INsite Atlanta March 2007 Issue

Page 1

March 2. 60F0R7EE

Vol. 15, No

Eva Mendes

ntertainment Monthly Atlanta’s E w.insiteatlanta.com ww

MARCH MADNESS GUIDE! WE TALK TO

on her new film and being careful in hollywood

Interviews Alicia Keys Jim Carrey Kevin Smith



It’s the right time to start!

2 1 For

Register up to two people on one account, with only one initiation fee of $149

Each membership includes basketball court usage! kickbox cardio | cycling classes swimming pool | aqua fitness sauna | spa | yoga | state-of-the-art equipment | indoor basketball kids’ klub/baby sitting* | racquetball leagues* | personal training* and more!

CONVENIENT LOCATIONS | SPORTS CLUB AMENITIES AND A GREAT PRICE AKERS MILL | 770.956.9093 2995 Cobb Pkwy. ALPHARETTA/WINDWARD | 678.393.2733 5530 Windward Pkwy. ANSLEY MALL | 404.249.6463 1544 Piedmont Ave. NE ATLANTIC STATION - NOW OPEN! 800.730.9957 261 19TH St., Suite 1140 AUSTELL | 770.432.4262 1025 E. West Connector #2 BUFORD | 800.730.9786 Upcoming Sports Club - Join Now! 1600 Mall of Georgia Blvd. NE, Suite 858 CAMP CREEK | 404.344.1248 3755 Carmia Dr. SW, Suite 700 DUNWOODY/PERIMETER PT. 770.350.4951 1155 Mount Vernon Hwy.,#600 EAST COBB | 770.973.3370 4400 Roswell Rd.

KENNESAW/TOWN CENTER 770.427.9668 2801 George Busbee Pkwy. LENOX/BUCKHEAD | 404.233.8311 3232 Peachtree St. MIDTOWN | 404.249.6404 75 Fifth St., NW, Suite E NORTHLAKE | 770.414.0651 1990 W. Exchange Place PEACHTREE CORNERS 770.797.2661 7050 Jimmy Carter Blvd. #118 ROSWELL WEST 678.494.6464 4801 Alabama Rd. SNELLVILLE | 770.979.1288 2279 Pinehurst Rd. SOUTHLAKE | 770.960.0393 7057 Mount Zion Circle

HOLCOMB BRIDGE | 770.640.8137 1475 Holcomb Bridge Rd.

SUGARLOAF | 770.822.2533 1860 Duluth Highway

JOHNS CREEK | 770.623.9433 11720 Medlock Bridge Rd.

TOCO HILLS | 404.248.2998 2880 N. Druid Hills Rd.

ONE WEEK

REDEEM BY

03/31/07

SPORTS CLUB PASS FOR TWO Come into LA Fitness® Sports Clubs and redeem this Seven Consecutive Days Pass. Must be 18 years of age or older, a local resident and show valid I.D. One pass per person, per year. Pass activation hours 8am to 8pm. *Extra charge for some amenities. Sales presentation tour required. Other memberships may be presented. Redeemable by non-members only. Facilities and classes vary from club to club. Leagues extra. Not available for resale or redeemable for cash. 03/07

GEORGIA: Membership offer based on the purchase of a new Easy Start monthly dues membership with a one-time initiation fee of $149 for the first person and $34.99 monthly dues per person. Each person must pay first and last month's dues to join. Monthly dues must be paid by one account and deducted by automatic transfer from checking, savings, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover or Diners Club account. *Extra charge for some amenities including Kids’ Klub and leagues. Membership includes basketball court use. Membership valid in state of enrollment only. Facilities may vary. Photos herein depict a typical facility, some locations will vary. Monthly dues membership may be canceled with written notice (typically 60-90 days). Offer not available at our Elite locations. Offer is not available in combination with other discounted rates. Call club for details. Advertised rates may be subject to change. © 2007 L.A. Fitness International, LLC. All rights reserved.


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CONTENTS • MARCH 2007 • VOLUME 15.6

INTERVIEWS

12 12 JIM CARREY 13 EVA MENDES 14 ZODIAC AUTHOR 15 BILLY BOB THORNTON 19 KEVIN SMITH 23 ALICIA KEYS 27 3 OF 300 13 29 COMMON 35 SEVENDUST 35 GRANT HILL

FEATURES 11 EAST ATLANTA Some places to check out in this hot community 12 TAPAS Atlanta restaurants offering these small plates that

19

are great for sharing

30 STEEPLECHASE

Thousands of Atlantans converge at Kingston Downs on April 14

31 MARCH MADNESS Great places to enjoy some food while taking in the excitement from the games

COLUMNS

23

06 ON TAP 07 UNDER THE LIGHTS 08 AROUND TOWN 16 MOVIE REVIEWS 19 BOOKS 20 CONCERT CALENDAR 27 22 ROAD WARRIORS 24 ALBUM REVIEWS 26 VIDIOTS 34 MARCH MADNESS 37 FANATIC 38 HOROSCOPES 38 WANTON DISTRACTION 34 www.insiteatlanta.com PG 4 • insiteatlanta.com • March 2007


#54 “THE ANTAGONIST” Quadruple distilled and triple filtered for exceptional quality and smoothness. www.SKYY.com SKYY Vodka® 40% alc/vol (80 proof). ©2007 Skyy Spirits, LLC, San Francisco,CA.


LOCAL EVENTS

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

March 2 - 3: Southern Culture on the Skids Long the bards of downward mobility, Southern Culture on the Skids have always embodied countrypolitan and the group is headed for a two day stint at The Earl. Recently described by Dwight Yoakam (in Filter) as "really on the outside, like Dick Dale meets Hank Thompson," SCOTS have mixed high and low culture for decades, endlessly touring, serving up moonshine martinis and poultry picking for fans everywhere. For info, head to: www.scots.com

March 3: Patterson Hood Patterson Hood of Drive By Trucker fame heads to Andrews Upstairs for a one night event. In 2004, Patterson decided to make Killers and Stars "officially" available by releasing it on New West Records (also home to DBT). The album is somewhat quieter and spookier than DBT's releases, but it shares some of the same vibe and humor. Killers and Stars has 12 songs, simply featuring acoustic guitars, mandolin and harmony vocals. Patterson's second solo release, MURDERING OSCAR (and other love songs), is nearly finished. For more info, head to: http://www.pattersonhood.com

March 10 - 18: AJC International Auto Show

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution International Auto Show will celebrate its 25th Anniversary when it returns to the Georgia World Congress Center on March 10-18, 2007. “The Atlanta show has definitely grown and prospered since its first event at the Congress Center in 1983,” said Shayne Wilson, “Our show floor is almost four times larger than it was 25 years ago. The Atlanta show is now one of the 10 largest shows in the United States, with over 600 new vehicles on display from 39 different manufacturers.” For more info, head to: www.ajcautoshow.com.

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LITTLE FIVE POINTS SANDY SPRINGS 428 Moreland Ave.

