch to mark the milestone that only 22 NFL players have managed to achieve.
Among Dunn’s teammates on hand: Wayne Gandy, Lawyer Milloy, DeAngelo Hall, Alge Crumpler, Chris Crocker, Michael Boley, Keith Brooking, Joey Harrington, Michael Jenkins, Byron Leftwich, Todd McClure, Ovie Mughelli, Jerious Norwood and Morton Andersen. Former Falcon and current Pittsburgh Steeler Allen Rossum, meanwhile, flew in for the bash with his wife, Angela.
Home for the holidays
When Kyra Sedgwick’s Atlanta alter ego Brenda Leigh Johnson came home for the holidays in the two-hour edition of “The Closer” on TNT Monday, the hit show’s writers had fun sprinkling Southern references into the script. For starters, fans now know that the Los Angeles deputy chief is a graduate of Roswell High School and a key link in the case was a Flannery O’Connor-spouting teen from Chamblee. As Brenda’s left coast co-workers tried to locate Chamblee in a police database, the question was raised if it was spelled with a “C-H or S-H.” Actor Robert Gossett as surly Commander Taylor replied: “Who knows, it’s Georgia.”
Naturally, Brenda and her co-workers ended up tracking the perp back to Doraville where a not-so-cooperative sheriff locked horns with Sedgwick’s peanut brittle-bartering character. Lenox Square also got a shout out in the ep. But our fave detail inserted into the show? Brenda’s parents’ Atlanta home was hilariously overstuffed with Southern holiday decor (or maybe we’re the only ones with those relatives?)
‘Christmas’ a little late
According to the e-mails we had waiting at Buzz Central on Tuesday morning, some WSB viewers were a bit surprised when they tuned into the Atlanta ABC affiliate Monday night expecting to see “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and were instead treated to an episode of “Channel 2 Investigates,” featuring images of naked strippers on a golf course (black bars were appropriately draped over the body parts) and suspected terrorists. WSB informed viewers Monday night (and Buzz on Tuesday) that the locally pre-empted animated classic will air in its entirety on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Sean Demery departs 99X
New Morning X co-host Sean Demery, a key figure during 99X’s heyday, has left the station a second time, this time for personal reasons.
After commuting for 14 months, Demery decided to move to Utah where his wife has a job. “I have to work on my marriage as well,” he said on air Tuesday. “And my wife can’t come out here as soon as she’d like.”
Demery, who was music director and afternoon jock for much of the 1990s, came back last fall as part of an effort by 99X to recapture the magic of the Barnes, Leslie & Jimmy days. Version 2.0 opened strong but has struggled most of its first year, ranking 14th over the summer among 18-to-34-year-olds in the Arbitron ratings.
“I’m going to miss your taste for music and passion for music,” said Leslie Fram, who convinced Demery to join the show last year.
John Dickey, co-chief operating officer for Atlanta’s Cumulus Media, said he hopes to have a replacement for Demery by the spring. “Sean had a lot on his mind” in recent months,” Dickey said. “He loves the station and loves Atlanta. He left a great job in San Francisco to come here. The magnetic pull of his family was too great. I respect that. It happens.”
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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Whitney Houston stages a comeback?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In her first live concert appearance since her divorce from Bobby Brown, former Atlantan Whitney Houston belted out her greatest hits at the Live and Loud Music Festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Saturday. The Malaysian Star said she wore skin-tight pants and a loud, colorful top. Houston, 44, hasn’t had a new album out in five years but is set to release one next year. Shaky clips of her singing various songs, including “I Will Always Love You” and “Step by Step” at the concert are now on YouTube.
Can 50 hours net $50K?
Project 9-6-1’s new morning show with “Giant” Brian Carothers and Shafee plans to stay on air 50 straight hours to raise $50,000 for the Empty Stocking Fund, which was robbed last month of $50,000 worth of toys and gifts for poor kids.
The pair, who may get a few breaks here and there for cat naps, began the marathon at 7 a.m. Monday and will be on air until 9 a.m. Wednesday. The rock station will match $25,000. “They’ll be pretty punchy by Wednesday,” predicted the boss and afternoon host Chris Williams.
This isn’t the first time an Atlanta radio personality has tried the marathon route. In 2003, Silas “Si-Man” Alexander of what was then Classic Soul 102.5 raised more than $30,000 for the Hosea Williams Feed the Hungry campaign by staying on air for 102.5 consecutive hours on the roof of a local middle school.
“I was cool the first 24 hours,” said Si-Man, now the night guy at the station, “but it started getting to me after 36.” He said it helped that he was outdoors and it was cold: “I drank a lot of coffee and walked around to stay alert. By the end, though, I was feeling pretty dizzy.”
