INsite Atlanta August 2007 Issue by INsite Magazine

August 20F0R7EE

2 Vol. 14, No. 1

ntertainment Monthly Atlantaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s E w.insiteatlanta.com ww

INTERVIEWS Matt Damon Josh Hartnett Andy Samberg Jackie Chan Chipper Jones

Claire Danes

Star on the Rise

IN MUSIC Straylight Run, G. Love and The Clientele

AKERS MILL | 770.956.9093 2995 Cobb Pkwy.

CAMP CREEK | 404.344.1248 3755 Carmia Dr. SW, Suite 700

LENOX/BUCKHEAD | 404.233.8311 3232 Peachtree St.

SNELLVILLE | 770.979.1288 2279 Pinehurst Rd.

ALPHARETTA/WINDWARD | 678.393.2733 5530 Windward Pkwy.

DUNWOODY/PERIMETER PT. | 770.350.4951 1155 Mount Vernon Hwy.,#600

MCDONOUGH | 800.607.1750 Upcoming Sports Club - Join Now! 2023 Jonesboro Rd.

SOUTHLAKE | 770.960.0393 7057 Mount Zion Circle

EAST COBB | 770.973.3370 4400 Roswell Rd.

MIDTOWN | 404.249.6404 75 Fifth St., NW, Suite E

HOLCOMB BRIDGE | 770.640.8137 1475 Holcomb Bridge Rd.

NORTHLAKE | 770.414.0651 1990 W. Exchange Place

ANSLEY MALL | 404.249.6463 1544 Piedmont Ave. NE ATLANTIC STATION | 404.810.9015 261 19th St., Suite 1140 AUSTELL | 770.432.4262 1025 E. West Connector #2 BUFORD | 678.714.5075 NOW OPEN! - 3420 Buford Dr. N.E.

JOHNS CREEK | 770.623.9433 11720 Medlock Bridge Rd. KENNESAW/TOWN CENTER | 770.427.9668 2801 George Busbee Pkwy.

SUGARLOAF | 770.822.2533 1860 Duluth Highway TOCO HILLS | 404.248.2998 2880 N. Druid Hills Rd.

PEACHTREE CORNERS | 770.797.2661 7050 Jimmy Carter Blvd. #118 ROSWELL WEST | 678.494.6464 4801 Alabama Rd. WWW.LAFITNESS.COMJ

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CONTENTS • AUGUST 2007 • VOLUME 14.12

! w o N INTERVIEWS

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12 JOSH HARTNETT 12 14 CLAIRE DANES 15 STARS OF SUPERBAD 19 MATT DAMON 23 G. LOVE & THE SPECIAL SAUCE 26 THE CLIENTELE 26 STRAYLIGHT RUN 14 27 JACKIE CHAN 29 SHERWOOD 30 ARCTIC TALE DIRECTOR 34 ANDY SAMBERG 35 CHIPPER JONES 37 DAN REEVES

FEATURES

10 DRAGON*CON A preview into this year’s 4-day extravaganza.

13 HOT PIZZA SOPTS

Originating in Italy, pizza has become an American staple.

31 EDUCATION GUIDE

COLUMNS

06 ON TAP 08 AROUND TOWN 12 BOOKS 16 MOVIE REVIEWS 18 VIDIOTS 20 CONCERT CALENDAR 26 22 ROAD WARRIORS 22 WE GOT NEXT 24 ALBUM REVIEWS 29 POLITICS 37 FANATIC 38 WANTON DISTRACTION 29 38 HOROSCOPES www.insiteatlanta.com PG 4 • insiteatlanta.com • August 2007

LOCAL EVENTS

At l a n ta’s Fav o r i t e Ba rt en der

INsite & SKYY hold ‘07 Best Bartender Atlanta Finals Competition!

HE 5th ANNUAL BEST BARTENDER FINALS competition took place on July 12th at the North End Bars in Buckhead. This popular destination is home to Moondog’s, The Peachtree Tavern, Hole in the Wall and Loco’s. This year’s Finals competition was a culmination of a three month contest held on the pages of INsite and online at www.insiteatlanta.com. Over 3,000 people voted from the Atlanta metro area and as far away as Iraq. The first grouping of bartenders were profiled in our May Issue. Competing bartenders were as follows: Thomas Cornally, Fado’ Irish Pub; TJ Mangrum, The Peachtree Tavern; Craig Taylor, Mellow Mushroom; Dawn Lewis, Smith’s Olde Bar; Irina Dubovis, CJ’s Landing; Dafne Castelan, Sarah Glover pours for accuracy Cosmopolitan; Mac Conover, Moondog’s; Summer in 1/4 ounce increments. This tested the bartender’s Carter, Loco’s Grill & Pub; Russell Gana, ability to mix drinks using multiple liquors. Patrick Cheeseburger in Paradise; Markie Kinsman, Kelly was most accurate in this round. Highland Tap; Heather Lewis, Wild Bill’s; Vik Jordan, The fourth round took the competition downstairs Rio Grande to The Peachtree Tavern. Here all our bartenders Cantina; Jim got on stage and with help from the nights MC, Pat Haviland, Mike O’Brien, they were asked random questions relating & Angelo’s; to being a bartender. Here the crowd was the judge, Sarah Glover, as the group was widdled down to four and then Red Door down to the winner, Sarah Glover of The Red Door T a v e r n ; Tavern. Geoffrey Dang, As the points were being tallied, the crowd moved Aqua Bistro; next door to The Hole in the Wall were finalist and Christine Patrick Kelly performed a Flair Exhibition using botHoltz, Hole in tles from our sponsor, SKYY Vodka. It was truly an the Wall. incredible display and had the crowd going crazy. Heather, Sarah, Finally at just past Midnight, we were ready to Dafne and announce the 2007 Best Bartender in Atlanta. In a Dawn were close and hotly contested competition, Patrick Kelly voted in from of the Tavern at Phipps won Best Bartender in the first group. Atlanta. This is Patrick’s second Best Bartender The Second award, having won the competition in 2005. group of barINsite would like to thank our sponsor SKYY, Air tenders were Bartend Champ Patrick Kelly Jamaica for providing the Grand Prize, Moondog’s, featured in the The Peachtree Tavern and Hole in the Wall for hostJune Issue and are as follows: Patrick Kelly, Tavern at ing the event, and to all the volunteers who helped Phipps; Jillienne Gaddy, Fritti; Brad Fowler, Taco make it such a success. Thanks also to everyone who Mac; Bo Keller, Mexico City Gourmet; Melissa Agee, went online to vote, those who came out to support Agave; Adrian Evans, Star Bar; Michele Rivera, Front their favorite bartender, and especially the barPage News; Bob Ruede, InterContinental XO Bar; tenders themselves for their time and effort given Jeff Allen, Pozole’; Jesus Castillo, Zocalo; Jennifer throughout the competition. Until next year.... Smith, Redfish; and Paul Cole, Stool Pigeons. Patrick, Adrian, Bob and Jennifer emerged on top in this grouping. The Finals Event got started upstairs at Moondog’s. In this first round of the competition, the 8 finalists were asked to prepare their Signature Drink. Drinks were judged on Taste, Appearance and Originality. Bob Ruede from the XO Bar at the InterContinental served up the drink with the highest score. The second round was the Speed Round which tested the bartenders ability to make drinks fast and with the correct ingredients. Both Patrick Kelly and Jennifer Smith performed well and came away with the two highest scores in the round. The third round was the Accuracy Pour. Bartenders were asked to make a series of pours Patrick, Sarah, Dawn and Heather on stage

Congratulations Patrick Kelly Best Bartender in Atlanta 2005 & 2007! 3500 PEACHTREE ROAD • PHIPPS PLAZA • BUCKHEAD • 404.814.9640 Lunch & Dinner Daily • Priority Seating Available

www.TavernAtPhipps.com

Historic Grant Park/Cabbagetown 687 Memorial Dr. SE Atlanta, GA 30316 404.475.1200 Reservations Recommended

www.redfishcreole.com

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LOCAL EVENTS

On Tap for August EMAIL EVENTS TO ONTAP@INSITEATLANTA.COM

August 4 - 11: THE WIZARD OF OZ

Forget Kansas, The Fox Theatre is going to Oz. Generations of families have followed the funfilled journey of Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto as they travel down the Yellow Brick Road in the Land of OZ, where lions sing, tin men talk, and scarecrows dance. The beloved MGM movie is recreated for the stage as a big family musical with lavish sets and costumes, and big dance numbers.. For more information, head to: www.theaterofthestars.com

August 8: JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE Britney's Spear's former boyfriend is heading to the 'burbs, the Arena at Gwinnett to be exact. Justin Randall Timberlake, sometimes known as JT, is an American pop and R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actor. He came to fame as the frontman of pop boy band 'N Sync and has won four Grammy Awards. Timberlake's second solo release, FutureSex/LoveSounds, was released in 2006 with the U.S. number-one hit singles "SexyBack", "My Love", and "What Goes Around... Comes Around". With his first two albums, Timberlake has sold over fourteen million albums worldwide. He has started a record label called Tennman Records. For tickets, head to: www.ticketmaster.com

August 21-26: WEST SIDE STORY

Theater of the Stars will present a special 50th Anniversary production of WEST SIDE STORY, America's Greatest Musical, at the Fabulous Fox Theatre. "This brilliant adaptation of the 'Romeo and Juliet' love story is truly an American classic," states Christopher B. Manos, Producer of Theater of the Stars. "It showcases the talents of some of our greatest theatrical geniuses: Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents." Produced by Atlanta's Theater of the Stars the timeless tragedy is as relevant in today's society as it was when it was written. For ticket info, head to: www.ticketmaster.com

August 31 - September 2: THE MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL ATLANTA

The Montreux Jazz Festival Atlanta, one of Atlanta's most prestigious festivals, is returning to Underground Atlanta. The Montreux Jazz Festival Atlanta is FREE! Labor Day weekend at the Montreux Jazz Festival Atlanta will packed with fun activities that the entire family can enjoy. With music ranging from jazz to hip-hop, there will be something for every music lover to enjoy at Underground Atlanta. For more information, head to: www.underground-atlanta.com

Come for the job, stay for the career.

August 31 - September 2: ‘07 ROCKSTAR SUZUKI SUPERBIKE SHOWDOWN Like to go Fast? Head to Road Atlanta and see the best of the Superbikes. Mat Mladin continued his mastery at Road Atlanta by again winning both ends of the 2006 Suzuki Superbike Showdown, but he will not wear the #1 plate in 2007. Yoshimura Suzuki teammate Ben Spies captured the AMA Superbike beating the six-time champ by a mere 8 points. Find out who will take the checkered flag this year. For more info, head to: www.roadatlanta.com

It's not just what you've done that counts – it's also who you've done it for. As a student, you have a great opportunity to land a terrific part-time job right now, one that will pay off for years to come. That's the strength of working for a leading Fortune company like UPS.

Part-Time Package Handlers •$8.50-$9.50/hr plus benefits (Medical/Dental/Vision/Life & 401K) •Weekly Paychecks •Paid Vacations •Weekends & Holidays Off •Consistent Work Schedules •Various shifts to choose from Opportunities available at each of these locations: Pleasantdale • Atlanta • Airport • Forest Park Apply online at:

www.upsjobs.com UPS is an equal opportunity employer.

PG 6 • insiteatlanta.com • August 2007

August 31 - September 3: DRAGON*CON 2007 Can't get enough Fantasy and Sci Fi? Want to find out what the best dressed Orc will be wearing this year? Dragon*Con 2007 has the answers you seek. The event will be held over the labor day weekend at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta along with 2 other locations. Dragon*Con is America's largest, multi-media, popular arts convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film. The 4-day event comprises approximately 850 hours of panels, seminars, demonstrations, and workshops. For more info, head to: www.dragoncon.org

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PG 8 • insiteatlanta.com • August 2007

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L A R G E S T S U P P L I E R O F Q UA L I T Y A R T M AT E R I A L S PG 9 • insiteatlanta.com • August 2007

LOCAL EVENTS

Dragon*Con

David Prowse - David Prowse parlayed a reputation as the best-known 'heavy' in modern British show business into the role of Darth Vader -- and became a symbol of villainy for a whole generation of film-goers. "Darth's the bad guy," he smiles at the thought. "And everyone knows it." Sean Astin - At age 13, Sean Astin debuted on the silver screen as Mikey in The Goonies (1985). He had a small role in 1989's The War of the Roses and in 1993 got a memorable part as the title character in Rudy. Astin recently played Samwise Gamgee in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. He also played the brother of Lucy (Drew Barrymore) in the Adam Sandler film, 50 First Dates. Erik Estrada - Erik Estrada has captured the hearts of millions of fans world-wide as a result of his six year run starring as highway patrol officer Frank Poncherello in the highly successful television series, "CHIP's".

BY RAV MANSFIELD

BREAK OUT YOUR HARRY POTTER WAND AND FAVORITE COSTUME because it's that time

again. Dragon*Con 2007 will be held over the labor day weekend, August 31st - September 3rd, at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta along with the legendary Atlanta Marriott Marquis and the Atlanta Hilton. Dragon*Con is America's largest, multi-media, popular arts convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film. The 4-day event comprises approximately 850 hours of panels, seminars, demonstrations, and workshops, with over 30 specialized programming tracks that include writing, art, gaming, NASA space science, robotics, costuming, Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate, X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Anne McCaffrey's Pern, Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Gothic Shadows (focusing on gothic culture and dark fantasy), the Dragon*Con Independent Short Film Festival, and various others which appear when specific Guests of Honor attend (i.e. Clive Barker's Lost Souls and Storm Constantine's Grissecon). Another huge draw is the annual parade. With over 1400 costumed participants and featured on CNN in 2006; this trek down Peachtree is a spectacle you will never forget. Where else can you see marching bands mingling with Wookies, Klingons, and maybe even a faux Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Celebrities are also a big part of Dragon*Con. Each year, hundreds of celebrity guests appear at the convention. This year's convention is no exception. Some of the big names on hand include:

Timothy Zahn - Timothy Zahn has published over eighty short stories and novelettes, thirty-one novels, and four short fiction collections. Along the way he has won a Hugo Award (for the novella "Cascade Point," in 1984) and has been nominated twice more. He is best known for his eight Star Wars books. Vanessa Angel - British-born Vanessa Angel has had roles in films including King of New York

(1990), Sleep with Me (1994) and Kingpin (1996), from The Farrelly Brothers with Woody Harrelson and Bill Murray, Kissing a Fool (1998) with David Schwimmer and Jason Lee.

Erin Gray - It's next to impossible to recall Buck Rogers in the 25th Century without visualizing the show's aesthetic spark beautiful brunette, Erin Gray. One could argue that Gray did more for spandex than Jennifer Aniston did for hairstyles.

Lori Petty - Lori found her true calling as the bizarre cartoon heroine Tank Girl (1995), which was

billed as "a post-apocalyptic comedy". The crop-haired, tough-as-nails actress has been taking it to the limit ever since! In 2003 she co-starred in Prey For Rock & Roll as members of a punk rock band. Her latest movie is Broken Arrows.

PG 10 â&#x20AC;˘ insiteatlanta.com â&#x20AC;˘ August 2007

John Wesley - John Wesley Shipp is best known as Mitch Leery, the title character's father on the television drama Dawson's Creek and for roles in several daytime dramas. Besides Dawson's Creek, Shipp is most famous for his role as Barry Allen, the title character of The Flash television series. Jonathan Frakes - Frakes is also the only Star Trek

regular besides Majel Barrett to appear on four different Star Trek series (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise). He has directed episodes in three of them (TNG, DS9 and VOY) and was a popular and innovative director on the Star Trek set, often finding completely new ways to shoot the show's familiar sets.

Gates McFadden - Gates McFadden, is best known for portraying the character of Dr. Beverly

Crusher in the television and film series Star Trek: The Next Generation. The Crusher character was slated to be Captain Jean-Luc Picard's love interest, and this aspect of the character is what attracted McFadden to the role.

Peter David - Peter's comic book resume includes an award-winning twelve-year run on The Incredible Hulk, and he has also worked on such varied and popular titles as Supergirl, Young Justice, Soulsearchers and Company, Aquaman, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099, X-Factor, Star Trek, Wolverine, The Phantom, Sachs & Violens, The Dark Tower, and many others. David Lloyd - David collaborated with Alan Moore on the highly successful and critically acclaimed V for Vendetta. It has been published in many countries across the globe and adapted for the cinema. David's other work has included Hellblazer, Slaine, War Stories, Global Frequency, Aliens : Glass Corridor, Marlowe: The Graphic Novel, Night Raven: House of Cards, and many short stories of various kinds. Swing that lightsaber and get into the game. Don't miss your chance to be a part of this big time event. For ticket and event information, head to: http://www.dragoncon.org.

FILM INTERVIEW

All Grown Up

JOSH HARTNETT MATURES IN RESURRECTING THE CHAMP BY MATT GOLDBERG

OSH HARTNETT IS OUR FIRST interview of a long day and, while he’s smiling, it’s clear he’s a little tired as he tells us he just flew in from Hong Kong. Still, he’s got that quiet smile that’s familiar to anyone that’s seen his films. But in Resurrecting the Champ, Josh plays his most mature character to date as a father who wants the respect of his son while chasing down a boxer whose story seems too good to be true. We spoke with Josh, journalist to actor-playingjournalist about what he learned of our profession and about his upcoming film, 30 Days of Night. This is the first time you’ve played a father. How was it exploring this relationship and was it different than you expected? It was on film so I got to hand him back at the end of the day so it wasn’t like I had that much responsibility, but I found it surprisingly easy to get along with. I guess that’s instinct kicking in but I’ll deny it for a few more years. But I had a great time playing a father and I was surprised at how easy it was.

Being in this business, I get lucky, I get to meet people. Getting to meet John Elway, getting to hang out with him was pretty cool. But yeah, there are pluses and minuses to it all. Well the name has been changed so at what point does this depart from the true story? Well J.R. caught himself right before he went to press. He figured it out. But it was right before they went to press so he was in major danger of losing his job. There’s a lot of points of departure. I play a father and J.R. is not a father. We made it thematically about fathers and sons and about journalistic integrity. To make the drama more visceral, we had him fail and then try to redeem himself. Can you talk a little about working with Samuel L. Jackson?

would say we’d have to do it again because of some technical screw-up and he’d ask “Why? That was it! That was the performance right there!” And it’s really interesting to work with an actor like that. Like working with an actor like Alan [Alda] was a huge joy to because he’s just the nicest man in the world and such a terrific actor as well. But with Alan, we’d shoot and shoot and shoot until we both felt happy with what we got. And with Sam it was just one-and-out. He knew what he wanted. How was your experience of taking 30 Days of Night to Comic-Con? It was wild. I’ve never been to comic-con before but I brought my camera. Just walking around and looking at all the crazy stuff going on. But they loved it. We showed a couple scenes and Sam Raimi is a god down there. So being introduced with him and showing a piece of the movie and having people get all excited about it. There were 7,000 people in this auditorium watching and they were going nuts.

IT’S THE FINE LINE BETWEEN ENTERTAINMENT AND NEWS AND IT’S GETTING FINER EVERY DAY.