(404) 523-0100

5964 Roswell Rd.

(404) 255-5578

$3 OFF any purchase of $10 or more

March 15 - 18: St. Patrick's Day Parade & Festival Whether enjoying free, live entertainment or the fabulous food and vendor market, the St. Patrick’s Day Festival at Underground Atlanta has something for everyone. The festival will be packed with Irish entertainment featuring live music in both Kenny’s Alley and Fountain’s Plaza, including the popular U2 tribute band, Desire. The festivities will encompass a variety of traditional favorites including green beer, Irish dancers, and green fountains along with a vendor market and children’s activities. For info, head to: http://www.stpatsparadeatlanta.com/

March 16: Nickelback The Arena at Gwinnett is the place to find Nickelback in March. Canada's Nickelback started life as a cover band in Hanna, 215 kilometers northeast of Calgary. Eventually, they tired of playing other people's songs, and singer/guitarist Chad Kroeger put together a collection of original songs, borrowed money from his stepfather, and went to Vancouver to record the band in a friend's studio. From there, the group released many chart topping albums and singles. For tickets, head to: www.ticketmaster.com

March 17: Lucinda Williams

• insiteatlanta.com • April 2005 PG 6PG • insiteatlanta.com • March 2007

Do you like your music soulful? Catch one of America's best kept secrets at the Tabernacle. Lucinda Williams is an American rock, folk, and country music singer and songwriter. A threetime Grammy Award winner, she was named "America's best songwriter" by TIME magazine in 2002. In 2006, Lucinda recorded a version of the John Hartford classic "Gentle On My Mind," which played over the closing credits of the Will Ferrell film Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby. For tickets, head to: www.ticketmaster.com


March 2007 Volume 15.6

INsite Magazine of Atlanta 2250 North Druid Hills Rd. #100 Atlanta, GA 30329-3118 phone 404-315-8485 email feedback@insiteatlanta website insiteatlanta.com

Advertising Information Call 404-315-8485

President Stephen Miller National Managing Editor Bret Love Art Director Michael T. Local Events Editor Rav Mansfield Local News Editor Glenn LaFollette Sports Editor DeMarco Williams Web Design Kalico Productions Contributing Writers / Interns John Davidson, John Moore, Russell Fisher, Zena Scott, Margo Aaron, Andrew Gilstrap, Mathew Goldberg, Kim Guelcher, Andrea Hatter, Tom DeFreytas, Richard Marsh, Tracy Gould, Mark Fitten

INsite is published on the first Friday of the month and is distributed free on 23 college campuses and at over 1,000 locations throughout metro Atlanta. 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.

© Copyright 2007, Be Bop Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Under The Lights

THEATER PREVIEW

What’s Happening on Stage in Atlanta UNCLE GRAMPA’S HOO DILLY STORYTIME

CINEPROV!

Saturdays through April 28

Sketchworks

Alliance Theatre

RE YOU ONE OF those diehard Mystery Science Theater 3000 junkies still going through withdrawal, or just a smart-aleck know-itall who loves making fun of films? Either way, you're sure to dig this weekly Thursday night fixture at Decatur's Sketchworks, in which improvisers make a merciless mockery of movies ranging from the great (Empire Strikes Back, March 29) to the godawful (Leprechaun, March 15) and everything in between (Logan's Run, March 8). Their special Friday night show on March 23 will feature Britney Spears' abysmal Crossroads, with half-price admission for anyone dressed in a schoolgirl outfit and free admission if you let cast members shave your head on stage. Though poking fun at poor Brit may be like shooting fish in a barrel these days, it's all for a good cause, as all acceptable hair will be donated to Locks Of Love, a charity that collects the locks to make hairpieces for kids with cancer. Sketchworks, 3041 N. Decatur Rd, Decatur. 404-914-4579. www.cineprov.com.

STORY OF LIES, GREED AND BETRAYAL. Just another day at the office. Rounding out the Hertz season is one of the all-time classics of the American Theater. When you look at the touchstone plays of the twentieth century, situated next to Death of a Salesman and A Streetcar Named Desire is David Mamet’s shocking tragicomedy Glengarry Glen Ross. Few theatrical experiences can rival this 1984 masterpiece. Fans of the classics like those mentioned above will appreciate the virtuoso writing, while aficionados of more intense contemporary classics like Topdog/Underdog will be thrilled by the roller-coaster intensity of this searing verbal tornado. Only the strong survive in David Mamet’s scorching masterpiece of big-money schemes and high-stakes deals. Set in the ruthless world of real estate, a group of salesmen lie, cheat and connive – all to close the big deal. As the play twists and turns between liarity and fury, the desperate wheelers and dealers vie for the top prize in a no-holds barred sales contest. Things go shockingly awry, leaving the men to scamble for top dog position. Cast includes Brik Berkes, David de Vries, and Neal A. Ghant. Alliance Theatre, 1280 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta 404-733-5000 www.alliancetheatre.org

March 8, 15, 23 and 29

Dad’s Garage Theatre

T

GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS

HE GLEEFULLY goofy spirit of 'Pee-Wee’s Playhouse' is captured in this kooky kid’s show from the madcap masterminds at Dad’s Garage. Combining live actors and puppetry with the anything-goes spirit of improv comedy, zany recurring characters such as charming host Larry Lederhosen, the irreverent Phineas J. Monkey, and the ridiculously silly Foolio act out a different classic fairy tale every week. The story is chosen by a child's spin of the wheel, then acted out with LOTS of unpredictable new twists in an engagingly interactive format that completely breaks down the stage wall to maximize audience participation. It’s weird, wacky and wilder than any Saturday morning cartoon you’ve ever seen, with clever humor that works on multiple levels to entertain both kids and the adults who brought them. Dad’s Garage Theatre, 280 Elizabeth St, Suite C-101, Atlanta. 404-523-3141. www.dadsgarage.com.

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March 16-April 8

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&

present

Best

Bartender Atlanta 2007

Who Will Be This Year’s Winner? 2006 Winner

Anto Hogan from Fado

Nominate your favorite Bartender by emailing feedback@insiteatlanta.com Check out INsite in upcoming issues to vote on this year’s bartenders PG 8 • insiteatlanta.com • March 2007



RESTAURANT PROFILE

Taste of the Month-Tapas

Where to find Some of Atlanta’s Best! Eclipse di Luna

764 Miami Circle 404.846.0449 www.eclipsediluna.com When Eclipse di Luna opened in 1997, it was a trailblazer setting a trend in Tapas style restaurants that has grown exponentially over the years. This funky and festive restaurant located at the end of the Miami Circle’s antique and design district still packs them in.

steak skewered with chimichurri. Also try the Bocadillos de Carne is a shredded beef sandwich with sweet & sour onions. There are several seafood dishes to choose from including the Gambas al Ajillo which is sautéed shrimp & garlic with calabes pepper. For mussels fans, try the Mejillones en Salsa Roja served in a spicy tomato broth with plum tomatoes. Eclipse di Luna has won several awards from various magazines that include “Best Appetizers”, “Atlanta’s Top 100 Restaurants” and “Best Tapas”.

