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Starlet finds a new ZIP code
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Former Georgia resident AnnaLynne McCord played evil teen temptress Eden last season in FX’s “Nip/Tuck,” a memorable role in which she seduced one of the adult characters, poisoned her mom’s lesbian lover Julia, then shot Julia in the head.
Now McCord is on CW’s highly hyped remake of “Beverly Hills 90210,” simply called “90210,” which debuted to relatively big ratings Tuesday night. (It was the top show in Atlanta.)
This time, the 21-year-old plays bad girl Naomi, who in the first episode befriended the main character Annie Wilson, then was caught copying Annie’s English paper. By the end of hour two, she had lost her main squeeze Ethan.
“Eden was a pure sociopath. Naomi is a PG version of Eden,” McCord told Buzz Wednesday by phone during a break while shooting episode six.
Naomi may be manipulative but she’s not stupid. McCord said she ad-libbed the line in which she snidely said she could have easily written the paper she copied on her own — if she had bothered.
McCord missed out on these high school shenanigans since she grew up home schooled in Tucker and Monroe. She acted in local plays, her first at age 9 when she memorized the entire script. “I’m blessed with a photographic memory,” she said.
She moved to New York at age 15 but her acting career only took off when she moved to Los Angeles in 2006. She quickly nabbed a lead role in “Day of the Dead 2” (“I got to shoot guns!”), guest spots in shows such as “Ugly Betty” and “Cold Case,” then the bigger jobs in “Nip/Tuck” and “90210.”
Though McCord was too young to catch the original “90210” in its prime, she quickly caught up via DVD. And she naturally has nothing but good things to say about Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth, who reprised their old personas. “Shannen and Jennie are super nice,” she said. “I think a lot of people watched the first episode to see them. Let’s hope they stay to see the rest of us.”
2ND SHOW ADDED
While pop icons Madonna and Janet Jackson’s fall tours are still struggling because of our lean economic times, legend Tina Turner has added a second Philips Arena show to her itinerary. The singer also will perform Nov. 10 at the venue. Advance tickets go on sale Sept. 8 for American Express card users; general public tickets will go on sale Sept. 15 at 10 a.m.
RULING FAVORS NE-YO
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has ordered a concert promoter to pay Atlanta singer-songwriter Ne-Yo more than $700,000 stemming from a lawsuit filed earlier this year.
Ne-Yo was dropped from R. Kelly’s tour last year after two shows. He claimed he was dropped because he had upstaged Kelly, an allegation the singer vehemently denied.
Kelly was not a party to the lawsuit. Ne-Yo (real name: Shaffer Smith) instead sued the tour’s promoter, Georgia-based Rowe Entertainment Inc.
Rowe Entertainment never answered the lawsuit, and last week Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Malcolm Mackey ordered the company to pay Ne-Yo and his touring company $700,320. Rowe Entertainment said in a statement posted on its Web site after the lawsuit’s filing that it couldn’t obtain a “final, fully executed contract” from Ne-Yo’s agent.
CELEBRITY DOCKET
Atlanta singer Akon is headed to trial on criminal charges he tossed a fan offstage at an upstate New York concert last summer.
The 35-year-old singer is accused of ejecting a teenager from the stage during a June 2007 concert at a minor league baseball stadium near Poughkeepsie. Another concertgoer said she suffered a concussion when the boy landed on her.
Akon, whose real name is Aliaune Thiam, asked for the jury trial during a brief appearance with his lawyer in Fishkill Town Court on Wednesday. He’s due back in court for trial Dec. 1 unless a deal is negotiated.
He pleaded not guilty in December to misdemeanor charges of endangering the welfare of a minor and second-degree harassment.
In court Wednesday, Judge Harold Epstein met privately with Akon’s lawyer, Andrea Zellan, and Dutchess County Assistant District Attorney Anthony Parisi before announcing the case would go to trial unless a deal is reached.
“We are pleased that Judge Epstein adjourned the case to a date certain for either a trial or a negotiated resolution,” Zellan said in a prepared statement. “Akon looks forward to putting this incident behind him, and in the meantime he will continue to meet every requirement set forth by the court.”
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
Comedian-actor Bob Newhart is 79. Actor George Lazenby is 69. Actor William Devane is 69. Actress Raquel Welch is 68. Singer Loudon Wainwright III is 62. Cartoonist Cathy Guisewite (“Cathy”) is 58. TV personality-musician Dweezil Zappa is 39. Actress Rose McGowan is 35. Actor Skandar Keynes (“The Chronicles of Narnia”) is 17.
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