How did you prepare for playing a journalist? I read a bunch of the articles that J.R. [Moehringer, whose LA Times Magazine piece the film is based on] wrote and talked to J.R. a lot; went and hung out with sports writers; both at The New York Times and The Calgary Herald and The Denver Post. And then I taught myself to type which was fun. And I like to do something like that and put myself in the mindset of the character but really I’m a terrible typer. I just know where my fingers go now but I’m still typing two words a minute. Did you gain a new appreciation for journalism? I kind of new it intellectually but I had no concept of the amount of competition and if you’re not rising you’re falling. It seems like an incredibly competitive, dog-eat-dog world so the pressure is kind of pushy to that point where you can make some mistakes due to deadlines and get into trouble. The thing that I think is difficult to see is because of those time constraints, people end up delivering news that isn’t really news and it happens all the time. The retraction page is this tiny little box saying “Oh, we screwed up. Sorry! Whoops!” But it’s supposed to be news. The kind of lines that are blurred between news and celebrity gossip and the way the Internet has such a huge effect of bringing in opinion-as-fact so it’s kind of hard to compete with Perez Hilton writing whatever he wants. It’s the fine line between entertainment and news and it’s getting finer every day. But you also got to see the good side: getting great seats, opportunities to meet famous people, seeing your name in print. Oh, absolutely. I was just talking about the struggle to survive at the paper which I think is difficult enough. But no, I got to sit on the sidelines of the Broncos training camp and interview Jake Plummer which was interesting. PG 12 • insiteatlanta.com • August 2007

We work in such a different way. If anyone really watched on set, he works from the outside-in, from what I could tell. Totally oldfashioned way of working. He puts on the face, he puts on the hair, he puts on the voice, and the walk, and that informs the interior of the character. You guys are gonna say, “Josh thinks Sam is old-fashioned,” [laughs]. But no, Sam is an inspiring actor to work with because he’s so different and he comes with the character fully prepared. Even the first time we sat down to read the scenes and two weeks before we started filming, he had the voice and knew exactly He got to set, he’d what he wanted to do. do a take, Rod [Lurie, director]

What was it like working with Danny Houston on 30 Days of Night? Well Danny’s incredibly creepy. Have you seen The Proposition? He’s a fantastic baddy. He and Slade created a language for the vampires and he really got into it. He brought the eyes and the teeth and the whole look home with him. He’s an incredibly committed actor. Since Rod comes from journalism, did his experience help give you a little extra credibility? I think it gave the movie a little extra credibility. I think he knew exactly what the newspaper stuff should look like and what it should be like. And we talked about what it was like for him working as a journalist and if he’d ever been stuck in a tough place like this and luckily he hadn’t really. But talking to J.R. was really informative as well. But J.R. is a fantastic director he has this great kind of hands-off quality once he gets on set. He told me months before we got on set that he knew this character better than I did and I said, “Okay…” but then he said by the time we start filming, I would know it better than him and I said, “Alright, cool.” So when we got to set, he gave us a lot of room. When talking to J.R. was it to learn more about the story or more about his mannerisms? Because the story is fictionalized, I wasn’t going to do an impersonation of J.R. And I always think that when you do an impersonation, unless it’s someone famous, it just comes across as hollow. When you’re playing somebody who’s incredibly famous, you have to do that, but you have to find the interior of the character as well, in my opinion. But J.R., I just wanted to know what he was thinking and going through at the time and really, I just wanted to know him because it was his story. I felt it was my responsibility to get to know him. I also read The Tender Bar which is his memoir and a bunch of his articles. Sometimes you can find out more about someone through their work.

August 2007

Publisher Volume Stephen Miller steve@insiteatlanta.com National Managing Editor Bret Love bret@insiteatlanta.com Art Director Michael T. graphics@insiteatlanta.com Film Editor Matt Goldberg matt@insiteatlanta.com Local News Editor Glenn LaFollette glenn@insiteatlanta.com Local Events Editor Rav Mansﬁeld rav@insiteatlanta.com Sports Editor DeMarco Williams demarco@insiteatlanta.com

14.12

Web Design Kalico Productions Contributing Writers / Interns: John Davidson, John Moore, Mathew Goldberg, Russell Fisher, Zena Scott, Margo Aaron, Andrea Hatter, Kim Guelcher, Richard Marsh, Tracy Gould & Mark Fitten, Adam Partin CONTACT US 2250 North Druid Hills Rd. #100 Atlanta, GA 30329-3118 phone 404-315-8485 website insiteatlanta.com ADVERTISING INFORMATION 404-315-8485 • advertising@insiteatlanta.com Editorial content of INsite is the opinion of each writer and is not necessarily the opinion of INsite, its staff, or its advertisers. INsite does not knowingly accept false or mi leading advertising or editorial content, nor do the publisher or editors of INsite assume responsibility should such advertising or editorial appear. No content, i.e., articles, graphics, designs and information (any and all) in this publication may be reproduced in any manner without written permission from publisher.

Book Review REDEMPTION SONG: THE BALLAD OF JOE STRUMMER Author: Chris Salewicz BY JOHN MOORE

The Clash is arguably the most influential punk band ever. Though overshadowed early on by the outrageous antics of scene mates The Sex Pistols, The Clash were far more prolific and focused, responsible for helping launch an entire generation of punk bands the can be heard today in everyone from Green Day to Rancid. It’s fitting then that the bulk of Chris Salewicz’s biography of band leader Joe Strummer focuses on his tenure in The Clash. Redemption Song opens with Salewicz, a longtime friend of Joe and the rest of the band, learning about Strummer’s sudden death in December 2002 of a heart defect. Born John Mellor, the son of a British foreign-service diplomat, it wasn’t until he started getting into music that he took the much more punk rock name of Joe Strummer. Salewicz’s well-researched biography gives a sharply focused view of the musician’s life, from his early stabs as a garage rocker, squatting in run-down houses, through the success of The Clash and ending up nearly full circle with the founding of his garage band The Mescaleros just before his death. Salewicz’s access to Strummer, his relatives and friends gives him plenty of material to create a complete picture of the punk rocker, from the most intimate details, such as his bother’s fascination with Nazi culture and his suicide, to his constant fighting with original Clash founder and his collaborator Mick Jones. Despite his contradictions and flaws, Strummer was a remarkable musician who gave punk rock its conscious singing about social and political causes and serving as backing band to many workers’ rights rallies when many of his contemporaries did little more than dye their hair and write snarky songs of rebellion. And Salewicz, more so than anyone else, has done a remarkable job of putting that legacy to paper. Grade: B+

Taste of the Month-Pizza!

With Football Season starting up, you need to know where to go... Mo’s Pizza

3109 Briarcliff Rd. 404-320-1258 www.mospizza.com You may know about the burrito chain with the same name, but the original Mo’s resides on the corner of Briarcliff and Clairmont Roads. They have been serving up great pizza for over 25 years. Mo’s menu isn’t limited to pizza either: sandwiches, subs, wings, nachos and salads ensure that anybody who comes here can find something they like. They don’t buy their ingredients in bulk because as owner Kevin says, “the freshness of their pizza is more important than saving a few bucks on a case of lettuce.“ Come to Mo’s this fall to watch all your college and pro football games. They have a great deck to hang out on, and plenty of new plasma TVs offering great views from any table. Mo’s offers a special on Monday nights where you get a Large Cheese Pizza for just $6.50! They are one of the longest running pizza joints in Atlanta, come in and see why they are one of the best!

Savage Pizza

484 Moreland Ave. L5Pts. 404-523-0500 www.savagepizza.com With their homage to comic book super heroes adorning the walls, Savage Pizza is a perfect fit with Little Five Points. They prepare all the recipes using only the freshest vegetables and first quality meats, cheeses, breads and pastas. On Savage's menu you'll find innovative homemade sauces, fresh dough and thoughtfully prepared dishes, made from scratch every day. Savage’s hand-tossed crusts are thrown with real hands and get enough air to make Tony Hawk jealous. In addition to their famous pizzas, they also have calzones, salads, subs and pasta. They serve both lunch and dinner with indoor and outdoor seating and offer catering and delivery.

Chicago’s Nancy’s

3167 Peachtree Rd. 404-320-1258 www.nancyspizza.com

265 Ponce De Leon 404-885-9199

The name Chicago conjures up images of some of the best pizza in the USA. Unfortunately, Atlanta never had great Chicago style Pizza until now. Mike Glover opened the first Chicago Nancy's in Atlanta on Ponce in 2003. With great word of mouth, the location became an immediate success. As Mike explains, “We commit ourselves to the customers being happy and make sure to thank them for coming to Chicago Nancy’s.” Since 1974, when Rocco Palese of Nancy's invented stuffed pizza, (Rocco is recognized as the official inventor of stuffed pizza) the Chicagoland pizzerias have been serving deep dish pizza along with it's very popular thin pizzas. The company developed a revolutionary conveyor pizza oven that cooks top quality deep dish pizza in just 13 ½ minutes…. less than onethird of the usual 45 minutes required. Nancy's offers thin and deep dish and take and bake pizza, appetizers, sandwiches, and their signature salads. Soon after opening the original location on Ponce, Mike sought out to find a new larger location that could offer an upscale dinning area. He found it in the Buckhead Shopping Center anchored by Jennie’s Gym. The new location has a large dinning room along with outside seating. It boasts six 48” flat screens on the walls all of which will be tuned to NFL games this fall. The new location also has a full bar which makes it great for watching the games or for private parties. Both locations still offer take-out and delivery.

RESTAURANT PROFILE Grant Central 451 Cherokee Ave 404-523-8900 Grant Central East 1279 Glenwood Ave 404-627-0007 Grant Central East is located in the heart of East Atlanta Village on the corner of Glenwood and Flat Shoals. It is the sister restaurant to Grant Central, the 14 year old original restaurant residing in Grant Park. The original was named after Grand Central Station for its NY Style pizza. Here you can find great pizza, subs and salads. The relaxed atmosphere is reflected by the friendly tattoo-adorned staff. They have an open kitchen so you can check out your pizza as it comes out of the oven and there is a large dining area with plenty of tables to accommodate large groups. After residents of surrounding areas have called it a night, expect to see locals trickling into Grant Central East from neighborhood bars to get a slice before heading home. If you dropped most your cash at the bar across the street don't worry, because $1.65 will get you started with a slice, and for under $10.00 you can get an assortment of salads, sandwiches, and pizzas. Grant Central East gives its customers the option of customizing their pizza, even when only ordering a slice. For an extra $2.00 you can get a single piece of pizza with any four toppings, and three bucks buys a slice of their house pizza, the Cardiac Arrest (pepperoni, spicy sausage, meatballs, ham and extra cheese), which is every bit as good as it sounds. So if you're in the mood for great pizza or just hungry after a night out at the bar next door, head over to Grant Central East.

Athen’s Pizza

1341 Clairmont Rd. Decatur 404-636-1100 www.athenspizzaatlanta.com For over 25 years, the Papadopoulos family has been serving up great Greek and Italian cuisine to the Emory area. When you walk through the door, the spirit of the Papadopoulos family eminates. You can taste the love in their food and are warmed by their friendly service. In fact, Athens Pizza was just voted as having the Best Greek Cuisine in Atlanta. Don’t let the name fool you, there is much more than great pizza, as some of the favorite recipes on their Greek dishes go back 25 years and more! They offer an extensive catering menu that can be found on their website. The restaurant can also accomodate large parties and a private room is available for smaller ones.

Fellini’s Pizza

4429 Roswell Rd., 404-303-8248 2809 Peachtree Rd. 404-266-0082 909 Ponce de Leon, 404-873-3088 1634 McLendon Ave. 404-687-9190 1991 Howell Mill Rd., 404-352-0799 2820 LaVista Rd. 404-633-6016 333 Commerce Dr. 404-370-0551 www.fellinisatlanta.com As The Varsity is with hamburgers, Fellini’s is to Atlanta for pizza. Their seven locations are landmarks. The fact that all seven locations are always bustling comes from the great pizzas they make here. Check out their newly renovated McLendon location now back open. They have kept their menu simple, and focus on what they do best. Fellini’s pizzas can be ordered by the slice or as medium, large and sicilian sizes. Try the classic Fellini’s special; which consists of pepperoni, mushrooms, itlaian sausage, onions, meatballs, green peppers, green and black olives, and extra cheese. Another popular menu item is the White Pizza with mozzarella cheese, fresh garlic, oregano, and ricotta cheese. They also have a great Spinich and Mushroom pizza, and a Vegetarian pizza filled with meatless toppings. Fellini’s also serves 5 different types of Calzones and great Salads. Fellini’s uses only the freshest ingredients. All there locations have large patios to enjoy the outdoors and the view. So come to one of the Fellini’s locations today, and you will see why they are the landmark of Atlanta pizza.

Voted Best Greek Cuisine

-Best of Atlanta 2006 PG 13 • insiteatlanta.com • August 2007

FILM INTERVIEW

CLAIRE DANES

I didn’t really have any because this script was so strong and so charming. The character was actually kind of layered and complex and relatable. And the cast it had accumulated was just awesome.

From ‘Dust Til Dawn BY MATT GOLDBERG

HILE THE MOVIE MAY ADD HAIR EXTEN SIONS, lovely costumes, and digital effects to convey that her character is a fallen star, Claire Danes carries herself and radiates charm in such a manner that it’s not difficult to see why she was cast for the unique role of Yvaine in Stardust. While other teenage stars have their lives tumble down the tubes, Danes has been honing her craft and at age 28, her professionalism and tenacity shines through. We spoke with her about being a star from the sky and being a star in Hollywood.

You get some really great lines in the film. Is that what attracted you to this project? Oh yeah! Some of the lines are really witty and clever. Just full of juicy irony. But I worked with a dialect coach to get the English accent down and she suggested that I watch a lot of contemporary British television comedy shows. And I did because they’re great and I had such fun with it. As I was discovering these talents (because they were new to me), I then found myself acting with them the next week on Stardust.

I DANCED AS A KID AND THAT’S HOW I DISCOVERED ACTING INITIALLY.

There’s a fun scene if DeNiro’s character teaching you to dance. How was it filming that? He stepped on a few toes. No, it was great. And we did a version of that scene where all the pirates join in but that was unfortunately cut out. But it was one of those “pinch myself ” moments.

You knew Neil Gaiman before you even started filming, correct? Yes, I met him when I did Princess Mononoke and I did the English dubbing for that and he wrote the dialogue. Was he the one who suggested you for the role? No, I was approached relatively late in the casting process. I don’t know if I should be offended…But I got the job so it’s okay. Did you consider using your American accent for this role? No, stars are English! It’s just that everyone else is speaking English in the movie (well, except Bob [DeNiro]). But just for the sake of consistency and continuity. Would you need reminders of when your character was glowing? Yeah, occasionally he would remind me what was going to happen after the fact with CGI in post-production. But it was great. It was like acting-MSG! It just enhanced whatever you felt like. Were you injured at all during the production? You know what? I did actually acquire an injury but in such a weird way. The scene where I land in the crater and I’m kind of twisted-- I stayed in that position for a few days because we had to shoot it from a bunch of different angles. I pulled my soaz muscle and it was a real issue because I danced after this and I had to go do physical therapy. But because I was lying down, what a lame way to get injured! I wish I could say I fell off the unicorn or something really dramatic. What was the dancing for? I danced as a kid and that’s how I discovered acting initially. But I did a solo piece with a friend who choreographed it and then I did a duet with my friend. Are you still dancing? I haven’t been since we performed the piece but I will. I love dancing. It’s my other passions.

new stars.

Like Ricky Gervais? Ricky Gervais I had been an avid fan of from The Office for years. He’s god-like. But I felt very spoiled because I got to meet all of my favorite

How do you play a character who has spent her entire life watching humanity and then suddenly has to become part of it? Really I think that’s just a metaphor for what it is to grow up. Kids have very forceful ideas about how it is and they are humbled when they discover how it really is. It’s just a coming-ofage story, essentially. But it was an enjoyable transition to make and all romantic comedies, the lovers are absolute fools. Usually arrogant fools, which is usually one and the same. Are their choices you didn’t make or couldn’t make when playing Yvaine? Well I didn’t concern myself too much with her being a celestial being because the writing is so realistic in its tone so I let the costumes and the make-up and the CGI communicate her otherness for me. I just played the scenes kind of straight. Was it really your hair in the movie? Noooooooo. I had a lot of fake extensions that tore about a third of my real hair out and I’m still recovering from it. And I’m just shocked that more people don’t know about the dangers! I’m gonna take the cause on! “If you can wear wigs, do!” [laughs] Really, those are the end of my extension-days.

When you get a script, what determines your choices? For me, the three essential elements are the script, the director, and the actors. It’s not a new idea and it’s wonderful if all those elements are all really strong. Usually they’re not but it really depends. If I want to read past the first fifteen pages, it tends to be good. I guess I have a better understanding now of what makes a script good than I did ten years ago. But I’m still just employing common sense. Do you have a favorite fairy tale or children’s story from your youth? I love the Grimm’s fairy tales when I was a kid and the darker and more perverse, the better. I remember my favorite fairy tale specifically was “Bluebeard”, which, looking back on it, was incredibly sordid. A tiny little man with a long blue beard insist that his wife not look in one particular room and of course one day he’s out and she does just that and finds just shelves of severed heads of women he had been married to. I just think it’s funny how terrifying a lot of these children’s stories are. They’re just rife with plague and tragedy and disaster and bows are breaking, towers are falling…Kids can take a lot. They like to be terrified! Other than the strenuous laying down-scene, was there anything else that was difficult to film? You know that scene where we’re in the cloud and in that limbo. That was kind of tough because we were on this inflated bed. Like this giant air mattress, basically. And rain was pouring down and I kept falling. That was really hard. I had to scream, I was getting out of breath. Well you’re supposed to be agitated. Yeah, for a lot of it. It was kind of tricky to play that agitation sincerely and not just alienate the audience completely. But acting on air mattresses is very challenging. Do you think you’ll ever go back to TV? Maybe. I’m obsessed with The Wire right now. I think that’s one of the best, most brilliant productions ever created. I am not a snob about medium or genre. I think they’re a lot of different ways to make good work.

Were you familiar with the book and the character of the star? Yeah, that was a strange call to get from my agent. “Like a celestial…being? Okay…what?” What were your concerns about taking on this role?

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PG 14 • insiteatlanta.com • August 2007

FILM INTERVIEW

��

THE GUYS BEHIND 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN AND KNOCKED UP STRIKE AGAIN BY MATT GOLDBERG

ITTING DOWN WITH JONAH HILL, Michael Cera, Bill Hader, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, I can’t help but wonder if these four, incredibly polite, unassuming and funny guys have any idea how popular they’re about to be and that they’re in possibly the funniest movie of the year. They’re new movie, Superbad, opens on August 17th and if the American public reacts like I did and the crowds I saw it with, then I have to know how they’re gonna react to their upcoming celebrity and how they got to be so fucking funny. If you guys were going to have a scandal, what would your scandal be? Michael Cera: Probably hit a child. Very young female. But she’ll have it coming. Jonah Hill: Too many houses…for Michael? Michael will have too many houses. MC: Your scandal. JH: There’s nothing interesting or scandalous about me. MC: I don’t think people are going to care about us. JH: Even if you become really successful in comedy ﬁlms and stuﬀ, people don’t really care about your life. Like Will Ferrell or Jack Black, the cool thing about them is that they’re super-popular but they get to make the movies they want to make. MC: I think I’ll hit a girl but no one will care. Hopefully. Except her, of course.