Mezza

2751 Lavista Rd. 404.633.8833 www.mezzabistro.com

With over two dozen Tapas to choose from, there is something here to please any taste. The Tapas is priced affordable, mostly between $3.95 and $4.95, to encourage multiple sampling. They offer several that are cheese based. These include the Quesos Espanoles, a tasting of Spanish cheeses with assorted accompaniments. The Tortilla Espanola is a Spanish style omelet with potatoes, wild mushrooms & onions in a roasted garlic cream. And the Pimientos Rellenos con Queso de Cabra which is a herbed goat cheese tomato sauce in crispy piquillo peppers. Eclipse features two chicken Tapas including the Pollo a la Parilla, a chicken breast grilled and marinated with red pepper salad and avocado. The Pollo al Ajillo is a braised garlic chicken in its own broth. You have more choices on the beef side. The Brocheta de Bistee is a red wine marinated skirt

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Mezza…lebanese bistro and bar offers one of the most characteristic elements of Lebanese cuisine. Much like Tapas, mezza is an array of small hot and cold appetizers. At Mezza you will find the authentic home made Lebanese Tapas, great wines and enjoy belly dancing and Hookahs in their new expanded lounge. Located just a few miles from the Emory campus, Mezza has become a neighborhood favorite. The restaurant offers the largest Lebanese tapas menu in the city. Of the twenty or more vegetarian items on the menu many of which are vegan. Some of the more popular are the Baba Ghannouge which is

baked eggplant pureed with sesame seed paste (tahini) and lemon juice garlic. Also try the Muhammara which is a mix of ground red bell peppers with walnuts, pistachios, lemon garlic and cayenne pepper. Some of the more unique beef dishes are Beef stuffed grape leaves, served with rice and a blend of spices accompanying plain yogurt and the most popular dish Chicken Shawarma, chicken tenders baked with tomatoes, onions and spices served on a bed of rice and topped with tahini sauce. They offer a few seafood dishes including the shrimp, salmon kebabs and the cilantro fish which is baked and topped with cilantro tomato sauce on a bed of vermicelli rice. In addition to its food menu, Mezza also has the largest Lebanese wine list in the city, with some of the best wines of Lebanon. Over the years Mezza has garnered great reviews from the city’s food critics. They were voted 2004 Best Mediterranean restaurant by INsite readers, are the top rated Lebanese restaurant in Zagat Survey six years in a row and a critic's choice for the best 50 restaurants in Atlanta by AJC Fall 2004, as well as one of Atlanta Magazine’s top 100 restaurants in Atlanta.

Sweet Devil Moon

980 Piedmont Ave. 404.347.3600 www.sdmatlanta.com

Sweet Devil Moon serves authentic Peruvian Tapas. Original artwork adornes the walls in this cozy yet classy restaurant. Located in the heart of Midtown, they offer a great enclosed patio to enjoy the view. Inside you will find a Wine Bar with an excellent selection of wines from around the world.

They have Tapas ranging from seafood, chicken, veggie and meat lovers. Popular veggie Tapas include Grilled Portabella, Plantano Frito, and Tofu skewers. Sweet Devil’s exotic Seafood Tapas includes Pulpo a lo callo. This is bite sized octopus flavored with herbs and olive oil. The Choritos a la Chalaca are big mussels covered in a spicy & chunky combination of red onions, corn, and jalepenos. The Machupicchu Rice is paella served peruvian style with shrimp, calamari, mussels, and veggies. Of their chicken Tapas try the Yuka Rellena which consists of mashed yuka filled with chicken, raisins and onions saute. The Arroz con pollo is traditional cilantro-infused rice served with chicken & pico de gallo. Meat lovers should try the Lomo Saltado, a saute of steak strips with onions, tomatoes and French fries. Or the Asado, a Peruvian style pot roast served over rice.

Loca Luna

114 6th Street 404.875.4494 www.loca-luna.com

Rumba. Salsa. Tango. They have it all at Loca Luna, where you'll find live Latin music nightly and great food. The happening bar is open till 3am with a wide selection of exotic cocktails, top shelf liquor and many wines to complement a good meal or a night of dancing. Loca Luna boasts a tropical theme which is centered around their fountain and pool containing tropical fish in the large interior courtyard. All the exotic recreations add to a sense of escape from Midtown and makes a great spot for large gatherings among friends. Loca Luna has been ranked the best mojitos, late night venue, patio, appetizers and girls night out, among others, by both local and national publications.


NEIGHBORHOOD SPOTLIGHT

East Atlanta Village

Local Neighborhood Continues its Evolution: Guide to Popular Destinations

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HE HISTORY OF EAST ATLANTA dates back through Columbus, as the area was used as a trade route for Native Americans. More recently in 1981, the East Atlanta Community Association was founded to bolster a sense of community in the neighborhood and work to improve the quality of life. Many improvements have been made in the last 25 years including a major renovation ending last year which built new pedestrian friendly sidewalks and tree lined streets. The vision for East Atlanta Village is a neighborhood-oriented commercial node reflecting the diversity of adjacent neighborhoods. The Village includes unique restaurants, unusual retail merchandise, with a mix of residential. Delightful streets are enlivened with sidewalk cafes, street trees, sculpture, murals, colorful shops, and pedestrian activities. At the historic core of the Village small-scale business are located along Flat Shoals and Glenwood Avenues. Residences are also provided in rehabilitated historic structures and on upper floors throughout the Village. The New York Times has taken notice. In a recent article on the unique and defined neighborhoods in Atlanta they noted “And now Atlantans are quickly adding another cultural hub to their list: East Atlanta, home to a lively sprinkling of quirky shops, restaurants and nightspots that's reaching the crest in what has been a steadily rising wave of cool.” In our January Issue, writer Bret Love wrote “..at the heart of this hip epicenter is East Atlanta Village, a retail development located at the intersection of Glenwood Avenue and Flat Shoals Avenue, where almost all of the area’s shops, boutiques, bars and restaurants are located. ‘the Village is hip and funky, fun and friendly,’ says Fuqua, ‘with lots of one-of-akind boutiques, great music venues, a Sohostyle coffee shop, an old 50’s-type barber shop, a tattoo parlor and a great furniture and accessories store. The Village is really what makes the area attractive.” It seems the best is yet to come for East Atlanta, as more people take notice of the great shopping opportunities in the Village and desirable way of life for its residents.

Traders

485 Flat Shoals Ave 404.522.3006 www.TRADERSatlanta.com

Traders is a unique retail space with a mixture of furniture, home accessories, gifts and novelties. They carry Rowe upholstry, Zocalo and Sitcom case goods (end tables and coffe tables). Here you will find a wide selection of lamps and decorative vases, sconses and artwork. They carry several scented candle lines: Votivo, Archipelago, and Zinnia unscented candles. There is also a great children’s baby section full of toys, puzzels and plush animals for that special child. The baby section has books for new Moms and Dads, Onesies, Dishsets and much more.

