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Tuesday, March 4, 2008
‘Deep Dish’ author got tips on the set with Paula Deen
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kicking off her 12-city book tour for “Deep Dish” over the weekend at Barnes & Noble in Buckhead, Avondale Estates’ goddess of chick lit Mary Kay Andrews (well, OK, the author’s alter ego Kathy Trocheck) dished on how she got the inside skinny for her latest book. The tome takes place behind-the-scenes at The Cooking Channel, a fictional version of Food Network. She reached out to her old newspaper pal, Savannah cookbook author Martha Giddens Nesbit, who just so happens to have co-written a few books with one Paula Deen.
Over a period of a few weeks, Trocheck was able to hang out on the Savannah set of “Paula’s Home Cooking” which doubles as Deen’s house. One secret Trocheck discovered? It’s easier to crank out episodes of one of Food Network’s biggest hits if you happen to have a fully operational prep kitchen in your garage.
“It’s amazing,” Trocheck told her readers at the signing. “They’ll shoot two or three shows at a time. And Paula was so sweet. In between takes, she’d come over to me and say, ‘So darling, what else do you want to know?’ “
Even sweeter, Deen supplied Trocheck with a tasty dust cover blurb for her latest book: ” ‘Deep Dish’ is one delicious read. Mary Kay Andrews has cooked up a tale y’all will savor to the last bite.”
We’d wager that the author will be able to dine out on a rave like that for the foreseeable future.
BIG DR. SEUSS SHOUT-OUT SET IN DECATUR
This Saturday, for about 30 minutes, a tiny part of Decatur will be magically transformed into Dr. Seuss’ Whoville.
And no, the Grinch isn’t plotting a pre-Easter visit.
Like groups in other participating hometowns across America, The Atlanta Foundation for Public Spaces has taken up a challenge from the makers of the upcoming “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!” The goal: to raise their voices loud enough to score both a free screening of the upcoming computer-animated film adaptation of the classic kiddie book featuring the voices of Jim Carrey, Steve Carell and Carol Burnett plus a story in USA Today.
The public is invited to turn up en masse to re-create the book and film’s climatic scene where the Whovillians shout “We are here!” to attract the attention of the film’s primary pachyderm. (While we’re several decades removed from the original source material, Buzz vaguely recalls that the residents of Whoville had some self-esteem issues to work out after allowing an anti-social green furry freak to make off with the entire town’s supply of Who Hash and whatnot… ).
Reps. from 20th Century Fox will be on hand to measure decibel levels officially with fancy sound meters. The AFPS is inviting everyone, well, within earshot, to arrive at the Downtown Decatur Market at 777 Commerce St. at noon Saturday.
The winning Whoville will be announced March 12.
FLIP-PING OVER TO PR
Veteran meteorologist Flip Spiceland recently left WXIA-TV and quickly found a new job in public relations.
He will be penning press releases and hobnobbing at trade shows for The Facility Group in Smyrna, which plans and creates buildings. Sure, that isn’t nearly as sexy as broadcast TV, but he said he needed a new challenge after 38 years in the business, including 21 at CNN.
“I’m driven by challenges,” he told Buzz. “Moving TV to the Web was not a challenge I liked. I like this a whole lot better.”
But the question we’ve all been wondering: Is that name Flip Spiceland for real? More or less, he said. His parents called him Flip from birth but gave him a more traditional name on his birth certificate: Philip Howard Spiceland.
“In kindergarten, when the teacher said Philip, I had no idea who she was talking to,” he said. Growing up, “it didn’t feel that funny of a name. There were two other Flips in my school.”
Ah … but his name is like butter in broadcast circles. Just two weeks ago, some dude on listgasm.com posted the “20 Most Ridiculous Weathermen Names.” Flip came in ninth with the comment: “He obviously chose weather over adult entertainment. Good choice Mr. Spiceland!” (No. 1? Dallas Raines in Los Angeles.)
A BIT OF ‘BETRAYED’
In today’s excerpt from “Betrayed: The True Life Story of Lisa Lynette Clark,” we learn that even if you’re a 37-year-old Douglasville mother-to-be and your boyfriend is an underage teen, you still experience that age-old dilemma over selecting a baby name. From page 100: “I said, ‘You keep changing your mind and I love the name Skye, and it is your middle name. It is beautiful. He said, ‘Fine, what about a middle name?’ I suggested Cobain because they had changed my due date to Feb. 20 which is Kurt Cobain’s birthday. He wanted Chimara or Nirvana to be his middle name. Chimara sounded OK but Nirvana sounded like a girl’s name.”
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Actor James B. Sikking (“Hill Street Blues,” “Doogie Howser, M.D.”) is 74. Comedian-magician Penn Jillette is 53. Singer Teena Marie is 52. Guitarist John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers is 38. Actor Kevin Connolly (“Entourage”) is 34. Model Niki Taylor (right) is 33. Actor Jake Lloyd (“Star Wars Episode 1: Phantom Menace”) is 19.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I thought I’d have to kill Oprah to get in Vanity Fair!”
Comic Wanda Sykes on “Entertainment Tonight.” The actress dressed up as Naomi Campbell for the glossy’s upcoming salute to Women in Comedy issue.
Contributing: Rodney Ho and news services.
If you have a tip, call 404-526-2749. Or fax 404-526-5509. Or e-mail: buzz@ajc.com.