Since he’s the only one not here, please speak freely about Seth Rogen. Bill Hader: He’s a great dude. MC: We still like him a lot, no matter where he is. Christopher Mintz-Plasse: He’s hilarious. BH: I met him on You, Me, and Dupree; we have small roles in that movie. We met each other and Evan Goldberg [Rogen’s writing partner] was there and within ten minutes they were like, “You should be in this movie we’re gonna do called Superbad! You’d play this police officer!” And that was just after ten minutes of talking about movies and comic books and stuff. And then in December I had my first meeting with Judd and he said I’d be playing this cop. And you also had a small role in Knocked Up. BH: Yeah, Judd said “Oh wait! You can play the editor at E!” which was weird because I used to be an assistant editor and work in that building. MC: The same building? Wow. BH: Yeah, where we shot that, like if you had gone down the hallway, there was my old office like when I worked on The Surreal Life. But yeah, he’s been really, really good to all of us. Bill, you and Seth actually did a ride-along with a cop to prepare for the movie. Did the cop know that you guys were playing the most irresponsible cops ever? BH: No, we didn’t really have to say much. We just sat there and I had these extensions in my hair because we were still shooting Hot Rod like with a pony-tail and I looked like Michael J. Fox in The Hard Way. Seth was like “You look like such a narc. You’re gonna get shot! You’re gonna get us killed!” The cop himself said stuff that we definitely used in some of the takes but he took us through South Central and it was like the scariest thing. Seth and I were literally holding each other the entire time. JH: The guy’s gonna see this movie and be superpissed. BH: He’s gonna be like “I’m gonna find those motherfuckers…” but what we wanted was like

“Bored-Suburban-Cops” who used to bust us in the park if we were drinking beer. Those were the guys who had nothing better to do. Who are your influences as comedians? JH: I would say that The Simpsons would be the biggest influence for me on what I find funny. Albert Brooks, Woody Allen, James L. Brooks; things like that. I love The Office. MC: British Office is the funniest thing I’ve ever

seen. BH: Stella, David Wain and all The State guys. Like Joe Lo Truglio is in the movie and were shitting our pants. Um, Monty Python, Steve Martin, Mel Brooks. JH: Hal Ashby. MC: Wes Anderson. JH: Paul Thomas Anderson.

and when he’s super-famous, you’ll watch this ﬁlm and say “Oh my God! There’s Danny McBride in the background!” And Nick Jasenovec, who’s my writing partner, he’s the blond guy going “Sing like a bird! Sing like a bird!” And those are just dudes hanging out. So who would you say Superbad is for? JH: If you liked Knocked Up or The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

BH: Or Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Dazed and Confused and stuﬀ like that. JH: Actually what we were going for was a Fast Times at Ridgemont High kind of thing because the guys in that really seemed real to us because I think when you make a movie about teenagers, it’s hard because of the teen-movie stigma that it’s gonna suck because most of them do.

I WOULD SAY THAT THE SIMPSONS WOULD BE THE BIGGEST INFLUENCE FOR ME ON WHAT I FIND FUNNY. ALBERT BROOKS, WOODY ALLEN, JAMES L. BROOKS; THINGS LIKE THAT. I LOVE THE OFFICE. MC: Pamela Anderson. JH: I’m actually influenced way more by writers and directors than actors themselves. Like I saw Eddie Murphy when I was real young, like Raw and Delirious and Coming to America, Trading Places, all informing my sense of humor. I was blown away by how funny that stuff was. MC: Tim & Eric Awesome Show. You were actually in a sketch on that show. It has such a unique style; what was it like working with those guys? MC: Well when I shot that, it was just this house. Tim wasn’t there; it was just Eric directing it and these two guys who were just fans of theirs playing my older brothers. And it was really quick it was only like an hour. And I had hung out with those guys before and done an episode of Tom Goes to the Mayor. So it was very casual. They just called me and told me to show up to this house and do it and they didn’t go through my agent or anything but it was really cool and I knew it was gonna be real funny. BH: Yeah, like a lot of our friends, a lot of people just hung around. Like the two guys at the party who are reacting to Seth are Ben Best and Jody Hill and they’re co-writers and Jody is the director of this awesome film called The Foot Fist Way. Danny McBride who’s in Hot Rod with me and an extra in this film,

And they tend not to feel very real either. JH: That’s where the whole seed of the movie came from. I know Seth and Evan were looking at those movies and were like “This isn’t like us at all. This isn’t like anything I’ve seen or anything I can relate to. Why don’t we make a movie about exactly what it’s like to be in high school?” And they started writing this when they were teenagers. JH: Yeah, Seth was gonna play the character of Seth but then he got too old so I came along and kind of tailored it to my style and then they tailored

it to Michael’s style when he came along. But Seth was originally going to play my role but he did not age well [laughs] Chris and Michael, you both have sex scenes in the film. What’s it like to watch that 50-feet tall? MC: It’s not that uncomfortable. CMP: Unless I’m watching with my parents. MC: Normally the audience is pretty giggly. BH: Yeah, like the audience is embarrassed for the characters. MC: I like if it’s really hard to watch and uncomfortable. On set, it was all really loose and we’re playing drunk so we can hide behind that. You just try to play it off but it’s very uncomfortable to do that in front of a crew but once you’re able to act drunk, it’s just better. We were just trying to be funny and say awkward things between sloppy awkward kisses. How close were these characters to your real high school experience? JH: I think personally I was as much like this character in high school but I related to the same problems. MC: Yeah like the feelings of having a friend you feel safe around and hide away with and as long as that person’s there, then no one’s gonna mess with me. When I was alone walking in the halls, you feel so exposed. It’s like that thing in the movie where I leave lunch early and Jonah has to eat by himself. You’re so self-conscious and vulnerable. The ending is actually very sweet and poignant. How would you guys do an alternate ending? BH: Doc Brown suddenly comes in and says “Marty! We got to go back in time!” [laughs] JH: Or maybe it like “See you tomorrow?” and then SUPERBAD 2, shot in Germany. Is there anything on the DVD you’re looking forward to getting out there? BH: Yeah, we shot a whole day just for the DVD of Seth and me as the cops and Judd had twenty random improv actors like Kristen Wiig and Chris Kattan and Justin Long and Judd and just a bunch of different characters with us driving around and picking them up. It’s cool you just come in for a day and just be who the character is. They had four cameras on it and they just let it roll and have us improvise. We did really cool menus for the DVDs. JH: But we spent tons and tons to makes sure it was awesome and matched up to how much we liked the movie.

PG 15 • insiteatlanta.com • August 2007

FILM

�� ARCTIC TALE:� �� – Matt Goldberg THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM:� �� – Matt Goldberg� HAIRSPRAY:� �� PG 16 • insiteatlanta.com • August 2007

�� – Matt Goldberg HARRY POTTER & THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX:�� – Matt Goldberg

The guy from “D**k in a box” has ﬁnally made it. Go see “Hot Rod” to ﬁnd out why. HOT ROD:�� – Matt Goldberg NO RESERVATIONS:� ��

�� – Zena Scott RESCUE DAWN:�� – Matt Goldberg RUSH HOUR 3:� ��

�� – Matt Goldberg THE SIMPSONS MOVIE:� �� – B. Love STARDUST:��

�� – Matt Goldberg SUNSHINE:� �� – Matt Goldberg SUPERBAD:�� – Matt Goldberg PG 17 • insiteatlanta.com • August 2007

COMPLIMENTARY PASSES

Invite you and a guest to a special advance screening of

on Tuesday, August 14 at 7:30pm, AMC Parkway Pointe

Pass can be picked up at the following locations:

(Galaxy) Atlanta 2275 Cheshire Bridge Rd. 404-766-6993 Smyrna 2364 S Cobb Dr. 770-432-3274 (Elations) Marietta 1424 Roswell Rd. 30067 770-578-0399 Passes are available on a ﬁrst-come, ﬁrst-served basis. One pass per person. Each pass admits two. No purchase necessary. Employees of all promotional partners and their agencies are not eligible. This movie is rated R.

Vidiots This month’s DVD & VHS Releases

DISTURBIA – Haunted by a car crash in which he survived,

but his father died, Kale (Shia LeBeouf ) is under house arrest and observes the secret lives of his neighbors, including girlnext-door Ashley (Sarah Roemer) and lady-killer Mr. Turner (David Morse). The film makes a convincing segue from the light story of Kale and Ashley’s blossoming teen love into a tight thriller, and when it reaches its final act, it proves you don’t need an R rating to deliver genuine scares and intense thrills. Director D.J. Caruso, despite his over-reliance on score, deserves a lot of credit for using multiple film formats to build effective jump-scares. While it’s no Rear Window (honestly, what ever will be?), Disturbia provides an invigorating cinematic experience that will hopefully send some teens into the loving arms of Alfred Hitchcock’s filmography. Grade: B- MG

FRACTURE – This suspense thriller stars Anthony Hopkins

as Ted Crawford, who designs private jets but spends most of his time spying on his adulteress wife (Embeth Davidtz). Her lover (Billy Burke), a hostage negotiator who arrives after Ted puts a bullet in his wife’s check, initiates a scuffle that results in Crawford being taken into custody. Enter Willy Beachum (Ryan Gosling), a hotshot DA with his eye on a spot with a big-time law firm who agrees to take the case despite a dearth of evidence. Gosling and Hopkins face off in a showdown (really more down than show) in which Crawford tells a bemused Beachum a story about finding imperfections in eggs while growing up on a farm, adding that he’s pinpointed Willy’s weakness: “You’re a winner– you always have to win!” For a murder mystery/ psychological thriller, Fracture has a decidedly relaxed attitude about suspense, keeping the thrills at arms length. Grade: C MG

I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE – Chris Rock plays Richard Cooper, an investment banker who loves his kids and would love his wife more if she’d just put out every once in a while. The longer his dry spell continues, the more sex Richard sees in the world. In walks Nikki Tru (Kerry Washington), an acquaintance from his past and the embodiment of everything RichPG 18 • insiteatlanta.com • August 2007

IN THEATERS AUGUST 17 PICK OF THE MONTH BLADES OF GLORY – This figure skating comedy doesn’t

bring its A-game, but the superb comic timing of its cast keeps the laughs constant. Chazz (Will Ferrell) is a fiery sex machine, Jimmy MacElory (Jon Heder) is an effiminate precision machine. They’re both men’s figure skaters, and they hate each other’s guts. After a fight breaks out at the Winter Championship Games, the men are stripped of their medals and earn a lifetime ban from men’s figure skating. Eventually they decide to team up in the unrestricted world of pairs figure skating, but the film isn’t one long gay joke about two dudes touching each other. What elevates the material is the comic talents of Ferrell, Will Arnett (Arrested Development), Amy Poehler (SNL), and Jenna Fischer (The Office). Blades of Glory may not be the modern comedy classic of Anchorman or reach the popularity of Napoleon Dynamite, but it will keep you laughing for 90 minutes, even if you don’t remember why a minute after you leave the theatre. MG

ard had to give up– sex, freedom, and fun. Rock proves he can be a brilliant director when utilizing cut-aways and imbuing the film with his impeccable comic timing, but he always feels a little restrained, not wanting to venture too far into the surreal. Keeping it real doesn’t make the film go wrong, but it did leave me wanting for Rock’s more imaginative touches. Rock and Louis C.K.’s script suffers from a failure to make Richard’s wife Brenda (Gina Torres) a sympathetic character: Frankly, she’s not deserving of Richard’s affection since she treats him more like a mother than a partner. I Think I Love My Wife is a good film with some solid laughs and keen observations. However, it’s not the great film Rock clearly has in him. Grade: B- MG

THE LOOKOUT – The Lookout is to film noir what The Olive

Garden is to Italian food. Chris Pratt (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a high schooler who had it all until an unfortunate incident involving a convertible, a thresher and high velocity left him with a massive brain injury. Now he works as a bank janitor, struggling to complete the most simple daily tasks. But when a shady character named Gary (Matthew Goode) draws him into the world of crime by paraphrasing Scarface (“Whoever has the money has the power!”), Chris becomes the lookout for Gary’s attempt to rob the bank. What makes noir such a great genre is the fact that the characters live in shades of grey and the moral outcome tends to be just as ambiguous. But The Lookout is film noir without any balls. Scott Frank has a lot of credit as a screenwriter (Get Shorty, Out of Sight), but with his directorial debut, he has a limp and ineffective thriller that should thank its lucky stars it had the good fortune to cast a lead as strong as Gordon-Levitt. Grade: C- MG

PERFECT STRANGER - When reporter Rowena Price’s (Hal-

le Berry) front-page exposé is pulled at the last minute, she happens upon a new target leaked by her friend Grace (Nicki Aycox). Unsure of Grace’s motives, Rowena thinks nothing of it until Grace turns up dead. In their hunt for her murderer, Rowena and pal Miles (Giovanni Ribisi) build a case against Harrison Hill (Bruce Willis), Grace’s latest fling. Going undercover, Rowena infiltrates Hill’s ad agency and discovers a dark side to the business. With a hot secretary-turned-watchdog, a string of affairs and a rich heiress wife, everyone surrounding Hill has motive and resources to have pulled off the hit, but whodunit? Screenwriters Todd Komarmicki and Jon Bokenkamp try so hard to mystify the viewer with twists and turns, by the time you reach the end you have no idea how you got there. Grade: C ZS

WILD HOGS – When Woody (John Travolta), Doug (Tim

Allen), Bobby (Martin Lawrence) and Dudley (William H. Macy) grow tired of their mild suburban existence, they take to the road, throwing caution to the wind in their search for freedom. Attempting to flee divorce, defeat, disconnect and denial, the mismatched foursome dust off their bikes for a week-long trek to the Pacific. After surviving rain, fire and a gay park ranger, they happen upon a real biker gang headed by Jack (Ray Liotta), and realize that you don’t become a biker just by hopping on a Harley. The film is surprisingly funny (especially Macy), but Wild Hogs isn’t the other three actors need. Travolta tries too hard to keep his bad-ass rep, Martin is a caricature and Tim sticks out like a sore thumb. Still, the laugh-per-minute ratio is much better than you’d expect. Grade: C ZS

FILM INTERVIEW

MATT DAMON BOURNE AGAIN BY MATT GOLDBERG

VER THE COURSE OF THE LAST year and a half, Matt Damon has been an acting powerhouse, appearing in Syriana, The Departed and The Good Shepherd, showing us in each film why he’s one of the best actors working today. While this year he’s showing that he’s worthy not only of critical acclaim but box office success with the third entries into the Ocean’s and Bourne franchises, Damon sat down with us to reflect over his past ten years in Hollywood and his hopes for the next ten years.

In an interview a few months back you said this was the last time you would play Jason Bourne. Are you sticking to that? Well, I made that comment when we were at Cannes and nine months into shooting the movie. “I’m never doing this again!” In terms of another one, the story of this guy’s search for his identity is over because he’s got all the answers so there’s no way we could trot out the character and so much of what makes him interesting is that internal struggle that was happening to him: “Am I a good guy? Am I bad guy? What is the secret behind my identity? What am I blocking out? Why am I remembering these disturbing images?” So all of that propulsive mechanism that drives the character is not there. If there was to be another one, it would have to be a complete reconfiguration. Where do you go from there? So for me I kind of feel like the story we set out to tell has now been told. I love the character and if [director] Paul Greengrass calls me in ten years and tells me “Now we can do it,” then there’s a world I’d be willing to do it if there was a great story behind it. But if we now came out with a fourth one and I’d been bonked on the head then you guys would be like “Are you kidding me?” I was actually talking to a journalist yesterday who suggested we could do one about Bourne losing his keys. The entire movie: “Where are my keys!” How do you feel now that the story’s been told? The movie has been out over the course of five years but it’s really been seven years for me. There hasn’t been a role that’s had a bigger impact on my life. Maybe Good Will Hunting did because it pulled Ben [Affleck] and I out of total obscurity but in terms of having an impact on my career, well, just as an example: between Supremacy and Ultimatum, there were three movies I really wanted to do where I just loved the scripts. All of these movies were, on the face of them, gonna be complete box office misses, which was Syriana, which was a deeply complicated movie and George [Clooney] and I cut all our money so we could do it; The Departed, which, looking back was this big hit and won all the awards but at the time, if you took a Scorsese movie, his movies typically don’t make a lot of money. Even the masterpieces: Goodfellas, Raging Bull. They typically don’t make a lot of money at the box office. It’s this incredible experience working with him which is why he can get any actor he wants because everyone will cut their fee to go work with Marty. In terms of looking at your career, you go, “Okay, that’ll be two movies in a row that I’m in that don’t perform at the box office,” and then I fell in love with a script called The Good Shepherd and everyone went “This is a tiny little bulls eye you’re aiming at here.” It’s a very dense, cerebral, historical document about the birth of the intelligence service in America. It’s not Spider-Man 3. But I didn’t hesitate because I loved all the scripts

and they were movies I desperately wanted to do and I knew I had The Bourne Ultimatum off in the middle distance. So I had the creative freedom to make all these movies, which, each individually, I am so proud of those movies. They all did very well; some of them did incredibly well. They all made a big impact on my career. I mean, compared to the first film, where at the time, I hadn’t been offered a movie in six months and I was doing a play in

ing the gun and putting it to the head of the person who lied to him and said “You’re gonna be saving American lives” and Bourne saying “I see you’ve led me into something under false pretenses and I understand that and I’m not going to do that anymore.” So each movie is a reﬂection of the time of which it’s made. And I like that about them. They feel relevant. I think Bourne has a lot of integrity. He’s a very American character and I like that about him. His thoughtfulness, his intelligence, and he’s trying to do the right thing. He doesn’t always do the right thing or is misled but he’s trying to do the right thing.

IT’S SO HARD TO HAVE A LONG CAREER IN THIS BUSINESS AND I’M STILL HERE AFTER TEN YEARS AND I THINK WE’RE ALL PROBABLY A LITTLE AMAZED BY THAT. London on the West End and after the movie opened, by that Monday, I had twenty offers. That’s where the rose-colored lens came off and I realized that if you have a hit, you have a career. If not, they may think you’re a real nice guy. They’re not hanging a movie on you. How’s it feel to watch the Bourne movies and be such a crowd-pleaser? It feels so good, I can’t even tell ya. Two nights ago, when the first press-screening happened, we were all getting Blackberry’d: “They’re cheering at Waterloo!” Because we didn’t know. We came so down to the wire, as we always do with these Bourne movies, that we didn’t even get a test [screening] in. I mean, we each had little DVDs that we showed it on. I showed it to my wife and showed it to my brother. He was like “Cool.” And we had these little friends-andfamilies screenings, showing it to people in the business we knew and trusted and getting notes like “Is there anything we need to take out? Anything that’s missing?” Trying to get ‘em into the edit. But last night we were at dinner and we heard it was a crowd-pleaser again. So we told the publicist to tell the press to expect a hung-over group the next day because that’s when the champegne came out.

Are you working on another script with Afﬂeck? In terms of my “hetero-lifemate” (that’s Kevin Smith in one of his movies), we’re not working on a script right now but we’re talking about a bunch of diﬀerent things but his career has totally gone in this new and exciting direction because I’ve seen the movie he’s directed [Gone Baby Gone based on the Dennis Lehane novel] and it’s really good. The performances are good and every actor is gonna want to work with him after they see this thing. He’s gone from being an actor to being a director, someone who can give me a job, so our whole relationship has completely changed! That’s a new dynamic our partnership has taken. There are so many possibilities now that he’s gone and done this really great movie. It’s exciting and we’ve started to talk about that again and it’s been ten years since the last one and we both put our heads down

and worked really hard in these last ten years and woken up with careers and families and all the things we’ve wanted so I hope the next ten years will be about doing better work and doing a little less of it but doing better work and working together.