An encore is not forthcoming: “My doctor told me he’d divorce me as a patient if I ever did that again.”
And speaking of 102.5, cops found the station’s promotions van, which was stolen last week. The sky-blue 2003 Ford cargo van, which had morning host Steve Harvey’s face plastered all over it, was swiped from a Marietta Street downtown parking lot.
Atlanta police found the van Friday with the two thieves in it. The perpetrators happened to have stolen air conditioner units with GPS tracking devices in them, which allowed police to find the van in the West End, said promotions director Corey Punzi, en route to retrieve the van from the impound lot.
“Stupid is as stupid does,” cracked Si-Man.
Van Halen to how some love
Van Halen finally is coming to Atlanta.
The tour that reunites David Lee Roth with the band that launched his career is already in full swing, but there wasn’t an Atlanta date until Monday. Van Halen will play Philips Arena Feb. 10. Tickets go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. at www.livenation.com, Philips Arena or through Ticketmaster. Tickets are $51.50, $81.50 and $151.50. It isn’t exactly the original band. Bassist Michael Anthony has been replaced by Eddie Van Halen’s son Wolfgang, but it’s close enough.
Bartender creates ‘inspired’ cocktail
While flipping though December’s GQ, we happened to come across a familiar face: Seth Shindeldecker. Well, he’s at least familiar to those metro Atlantans who frequent the bar at Midtown’s Ecco.
Shindeldecker was named “The Nation’s Most Inspired Bartender” by Bombay Sapphire. He bested more than 250 bartenders by creating a cocktail using Bombay’s signature gin. Shindeldecker’s “inspired” cocktail: Long Live The Queen, made of Bombay Sapphire, elderflower blossom syrup, fresh lemon juice, lavender-infused simple syrup, peach bitters and torn mint leaves. The drink is shaken and strained into a chilled martini glass.
Random bits
MTV is seeking great dancers on a new show called “Randy Jackson Presents: America’s Best Dance Crew” with open casting set today from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Gotta Dance Atlanta! studios, 1778 Ellsworth Industrial Drive N.W., Atlanta. Have a routine ready for five to seven people. Jackson, the “American Idol” judge, won’t be around, but MTV choreographer Napoleon will judge. …
Cybill Shepherd, in town for the Alliance play “Curvy Widow,” was supposed to be the big guest at the Lucky Yates Talk Show on Saturday at Midtown’s Laughing Skull Lounge, but reneged at 2 p.m. that day. He never got a clear explanation why. Fortunately, Food Network mainstay Alton Brown subbed in at the last second. “He saved the day,” Yates told Buzz. Yates’ monthly show will go on a brief hiatus, but he hopes to come back with either a game show concept or a rejiggered talk show packed with fake guests.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Game show host Wink Martindale is 73. Actor Jeff Bridges is 58. Jazz singer Cassandra Wilson is 52. Actress Marisa Tomei is 43. Comedian Fred Armisen (“Saturday Night Live”) is 41. Rapper Jay-Z is 38. Model Tyra Banks is 34.
Got a tip for Peach Buzz? 404-526-2749 or 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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Comic strikes big with self-help book
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sometimes, one catchy phrase can launch a career. Take standup comic Greg Behrendt. He used a term from a “Sex in the City” episode to create a 2004 self-help book dubbed “He’s Just Not That Into You” a few years back, which became a monstrous hit aided, of course, by endorsement from Oprah.
“I figured it would just be a book at Urban Outfitter. I had no idea I’d be on Oprah,” said Behrendt, who is in Atlanta this weekend at the Funny Farm.
Behrendt, who is married with two girls, even got a talk show out of it in 2006-07 but it never congealed and lasted only one season. He said he didn’t get the executive producer he wanted or the budget he had been originally promised. “I wanted something funny and sexy, a cross between this show in England hosted by Jools Holland and Oprah,” he said. “But in the end, they wanted me to be a spiky-haired version of Rikki Lake.”
Movie producers even bought the “rights” to the book and are creating a film starring A-listers such as Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Connolly and Scarlett Johannson. “The cool thing is I don’t have to worry about the outcome or take any responsibility,” he noted. And he even got a cameo in it. He is amused that they’ve managed to create a movie of vignettes “from a book with no plot and is basically a bunch of rules about not dating idiots.”
Despite 19 years in the business, the Funny Farm is his first comedy appearance here. But he did have a part in a film shot here, the quickly forgotten sequel to “Dumb and Dumber” called “Dumb and Dumberer.” Fortunately, Behrendt said, his part was cut. He’s also buds with former Atlantan David Cross (“Arrested Development”).
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
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