Traders also has many Body and Bath lines including: Archipelago Milk, Morning, Mint, Pomegranate and Sugar. They have a wide selection of Pre de Provence French soaps. Plus Thymes eucalyptus, lavendar and ginger milk. Part of the store is devoted to fun novelties mostly based in political and sex humor. These include a dancing and singing George Bush doll and a strip tease kit.

Traders opened ten years ago in April 1997 across the street in what is now the Eye Too space. The current location is approximately 4,000 square feet of floor room making it the largest retail shop in East Atlanta.

VOTED BEST CAJUN - 2006 Insite Magazine VOTED BEST NEW RESTAURANT & BEST NEW CAJUN - 2006 Creative Loafing

Grant Central East

1279 GlenwoodAve. (Glenwood @ Flat Shoals)

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 sal-

ads. 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 accomadate 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 fa nite out at the bar next door, head over to Grant Central East.

The Earl

488 Flat Shoals Rd. 404.522.3950 www.badearl.com

An East Atlanta institution for great live music. Anything and everything can be heard, and the crowd varies with the bands. They also are a popular restaurant with a surprisingly ample menu. Here you can find anything from their award winning burgers to grilled salmon or great salads and appetizers. The Earl celebrated their 10th Anniversary last summer and will sure to have another great line-up of bands this year. Popular acts of the past month include JONATHAN RICHMAN and the band WHAT MADE MILWAUKEE FAMOUS. This month don’t miss their ST. PAT-PRICK’S DAY PARTY March 17 sponsored by Prick Magazine and HELLA on March 25.

NEW ELEVATION BEDROOM SUITE Queen Bed $699 Matching dining table available

ANNIVERSARY

APRIL 2007 TRADERSatlanta.com

We’ll be having special in-store events all month. Come in and see us!

JACKSON SOFA Starting at $899

PG 13 insiteatlanta.com March 2006 PG 11 • insiteatlanta.com • March 2007


FILM INTERVIEW

JIM CARREY

The Man Behind the Mask BY ALEX S. MORRISON

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AROL BURNETT ONCE SAID, “Comedy is tragedy plus time.” And whether it’s Richard Pryor being raised in his grandmother’s brothel, Damon Wayans getting mocked as a child for his clubbed foot, or Margaret Cho’s Korean parents abandoning her to the care of strangers for the first seven years of her life, the biographies of many comedians attest to the truth of that statement. It’s a widely held belief that tragic childhoods produce the best comedic minds, and anyone who spends much time on the standup circuit knows that the mask of humor often hides a past (or, in some cases, present) full of pain.

cies the rest of the day. But his adolescence took a turn for the worse when his family was forced to relocate from their cozy hometown of Newmarket to the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, where they all took security and janitorial jobs at a factory, with Jim working 8-hour shifts after school let out. His grades and morale naturally suffered as a result, and things got even worse when the destitute family had to live out of a Volkswagen camper van after quitting the factory. It was not long afterwards that Carrey dropped out of high school, made his comedy debut at a local Toronto club, and headed off to Los Angeles at the age of 17 to seek his fortune. It took 15 years for Carrey to make the climb up the ladder to the top of Hollywood’s

SOME DAYS I JUST WANT TO BE THE SMALLEST SPECK IN THE UNIVERSE INSTEAD OF THE BIGGEST. BUT MY JOB IS TO TAKE PEOPLE AWAY FROM (THE REALITY OF) LIFE, OR MAKE THEM IDENTIFY WITH IT, AND I LOVE WHAT I DO. Few people would have accused Jim Carrey of possessing such depth when he first broke out in the early ‘90s. Initially known as the rubber-faced white guy on FOX’s sketch comedy hit In Living Color, in 1994 he unleashed a trio of gleefully sophomoric family films (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask and Dumb & Dumber) that collectively earned well over $300 million at the U.S. box office alone. Making the transition from outrageous TV goofball to big screen physical comedian, Carrey established himself as a manic talent willing to do virtually anything in his quest for a laugh. According to the 45-year-old Ontario native, that desire for approval began when he was very young. “For years, I was the entertainment,” he recalls with a bemused smile. “It was almost a slavery situation, where I’d get a knock in the middle of the night and my parents would say, ‘Get your tap shoes on, because there’s company!’ So I was always doing shows and was always the center of attention. I got that from my father. When I was a little kid I remember we had family get-togethers, and I’d watch him captivate the room and be so animated. I thought, wow, so that’s how you get over the world! I was always trying to be like him.” Though reluctant to talk about his childhood early on in his career, Carrey has become increasingly revealing over the years, particularly when it comes to honoring the memory of his father, Percy, an accountant and aspiring jazz saxophonist. “My father was an amazing character,” he continues warmly. “He was worse than I am, with all these crazy old jokes turned into new things. He was an amazing guy– so funny, so creative and also my champion. When I did something creative, he didn’t go, ‘What are you doing that for?’ It was like, ‘Look what Jim’s doing!’ He encouraged it, so he’s huge in my heart.” This encouragement led Jim, the youngest of our children, to become an incurable extrovert, granted a few minutes to perform standup routines for his classmates at the end of each school day in exchange for agreeing to reign in his class clown tendenPG 12 • insiteatlanta.com • March 2007

A-list, but once he did, he became the most successful actor in the world. He had two more blockbuster comedies with Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls and Liar Liar, and shocked the industry by earning his first $20 million paycheck for The Cable Guy. But then a funny thing happened on the way to the bank: Carrey decided to get serious, making three dramatic films (The Truman Show, Simon Birch and the Andy Kaufman biopic, Man On the Moon) that forced audiences to reconsider their preconceived notions of him as a grinning goofball whose comic shtick was just a half-step up comedy’s evolutionary ladder from the Three Stooges. He won two Golden Globes for his efforts, but the Oscar nominations most industry insiders anticipated would follow never materialized, and Carrey was notoriously indignant at being overlooked by the Academy. Now, he seems to take such snubs in stride. “I don’t think there was a conspiracy,” he says diplomatically. “There’s a lot that goes on with voting for Academy Awards. I don’t think there’s an accumulation of people out there saying, ‘Let’s talk about what we’re gonna do with Jim. OK, maybe [we’ll give him an Oscar] in 10 years, but not now!’ I just don’t think they’re doing that.” Asked about his recent tendency to veer between serious dramatic roles like the emotionally devastating Joel in 2004’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and scene-stealing fiends such as the cunning Count Olaf in family-friendly fare such as Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Carrey explains that, “I think it’s important never to look a gift horse in the mouth and never to overlook your talents. I really don’t consider... whether it’s dramatic or comedic. It’s

like a child-like fascination. How different can I look? What characters can come out of this at the end of it all? You really don’t know when you start, but you take the chance and take the shot in doing it. So what I find is that if you go full bore into it with faith, it always ends up surprising you and you just go, Wow! It’s really kind of a feeling of giving birth to something.” And whether that something is this month’s thriller The Number 23 (in which he plays both a likeable family man and a noir-ish detective with equal aplomb) or his next project, voicing the elephant lead in an animated version of Dr. Seuss’ classic Horton Hears A Who, Carrey seems determined to love each and every one of his creative offspring with everything he’s got. “I don’t want to get uppity,” he says with his trademark hearty laugh. “The danger for me is to start choosing all my parts because they’re good for an Oscar. I like to be funny! I never decided at one point, ‘OK, I’m going to be a serious actor now.’ I want to do everything I can– many different characters and pictures. I like to get down and dirty and do comedy. It’s a way of throwing the hounds off the trail again and just