Did you get hurt at all doing the stunts in the film? The first movie I was 29 and then this film I was 36 so I definitely felt my age. The big fight scene in Tangiers, Joey, the guy I’m fighting, he was like 22 years old. The first movie came out and he was in high school! He was so happy and in really good shape and already a much better athlete than me, so I was like “Aw man, Joey! You’re killin’ me! You gotta slow down!” It probably cost the studio a couple extra days because I’m a little older now. He was just so excited and there was no way I could defend myself against him so I’d just be like “Dude, just three moves at a time!” He was a good sport about it though. Any thoughts on being a dad? Being a dad is still great. These stages just go by so fast. I mean she’s walking around now. She’s 13 months old so it’s just amazing that it happens at warp speed. I know why parents when they see a baby they go “Oh, I want another one” because the stages just fly past. And if you’re lucky enough to be there everyday, which I’m lucky enough to be, then it’s only if you’re taking pictures or seeing people that you haven’t seen for a couple of months that you even realize because it’s happening in front of you and you don’t even see it. At the end of the day, what would you like to be known for? Well, Clooney’s definitely doing it right now and Eastwood, those guys are acting, they’re writing, they’re directing, and they’re doing it on their terms. I love writing and I love acting and I really want to direct and I’ve been taking these last ten years to study these directors I’ve been working with and I’ve worked with a lot of really good ones at this point so I feel like I’m ready to do it. So to have a long career. It’s so hard to have a long career in this business and I’m still here after ten years and I think we’re all probably a little amazed by that.

Do you think this film, with its focus on government intrusiveness, is more timely than the first film? Well I think all the films are very much a product of their time. The first one came out in 2002 and it’s very post-9/11 and all the paranoia; what I love about them is that you’ll know the year they came out. The second one was 2004 and things are starting to turn in Iraq and this iconic American figure is going and atoning for his misdeeds. He’s taking responisbility. Now you have Bourne pull-

PG 19 • insiteatlanta.com • August 2007

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�� Frontiers �� Global Soul Acoustics �� Sweet Betty & The Shadows �� David Allan Coe �� Solid Gold Dance Party �� Eddie Tigner, Mudcat, Breeze Kings �� Rudy Ray Moore �� Richard Bicknell, David Olney �� The Kesgrave Diggers �� Ike Stubbleﬁeld & Friends �� Flashback Festival: Con Funk Shun, Midnight Star, The Bar-Kays & more �� The Oak Ridge Boys �� Papa Luigi Project, Manic, Incite �� Crime Scene, A Heroes Welcome, Irreversible, Choked Out, Hard Luck �� Ike Stubbleﬁeld & Friends �� Block Party �� Kevn Kinney Band, Delta Moon �� RockNRoll Fest Day 1 �� One Atom 12 �� Bill Gentry, Eric Key �� Call, The Mendoza Line, The Preakness �� Joe Gransden, Nicole Chillemi �� Backwater Creek �� John Mayer �� John Doe, Dead Rock West �� Georgia Jooks �� Fat City Wild Cats �� Edison Glass, Ivory, Small Talk �� Dan Montgomery, Wesley Cook Band �� Justin Timberlake �� Bob Page Trio �� Thrift Store Cowboys, Cary Ann Hearst �� JT Speed �� Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday, Him, Placebo, Julien-K �� Symphony X, Sanctity, Echoes of Eternity, Axial Discorrelation �� Red Wanting Blue, John Frank �� Ben Kweller

�� The Swear, Caprice, The Issues �� Mel & The Party Hats �� The Battle Ground Brawl �� Houserocker Johnson & The Shadows �� Bruce Robison, Joe Rathbone, Reagan Boggs �� Sana Blues �� Adema, Cinjed, Smash Machine �� Urban Shakedancers Reunion �� Mcivor Mann �� Red Letter Agent, Rantings of Eva, Novah, �� Cassavettes, Club Awesome �� Brian Wiltsey �� Blueground Undergrass, Great American Taxi �� Sid Aerial �� Ray Scott �� Slippery When Wet �� MSEIZE �� Francine Reed & The Shadows �� Brenda Lee �� Mike Willis, Missy Johnson �� Little Joey & The Flames �� Family Values Tour: Korn, Evanescence, Flyleaf, Atreyu, Hellyeah, Trivium �� Eisley �� Clay Walker �� Ecryptus, Volital Breed, 13th Autumn Ritual, Burning Sherman �� One Atom 12, Mizer Max �� Eddie Tigner’s Birthday Party �� That ‘80s Band �� Cary Brothers, Stars of Track & Field, William Fitzsimmons �� The Woggles, The Clutters, The Booze �� Mike Irum �� Kingsized Elvis Death Day Memorial �� Moses Mayﬁeld �� Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Indorphine �� Cowboy Envy �� Backwater Creek �� Terra Diablo, Junior Revolution �� Like Clockwork, Buffalo Alice, Nate Currin, Aaron Childree �� The Luxury Kings �� Elekibass, Velcro Stars, Chainstereo �� Fat City Wild Cats �� Caleb Herron �� Suburban Legends, Patent Pending, Zoloft the Rock N Roll Destroyer, Jetlag, Gemini �� Down to Earth Approach, Treaty of Paris, Ivory, Demaria �� Open Mic Madness �� Rufus Wainwright �� Scott Glazer’s Mojo Dojo �� Jenny Owen Youngs, Sanders Bohike, Jeremy Fisher �� JT Speed �� The Birthday Massacre, The Start, Slow Motion Crash, Scarlet Androgyny �� The Receiving End of Sirens, Emanuel, Hopesfall, Goodbye Tomorrow �� Sick Puppies �� Open Mic Madness

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�� Al Smith Jam Session �� The Shadows �� LeAnn Rimes �� The Charms, The Lizardmen �� Well Strung, The Farewell Drifters �� Chicago Joe Jones �� Down Stroke �� G.B. Leighton, Sam Thacker �� The Emotron, Howard’s Dilemma, PPR �� Gareth Asher �� The Automatic Automatic �� Judi Chicago, Can Can, Cinetrope �� Wilx �� The Good Good �� Sweet Betty & The Shadows �� Loose Cannons �� One Hand Loves The Other, Ninety-Nine �� Bobby Lee Rodgers & Ralph Roddenbery, Gandalf Murphy & the Slambovian Circus of Dreams �� Chickenshack �� Golden �� Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert, Flynnville Train �� Manchester Orchestra & Colour Revolt �� Southern Hostility, Undying Darkness, Ashes of Humanity �� Hightide Blues �� Rebirth Brass Band �� 500 Miles to Memphis, Da Bears �� Slip Tripman �� Jackson County Line

PG 20 • insiteatlanta.com • August 2007

�� Al Smith Jam Session �� Rick Williams Band �� Clay Aiken �� Fiend Without A Face, Clemente, West End Motel �� Vanessa Oliverez, Jen Lowe, Emily Kate Boyd, Jayla �� Chicago Joe Jones �� Dance Gavin Dance, A Skyline Drive, Blinded Back, Lovehate Hero, Kenotia �� Justin Godsey �� Open Mic Madness �� Brian Wiltsey �� Love Rush �� Wed. If Not Before, Jim Hodgson, The Nerd Parade �� The Good Good & Jaha �� Work In Progress Band �� Loose Cannons �� The Everybodyﬁelds, Georgia Fireﬂies �� Drew Holcomb, Porterdavis, Katy Bowser �� Chickenshack �� Cinetrope �� 17th Floor �� The Riverboat Gamblers, Valient Thorr, Totimoshi, ASG �� Chris Coleman, Acalasia, Suburban Soul, The Last Relapse �� Open Mic Madness �� De Novo Dahl, The Judies, The Empties �� Gareth Asher �� Alan Yates, Wilson Empire, The Status

escence,

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�� Unzipt �� Latin Aura Nights �� The Breeze Kings �� Macy Gray �� Speechless �� Dropsonic, Five Eight, All the Saints �� The Brilliant Inventions, Band of Heathens, Sonja Markowski �� Frankie’s Blues Mission �� Sam Mcpherson �� Jane Monheit & John Pizzarelli �� The Unforseen, Pig Hut, Bury Me Breathing �� Sixth Hour, Noted Afﬂication, Shadows In Eden �� Zydefunk �� Radio Cult �� Rocco Deluca & The Burden, The Last Goodnight, The Midway State �� Open Mic Madness Finals, Dead Confederate �� The Villians �� Sgt. Pepper Lives! �� Keith Forrester �� Bombadil, Mad Tea Party �� Backwater Creek �� David Wilcox

Approach,

�� Bill Shefﬁeld �� The Ladybug Transistor, Papercuts �� Fat City Wild Cats �� Ruby James

rs Bohike,

�� Chicago Joe Jones �� Ludacris �� James Templeton, Meghan Coffee, Eleisha Eagle �� JT Speed

ent Pending,

Androgyny f Sirens,

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Empties

�� Al Smith Jam Session �� The Shadows �� Travis Tritt �� Jennifer Gentle, The Dodos, Bon Vivants �� Georgia Middleman, Mark Aaron James, Dave Berg, Rob Giles �� Chicago Joe Jones �� Dean Dollar Band �� Adrian Belew, Saul Zonana �� Sonen, Sidewalk Relics �� Gareth Asher �� Sour Mash, Rockin Pontoons, Henrietta �� Crane �� The Good Good �� Deacon Bluz & The Holy Smoke Band �� Loose Cannons �� Caroline Aiken, Tom Kimmel, Dana Cooper, Annika Fehling �� Chickenshack �� Turtle Folk �� Splendid Chaos �� Soulive �� Dale Watson, Cigar Store Indians �� The Selmanaires, Gringo Star, Ocha La Rocha �� Slip Tripman �� Gareth Asher �� Connor, Sonya Leigh �� Wrong Way �� Janelle Monae �� Houserocker Johnson & The Shadows �� The Rippingtons �� Blue Fishing Light Band �� Tiger! Tiger!, Tenement Halls, Thee Crucials �� Blue Mother Tupelo, Gary Jules, Jim Bianco, Adrianne, Matthew Perryman Jones �� Kerry Hill Band �� Fly By Radio �� New Monsoon, Dr. Louis Sullivan �� The Lizardmen, El Capitan & The Scallyways, Sanghai Gesture

�� Robin Dean Salmon �� The Crafties, Morgan Rowe, Kristin Markiton, Chris Pureka �� Backwater Creek �� Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson �� T.I., Ciara, T-Pain, Young Joc, Lloyd �� Bob Wayne & The Outlaw Carnies, Sodajerk �� Boo Hoo Ramblers �� Fat City Wild Cats �� The High Court, A Cursive Memory �� The Electromatics �� JT Speed �� Incubus, The Bravery, Simon Dawes �� Whole Wheat Bread �� Al Smith Jam Session �� Work In Progress Band �� Boney James �� South 70, Wendy Newcomer �� Chicago Joe Jones �� Nod Factor �� Wayne ‘The Train’ Hancock, Jim Hodgson �� The Hiss, Can Can, The Holland Dutch �� Lamb of God, Hatebreed, Behemoth �� Brian Wiltsey �� Charlie Hustle, Dented, Dark Miracle �� Sweet Betty & The Shadows �� Loose Cannons �� Garrett Moore, Eyrn McHugh �� Chickenshack �� Ancient Harmony �� Echospeed �� Homeroom, Cinetrope �� New Street Records Showcase �� Gareth Asher �� Lucky Dube �� 3 Five Human, State of Unrest, Groovestain �� Southern Girls �� Hootie & The Blowﬁsh �� Steve Pepper Band & Friends �� Larry Brown Tribute �� The Soul Shakers �� Grayson Hill �� Bishop Don, The Beggars’ Guild, Love Rush �� Cletis & His City Cousins, Grindernova �� Perpetual Groove �� Janie Chu �� Slippery When Wet

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Road Warriors This Month’s Hottest Shows BY JOHN DAVIDSON 8/03 THE MOONEY SUZUKI

The EARL The garage revolution that came out of Detroit ﬁve years ago never took hold with the masses much beyond the White Stripes, but it was nice to see some kickass rock-n-roll getting out into the open once again. The Mooney Suzuki were once rising stars, but due to a host of record label problems, they’ve been relegated to has-beens. It’s too bad, because they’re usually a pretty solid live act.

8/05 BEN FOLDS

Phillips Arena Billy Joel and Elton John never had much competition as piano men until Ben Folds came along. But Folds’ 1997 hit “Brick” was temporary stardom, unlike the dozens of hits that his predecessors were able to eke from the market. Ten years later, Folds continues to build on his loyal fanbase with his joyful playing and sardonic sense of humor—he’s become a live act with few peers in the process. Jessica Simpson conqueror John Mayer is also on the bill.

08/05 CALLA

The EARL Still hard at work touring behind this year’s Strength In Numbers, Calla straddles the line between postpunk and emo with varying results. They tend to be a better act live than in the studio, where their compositions can get breathing room and a lift from the

audience. Not a bad choice for a Sunday night indie rock show.

08/05 THE MENDOZA LINE

The EARL This band has caught a lot of critical love over the past decade or so, but all they’ve got to show for it is just that. They play the indie-country-rock thing pretty well, and their new album 30 Year Low is another pretty ace take on classic Americana; if they hadn’t been the subject of record label misadventures, the Mendoza Line would probably be much closer to household names.

08/07 “PROJEKT REVOLUTION”

HiFi Buys Amphitheatre This is one of those shed shows whose lineup (HIM, Julien-K, Linkin Park, Madina Lake, Mindless Self Indulgence, My Chemical Romance, Placebo, Saosin, Styles Of Beyond, Taking Back Sunday, and The Bled) either compels you to attend or laugh aloud at the kind of people who would actually pay money to suﬀer in the hot sun.

08/07 BEN KWELLER

Variety Playhouse It’s too bad that Kweller’s never become the star many thought he would, because his music keeps on improving while his audience seems to have tapered oﬀ. He’s an incredible musician, having beneﬁted greatly from a household immersed in music, and last year’s self-titled album was pretty great.

08/11 EISLEY

The Loft At Center Stage This family act consisting of sisters and brothers has always bordered on gimmick, but in the end they’ve delivered pretty decent music beyond the hype. Their new album Combinations is pretty solid, an accessible album for the Top 40 set and a sign that pop rock may not be entirely dead—it’s just resting in the

hands of a lot of young, impressionable people.

8/13 NEKO CASE W/RUFUS WAINWRIGHT

Tabernacle While folksters like Jenny Lewis are testing the waters of alternative country, Neko Case has been setting the standard for female vocalists on the indie circuit for nearly ten years now. A huge, dusky voice with a seductive croon to boot, Case is so talented that only her determination to do things on her own probably keeps her from signing with a big label and becoming a superstar. The reliably compelling Rufus Wainwright opens.

8/18 ALISON KRAUSS + UNION STATION FEAT. JERRY DOUGLAS

Fox Theatre Although her ﬁddle playing probably revived bluegrass more than any other artist of the past two decades, Allison Krauss has proven her mettle with a diverse approach to music. Krauss, who ﬁrst started cutting records when she was 14, has several platinum records that have graced both the pop and the country charts, always an eclectic blend of pickin’, rockin’, rollin’, and heartfelt tradition. An awesome performer.

08/20 THE LADYBUG TRANSISTOR

Drunken Unicorn The Ladybug Transistor is one of those Elephant 6type retro pop bands who borderline on easy listening, although their new album Can’t Wait Another Day brings out an edge that the band used to stay away from. They’ve had their ups and downs over the past few years as the E6 fad has waned, but they’ve seemed to survive intact.

8/25 DEF LEPPARD/FOREIGNER/ STYX

WE GOT NEXT GORE GORE GIRLS

BY JOHN DAVIDSON

T THE TURN OF THE CENTURY, the White Stripes shed a beacon of light on the underground garage rock scene in Detroit. It was a special delight to find signs of musical life in an area long cast aside as the armpit of America, and even more of a surprise to find an abundance of talent to back up the hype. Formed in 1997 by

08/25 MODERN SKIRTS

Smith’s Olde Bar The Modern Skirts keep pushing their piano-based rock-n-roll and while the buzz was once pretty strong, the excitement appears to be waning. The new single “Four More Years” is pretty jangly and shows promise, but history appears to be waiting for the band to deliver on their early promise. Still, the Skirts are solid live and Smith’s will probably be ﬁlled.

08/26 THE BLACK CROWES

Chastain Park Amphitheatre Twenty years into a career that’s long ago metastasized into nostalgia, the brothers Robinson (Chris and Rich) have revived the Black Crowes and appear to be trying to ﬁgure out what to do next. It’s an ugly cycle, and it’d be much worse if either of these two guys were talentless. They’re not; the Black Crowes just came up in a time when the Faces and the Stones were on a career renaissance.

08/26 “SCREAMFEST”

Philips Arena You’re probably coming mostly for T.I., whose latest T.I. vs. T.I.P. is getting strong reviews and considered by many to be the high point in his career. There’s also Ciara, a starlet in search of a distinct voice; she’s no Beyonce and her diva attitude seems kind of forced. Also on the bill are Lloyd, T-Pain, and Young Joc.

Artists on the verge of making it big

Latest Project: Get The Gore Gore Girls (Bloodshot) Why You Should Care: These girls play kick-ass garage rock For Fans of: The White Stripes, The Detroit Cobras, The Donnas, The Stooges

Amy Surdu (aka Amy Gore) and named after the classic 1972 B-horror film called The Gore Gore Girls, the Gore Gore Girls typify the scrappy but arty attitude of a city reborn in rock. And they manage to be an all-girl band without the hang-ups of the riot grrl ghetto.

says matter-of-factly. “It’s like, the harder the work the luckier you get, and I work very hard. I think that part of this band’s success is when I catch girls that have that same vibe. Girls who want to work,” she says. “Things happen because of all the work I’m doing.”

I HAVE TO CONSTANTLY RELEARN MY OWN SONGS! THERE ARE SOME SONGS THAT I KNOW BY HEART, ALL THE TIME, AND THEN THERE ARE SOME THAT I ALWAYS HAVE TO RELEARN. “Our first drummer was a guy in 1997 and we also had an adorable boy who played bass in place of our regular bass player,” says Surdu recently over the phone when asked if the gender requirement is merely an aesthetic. “It’s a girl thing. Having a guy member was under duress!” she laughs. “Not that it was a bad thing because he was an incredible musician. His look was perfect, like a youthful Neil Young. He was really gorgeous and trust me, he had a good time!” So while Surdu can joke about the flexibility in her band’s look, it’s still a pretty important aspect to what she wants to accomplish. “I have a distinct vision for what I want to do, and I consider the Gore Gore Girls a project, an art project for me with definite parameters. It’s a project with a look, a style, and a high-camp vision thing that I’m not going to stray from,” she says. “I make my music career happen,” Surdu

PG 22 • insiteatlanta.com • August 2007

HiFi Buys Amphitheatre Who would want to see a bunch of has-beens in a muggy amphitheatre whose hits came, for the most part, more than 20 years ago? Apparently, the nostalgia circuit is still not only very much alive, but lucrative as well. Cool fact your parents may have kept from you: the drummer from Def Leppard has ONE ARM.

And while hard work isn’t a stranger to the music industry, there aren’t a lot of girls in the old boys network. “I don’t play by the rules of the patriarchy in the music business, so I find we’re not as affected by that. I’m not out there dancing with a headset on with my bare midriff,” she says. “If you don’t present yourself that way, you’re not gonna get judged by those standards. I’m not intimidated by the system at all.” “It’s a difficult part to play because there’s pressure to become one of the guys,” Surdu continues. “However, you don’t wanna lose who you are and at the same time, you can’t play by the traditional rules. It’s a tenuous position but I’ve always had some success with it. I’ve been called out, sworn at, and had guys say incredibly rude things before I’ve even set foot on stage,” she says. “It’s not so much depressing to me as it is hilarious. It’s like a cultural experiment or something.”