having some fun... period.” Truth is, despite the $20 million paydays and the adoration of millions, fun is something that Carrey’s life off-screen has often seemed to lack. From his teenage homelessness and a messy divorce from his first wife to highly publicized relationships (and subsequent breakups) with co-stars Lauren Holly and Renee Zellweger and a recent period in which he acknowledged taking anti-depressants, the series of unfortunate events that make up Carrey’s personal life are enough to make the comedy god seem... well, almost normal. “I’ve had a couple [of setbacks] here and there that I’ve tried to blow up into something bigger,” he admits with a half-smile, “but for the most part it has just been a pretty amazing ride. To me, it’s a matter of staying in a place and realizing what everything is really worth. I know we try to mythologize every thing in Hollywood, so everything is blown out of proportion, but as far as I am concerned, I make movies that make people feel good for two hours. That’s my thing in life, and I’m OK with that.” And what of the fame and adulation he’s been working so diligently for since the age of 17? Was the journey worth the effort, and the cost one must pay when cameras track your every move á la Truman Burbank? Despite the drawbacks of worldwide celebrity, Carrey seems to think so. “People need their dreams,” he insists earnestly. “People need to believe in something. That stuff is important to us. That’s why movie stars are important to us. That’s why it’s not good for me to complain too much about the things that are negative in my life. If I complain about what a bummer it is to go to the beach and get recognized, it’s something people don’t want to hear. Sometimes it’s a pain in the butt, frankly, but I’m the luckiest guy in the world and I know it. I get a lot of people who want to love me. Some days I don’t love myself. Some days I just want to be the smallest speck in the universe instead of the biggest. But my job is to take people away from [the reality of ] life, or make them identify with it, and I love what I do.”


COVER INTERVIEW

DELIVER US FROM EVIL

Eva Mendes Watches Out For Hollywood Wolves BY B. LOVE

C

UBANAMERICAN CUTIE EVA MENDES IS HOTTER than a habañero pepper. But despite roles in high-profile films such as Training Day, All About the Benjamins and Hitch, she’s never delivered that one breakout performance that would elevate her to the A-list status of peers like J-Lo, Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz. Her latest film, the comic book adaptation Ghost Rider, isn’t likely to change that, though Mendes does her best to inject life into her thinly drawn reporter character. We recently sat down with the lovely Latina to discuss comic books, true love and making deals with the devil. How much did you know about Ghost Rider before they approached you to do the film? I didn’t know a thing about it except Nicholas Cage was doing it, and I’ve been dying to work with him. And that Mark Steven Johnson, who I’ve also been a fan of, was writing and directing it. Sony just happens to be my favorite studio, so with those three things combined I just figured... Damn, brown-nose much? No, I promise you it’s not! I’m not your suck-up kind of girl. At first, I was a little worried that Roxanne in the script wasn’t... I had a meeting with Mark and I was like, “I love the idea. I love the comic book,” because I obviously did my research and looked at the comic book. I love the idea of selling your soul to the devil, because I k feel like I do it a little every day in this business. I sat down with him. It was hysterical. We just had a really great time. I said, “OK, now that all the laughs are over, I know I love you as a person. But this character, I just don’t want her to be ‘the girl.’ I want her to be something. I want her to have a real struggle and stuff.” And he was like, “It’s not there right now, but I promise you it’s going to be there.” Were you a fan of comic books when you were growing up? Not so much of comic books, but I’m a fan of the idea of good versus evil, and obviously always having good prevail. I went to Comic Con. I’ve been there twice now, actually. It’s so cool. I love it. I love when people are passionate about something like that. I love people dressing up their little kids. It’s so cute. How have they responded to you playing the character so far? So far, so good, because they really haven’t seen the movie yet. I hope after they see it, they’re still good. I think it’s a great time because, in the comic book, Roxanne is a blond-haired, blue-eyed woman, which I’m obviously not. I was really worried that the hardcore fans might think, “Who is this exotic little creature playing Roxanne Simpson? It doesn’t make sense!” I realized that, in the comic book, Roxanne is also very voluptuous and has massive boobs. I don’t know if you can tell, but I actually added a little weight and grew in the fun areas. I said, “I’m going to get to the hardcore fans one way or another.” So I let myself go a little bit more voluptuous, and it was very easy because I just skipped the gym and ate whatever I wanted. What was it like getting to work with Nicolas Cage after you’ve been wanting to for so long? What did you expect? I expected the unexpected, and that’s what I got. As an individual, he’s so unique and it comes through in his work. You prepare for a scene and you’re getting ready for that next day, and you obviously go and you have

your lines memorized. You have an idea of what you want to do, but obviously you stay open and you see what happens. Every time he would get me, because he does this great thing where he turns things upside down and doesn’t play it the obvious way. He doesn’t play the line or the scene in the obvious way, which really kept me on my toes. I was like “Oh, cool, what are we doing today?” He just kind of flips it. Then he can make the most mundane sentences sound really heavy. I was like, how do I do that? I actually made heavy sentences sound mundane. I was like, I need to reverse that. Can you elaborate on your character’s struggles and what Mark added that sparked your interest more? Basically, I wanted every woman to be able to relate to her. I think we did that because not too many people sell their soul to the

I think it more exists in.... No, I don’t. I was trying to be creative right now and be philosophical. But no, I don’t believe in that. I believe people can be evil. Are you religious? I don’t talk religion or politics because I’m not the brightest girl around and I tend to get myself into trouble. So I make a choice– no talking about politics or religion. You seem to have a fairly cynical view of Hollywood. I think it’s realistic. I just watch out for the wolves. There are a lot of them, but there are a lot of great ones as well. I’ve actually never had a bad experience, but I’ve heard about them and I’ve seen them with other people, so I steer clear away from them. Sometimes you can’t help it, but you attract what you put out there.