This all begs the question of why it is that so many more men than women form bands. Are men afraid of giving up the power? Is it just a sport designed and built for guys? Not necessarily, says Surdu. “It takes a special person to be a musician. It really does, to be a traveling musician. You have to give up a lot. Howlin’ Wolf said, ‘I’ve experienced things that only musicians have.’ You’re experiencing something, you’re giving up something. I’ve experienced things in my life that the majority of people will never experience,” she says. “However, I don’t have 2.5 kids and a house as an illusion of security to trade off of. Really, I think most women are probably too smart for rock-n-roll because the payoff is not exactly, well anything.” After a pause, Surdu adds, “I do this because I can’t help myself not to.” What’s more, Surdu doesn’t even think that music is an art held hostage by age. “This art is not a youthful obsession,” she says. “I think that the American economic culture has a lot to do with that, where we’re kind of bamboozled into thinking that it’s a free society. And it is a free society but Americans have to work so much keep up the façade of the American dream. I think that if you get wrapped up in that, at the end of the day, it’s extremely shallow,” says Surdu with a bit of regret. “I mean, if you can’t set aside time to enjoy yourself or a record or your family, what use is the twelve hours you’ve spent every day at the office?”

MUSIC INTERVIEW

On the Road Again-

AFTER 15 YEARS G. Love & Special Sauce Keeps On Truckin’ that he made his Brushﬁre Fairy Tales record and… it got an amazing natural reaction from the fans.

BY JOHN B. MOORE

IFTEEN YEARS AFTER THEIR FIRST release– a hybrid of lazy blues, hip-hop, alt rock and a touch of R&B– G. Love and Special Sauce are still filling clubs across the globe. Eight albums into their career, the former Boston buskers are about to release their first-ever DVD, “A Year and a Night with G. Love and Special Sauce,” a movie that feels more like a realty TV show than the standard concert film. Granted, there are plenty of great live performances spanning their decade-plus career, but the real entertainment is in the warts-and-all behind the scenes footage showing the band prepping for shows in the U.S. and Japan. Tension from constantly being on the road follows frontman Garrett Dutton, bassist Jimmie Prescott and drummer Jeffrey Clemens around as they tour behind their last album. Add in some brotherly petty snipes and a couple of threats thrown in here and there from Jimmie about finally leaving the band, and you’ve got a remarkable entertaining movie. Calling in from Wisconsin on yet another endless tour, Dutton talked recently about the new DVD, the toll touring takes on his band and plans for yet another new album.

The band was kind of just like guinea pigs. The director had a vision and in my experience when someone’s got a vision you’ve got to just let them do their thing. That’s how it works out best. I’m not directing this video, so let this dude do his thing. Watching it’s a little bit embarrassing sometimes, a little bit uncomfortable because some of it hits home. Are you glad with how it turned out? Yeah, I’m glad with the way it turned out. The footage I liked the best was the behind the scene footage and the real grainy stuff of the live shows. The stuff I didn’t like as much was the expensive shoots that they did to capture the Electric Factory show in Philly. That was the stuff that was expensive to shoot because there was like five cameras. I like the handheld stuff the best. All in all it’s pretty cool, but honestly it’s not for me to like or dislike. We’re putting it out for the peeps.

THE ROAD IS KIND OF HARD ON SOME PEOPLE. I LIKE IT, EVEN WHEN IT BECOMES A GRIND.

I’ve lived in both Philly and Boston, and both cities claim the band as its own. Where did the group originally start? I hail out of Philly, but truth be told we all met up in Boston and kind of cut our teeth up there at this Irish pub called the Plow and Stars. That’s definitely where it at all happened for us. I was a street musician in ’92 and then by ’93 I met up with Jim and Jeff and we put the band together and the rest was history. Are Jim and Jeff from Boston? Yeah. Jeff’s from Randolph, Massachusetts and Jim’s from Rhode Island, but he graduated from BU, so he definitely was a Boston guy. Funnily enough, now my baby’s momma is from Boston and my kid’s up there, so now I have kind of relocated back up to Boston and Jeff lives in Nashville and Jim lives in Portland, Oregon. So we’re spread out. Why did you guys decide to record a DVD after so long? It’s something that we started a couple of years ago and then just kind of didn’t go about doing it the right way, so we stopped it. We finally found a director who was up for the job and was a good match for everybody. He came out on the road with us over the course of the year and filmed us doing every day stuff. We got a lot of behind the scenes footage. The DVD’s pretty cool. It’s almost like a realty show. It’s not like a live concert kind of setting. There’s a lot of stuff on it most bands wouldn’t want others to see, especially the back and forth arguments between you guys. It actually looks like Jim was going to leave the band. You can kind of see the vibe in the footage, so it’s kind of self explanatory. But the road is kind of hard on some people. I like it, even when it becomes a grind. I love being out on the road, but I think it’s getting harder and harder for Jim. Honestly I don’t know what his end game is these days. He’s kind of status quo with the vibe from that (DVD). Did you guys make a conscious decision that you would show everything in this movie and not edit it out to make everyone look good?

Do you, Jeff and Jim have similar tastes in music? Yeah, we certainly have similar tastes in music, but we all kind of overlap different genres. Jim listens to a lot more instrumental, like Ornette Coleman and Sun Ra – freaky shit like that. I listen to more Delta Blues like Lightning Hopkins and Robert Johnson. Jeff listens to everything from Los Lobos to Miles Davis to The Meters to A Tribe Called Quest. And of course we all like all of the greats like Dylan and Neil Young and a lot of Rock and Roll and a lot of Reggae. Let’s talk about your latest record, Lemonade. You’ve got a lot of guests on this record. Is that something you started out wanting to do? You’ve seen the DVD, so you see how tense it can get. We were kind of having a lot of tension in the studio and honestly we were all kind of on a different page when we started making that record. The first week was just the week from hell and we weren’t getting anything. We were like “Holy shit, are we actually going to be able to record anything worth listening to?” It was right after Hurricane Katrina and they were doing that benefit up in New York and The Meters were doing a reunion, so Jeff some how got in touch with Leo Nocentelli and he came down and did a session and that was pretty cool. After that, Jeff called up Ben Harper and he came down. And I was like I’ll call Jack (Johnson) and Donavon (Frankenreiter) and Tristan (Prettyman) and we just started reaching out to a lot of our friends. The “Rainbow” song with Jack is the first song I ever played for him when we met in ’98. Once we headed down that road we thought let’s just go all the way with it. It kind of saved our ass creatively because it got us communicating musically and socially in a positive way. Also, even though there is a lot of collaboration, it still comes off as a G. Love and Special Sauce record. I don’t think we feel like we lose our identity.

How’s a guy from Philly learn how to surf? The Jersey shore. Avalon, NJ. I actually just came from there. You, Donavon and Jack had a pretty successful tour about a year or two ago and even recorded a live EP. Any plans to get on the road with those guys again? Well, Donavon is not on the label anymore, so I probably don’t see that happening for a couple of years, at least. As far as us and Jack, there’s talk of us going out on his European tour in 2008, when his record comes out. We’ve done a bunch of touring with him in the US already, so I kind of think that they’re gonna maybe not take us out for the U.S. portion. I also read somewhere that you have started doing some producing. Yeah, I produced John

Hammond’s record just a little over a year ago. It was just a tremendous recording session and a real honor to work with John. Even though he doesn’t claim me to be his protégé, I kind of claim him to be my mentor. I saw a lot of his shows and have all of his records. I learned a lot of the Blues, singing, and guitar and harmonica playing from him. Was this your ﬁrst time producing someone? No. I produced this Japanese artist named Leona and I had done a couple of smaller things. But this was the ﬁrst real U.S. release that wasn’t one of ours that I produced. I don’t think it sold a lot of records because I think it’s so hard for Blues artists to sell records. Do you plan on doing more of that in the future? I’d love to and I think I’m really good at it. I think I’m better at producing other people then I am at producing myself. I think I’m not bad at producing myself, but I wish that I could produce myself that way I produce others. Lemonade hasn’t been out that long and you have the new DVD coming out soon. What’s next for you guys? We’re gonna be doing a lot of touring. Which leads us into the studio, because we’re going to start working on a new record this summer, for a spring 2008 release. So we’ll do a recording session this summer and a session in October, mix it in November and December and it will come out in the new year.

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This was your second album on Brushfire Records, which is owned by Jack Johnson. How did you first meet him? We met in ’98 through a mutual friend while I was recording Philadelphonic. He had just kind of finished college and was writing these great songs and was a big fan and we got together and went for a surf and then jammed out afterward. He had a song called “Rodeo Clown” which I really liked a lot. I asked if I could record it and he said “How about we do it together.” We put him on that record and a year after PG 23 • insiteatlanta.com • August 2007

MUSIC

��

By B. Love, DeMarco Williams, John Davidson, John Moore, Tom DeFreytas & Richard Marsh

COMMON – FINDING FOREVER (G.O.O.D. Music/Geffen) Following up greatness with more of the same �� JULIANA HATFIELD & FRANK SMITH – SITTIN’ IN A TREE (Ye Olde) An engaging mix of country, folk, and rock �� PG 24 • insiteatlanta.com • August 2007

�� TIM ARMSTRONG – A POET’S LIFE (Hellcat) Rancid frontman adds punk swagger to reggae �� YESTERDAYS NEW QUINTET- YESTERDAYS UNIVERSE (Stones Throw) Old school jazz from a new school hip-hop mastermind ��

ART BRUT – IT’S A BIT COMPLICATED (Downtown) A tentative step in the same direction �� CROWDED HOUSE – TIME ON EARTH (ATO) & GOLDEN SMOG – BLOOD ON THE SLACKS (Lost Highway) Mellow rockers coming out of hibernation ��

�� MUSAB – THE SLICK BOX (Hiero Imperium) & KNOBODY – THA CLEAN UP (Hiero Imperium) Oakland shows its hyphy-free alter ego �� ROONEY – CALLING THE WORLD (Geffen) Soundtrack pop-rock with a 1970s bent ��

�� SPOON – GA GA GA GA GA (Merge) Perennial “Next Big Thing” makes another compelling case �� WIDESPREAD PANIC – CHOICE CUTS: THE CAPRICORN YEARS 1991-1999 (Legacy) Southern Fried Phish ��

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MUSIC INTERVIEW

GOD SAVE THE CLIENTELE

PERPETUAL GROOVE – LIVELOVEDIE (Tree Leaf Music) Fruitful jam �� VARIOUS ARTISTS – ATHFEST 2007 (Ghostmeat) The best of the Athens music scene ��

Indie-Pop Favorites Return With an Excellent Third Album BY JOHN B. MOORE

ELDING THE FEY JOY OF LEFT Banke and the whispy reverb of Galaxie 500, the Clientele are a lovely pop act whose gentle tunes lull like a warm, breezy day in May. After developing a following with a series of strong singles and EPs in Europe throughout the late 1990s, the band burst forth worldwide in 2003 with the critically-acclaimed The Violet Hour and 2005’s even better Strange Geometry. INsite recently hooked up with founder Alasdair MacLean to find out about the fantastic new album, God Save The Clientele. Was the writing the same or were they designed to be even more appealing? It was designed to be more of a pop, accessible album and the songs have more of a rhythmic core than we’d previously done; our earlier work was more drifting and ethereal. This one was more to remind myself of watching “The Banana Splits” when I was three and listening to The Monkees when I was eight. The kind of joy that you get from very chic pop music. That’s really what this record is all about. So you set out to write songs like that or did you just notice a pattern kind of emerging? They just feel out of me, really. I think I was in a really happy mood. Strange Geometry was kind of a connect-the-dots record, kind of a bad night. But these just fell out of me because I was happy. Did you have the songs written before you came over to here to record? Most of them. A couple of them were written on tour but the rest were written and demoed in London before we came over. How did you decide to record over here rather than in the U.K.? We had toured with Lambchop in Britain, and we were telling them how beautiful we thought their records were, how great they sounded. They told us to come record over in Nashville because they said their producer Mark Nevers would do such a great job. We hadn’t met him until we holed up in Nashville! Marky cooked up some very spicy barbequed chicken and what he calls “vodka-based” drinks…they aren’t based on vodka, they ARE vodka! And so, that’s how we met him. Did you have a lot of discussions about the songs or just jump right in? We just went right ahead with the songs and told him, “This is what we are doing.” We recorded about two albums’ worth of material. We did a lot of stuff. Mark is an incredible producers, really the only producer that I’ve met who fits the mold of kind of a wacky nutjub producer like Phil Spector who has all these techniques of his own. They’re hard to understand but they make everything sound great. He just sat back and recorded us as well as he could; he wasn’t involved in arrangements or anything like that. Anytime we would say, “Uh, not sure about that,” he’d tell us not to worry and that it would all sound great. And it generally did.

Sonically, it’s a bigger sounding record. We wanted to get a very rich, crystalline sound that he is famous for, and he really delivered that. Are you always looking for something new when making records or have you seized upon what you’ve found? Albums are such big projects. You write for one and it takes a year, and during that year they finally take shape. And yet it’s all so automatic and subconscious. I’ve never thought, “Well, this time we’ve got to do something new” because we’re the kind of band that just plays in one way or just has one sound. If we try to change it, it would probably sound pretty artificial and overly self-conscious. And that’s just been the case for us, it’s just sort of happened like that. I’m always surprised how often you get to play in the United States. Do you enjoy it or is it a part of your larger plans? It’s something we enjoy. I’m in Memphis right now, and the South here is kind of a like a spiritual home. I feel very much at home here. We just come over because we sell records here, and it’s great to come over and play for people and to be able to afford to do it. We actually do better in the U.S. than we do in the U.K.; I think we’re too English for the English! That’s a surprising take, given that you sound so English when you play! It is surprising, in a way. I think that perhaps it’s because sounding English maybe isn’t so fashionable over there these days. It really hasn’t been for years, not since the whole Britpop thing happened. People want beats now, or they want bands that sound like the Clash. They don’t want a band that’s in love with the Monkeys and the Kinks. Is that really what you grew up listening to? Absolutely. I grew up with the squarer end of 60s music and 70s music such as the Carpenters. That’s what my parents played in the house when I was young. None of the psychedelic Beatles stuff. I don’t know if there is a ton of Carpenters influence in your music but there’s certainly a lot of tenderness. Yeah, just a lot of beautiful love songs. Not very harsh or aggressive. What are your expectations for this album? Are they high because you think you’ve made a good one? Our expectations are always high. It’s only in retrospect that you realize you were deluded! I mean, we thought Strange Geometry would bring us to the level of Franz Ferdinand. And you look back on that one, and it’s such a strange, hermetic, odd record so of course it was never going to. But this one is a lot more open and fun. It’s a silly record in a lot of ways. You can see our sense of humor and playfulness on this one, and that’s why I’m hoping this will find us a bigger audience. I think it has begun to already—the signs are looking really good. PG 25 • insiteatlanta.com • August 2007

MUSIC INTERVIEW

Straylight Run

FORMER TAKING BACK SUNDAY MEMBERS TAKE THE INDIE ROUTE BY JOHN B. MOORE

HOUGH LIGHT YEARS AWAY FROM the music they created with Taking Back Sunday, singer/guitarist John Nolan and bassist Shaun Cooper have settled into a comfortable niche writing remarkably beautiful songs with strong melodies in their post-TBS life. The indie rock sound of their new group, Straylight Run – also comprised of Nolan’s sister Michelle (vocals/keyboards) and drummer Will Noon – manages to evolve with each release. The dreamy, piano-driven songs first introduced on their eponymous debut and built upon with 2005’s Prepare to be Wrong EP, are more cohesive on their latest effort, The Needles The Space. While their debut was subtly impressive, their latest record shows a band more confident with their sound and much more willing to experiment. John, at home packing for a series of tours that promise to keep him and the band on the road through much of this year, took some time recently to talk about Straylight Run’s summer plans, recording in an office building and the pros and cons of making a record without a label. Let’s start out by talking about your new record, The Needles The Space. You went into the studio and started recording just after you left Victory. How was it not having a label while making an album? You know there were good and bad things about it. It was really great to not have the pressure, or the input, or the schedules that labels might have put on the recording sessions and we spent probably two months tracking the record and we spent on an off another two months just doing mixing, so we really took our time with it. It was a much more kind of relaxed schedule than it would have been otherwise. I mean we worked very long days and we worked hard, but at the same time, we had the luxury of being able to go away from things for a little while, come back and rethink them. We redid a lot of things and things were changing throughout the whole course of the record. It was a very open-ended thing. A lot of times you get in the studio and have from this time to this time and the record is done, whether you feel it is or not, because you spent all of your money and time. It was nice to have that freedom and nice to be in change of the producing of it. On the other hand, it’s very scary to not know what’s going to happen with the record - if any label would even want to put it out. Not knowing what the future holds can be very frightening.

Part of the plan of doing the record ourselves was that we would have the record exactly as we wanted it and the labels could hear it and say “Yeah, we’re into this and want to put it out,” or “No we’re not into it.” Universal Republic was just real excited about the album and they wanted it put out the way that it was and just really got behind us and said they believed in what we were doing; had seen what we had done on our own and they were in to it. It’s been really great. Basically they have been there to make the things we want to happen, happen. So no requests to make any changes? They were totally cool with everything. The only thing that they said to us, after we were signed, they did have one sit down with us and said “Just so we can all be clear on what the goals of this band are, this is probably not going to be a record that sells a million copies, it’s not going to be a platinum, top 40 radio record. If you want that, we probably need to go back and re-do some things and re-record.” And we were like “We’re not going for that, so…” I feel like a lot of

ics on that song, I just felt like that was something I had been trying to express for a longtime and just didn’t really know how to do it with a song. For whatever reason, something just kind of clicked and it came through. Was there anything you or the others were listening that had an influence on the musical direction you took? There are a lot of accumulated influences of a lot of different bands over the past three years or so, with everyone in the band probably having their own different thing. When we were in the studio, and because we were involved with a lot of the mixing, I started to spent a lot of time listening to albums and kind of more picking apart the way they sounded and the way they were mixed, listening to them from that perspective and less from a perspective of trying to do something similarly musically. I spent a lot of time listening to Wilco’s “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” and I even started going back to some of the oldest Beatles records, because that was something we were trying to go for. I don’t know how much of it came through, but we kind of wanted the feel that some of those old records were made where you just put a mic in the room and you get what you get. There isn’t a lot of processing and manipulating in crazy ways after the songs are recorded, you get a lot more natural sound.

A LOT OF THE RECORD IS VERY PERSONAL, IN THE SENSE OF ME PUTTING THINGS OUT THERE THAT ARE OBSERVATIONS OF HOW I FEEL.

Where did you record the album? We recorded it in a few different places. We started out recording in the bottom floor of an office building. The company had gone out of business and our engineer’s father actually owned the building, so he let us do some recording there for a few weeks. We did some other stuff at our engineer’s studio in Brooklyn, we did a lot of stuff in Long Island and we even did some stuff at our engineer’s parents’ house, so it was kind of all over the place. Why did you end up choosing Universal Republic to put out the record?

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the problems that happen with major labels is that the band and the label never have this discussion and the label goes into it thinking we’re going to make this huge, platinum-selling record and the band is just hoping to maybe sell enough copies to just stay out on the road and recoup some costs. How do you describe this record in comparison to the EP or your first record? To me, it feels like a natural progression. I feel like we have a lot of elements of the EP and the first album there still there, but we’ve taken things also off in new directions and tried some new things. It didn’t feel to me like we wanted to do something completely different than either of our previous recordings, it just felt like this is where we are now and here’s the sound we’ve developed so far, let’s try taking that into some new directions and see what happens. In putting together this album were there any really big outside influences that affected either the music or lyrics? I know that for me, just getting to the point that I’m at in life, I’m not old, old, but I’m getting older. I felt more of an ability to sort of step back and observe my own feelings about life and also to step back and observe what’s happening in the world around us and to the people around us, personally and in general. For me, a lot of the record is very personal, in the sense of me putting things out there that are observations of how I feel. Any songs in particular that you are really proud of on this new album? I’m really proud of all of them, but one that first comes to mind is a song called “Who Will Save Us Now.” With the lyr-

Your sound in this band obviously sounds a lot different than Taking Back Sunday. Do you ever miss playing that kind of music? Not really, no. To me, we have songs like “Hands in the Sky” and even this new song “Soon We’ll Be Living in the Future;” it’s enough to me that we have these songs here and there that have that kind of energy. I don’t really miss it. I think if I did we would be writing songs like that more. I just don’t really miss it too much. Is it ever tough being in a band with your sister? It works out very well really. We’re pretty close in age, about two years apart, and all through high school and afterwards we had a lot of mutual friends and so for the past 10 or 15 years we’ve spent a lot of time together. We’ve always been hanging out with the same groups of people anyway, so I think it wasn’t too big of a jump to take it from that to now we’re going to be doing that on tour.