I CAN BE A CYNIC AND ACT LIKE A SMARTASS AT TIMES, BUT I’M ACTUALLY REALLY OVERLY SENSITIVE. I’M VERY MUCH A BIT OF A ROMANTIC. devil like that and have their head on fire. But there are problems in every relationship, and there’s just so many obstacles that can complicate a relationship, and I think people– women especially– can feel when we aren’t honest in how we deal with that. I just wanted to bring that human nature into it and represent women and what we go through sometimes. The way we did that was just to be as realistic as possible. I play a reporter and I play a career woman, but I also play such a girl. I love that in a sense. I say she’s still like that 15-year-old girl [who] is still inside of her, waiting for him in the rain. It’s a heartbreaking scene in the beginning. It’s that girl who believes in true love so much– that girl who just went on and did her thing as a career woman, but still wants to believe in love. Is that kind of like you in real life? Yeah, I think so. I know I can be a cynic and act like a smartass at times, but I’m actually really overly sensitive. I’m very much a bit of a romantic. What else are you up to in your busy professional life? I’ve had a really great year. I think I’ve kind of stepped it up creatively. I finished a film a few months ago with Joaquin Phoenix, Robert Duvall and Mark Wahlberg called We Own the Night, which is my first real dramatic role. I’ve played dramatic roles before, but not in lead situations. I play Joaquin Phoenix’s love interest, a girl named Amanda. It’s a really heavy film, which I’m really excited to see. That should be coming out next year, and then I produced my first independent film and starred in it. Fingers crossed! It’s really interesting. It’s called Live, and it’s a commentary on where we’re going with reality television. I play this executive hired at a network to bring the network back up and compete with those other networks that are kicking our butt because of the trash they have on TV. I come up with a way to put Russian roulette on television. I find this legal loophole. It’s actually really well written and really cool. It makes a major statement, which I’m really excited about. Hopefully we’ll be doing the whole film festival circuit next year. It’s a really interesting topic to me because I feel pretty passionately that we’re dumbing down America. Do you believe in something like the devil?

Have you turned down a project based on that? Yes, I did. It hasn’t come out yet. It’s been in the can for two years. It’s cool. Not cool for them, but cool for me that my decision was based on something. Where did that instinct come from? I don’t know. I think we can see smoke signals. I think we choose to ignore them sometimes, but I think we know and I have a really great team that is very protective over me as well. I’ve been fortunate to have that. How would you classify Ghost Rider? Part horror? Part action? Obviously there’s some romance in it. Yeah, I think for me it’s a little bit of everything because it’s funny at times, too. I love that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Nic is so great at making fun of himself. I think it’s such a visual treat, with emotional connection. I don’t even know how I would go about labeling it. It would be unfair to the movie. Does Nic’s sense of humor come out a lot of the set? I think he’s so into what he’s doing. He’s such a professional. It was kind of funny to me, because I know this is going to look amazing, but there’s no real bike. This is weird, but I just had to grow up. That’s where I just become really silly. The thing that I would do is I would start laughing, and me and Nicolas called it “gigglerama.” We would go into gigglerama mode and I just couldn’t stop. You remember that moment when you’re in church or something, and you can’t stop laughing? He’s talking to me as Ghost Rider and it would be funny sometimes. I would let it go and he would start laughing. Are you signed up for anything else besides what you told us about earlier? Yeah, I’ve got a couple things going, but I’m so superstitious. I don’t talk about it until I’m on the set. Literally, like with my own family I’ll be like, “Oh, mom, I’m going to New York tomorrow to start a movie.” She’s like, “What is it?” I won’t even answer her: “So, yeah, if you want to come over and say goodbye, I’ll be here packing.” The trades have reported things before their time, and things fall apart so much, it just hurts too much to deal with the disappointment. PG 13 • insiteatlanta.com • March 2007


WRITER INTERVIEW

������ AUTHOR ROBERT GRAYSMITH ON HIS OBSESSIVE QUEST TO FIND A SERIAL KILLER

BY B. LOVE

D

AVID FINCHER’S NEW FILM ZODIAC IS obsessive about realism. No characters are blended, almost none of the names are changed, and it follows a strict timeline of the quest to capture the elusive killer. But right now it doesn’t get any more real than having the man who lived through it sitting across from me. Portrayed by Jake Gyllenhaal in the film, Robert Graysmith is a man who, at great personal cost to himself, continued the pursuit of Zodiac when few others would. So having lived through it, were you impressed by the recreation of the setting? Well I went into [director David] Fincher’s office and he showed me the blueprint for the old San Francisco Chronicle office and the computer technology is 3-D. And when I went through the set, which was a block long, you open the desk drawers and there’s notepads, pencils, the phones work, the pnumatic tubes work. And I look up at the ceiling and something that nobody in the world would know: he’s recreated the light patterns. It was the most eerie thing I’ve ever seen in my life and nobody would have known if he messed it up. He set up obstacles and I think that [producer] Brad Fischer didn’t like it but he would say “I must do this, I must do this, I must have these guys,” and at every point there was a very good chance that David Fincher would not make the film. I was very lucky to be there when they were writing the script so I have all that down. Being sufficiently distanced from this, are you able to analyze why this obessession overcame you? I’ll tell ya, if anybody here starts getting into that case, there’s something about it. It’s so tantalizing. I was a political cartoonist and unfortunately I was trying to do funny cartoons and serious stuff is what I should have been doing. It occurred to me sitting in the middle of the press room during the letters, that nobody’s gonna write a book about this. And I said that using that book, using the killer’s symbols, make a political cartoon where you get all the information from various departments that wasn’t forthcoming and get it out there and the public will solve the case. Zodiac seems very conscious of his own image so why do you think there haven’t been more copycats? Yeah, he’s created his own trademark, his own costume. But there have been [copycats]. There was one in New York who was an exact copy. He believed he was Zodiac. And I went there and went on the air with other and we said “You’re not Zodiac. You’re an imitator.” And then the murders stopped for five years and then they finally came back and caught the guy. Then in Japan, I go downstairs one morning and on HKTV, all the way from Japan. They got a guy there who’s imitating Zodiac. He’s signing like him. So it’s really eerie. I don’t know of another situation where you had imitators of imitators.

PG 14 • insiteatlanta.com • March 2007

For a case that had so much obsession seeping into it, did you see that obsession overtaking the filmmakers as well? Absolutely. Just yesterday, they were making corrections on something that’s not even going to be in the film. There drive now is a DVD extra which is really a timeline and all new witnesses, handwriting and geographical analysis. You’ll think it’s a historical document. They got the detectives talking. I think I’m looking forward to that more than anything.

spot; real unusual places in the word. Did they ever bring in a profiler? Yeah, Dr. Murray Myron of the Syracuse University. He did a really good profile. I worked with Dr. Lundy at Stanford. We pretty much came to the fact that he’s a sexual sadist. Intertwined love and hate. Sex for him was an expression of violence.

IT OCCURRED TO ME SITTING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PRESS ROOM DURING THE LETTERS, THAT NOBODY’S GONNA WRITE A BOOK ABOUT THIS.

And you really believe that the Zodiac was Arthur Leigh Allen? Well, look at this way: he meets a lot of the requirements (cryptogaphy, and so on). You come out the front door and there’s the International House of Pancakes. You could take a pebble and hit it. Who’s working there? Darlene Ferrin [one of Zodiac’s victims]. And I find this friend of Allen’s who said that he really liked this waitress (he doesn’t like women normally) and he’s looking at her. Well in my book, Darlene Ferring quits her job because she’s being badgered by some older client. Now Terry’s is only restaurant I ever mentioned. So how this guy would know this. So he’s a suspect in that one. The guy that came to her party was known as “Leigh”. He was the janitor across the street from the first victim, a young black girl. Now the third murder is up at lake Mariessa. I’ve been there many, many times. Finally I go the day of the murder and it’s deserted. We were able to salvage that there were ten people at the lake: the two victims, three college women, father and son in a boat, and of course, Arthur Lee Allen was there an hour before the stabbing. And now they did the measurements and impaction tests show that the man who walked in those steps was 220-230 lbs; was wearing a size ten-and-a-half shoe which was Allen’s size; he’s wearing wing-walkers which are only available at naval bases which his father was a naval commander. There’s just one thing after another and he fits so well. I’m satsified.