I assume you’ve gotten past the point of feeling like you’re always looking out for her, like any brother would. It’s always a little bit hard to totally separate yourself from that. I think we’ve got it pretty good. I feel like everyone in the band, we have sort of a family-type feelings, so Shawn and Will also kind of look out for her, but none of us are really overbearing or ridiculous. We have a good balance. What plans do you have now that the record is out? We haven’t finalized the plans yet, but I think we’re going to do a short tour in the UK and then after that we’re going to go out and do a couple of weeks on the Warped Tour in August. That’s all we have that’s definitely planned for now, but that takes us almost into the end of summer. We’ll be on the road for awhile.

Jackie Chan

FILM INTERVIEW

LEGEND OF THE FALL BY MATT GOLDBERG

ACKIE CHAN IS A ONEOFAKIND personality in world cinema. While new martial artists may fight their way into the business and parkour seems to be jumping on the stunt scene in a big way, Chan is the only man whose been doing both and doing them well for over thirty years. Jackie walks in the room all smiles and no matter how young you think you are, his energy and vitality are going to make you feel like you belong in an iron lung. We spoke to Jackie about his work in the long-awaited Rush Hour 3, how he has no plans to settle down, and how he’s maintained his popularity in two cultures as different as American and China. So it’s been six years since Rush Hour 2. That is Chris Tucker’s fault. [laughs] We finished Rush Hour 2 and wherever I go, people ask “When is Rush Hour 3 coming out?” and I say “Yeah! Let’s do Rush Hour 3!” Then I call Brett [Ratner, director]. And Brett says, “Yes! Let’s do it!” Then I call Chris and he calls Chris and Chris says “Yeah! Let’s do it!” Then…two years later, I see him at Cannes Film Festival. I say, “What happen?” and he says, “Yeah! What happen? Where’s Brett Ratner? Let’s do it!” And I wait. But I have to make my schedule because I’m fully booked! Then…three years later.

where ever I look, “I did this before, I did this before…” Nothing to do anymore! But Eiffel Tower? “Wow. Good.” Eiffel Tower helps me a lot. But honestly, without the Eiffel Tower, everything I’m doing is the same thing! Ladder fighting sequence: jump in and out. Building: In and out. Eiffel Tower: In and out but it’s like “Wow!” Nothing new anymore! Not like 300 [Jackie imitates the cameraramping action of fast-to-slow movements in 300]. We’re just doing reality movement.

Is filming movies in Hollywood different than making films in Hong Kong? Yes, it’s different. When I’m making Hollywood movies only for an American audience, and at that time, I don’t care about the Asian audience. You have to be totally into American: the dialog, the action sequence, totally into it. But when I make an Asian film, I don’t care about the American audience. I tried to make a movie for both: fail. I tried for so many years. Like The Medallion. “Okay American market…Asian market…” Fail. And, Mr. Nice Guy. Wrong. Some producer thinks they can make an Asian film with a cheap budget but we can release it in the American market but it doesn’t work. I tried so many times. Now, I plan: American Film—American Film. Asian Film—Asian Film.

EVERYONE CHOOSES THE EASY WAY. I HAVE MY OWN AUDIENCE SO THAT WHY I CONTINUE WORKING AND CANNOT RETIRE.

As you get older, is it harder to do the stunts? For me, honestly, you do it and it doesn’t matter. My schedule is fully booked till 2010. Even now, if you want to do Rush Hour 4, book right now! That’s my schedule! Right after Rush Hour 3, I’m immediately in Forbidden City with Jet Li. We finish next month. I start next movie, next month: Shingoku Story. That has to finish by April! April 1st: I have to finish my own movie. My schedule is all booked. I wanted to retire ten years ago! But it doesn’t get any harder to do the stunts? No, I’m training a lot and the good thing is I do the stunt coordination by myself so I know how far I can go, how high I can jump. And also, I know how good I am so I choose the location, I used the things to help me. You’re a unique presence in how you meld martial arts with stunt work. Are you surprised that there haven’t been any imitators or wannabes? The way they’re changing action right now, especially in Hollywood they use a lot of special effects with Superman and Spider-Man I think they’re clever. Hollywood can make anyone become an action star. Actually, I’m lucky. If everybody like me, I’d probably be gone. But everyone chooses the easy way. I have my own audience so that why I continue working and cannot retire. Is it difficult when designing stunts to come up with new ideas? Yeah, it’s more difficult, not like it used to be. Like wherever I go, I sit at the window. A lot of people, like tourists, they’re trying to take a photo. I’m different. I’m thinking “Ah, I can jump from building, I can jump to bus, I can jump to second floor.” But now,

dress and beautiful women. I say I trust American writer and director: they let me sing? Okay, I sing! Like Rush Hour 1 with Chris and me singing, I hate the “Hoo! Aw! Good God, ya’ll!” and the Beach Boys and I say, “No!” And then with Rush Hour 3, I say, “No!” But the movie coming out, everyone’s singing, “Hoo! Aw!” And I say, “Ah…this is American culture.” So this time when they want me to sing, after I choreograph all the big stunt sequence, they say “Too much, we need two minutes.” I spend two or three days on the set choreographing and I was so mad. But now, I just say, “Okay, we need this, we need that.” I just follow them.

So do you have with the singing? It’s fun! Better than action! You can swing, somersault, I might get hurt! Now [sings] “Over and over again…” One more time? Okay! “Over and over again…” Easy!

And sometimes you do a big stunt. But you do one joke, and the audience remembers. They’re remember me singing. Not the stunt. “Oh I loved the singing!” “What about the stunt?” “Oh, the stunt was good but I loved the singing!” So when I do a big, big stunt and all these moves and the partner do nothing; he just does one punch at the end, and the audience loves it. The whole fighting scene they forget but they remember the one punch at the end.

So what about Forbidden City? That’s for the American market. Totally for American market. I’m the Drunken Master and also I’m the old guy. And Jet Li is a monkey later and a monk. The writer, I think he is a big fan of Chinese culture. And before us? Ridiculous! We would never make these kind of things. But you can tell from the writer, director, producer, all of them: “Oh yeah! Oh my God!” They don’t know. They just threw everything together. Me and Jet Li together, all right! So the Chinese audience won’t like it, you think? I don’t think so. I think Chinese audience: “What? How can you put the two of them together?” Like King Arthur in a movie with President Bush. But American Film is American Film. When I go over to Asia, I make my own film: wow! So happy. I can make a baby project. I can make a myth. I can make a new Police Story. But those kinds of scripts to America and the producers say, “No, too dangerous. How can Jackie be a sick cop and cry the whole movie? No! Jackie—comedy.” So I do Rush Hour 1, 2, 3 now we’re talking about 4 and Shanghai Dawn; they won’t let me try something new. Always: cop, comedy. It seems like you’ve kind of accepted it. Before, I don’t accept it. I fight. But sometimes: wrong. I think sometimes the producer with $100 million, $80 million, they have the thought, they do the research. We don’t do the research. It’s just: “I think audience will like these kind of things!” I put both cultures together but will do it cheaply! We don’t have to spend $160 million dollars like Rush Hour 3. So much money: wasted! We do it cheap way: $10 million! But it doesn’t work! It just doesn’t work. American audience is so clever, they know. There’s a great moment in the film where you get to sing and you just look so happy doing it. Rush Hour is this kind of movie: happy-golucky and beautiful location and beautiful PG 27 • insiteatlanta.com • August 2007

MUSIC INTERVIEW

Sherwood Blazes New Trails in Internet Music Marketing BY JOHN B. MOORE

HILE RECORD LABELS SCRAMBLE to figure out just how to sell music in a world of file sharing and dirt cheap downloads, the guys in Sherwood have managed to successfully forge ahead with a whole new blueprint, regardless of whether a label is along for the ride. Formed in the dorms of Cal Poly State University, the four piece put out one record with SideCho Records, then found themselves on their own. Not wanting to wait around for someone to come to them, they decided to just give the music away. Available on a number of different Web sites, the indie rock Summer EP became a word-of-mouth success and helped them pack the clubs on a cross country trek. Well on their way to building up a genuine community, label offers began to pour in. Sherwood, looking for career longevity rather than a quick blip on the charts, decided to ignore the tried and true route and give the just-launched MySpace Records a shot. Their first release since signing is “A Different Light,” brimming with Brian Wilson-worthy melodies, and sun-soaked lyrics. Calling in from Rochester, NY, where they’re playing with Reliant K and Mae, keyboardist Mike Leibovich, talked about giving away their music, plans for the summer and their Beach Boys/ELO-inspired new record. How’s the tour been going so far? It’s going great. Almost every night has been sold out. We’ve been playing to anywhere from 1,500 people to upwards of 3,000 people and we’re having so much fun. Are these some of the largest crowds you have played to? Yes, definitely. It’s actually a lot of fun for us to be the opening band because although we have a decent amount of people who already know who we are, we’re still trying to win people over, so it’s just a different kind of feeling than when you do a headlining tour. There’s more pressure now and we kind of have to prove ourselves every night. I actually first heard about your band, like a lot of people, online. You were offering free downloads of your last EP. What made you decide to give those songs away? That’s a really good question. Most of our ideas come from late night brainstorming sessions and in kind of a weird way, the Summer EP, from a business perspective, we kind of felt like we were backed into a corner as far as what our next move was. Our first record came out on SideCho Records and it was just a one album deal, but after that release, there wasn’t a whole lot of momentum going for us. We had a few offers from record labels, but nothing that we were incredible excited to move forward with. We’ve always been a do-it-yourself band, so the idea was just to release the next record ourselves and try and get distribution, and then it evolved into what if we do an EP, then what if we actually give the songs away for free. So we funded it ourselves and decided to give it away. It was not only a means to get more fans, but hopefully also to generate momentum as far as maybe our next label. And it happened exactly the way we hoped it would. Was there anyone that was saying don’t give it away? The truth is that anybody who was in our camp was all about it. Anybody who was looking at it from a record label stand point was “why would you give them away, when someone could make money from that.” And even MySpace Records, who we ended up with, said “what about these songs you gave away for free? We liked them and really hope that some of them will be on the next record.” We’d love to re-record them with an actual instudio recording budget. For us, it wasn’t about money as much as advancing our career. Have you found that a lot of people discovered you through the downloads? Actually more than I ever would have expected. We put out our first EP like two records before that and not a whole lot of people have that one. Even at that point we were advocating that people burn a copy and pass it out. The longevity of a career is much more important to us then selling a few extra records. Plus we are a touring band and we spend a lot of time on the road, so we’d rather them come to a show and hang out, maybe get a shirt and listen to the music live. We’re really into building relationships with fans.

Did you guys all meet at school? Yeah, we did. The band was originally started by Nate (Henry) our lead singer and Dan (Koch), the guitar player, were playing in another band together – sort of a Ramones cover band. They had met in the coffee shop circuit and Joe (Greenetz), our drummer, was playing in another band in town and that band was ending, so Nate and Dan snatched Joe because he was an incredible drummer. Coincidentally, my junior year of college, I was roommates with them and was living with them at the time Sherwood was forming, so I ended up joining because they needed a keyboard player. Let’s talk about the new record, “A Different Light”. Did you approach recording this record a little differently? We’d heard about other bands renting places to write, so we decided to rent a house ourselves in Mexico for about six weeks, right around October and November. We were basically holed up on this beautiful beach with no neighbors and nothing to do but play music, eat tacos and go swimming in the ocean. That ended up being an incredible inspiration overall on the music. We’d also never had that much time to write and record before. Where you guys listening to a lot of Brian Wilson and Beach Boys when recording? Yeah, very much so. We had this kind of like morning ritual when we were in Mexico. The first hour of waking up we would play the Beach Boys or Electric Light Orchestra. It just kind of gets your mind rolling, listening to music and getting ready for the day. It was our way of getting ready to go into the office. Talk to me about how you guys ended up on MySpace Records. It was entirely done through Tom, the guy who runs MySpace. It was his idea to start a record label and it was kind of his idea to find the bands he was interested in. He found out about us through a friend, I think, and he sent us an e-mail through MySpace. It was incredibly impersonal, it wasn’t very explanatory; it was just “Hey, are you guys unsigned? I like your EP.” We wrote back “Is this a joke?” About a week later we started talking about it. It was initiated through MySpace. What was it about MySpace that appealed to you guys? Kind of the same reason we went with the Summer EP. The music industry on a whole is going through this crazy morph and we’re very aware of it and are very aware of how many bands sign to major labels and you never hear from them again. So for us, we sat down and talked with him for about five or six hours and talked creatively about all the ideas we want to do over time and they seemed just very much on board with the same things. They’re very innovative. Definitely in comparison to other labels we talked to they are much younger and less proven, but the fact that they were willing to try new things was the reason we decided to go with them. Everyone else just wants to do things the way they’ve always done it. Did you guys realize early on the importance of the Internet in getting your music out there? Yeah, we actually first got our band MySpace page over three years ago. We were one of the first bands to kind of make the transition from PureVolume.com. We found out how successful the new music Web sites can be. People are looking for new music all the time. We were still in college and got a MySpace page and were definitely very proactive. We were sending out messages and searching for other bands that people might like that are similar. We’ve kind of always been aware of the potential of (MySpace); it’s kind of funny we ended up on the label three years later. We also like being able to do videos and it all seems to kind of play into the same thing. What are your plans after you get off this tour with Reliant K and Mae? We’re doing a few different things. We’re going to do about two weeks of headlining shows, then we’re meeting up with Motion City Soundtrack who we’ll be touring with for the rest of the summer. We’re also playing Summer Fest. We’re going to be main support for Sum 41 at that show. We’re still kind of putting things together after that.

POLITICS

Washington Outsider BY MATT GOLDBERG • The President commuted I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby’s sentence so that he would not have to serve jail time. I applaude PRESIDENT BUSH finally using that compassionate conservatism he once used to talk about. And there’s no greater act of compassion than making sure the guy who used to work for you doesn’t reconsider his alliegeance as his he finds that guys nicknamed “Scooter” are better suited to being muppets than prison inmates. • But the main-stream media has certainly lived up to its sterling reputation by allowing itself to be the GOP speakerbox and making sure that you know that while Bush commuted Libby’s sentence, BILL CLINTON pardoned really bad people! Dammit, Clinton! Will your reign of terror never cease? How can we ever hold George W. Bush accountable for anything if you keep doing things over seven Bon Jovi years ago?! • On July 7th, a worldwide concert known as LIVE EARTH was held around the globe as numerous pop and rock music acts gathered to perform and raise awareness of the climate crisis. No word on how much pollution was caused by the private jets used by these superstars or the amount of trash generated by the crowds, but apparently if everyone uses enough of those mercury-filled lightbulbs, it will all even out. The crying Native American could not be reached for comment because he had been pulverised by hypocrisy. • As Senator JOHN MCCAIN’S slow and painful presidential campaign wears on to its inevitable death, McCain has reportedly lashed out at his aides for making him wear “gay sweaters”. Staffers were then told to rush out to every Old Navy store and purchase knit-wear with “100% Heterosexuality” printed right on the label. No word yet on what McCain plans to do with his homo jackets and lesbian sneakers. • On July 10th, Secretary of Homeland Security MICHAEL CHERTOFF said that an increased risk of terrorism were based on a “gut feeling”. Mr. Chertoff ’s brains could not be reached for comment since they were out to lunch with his testicles and spine.

• Speaking of Edwards, both the former senator and fellow candidate HILARY CLINTON were caught talking about making the debates smaller. With the 5’7” Dennis Kucinich in the race, I really don’t see how that’s going to happen. • The FOX NETWORK has refused to air a national commercial for Trojan condoms, stating that they objected to the message that condoms can prevent pregnancy. However, bastion of morality and science that they are, Fox has decided to run PSAs with the slogan, “Pull Out and Hope For The Best!” • Because he is full of shit, President Bush went in for a routine colonoscopy and handed Presidential powers over to VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY for the duration of the procedure. Who will run Cheney’s shadow -branch of governement recently played Live Earth remains unknown but insiders believe Cheney’s longtime friend and advisor Lord Voldemort will handle those responsibilities while his master is away. • Former Republican Majority Leader TOM DELAY told a group of College Republicans (who took time off from supporting a war they won’t actually fight in) concerning abortion, “If we had those 40 million children that were killed over the last 30 years, we wouldn’t need the illegal immigrants to fill the jobs that they are doing today. Think about it.” At the very least, we could have built a giant wall of dead babies along our southern border. Think about it. • After having an all-night debate over troop withdrawl from IRAQ, Republicans again trotted out the standard rebuttal insult to Democrats, “cut and run”. I think it’s time to find a new meaningless soundbyte to apply to those who wish to get out of the clusterfuck of Iraq. I suggest the following: “Demolish and Dash”, “Fuck and Flee”, “Slaughter and Skedaddle” and “Stop destroying someone else’s country as we only increase the resolve and cause of terrorists and quit wasting money and more importantly, American and Iraqi lives in a fight we can’t win.” That last one may not catch on.

• After former White House counsel HARRIET MYERS refused to appear before congress despite being subpoenaed (I didn’t know you could even do that!), members of the House Judciary Committee decided to speak to her empty chair, after deciding that the chair would be more forthcoming with answers and have a higher IQ (you may remember that Myers once said she thought that President Bush was the smartest man she’d ever met). • Presidential hopeful MITT ROMNEY took time oﬀ from strapping the family dog to the roof of his car to use $300 of campaign funds to get some make-up done before a televised debate. That’s $100 less queer than he accused John Edwards of being when he lambasted the North Carolina democrat for getting a $400 haircut. Of course no one has commented on Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd’s $1,000 bikini wax, facial, and man-tan because no one knows that Chris Dodd is running for President.

Fox would rather “pull out and hope for the best” than promote the use of Trojan condoms. PG 29 • insiteatlanta.com • August 2007

FILM INTERVIEW

Arctic Tale Director Sarah Robertson Finds (Wild) Life After Penguins BY MATT GOLDBERG

HILE EVERY STUDIO AND ITS PARENT COM PANY seems eager to dash out a penguin movie and capitalize on the amazing success of March of the Penguins, director Sarah Robertson was busy on the other side of the world studying two other species and their struggle for survival, especially in the face of unprecedented climate change which is forcing these animals to either adapt or die. We sat down with Robertson to talk about her experience shooting a film in one of the planet’s harshest locations. How many years did you spend making Arctic Tale? We made it over a period of fifteen years. Fifteen seasons that we’ve been collecting footage and we didn’t know till about five years ago what the story would be and that happened when we started to see a lot of climate change happening; that we were able to identify what we were seeing. Were you able to see how their behavior patterns were changing? Absolutely. From the very beginning, fifteen years ago, scientists said walruses and polar bears did not come together. That it would be very rare for a polar bear to hunt a walrus. Then we started seeing contradictions to that and started pursuing that story. We found out that over time, walruses and bears were coming together a lot and polar bears were teaching each other how to hunt walruses, which is not their food source (fish are their food source). Now this is a predictible event and you can go and see it multiple times within a season. What drew you to focus on both two species? We started out just really focusing on the walrus. No one knew anything about this animal at all and we were young photographers, my husband and I, and looking for a niche. Something interesting that we could explore. We found that in the walrus. When we were first told not to go into the water with a walrus, not to swim with it because they’ll gore you with a tusk and suck the brains out. And we thought, “Well that’s a crazy story!” and we thought “How is there

such a large animal in the world that no one knows anything about it.” So we started to ﬁnd about it by reading about it and living with it. And that’s when we found the mother holding on to her baby calf, in such an amazing way with the hug and the kiss with their moustache pad and we were really attracted to that. And then we started to see this third, helper female walrus. And this was sort of stuﬀ that was never known before. So we found out a lot about the walrus and its family heirarchy. And then that’s when we found polar bears because polar bears were coming in to hunt the walrus. And that’s when we realized we had this great parallel story with a mom-walrus bringing up the calf for three years with the help of the herd juxtapoased with the polar bear/single mom bringing up its cub for three years.

able to get very close to it or not without being bothered. Polar bears are obviously a little different. How did the climate change affect your filmmaking in terms of your ability to film in certain locations? Well we worked with the Inuit people a lot who are the indigenous people to that region and we travel with them on the ice and we completely depend on them when we go on the ice and what the weather is doing and they have been baffled now by the weather and ice and now it’s unpredictable. The pattern of ice is all changed. It becomes much more difficult to go and find animals. Weather patterns are changing and there’s a lot of wind and storms and current changes which bring a lot of bad weather; moreso than in the past. And a lot of erosion so places that were there before are no longer there.

Were you able to film these animals without interfering or having them notice you? Well in the Arctic, that’s really hard to do because it’s just a flat plain. There are no trees. There’s nothing to hide behind and even the Antarctic has huge research stations and is much more developed even though it’s even more remote. And the animals are so sensative that they immeadeately know you’re there so it’s almost impossible to hide. We realized we had to be part of the dynamic of the environment and live with the element. So they always knew we were there and instead we became habitualized to them. We did a meet-and-greet session and figured out who everyone was where everyone’s territory was and then we’d go from there. And often they continue to react in as normal behavior as possible. There are some intense scenes in the film. How were you able to safely get those shots? We used a lot of remote cameras on poles and to get into tight places or dangerous situations. Some of the animals will allow you to get really close and you can just tell by reading its personality; walruses especially, you can just tell if you’ll be

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FEATURE

FALL EDUCATION GUIDE Our Fall Education Guide profiles a diverse group of schools offering a variety of courses in different fields. Enjoy your search in continuing your education.

The Art Institute of Atlanta

6600 Peachtree Dunwoody Rd. 770-394-8300 www.artinstitutes.edu/atlanta

here will your talent take you? With the right education, it can take you to a rewarding creative career. That's the kind of education you'll find The Art Institute of Atlanta, the college for creative minds. Here you'll find relevant, practical, hands-on education in a creative environment. Our professional faculty brings real-world insight into the classroom. Internships, class projects, and community service projects help you build a portfolio you'll be proud to show potential employers. The college offers degree and diploma programs, as well as non-credit community education workshops in design, media arts, fashion, and culinary arts. From cooking to photography, audio or video production to interior or graphic design, you'll find creative worlds to explore. Our 2,700 students include those returning to college to complete their education or to get a second degree or diploma as well as recent high school graduates. Want to explore where your talent can lead? Call 770.394.8300 (770.689.4764 for community education) or visit www.artinstitutes.edu/

America’s Real Estate Academy, Inc. 770-591-5552 www.education-area-ga.com

eady for a new career or just starting out? Opportunities await within Atlanta's growR ing real estate market. Sales, appraisal and home

inspection positions offer you potential unlimited income with relatively low investment and AREA can help you get started! America's Real Estate Academy, Inc. (AREA) is a full-service real estate education provider offering students high quality education and functional training. Improved and more relevant education make new and existing licensees more appealing to hiring brokers, appraisers, and home inspectors and more successful as entrepreneurs. A returning appraisal graduate stated "I have taken one CE course elsewhere since becoming registered through AREA and was very disappointed. Your team continues to provide quality education and resources. I am grateful!!" Curriculum director, Dick Viti, with over 30 years of real estate experience in Georgia and Florida, oversees AREA's instructors. All instructors are professionals who teach while conducting successful appraisal, home inspection, and/or real estate sales businesses bringing

realism and practical instruction to the classroom. They have accomplished it and can assist a student's entry into the business. In addition to state mandated training, students receive superior industry reports that they can utilize with essential proven terminology to guide them and help them get started. Students also receive useful business and marketing tools and tips to assist them in their new careers, which includes access to national professional organization memberships and industry supplies at discounts. AREA bridges the gap between traditional academic programs and the real world, including offering an Appraisal Mentor Program; ability to hold sales licenses; and additional business and technology training and courses to give AREA students a competitive edge. AREA services the entire Metro and surrounding Atlanta area. Students have even traveled from surrounding states to receive AREA's professional training. Check schedules and register for classes now by visiting AREA's website at www.education-area-ga.com or by calling 770591-5552.

Aveda Institute Atlanta

Are you fully employed, but unfulfilled? The mission of Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School is to prepare highly competent and professional lawyers who possess a strong social conscience, continually demonstrate high ethical standards, and are committed to the improvement of the legal system and society.

3402 Piedmont Road (404)-649-7119 (888) AVEDA.GA www.avedainstitutes.com

Please join our Dean, admissions representatives, faculty, and students for an Admissions Open House to learn how becoming a lawyer can maximize your skills and secure your future

he Aveda Institute was founded to create some of the most successful entrepreneurs in hair, skin and nail esthetics, makeup, massage and total body wellness. Our students are educated by accomplished professionals using innovative curriculums that blend professional techniques with retail and business-building skills. Each of our Institutes operates as a fullservice Aveda location with its own retail area, salon floor and booking system, which gives our students the most effective education and training possible. With the Aveda network, over 6,500 salons and spas worldwide, our students have endless opportunities for growth- both professionally and personally. Upon graduation, our students have an average earning potential of $36,100 or more for a full-time salon professional and $53,150 or more for salon and spa owners. And according to industry statistics, new hires are up nationally by 37%. Our Institutes also emphasize personal well-being as well as environmental responsibility. Using Aveda pure flower and plant essences and plant-based products, we affirm the relationship between personal beauty, wellness and the environment. For more information, please call our admissions director at 888.AVEDA.GA.

Saturday October 6th, 2007 Saturday February 23rd, 2008 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon Please register online or by contacting: Ofﬁce of Admissions 404-872-3593 admissions@johnmarshall.edu

DeVry University 800.348.1017 www.devryUatl.com

eVry University provides high-quality, career-oriented undergraduate degree programs in technology, business, and management. DeVry University’s Georgia campus offers bachelor's degree programs in Game and Simulation Programming, Computer Engineering Technology, Electronics Engineering Technology, Computer

Offering part-time and full-time programs

www.johnmarshall.edu PG 31 • insiteatlanta.com • August 2007

Janke Studios

Ca Opp reer ortu niti

659 Auburn Ave. Studioplex G-9 404-584-0305 www.jankestudios.com Janke Studios

659 Auburn Ave. Studioplex G-9

f you have marveled at the beautiful freewww.jankestudios.com form and controlled Ior404-584-0305 works of Dale Chihuly watched a glassblowing documentary, you f you have marveled at is the beautifulglass freeknow that there a thriving form andcommunity Iorshould Chihuly controlledheating works of blowing upDale in Atlanta! watched a glassblowing documentary, you

When you're Serious about Real Estate Education!

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Call AREA to Begin or Advance a Successful Real Estate Career!

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International School of Skin & Nailcare International School of Skin & Nailcare

Smar t Fun COMMUNITY AND PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION AT THE ART INSTITUTE OF ATLANTA

T T

TAKE YOUR SKILLS TO A NEW LEVEL OR LEARN SOMETHING NEW JUST FOR FUN NEW! Landscape Design/Build

Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School

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A A

Interior Decorating Cooking and Cuisine Wine Education The summer class schedule is now online! Go to www.artinstitutes.edu/atlanta and click on Community Education. For more information, call 770.689.4764 or contact us at aiasmartfun@aii.edu. In addition to community and professional education, The Art Institute of Atlanta offers diploma, associate, and bachelor’s programs in over a dozen ﬁelds in design, fashion, media arts, and culinary arts. For more information about degree programs, workshops, or Creations, the college’s student-run dining room open to the public, call or visit www.artinstitutes.edu/atlanta.

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college or university's Career Services office to find out the dates college or upcoming university'scareer Career Services officeabout to find outisthe dates of any fairs and inquire who able to of any fairs and inquire about who is able to upcoming career attend and at what times. attend and at what times.sure you understand how to market yourBefore you go, make Before you go, make youface understand howa to marketemployer. yourself effectively whensure you're to face with potential self effectively you're face to face with a potential employer. In additionwhen to arriving professionally dressed, with several In copies addition to arriving dressed, with several of your resumeprofessionally in hand copies yourresearch resume done in hand andofsome on the and some research done on the companies in attendance, you KIMBERLY GUELCHER, ALUMNI CAREER SERVICES companies in attendance, you KIMBERLY GUELCHER, ALUMNI CAREER SERVICES should also have prepared a GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY should also have prepared a GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY polished "elevator speech" that polished "elevator speech" that the employer who you are, all is just around the corner and for many college students tellstells the employer who you are, all is just around the corner and for many college students what excel in, and why that that means gearing up for college recruiting season. It's the what youyou excel in, and why that that means gearing up for college recruiting season. It's the should be relevant to them. time of year when employers visit college campuses to seek out should be relevant to them. time of year when employers visit college campuses to seek out The term comes from conThe term comes from thethe congraduating seniors willready be ready hit workforce the workforce graduating seniors who who will be to hittothe in in cept of generating outside intercept of generating outside interDecember and May. December and May. estwhat in what in approxiyouyou do, do, in approxiof such a thing? Then, you've missing NeverNever heardheard of such a thing? Then, you've beenbeen missing out!out! est in mately the same amount of time mately the same amount of time College career fairs and on-campus recruiting are an excellent College career fairs and on-campus recruiting are an excellent travel a couple it takes to to connect employers are looking to hire students it takes to travel a couple of of way way to connect with with employers who who are looking to hire students floors on elevator an elevator with on an with for time part time and summer and upcoming graduates for fullfloors for part and summer work,work, and upcoming graduates for full someone who isainposition a position someone who is in to to time employment when they graduate. Many companies are also time employment when they graduate. Many companies are also help further your goal. help further your goal. interested seeing alumni to help fill their higher experiinterested seeing alumni to help fill their higher levellevel and and experia job seeker might "Hi, Mary Smith and a career fair,fair, a job seeker might say:say: "Hi, I'mI'm Mary Smith and At aAt career positions. encedenced positions. I'm currently working in the financial industry for a small, local I'm currently working in the financial industry for a small, local school may have different policies, check school may have different policies, check withwith youryour SinceSince each each

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PG 32 • insiteatlanta.com • August 2007

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FILM INTERVIEW

HOT DOG! The Surprising Rise Of Andy Samberg

BY MATT GOLDBERG

RISING FROM THE HUMBLE ORIGINS OF THE Internet with the sketch group The Lonely Island, Andy Samberg has become SNL’s breakout star, headlining the major summer comedy Hot Rod. We spoke with Andy about his thoughts on the future of comedy now that the Internet has become such a major player and how he had to get on TV in order to score big on the Internet with popular sketches like “Lazy Sunday” (The Chronicles of Narnia rap) and “Dick in a Box”. Are you surprised that you’ve become a bit of a sex symbol? Yes. I definitely don’t think of myself that way.

SNL environment? It’s been great. We kind of stumbled into doing the digital shorts just by the nature of that’s what we’d been doing before we got there. Akiva [Schaffer, director] and Jorma [Taccone, co-star] shot thing and took it to the producers and asked if it would be cool to put it on the show and they said “Sure! We’re always looking for pre-taped stuff.” Mainly because there’s two live acts and they need something to cut to when they swing the sets around. So we went out and shot stuff and they liked it so for now we’ve found a nice little niche and it’s thankfully, especially for me since I’m in the cast, that we’re much more comfortable with.

How did you select the music and how important was the music selection for you in this film? It was very important. We’re huge music guys. We all grew up watching the movie Rad, it’s a BMX movie from the 80s and there’s a few John Farnum songs in it, and the main one is “Thunder in Your Heart” so Akiva and Norma were on the Internet looking for more John Farnum songs because we thought they were so great and we found “You’re the Voice,” One day we were in pre-production and the song came on and I just started writing the marching scene. I just love the song so much! The song inspired the entire scene. It’s both actually really good and ridiculous and nostalgic which I feel is the tone of the movie.

This was originally a Will Ferrell vehicle. What changes did you make when you came on board? The biggest change was stripping out all the stuff that was specific to him. I’ve always said that the biggest shame in doing this movie is that we never got to see the version of him doing it because we’re such huge fans of his. But we kind of took it down to square one and rebuilt the character in way that I felt more comfortable performing and could get more laughs rather than just doing an impression of Will. How comfortable are you wish physical comedy? I’d say quite comfortable! I mean, I’ve always been willing to throw myself around for the sake of a joke and the plot of this movie called for that quite a bit so I was happy to do it.

Earlier we spoke to Ian McShane about your fight scenes and he said he could take you any day. Oh, he can take me any day he wants. In many ways. He’d overpower me, yeah. Oh, McShane is a dreamboat.

Coming from The Lonely Island which was an online comedy group, are there any other online sketch groups you admire? A lot of stuff we watch online are ironically people we watch on TV like Tim and Eric Awesome Show is amazing and totally bizarre. Before we started out we would watch the Stella shorts online because those guys are hero-less, bar-none. That dude who does Shoes and Muffins. I like those. How has YouTube changed comedy? I don’t know if it’s changed comedy as much as it’s changed the business of comedy. It’s definitely been helpful for us. The irony is that we were working on doing stuff for the Internet for five years and then we got on SNL and something we did on network television became an Internet thing. I think our story and a few others like us have opened that door in terms of people that are in a position to make legitimate stuff are looking to the Internet as another option to stand-up and improv. And it’s pretty easy to spot. When you see something online and it really makes you laugh and then you watch something else by those people that really makes you laugh, there’s a good chance they know what they’re doing. Do you feel like the Internet accommodated your comic sensibilities in allowing for a quirkiness that formally wasn’t really accepted by the mainstream? Definitely. You can get away with weirder stuff on the web. It’s not like a carpet-bomb atmosphere. If you’re on a network show, there’s a lot more people that are just going to be watching by chance whereas on the Internet you’re going to get sent something specifically because someone said “Hey, you know who will like this? Bob.” And Bob will sure enough like whatever that is because people know their tastes. Or if you’re the kind of person who says “You know what I want to see? A monkey scratching its own butt.” You look specifically for a monkey scratching its own butt and whatever footage there is of that online you’re going to get exactly what you want. It’s easier for stranger, more off-beat stuff to find its audience on the Internet because it finds its audience exactly whereas you put that stuff on network television it stands a much greater chance of “What the hell is this?! This isn’t for everyone! This is for those few people!” What’s it been like bringing those comic sensibilities to the PG 34 • insiteatlanta.com • August 2007

One of the reasons we were really excited and felt good about it is that Paramount went on record at the beginning as being cool with us doing that. They said “We feel like you guys have your own style and tone and we don’t want to screw that up; we just want you to come in and feel creative and comfortable doing weirder stuff.” I think as far as they were concerned, the premise of the movie, they already had their poster so the more original and interesting we can make this, the better off we’ll be. That’s what people seem to be responding to lately.

You’ve got a pretty high profile at this point. Is it due to SNL or is it due to the web? I think it’s both. I think anyone who’s on SNL, their profile jumps ten-fold because it’s an institution and its churned out a lot of the greatest comics in the last thirty years so anytime Lorne decides he likes someone and puts him on the show, a lot of people are going to check it out and see if he was right again. For me, personally, YouTube was really big because the press really latched on to that story. The timing with “Lazy Sunday” and “Dick in a Box” was incredibly fortunate. It was right when that technology was hitting its stride and we were at the crest of that wave so therefore me and Parnell’s photo from “Lazy Sunday” became sort of the poster for that news story. It was written up everywhere. I had people calling me up, “I just you in this newspaper!” “I just saw you in this magazine!” and it wasn’t generally a story about me but a story about the Internet and subsequently, I got way more known for it.

I MEAN, I’VE ALWAYS BEEN WILLING TO THROW MYSELF AROUND FOR THE SAKE OF A JOKE AND THE PLOT OF THIS MOVIE CALLED FOR THAT QUITE A BIT SO I WAS HAPPY TO DO IT. In the future would you like to do more script-based comedy as opposed to slap-stick comedy? That’s an interesting question because I think Hot Rod has both. I think it’s really easy to take one look at Hot Rod, or especially one look at that trailer and think, “Oh, it’s one of those.” But I feel like there’s a big comedic range in the film. We are influenced by a lot of different types of comedy and I think it’s good to have more of a broad touch to it so that people have an avenue into it and then they can get on board and enjoy the rest of the weirder stuff. But we are so into comedy that we don’t like to make anything that doesn’t have a few levels to it. Was it important to you maintain that level of comic diversity in this film?

What are your future plans? I haven’t signed on to do anything else but I know I want to do something else with Akiva and Jorma and I want it to be another crazy comedy. What’s it been like being friends with Akiva and Jorma since junior high school and now working with them today but you’re the one who takes up most of the poster? They give me tons of shit but the only way you know when your still friends with somebody is when you’re giving each other tons of shit about something and…we are. Those two dudes are two of my best friends of my entire life and we’re constantly giving each other shit and the second we stop is when there’s something actually wrong. As far as I’m concerned, what’s happening right now is just one wave of our time together has been and its gone in different cycles where one of us is put out there more and known more for the stuff he’s been doing and I have no doubt that those two guys will soon be way ahead of me. Akiva as far as I’m concerned is a top-shelf director. He can do any movie he wants. He’s all self-taught and unknown even to himself of how good a director he can be. And Jorma is a classically-trained theatre actor and also as funny as anyone I know. Those two can write their own ticket and are gonna be just fine and I think we all kind of know it so that’s why they don’t really give a shit that I’m out there more right now.

SPORTS NEWS

The Veteran

Can Chipper Jones Lead The Braves Back To Greatness? O BY B. LOVE

RIGINALLY SELECTED by the Braves as the #1 pick in the 1990 amateur draft, Larry Wayne Jones, Jr. (a.k.a. Chipper) has achieved quite a lot in his 35 years. Since making his major league debut on September 11, 1993, the switch-hitting third basemen has won the National League MVP award, been an All-Star five times, hit over 350 home runs, passed Hank Aaron as the team’s all-time hits leader and maintained a career batting average over .300 (the only switch-hitter in major league history ever to do so). Perhaps more importantly, Jones stuck with the Braves even after most of his former teammates jumped ship for greener pastures, emerging as a leader in a clubhouse full of fresh faces. The Braves need Chipper’s leadership this year more than ever, as they attempt to bounce back after failing to make the playoffs for the first time in over a decade. We recently had the chance to talk to the humble veteran about his life, his accomplishments and what his team needs to return to their former pennant-winning glory.