Can you talk about the moment you came face-to-face with Leigh Allen? Well that is odd because I laid the groundwork for it. I had my friend go in and buy things and she’d try to get him to print things and he wouldn’t print them. And finally I had pretty much had it and so I came into the store. And I looked across the room and in my book we changed it to a yacht store because we couldn’t say his name at the end of the first book. But at that moment, it’s like someone struck a bell and it was like “That’s him.” I mean Zodiac said, “I have bombs in my basement.” They get a search warrant, look in Allen’s basement, he has all the clippings on Zodiac, the bombs he made. So many of the things fit in this case. But never say never. There are some new things that Fincher’s found like geographical profiling and looking at the printing on the letters, like where he breaks the syllables and they have maybe a hundred samples of Allen’s printing and he breaks his syllables in the same

Do you think he committed other murders than the ones you chronicled in your book? He had his trailer in Santa Rosa after he moved there. You have Santa Rosa State. And at the other end of this long road you have the Franz Valley Road where a number of co-eds were found dead in layers and layers and layers. So they know it was the same guy because they were rolled down the same spot. And in the center, they were held somewhere between the time they got in somebody’s car and went down the hill; like a missing two days or so. So he has his trailer. I’ve always suspected him. [Zodiac] said they were gonna look like accidents, they were gonna be different and these were strychnine and strangling and somebody experimenting. How do you reconcile some of the things that have gotten him off the hook? Well, I like the handwriting. But the lie detector: he was loaded with meds. He had saved them up. One of the things I’ve always been disturbed by is that the man at the lake was seen smoking and Allen doesn’t smoke. Did they do DNA? This is intriguing because in 1978 they folded all the letters into a cardboard box and had some inspector drive it up to Sacromento in the 112 degree heat. Left it on a Sheriff ’s desk for about ten years and drove it back. And then the letters vanished from the police department and went into private use for the TV show. I just talked with them directly and they took samples from the front of one, the back of one, and the flap of one and mixed them together and got a print that was so faint they couldn’t run it through IVIS or any database. So I don’t know what it means. I do know that when he was in prison, he would mail letters within letters, seal the letter and stamp, and then have his friends post it. He was a clever guy.


FILM INTERVIEW

THE MAVERICK: Billy Bob Thornton Blazes His Own Hollywood Trail BY MATT GOLDBERG

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ILLY BOB THORNTON enters the room and he has a big smile on his face. It’s the day after Superbowl XLI, and he’s a Colts fan. Some actors are less guarded when they’re in a bad mood and feel the need to vent, but from the moment we start talking, it’s clear that Thornton is a man who doesn’t care for safe, well-rehearsed answers. Speaking with him, it’s clear he shares the rugged independence and zero-tolerance for bullshit of Charlie Farmer, the character he plays in his new film, The Astronaut Farmer. Over the course of the interview, it also became clear he had very little tolerance for fools, studio math and self-aggrandizing introspection.

You’ve said that every actor has a list of films they want to do and that this film is a Mr. Smith Goes to Washington-like movie that the whole family can enjoy (as opposed to family films that the adults hate). What other films are left on your list? I’d like to make a documentary. I love documentaries. I could do that. Epic Period Drama… that’s the hardest thing to talk a studio into doing. I could walk into a studio tomorrow and say “I want to play a rapper who turns a bowl of soup into a spaceship.” And they’d make it just like that. Do you think we’ve become too cynical? I think we have become too cynical. Our society doesn’t encourage dreamers or much of anything really. We’re all about power, money, control and fashion. And that’s pretty much all that’s left of our society and the entertainment business is about fashion more than anything. When I was a kid I would see a movie like this and I would come out and think “Hey! I can be this!” It’s an encouraging movie. I like that about it. But I think we’re a little too cynical right now. Well, not “a little”.

need to make it. Studios will only give you money if you’re making big movies. They’ll give you $200 million but they won’t give you $30 million for a drama because there’s too much talking. Here’s the main problem: if they’re gonna give you $30 million, they’re gonna want a bunch of movie stars in it and that’s gonna take up most of your budget. With a five-million-dollar movie, you can get away with not having so many movie stars. And with a $200 million movie, they don’t have to have a bunch of stars. They have one or maybe two and the movie star is the movie. It’s all the special effects and people turning into jelly and all that. A lot of your characters have sort of a quirky confidence. Is that something you bring to it or something you look for in a role? Honest to God, when actors talk to you about their “process” and when people ask me what my process is, I have no idea. I think good actors are people who have a lot of life experience. That’s what I really believe. That’s the real answer to any real question about any character. What did I bring to the character? What did I get out of it? What do I want people to see? I don’t know. I really don’t know the answer to most of the questions people would ask me. I don’t even BS. I just tell people like I just told you that. I don’t say, “Well, it’s an interesting thing about me…” I usually read the screenplay once. I don’t read it again until we start. I’m severely dyslexic. I have my assistant read my lines to me before I got to set. The only way I can learn them is by hearing them. And I get there and I go into the scene. I don’t think about my puppy when I was nine. I think about the scene we’re doing. In that sense I’m a Method Actor because my method is I go in there and do it as if I’m that guy. That’s why I don’t play Charles de Gaulle. I don’t have a clue what French people do. I play roles I know I’m the best guy for. Most parts I do I go in there and I know that it will fit like a glove. The ones I don’t think they fit…well people ask, “Do you really turn down parts if they offer you all this money?” And yeah, I do. I swear to God I do. I’ve turned down big movies for a whole bunch of money because they were stupid. Most of the character you play seem to be not quite there and I think people love that about your roles. Well if you look at most of the characters I play, at first they seem like they’re not quite there but in reality at the end of the show, you realize they were the one who knew what was going all along: A Simple Plan, Sling Blade, The Man Who Wasn’t There, Monster’s Ball, this one. Even Bad Santa! Bad Santa ends up realizing there’s a real Christmas and ends up having a heart. I’ve only done one movie where the guy didn’t end up showing you that he was the guy; the one with the heart and the conscience and that was School for Scoundrels and I didn’t care for that.

Do you think the media has contributed to this cynicism? I’ll tell ya—the lunatics are running the asylum. Like actors, when Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant, Clark Gable: the only time you saw them was when you went to a movie. Now there’s no mystery about actors anymore. That’s why I don’t go anywhere unless I’m here talkin’ to you guys or working, I don’t do anything. The Superbowl and the World Series are probably the only two social events I attend. You haven’t seen me in the Enquirer lately because I don’t go out of the house. Do you miss the freedom of doing regular, every day activities? Oh sure, but fortunately the paparazzi aren’t as interested in celebrities as they are in celebrity couples. So when you’re not part of a celebrity couple, they don’t hide in the bushes. But if you do go out, there will always be something. But the good news for me is I go to one supermarket and one mall, and both are within two minutes of my house and everybody knows me there. That’s where I take my little girl and do what I do. Occasionally we’ll get snapped but it will be something stupid like, “What’d they do? Oh, they’re buying a pumpkin.”