Deﬁnitely getting drafted #1. Being the ﬁrst player taken in the draft, everything you do is put under a microscope and everybody’s watching you. I went from being a middle class private school kid to all of a sudden having all this money and attention, with people expecting me to make it to the big leagues very quickly. It was a lot of pressure and it changed my life on a dime. You’ve racked up quite a list of accomplishments. Are there any in particular of which you’re proudest? I actually saw one last night that I was kinda proud of: Over the last 12 years, I lead the majors in

players that could help us get some outs in the late innings. We won 79 games last year, but blew 29 saves. If you give us 20 wins out of those 29 saves, chances are we would’ve been right in the thick of things. Having taken care of that problem, we feel good about our chances this year. A new attitude? I really don’t think so. We’re still the same businesslike team we’ve always been, and we have fun playing the game. Now the young guys have a year under their belts, and we look for them to improve and continue to mesh with the older guys.

I WENT FROM BEING A MIDDLE CLASS PRIVATE SCHOOL KID TO ALL OF A SUDDEN HAVING ALL THIS MONEY AND ATTENTION, WITH PEOPLE EXPECTING ME TO MAKE IT TO THE BIG LEAGUES VERY QUICKLY. IT WAS A LOT OF PRESSURE AND IT CHANGED MY LIFE ON A DIME.

When you were growing up in Florida, how did your dreams of being a big league player compare to the reality you’re living now? It’s about what I expected. I grew up in a baseball family– my father was a high school coach and went on to be a coach at Stetson University– so all our spare time was spent around a baseball ﬁeld. I can remember when I was four or ﬁve years old telling my mom that I was gonna play in the big leagues one day. That was my goal, and I stayed tunnel-vision on it and stayed out of trouble enough to achieve it once I graduated high school. Who were the players you looked up to? I came up as a shortstop, so Cal Ripken was probably my #1 guy, as well as Barry Larkin and Ozzie Smith. If you combine the talents of all three, that was what I really wanted to be as a ballplayer. My dad brought me up in the shadow of Mickey Mantle, because he wanted me to be a switch-hitter and knew that would help me later on. You were 18 when the Braves drafted you, then made your major league debut three years later. Which of those events changed your life more dramatically?

game-winning RBIs. That’s quite a testament to the fact that, not only are you sustaining a high level of play for a very long time, but you’re also coming through in the clutch, when your team needs you. That’s big. I’ve hit in the middle of the lineup for one of the best organizations in baseball over the last 15 years, and people expect me to come through like that. Last year was the first season in over a decade in which you guys didn’t make the playoffs. How disappointing was that for you? Well, it was difficult. It was the first time I haven’t finished first in I don’t remember how long, so it was a tough pill to swallow. But you figure that the law of averages is gonna catch up to you eventually, and we were out of it so early that we had time to come to grips with it. There was just too much adversity to overcome with all the injuries and whatnot, and the Mets really played well. So we just wanted to spend the off-season regrouping, getting healthy and hopefully getting ready to take our crown back this year. You guys seem really fired up this season, starting out with the league’s best record. Is there a new attitude in the clubhouse? I think sometimes you have to take a step back before you can take a couple steps forward. We’d gotten knocked out in the first round of the playoffs the last few years, and we had a glaring weakness in our bullpen last year. It took John Schuerholz getting creative in the off-season to bring us in some

How do you balance the pressures of life on the road with being a dad and husband? It’s very difficult, and takes a lot of work. I’ve got four boys– ages 9, 6, 2 and 1– and I’ve missed out on a lot of first steps, first words, baseball games and more. But what I try to get across to my family is that what I do allows us to live the lifestyle that we live. I’ll be done soon enough, and I’ll have time to experience quite a bit of their adolescence then. You reportedly reworked your contract with the Braves after the 2005 season to give them more money to pursue free agents, which will essentially keep you in Atlanta for the duration of your career. What is it about this team that inspires that sort of loyalty? When you grow up in an organization and reap

the beneﬁts of the success the team has had, it’s hard to imagine yourself somewhere else. A lot of people think the grass is greener on the other side, but I’ve heard from people who’ve played here and moved on that it’s not. This is my home. This is where my kids go to school. I’ve lived here 15 or 16 years. So it’d be hard to imagine playing for another manager other than Bobby Cox. What do you think the team needs to do to return to its former glory? We just need to continue to do the things we’ve done in the early part of the season. We’ve played consistently, and with the exception of a few hiccups we’re going out and doing what we have to do every night. We’re getting really good starting pitching, we’re playing really good defense, we’re getting timely hits and we’re getting people in the late innings, which is something we haven’t been able to do in the last couple of years. As we gain conﬁdence– and with every close win we build character– this team’s gonna continue to get better and better.

Get it online.

www.insiteatlanta.com

�� PG 35 • insiteatlanta.com • August 2007

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Fanatic isn’t going to downplay the whole mess former NBA OFFICIAL TIM DONAGHY created with his game fixing scandal. It’s a really big deal. (Hmm, maybe all of the Hawks’ fourth quarter collapses weren’t their fault!) But I have to admit, the other day when forward Jalen Rose said he was going to ask the league back for all the money he lost from technical fouls at the hand of Donaghy’s whistle, it was pretty funny. “I could not believe it when Jennifer then got ‘clunked,’ but he does go off line from time to time. She just sank to her knees and we laid her down flat. She’s had two stitches and there was quite a lot of blood…She’s lying down, but is hoping to go back and see some more golf. We are trying to get TIGER to sign the ball. My wife did him a favor, she headed it back in for him.” –Open Championship spectator CECIL WILSON, after his wife was struck by an errant hit from Woods It seems like the ’07 TOUR DE FRANCE is doing just fine, headlinewise, without the help of the Americans. Sadly, all the front page attention is about drugs in the sport. Alexandre Vinokourov was disqualified for a positive test. On July 25, a group of Tour riders protested the cloud of controversy by staging a 13-minute race delay. The next day, then-race leader Michael Rasmussen was kicked out of the race for drug suspicion. “The morale is really down,” German rider Markus Fothen said. “Cycling is on the front page of the newspapers. The sport is losing. At the moment it is really hard.” “The professional sports world is plagued with players who have been accused, charged, or convicted of cruelty to animals, abusing pit bulls, and dogfighting, and we hope that this indictment sends a loud and clear message to players and the NFL that celebrity is not a sufficient excuse for breaking the law and that animal abuse should never be tolerated under any circumstances.” –PETA statement, responding to the NFL’s decision not to allow MICHAEL VICK into training camp If you aren’t a die-hard Houston Astros fan, you probably don’t know much about second baseman CRAIG BIGGIO. One of the game’s hardest workers for over 20 seasons, the one-time catcher turned Golden Glove infielder is hanging up the cleats after this season. No. 7’s next stop? Cooperstown. Here are some of the reasons why: 1) His 3,014 hits and 661 doubles

SPORTS NEWS

A Monthly Sports Wrap-up are more than any other active player 2) He’s one of only seven guys in history with 3,000+ hits/400 stolen bases 3) He’s in the top 25 all-time in atbats, runs scored, hits, doubles and extra base hits. “Critics wonder how San Francisco fans could be so blind to BALCO, “GameofShadows,” statistical oddities or the mere sight of BONDS’ bloated body. Please. We’re not blind to any of it. It’s just that Craig Biggio will hang up his cleats after this season. you don’t get to take back elation. If you spent years cheering the sight of a Bonds home run, perhaps sharing unforgettable moments with your kids, you don’t suddenly stop to realize you were an idiot.” –SAN FRANCISCO CHRONI CLE writer Bruce Jenkins And ﬁnally… A-Rod, who just turned 32, was just two homers shy of the 500-homer plateau at press time. Only one other player (Jimmie Foxx) reached that number before his 34th birthday! (And for the record, Bonds had just 327 at his 32nd b-day)…The newly-retired trio of NFL running backs Marshall Faulk, Tiki Barber and Curtis Martin rushed for a collective 36,829 yards over their hall of fame careers… Frank Thomas has the fewest multihomer games (29) of anyone with over 500… The NBA’s Christmas game will likely be Miami/Cleveland, putting a merciful end to the tired Shaq vs. Kobe subplot of the Heat/Lakers game… R.I.P Wake Forest b-ball coach Skip Prosser.

Must-See TV

Top 5 Games This Month NCAA Football

1 2

(September 1, Various times)

Aaah, the first weekend of college football, and it doesn’t matter if you’re watching Tennessee/Cal, Oklahoma State/UGA or Rice/Nicholls State.

MLB

(August 22, ESPN 2)

With three series of playoff importance on the sked (Yanks/Angels, Padres/Mets, Twins/M’s), this might prove the best night of baseball action all season.

Indianapolis at Dallas

FIBA Americas Championship

PGA Championship

(August 9, 8PM, Fox)

Two of the NFL’s high-profile stars, Peyton Manning and Terrell Owens, work out the kinks in their first preseason game.

(September 2)

Yeah, countries like Brazil and Puerto Rico have talent, but the US could win this baby with Dennis Kucinich as its 6th man.

(August 11-12, TNT/CBS)

British Open champ Padraig Harrington goes for a second major in a row at pictureperfect Southern Hills in Tulsa.

SPORTS NEWS

thly Sports Must-See TV FOOTBALL up GSU Top 5 Games This Month A talk with Consultant Dan Reeves BY DAVE COHEN

1 2

s Georgia State University continues the process of transforming its downtown campus into more of a community atmosphere and moves towards creating a more traditional student experience, the biggest steps are being taken with the addition of on-campus student housing. The University Commons opens in August with space for 2000 students and plans call for additonal housing in the near future. The other major addition currently being considered is whether to bring college football to Georgia State. The university recently hired Dan Reeves, the former head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos and New York Giants, as a football consultant. As a former player at the University of South Carolina and in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys, the Americus, GA native knows a thing or two about football. He spoke recently with Georgia State radio broadcast coordinator Dave Cohen.

Biggio will hang up his cleats after this season.

Coach, you go back a few months to the day of was announced. Do your hiring as aofconsultant nt years cheering the sight a Bonds home you feel progress is don’t beingsudmade to eventually ettable moments withlike your kids, you bring football to Georgia State? re an idiot.” –SAN FRANCISCO CHRONI I really do Dave. I’m excited about it. I think Dr. Patton (University President, Dr. Carl Patton) is. I talked with him about two weeks ago and he washomers excitedshy about the500-homer amount of money that we was just two of the have raised soFoxx) far. We’re certainly one other player (Jimmie reached that not where we want be butBonds I think thejust excitement that we felt hday! (And for thetorecord, had 327 given us hopes thatbacks we’veMarcome a long way, wly-retired istrio of NFL running we’ve got a for long way to go36,829 but that we’re going to Curtis Martin rushed a collective get there. careers… Frank Thomas has the fewest multi-

NCAA Football

I don’t think there is any question. When you look at the amount of alumni we have here in the (September 1, Various Atlanta area alone or from thetimes) numbers in the Aaah, the first weekend college southeast area, it would beof a great thingfootball, to have and matter if you’re watching for it ourdoesn’t alumni and give them something to come Tennessee/Cal, Oklahoma together for. I think it would beState/UGA exciting. You or Rice/Nicholls State. know, right now we really don’t have that thing that brings the alumni together for a weekend and to have that happen at Georgia State, I think there is definitely room for another school in the (August 22, ESPNin2) state and particularly the Atlanta area. With three series of playoff importance Studies so far conducted by the University show on the sked (Yanks/Angels, Padres/Mets, that it would be more cost effective to play games Twins/M’s), this might prove the best night in the Georgia Dome rather than build a stadium of baseball action all season. either on or near campus. What a great recruiting tool. Well, it does a lot for high school football to have the playoffs in the dome. Those kids talk about that for a long time. You’ve got the SEC Championship, the Peach Bowl, all the Falcon (August 9, 8PM, Fox) games. A lot of great games are played in there Two of the high-profile stars, and for youNFL’s to be able to go in there and Peyton play, I Manning andbeTerrell Owens, work out think would a great boost for Georgia Statethe kinks in their first preseason game. when we get our football program started.

MLB

Indianapolis at Dallas

FIBA Americas Championship

PGA Championship

e with over 500… The NBA’s Christmas game football as Do you think that with as much nd, putting aAtlanta mercifuland endthe to the tired vs. has already with state of Shaq Georgia akers game… WakeGeorgia, Forest b-ball coach theR.I.P Falcons, Georgia Tech, Georgia Southern, and all the high schools, that there is room at the table for one more program?

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I know that you’ve been getting the question over and over as to whether you would have any interest in being Georgia State’s first head coach but at this time it seems like you are enjoying just being involved in this2) whole process. (September I really do. It’s Brazil a great opportunity me. Well, Yeah, countries like and Puertofor Rico I love living but in Atlanta. I love everything I’vebaby have talent, the US could win this learned about Georgia State far. man. I don’t want with Dennis Kucinich as itsso6th anybody to think that I’m taking the Georgia State job and be the head coach there. We’re going to do what’s best for Georgia State, whether that happens to be me we’ll just have to (August 11-12, TNT/CBS) wait and see. champ Padraig Harrington British Open goesYou forcan a second in a row at pictureget moremajor information on Georgia State perfect Southern Hills in Tulsa. online at www.georgiastatesports.com Football PG 37 • insiteatlanta.com • August 2007

CELEBRITY GOSSIP

Wanton Distraction Skewed Views on Emmy Nominations BY MATT GOLDBERG

For this month’s installment of Wanton Distraction, I was prepared to rip the holy hell out of the Emmy nominations. I didn’t know what would be nominated; I just knew it would be wrong. This was a group of people that last year nominated Ellen Burstyn for being on screen for 14 seconds in a mini-series and completely ignored Hugh Laurie’s performance as the lovable pill-popper, Dr. House. And the Emmy nominations came on July 19th. And they were mostly wrong. And I just felt indifferent. Instead I was merely grateful for the small blessings and only slightly outraged at a few upsets. So instead of breaking down each category, assume the Emmys were wrong unless I say otherwise (Also note that I’m not commenting on the mini-series because like most of America, I don’t care). YOU DON’T WATCH THESE SHOWS, DO YOU? The nominees for Best Drama were Boston Public (featuring David E. Kelley’s Futurama-patented comedy/maudlin switch), Grey’s Anatomy (or Long Humorless Scrubs), House (not it’s best season but good enough), The Sopranos (more of an obligatory nod, but whatever), and Heroes. Heroes is basically everything that could ever be wrong with genretelevision. Why reward a show like Lost or Battlestar Galactica when you have a show that features the following exchange: WOMAN WITH SUPERSONIC HEARING WHO’S CLEARLY ABOUT TO BE MURDERED: Your heart…what’s that sound? SYLAR, THE BAD GUY WHO MURDERS PEOPLE AND STEALS THEIR ABILITIES: Murder. I forgive the occasional bad dialogue but that’s pretty much the quality of writing you’re going to get every second on Heroes. You’ll also get a final three episodes of wheel-spinning before the massively anti-climatic fight between Sylar and boring hero Peter Petrelli along with wholesale theft of plotlines from X-Men’s Days of Future Past and Alan Moore’s seminal Watchmen. Oh and plot-holes so big that you could fit the entire Marvel and DC universe inside and by the time this show ends up plagarizing every power and storyline from comics, that will probably be the case. But hey, it’s better Heroes than Friday Night Lights, a show that far surpassed its small-town/high-school angst trappings to become an up-

lifting and rich character drama that now just needs to find an audience who will respect its clear eyes and full heart. Unfortunately, most people are watching Heroes and 24 (which thankfully wasn’t nominated for Best Drama) and those people will have to be euthanized. As for Best Comedy series, the Emmys mostly got it right with The Office, 30 Rock, Ugly Betty, and to a passable extent, Entourage. Unfortunately, with all these comedies breaking the mold of the boring sitcom, the worst, most grating sitcom on television, Two and a Half Men had to squeeze its way in there. I was under the impression that comedies had to make people laugh, but I guess I was wrong. I guess shows like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Extras will have to be content with being funny. THE SMALL GIFTS Here is the very little that the Emmys did right: • Hugh Laurie for House • Steve Carell for The Office • Michael Emerson for Lost • Terry O’Quinn for Lost • Rainn Wilson for The Office • Jenna Fischer for The Office Eventually it’s hard to get mad at the Emmys compared to a ceremony like the Oscars. The Oscars are three to five films in 24 categories and that’s it. Not only do the Emmys vary on the number of nominees for each category (sometimes its five and sometimes its six), but there are almost a hundred different categories and they’re judging up to 24 hours of programming. What’s frustrating is that those who are in charge of nominating don’t even seem to be really pay-

CAPRICORN

CANCER

If you're feeling a bit more introspective this month than usual, dwelling on matters of the heart or bank account, don't fight it. As Funkadelic once sang, "The kingdom of heaven is within."

Whether you're trying to make more money, make the most of what you've got or simply solve an existing financial matter, the stars in your zone of self-worth are there to help this month.

AQUARIUS

LEO

With the Sun in your love and relationship zone, this is a perfect time to focus on romance. Just make sure you know the difference between reality and fantasy, and don't let your dreams obscure cold, hard facts.

Leos love the inherent drama of life and yearn for attention. With the Sun, Mercury, Venus and Saturn all in your sign, this month will find you virtually impossible to ignore.

PISCES

VIRGO

The planets are having a party in your work zone this month, forcing you to focus on the business at hand. Draw on your considerable physical, mental and emotional resources and you'll find success.

With the stars rendering you particularly vulnerable this month, it's a great time for a retreat, whether it's an actual physical getaway or merely a mental break from the draining events of the past year.

ARIES

LIBRA

Whether it's as simple as painting a picture, writing a story or planting a tree, or as complex as making a baby, this is a month for creativity. Whichever outlet you pursue, make the most of your creative energy.

There are bumps to be expected in your existential world this month. When your nose isn't to the grindstone, try to spend as much time as possible with supportive friends and family.

TAURUS

SCORPIO

Dec. 22nd thru Jan. 20th

Jan. 21st thru Feb. 19th

Feb. 20th thru Mar. 20th

Mar. 21st thru Apr. 20

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Aug. 24th thru Sept. 23rd

Sept. 24th thru Oct. 23rd

Oct. 24th thru Nov. 22nd

Bullish Taureans are notorious for resisting change, but this month the stars are encouraging you to make difficult, all-or-nothing decisions.

The Sun, Mercury and Venus in your area of life direction imply that major changes are afoot, some likely due to your own free will and others seemingly dictated by fate.

SAGITTARIUS

May 22nd thru June 21s

Nov. 23rd thru Dec. 21st

The lunar eclipse later this month promises big changes afoot. During this turbulent time, try to avoid saying the first thing that comes into your head, or making impulsive moves of any sort.

Travel and long-range interests are your focus this month, making it a great time to make long-term plans or reach a decision you've been debating for quite some time.

PG 38 • insiteatlanta.com • August 2007

The Office received several Emmy nominations.

June 22nd thru July 23rd

Apr. 21st thru May 21th

GEMINI

ing attention to the critics as much as they’re paying attention to the ratings, in which case, CSI is the best show on television so why even bother having awards? The critics will constantly point you in the direction of shows like The Wire, Battlestar Galactica and Friday Night Lights and even note the best performances (although they’ll also point you in the direction of shit like Heroes, but nobody’s perfect). But year after year, the Emmy voters just seem to pull out their old ballots and check off the same names again and again unless there’s been a major uproar over the show’s decline in quality (how viewers perceived a decline in quality in a show as terrible as 24 is beyond me) or a ratings slump. Television can go beyond its lowly nicknames of “boob tube” and “idiot box” when creative minds use it as a medium to tell long, interesting stories that go far beyond what they could do in the two-hour space of a movie, but as long as Emmy voters single out shows that appeal to the lowest common denominator, then it’s hard to take offense when someone says you should turn off the TV and read a book. Because as we all know, books are where you’ll find prose of the highest caliber and integrity. Isn’t’ that right, James Frey?

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