I THINK WE HAVE BECOME TOO CYNICAL. OUR SOCIETY DOESN’T ENCOURAGE DREAMERS OR MUCH OF ANYTHING REALLY. WE’RE ALL ABOUT POWER, MONEY, CONTROL AND FASHION. Do you think people would respond better to this movie if it were a true story? I don’t think the audience would be any different. I think when you do a Q & A after a screening it would be a lot different. They wouldn’t ask so many stupid questions. Like what? Oh, some stupid stuff. There’s always a scientist in the audience. One woman asked the other night, “Wait, if you lost all your money, how’d you buy that ride at the carnival?” You’ve never bought anything when you were broke? That’s the point! And then some other guy said, “Well. when the retro-rockets-something…” It’s a fantasy! It’s a movie! But they’ll make some stupid science-fiction movie where no one questions the process or the rules about the world, like, “Wait a minute! If you were all-powerful, why didn’t you just kill everybody! Why are you fighting this one guy? Why are you fighting Spider-Man? Why not just kill everybody? I thought you had all these powers and could make things dissengrate and melt,” but no one ever questions that. But you try to make a real movie and do something decent and someone is like “Well, my Dad works for Levis and they didn’t have ‘em in 1965.” Okay, sorry about that. I’m sorry about that. Next time you make a movie I want to come to your Q & A. Any plans to direct another feature film? Well I want to direct the Floyd Collins story. If you guys could call studios and put in a good word, I’d appreciate it. It’s a great story. [Collins was a great cave explorer who was trapped in 1925; he was found by a reporter and survived for a week but eventually succumbed to exposure]. I’d play Floyd Collins and the real lead of the movie would be the reporter and I know who I want for that part too. They’ll make the movie. They won’t make it for as much as you PG 15 • insiteatlanta.com • March 2007


ENTERTAINMENT

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BLACK SNAKE MOAN:� ��� ���� ������ ����� ������ ������� ��� �� ������� ������� ��� �������� ������ ���� ���������������� ������ �������� ������ ��������������������������������������������� ��������� ������ ������� �� ����� ������� ����� ��������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������� ������� ������� ���� ��������� �������� ��� ����� ������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������������� ������� �������� ������������ ������� ����� ���� ��������� ���������� ������ �������� ���� ��� �������� ���� ��������� ������������ ���� ���������� ��������� �� ������������ ������� ���������������������������������������������� ��� ���� ����� ��� ������ ��� ���� �������� ��������� ������ �������� ������� ����� ���� ����������� �������������������������������������������� ������� ����� ����������� ���� �������� ������� ������ ��� ������������ �� ������� ���� ����� ����� �������� ������ ���� ������� ����� ������� ���� ��������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������ �������������������������������������������� ������� ���� ���� ����� ���� ����� ��� ��������� ��������������������������������������������� PG 16 • insiteatlanta.com • March 2007

��� ������� ��������� ����� ������� ����� ������� ������������������������������������������ ������� �������� ����� ��� ���� ������ ������ ���� ������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������ �������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������ ������ ������ ������ ������ ����� ������ ������� ��������� ���� ������� ��� ���� ������ ����� ���� ��� �������������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������� – Tom DeFreytas

BREACH:� ���� ������ ������ ����� ������ ���� ���� ������� ������ ����� ���������� ������ ���� ���� �������� � ������ ����� �������� ������� ����� ������������ ����������� ���� ������� ����� ��� ������ ��� �������� ������ �������� ���� ������ ���� ������� ������������ ������� ������ ��� ����� ��� ������� ��� ������������ ��������� ���� ����� ������������������������������������������� ����� �������� ������ ������ �������� ������ ��� �� ����� ������� ������� ������ ������ ���� ������ ������� ������� ���� �������� ��� ���� ������ ������� �������� ���������� �� �������� ���� ������� ������������ ��� ���� ��������� ���� ��� ������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������������� ������� ������� ��� ����������� ���� �� ������� ��������� ������ ��� �������� ��� �� ����� ���� ��� ����� ����� ���� ����� �������� ��� ���� ��� ����� ����������������������������������������������� ���� ��� ���� ����� ������� ����� ���� ����������� ������� ������ ��� �� �������� ���� �� ����� ��� ������������������������������������������ ������ ���� ������� ��� �������� ������ ����� ��� ��� �������� �� ����� ����� ���� �������� ���� ��������� ��� ��������� ������������ ������ ����� ���� �������� ��� ���� ��� ����� ��� ���� ���� ��������������������������������������������� ������� ��������� �� ���� ��� �������� ����� ��� ���������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������� ���� ����� ������������ ��� ������ � �������� ��� ����������������������������������������������� �� ������ ������ ��� ����� ���������� ���� ����� ���� ����� ����� ���� ����������� ������������ ��������������� ������������ �������� �������� ������������������������������������������ ���������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������������� ��������� ���� ����� ���� ���� ����� ������� ����� �������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������� ����� ����� ������ ��� �������� ����� ����������� �������� ���� ���������� ��������� ����� ������� ��� ����� ���� ���������� ������� ����� ���� ����� ���������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������������� �������� ���� ������� ���� ������������ ������� ��������� ��� ��������� ���� ���� ������ ���� ����� ����������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������� ������������ ����� ��� ��� ������������ ���������� ���� ������ ������� ��������� ���� ������ ������ ������������������������������������������������ ��������������������������������������������� ����������� – Matt Goldberg BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA:� �������� ��� ��� ��� ������� ������� ���� ���������������� ������� ����������� ������� ������������ ���� ���� ���� ����������� ��� �������� ���� ������ ���� ������ ���� ���� ���������� ������� ��� ����������� ��� ���� ������� �������� ����������� ������ ��� ����� ����� ���� ����� ��� ���� ������� �������� ������ ���� ���������� ��������� ������ ���� ����� ��� ������ ���� ���� ���� ���� ������� ���� ��� ����� ��������� � ���� ����� ��������� ����� ���� ����� ��� ����� ������� �������� ��������� ������ ������ ����� ���������� ���� ����� ��������� ��������������������������������������������� �������� ������ ��������� ��� ��������� ��� ���� ������������������������������������������ ������������������������������������������ ����� ��� ��� �������� ������� ������� ����������

Apparently Billy Bob Thorton is so upset about Brangelina that he wants to shoot himself into space. Check out Thorton in “The Astronaut Farmer.”

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AMC THEATRES BUCKHEAD BACKLOT

STARTS FRIDAY, MARCH 2 AMC THEATRES PARKWAY POINTE 15

Peachtree Rd. at Piedmont (404) 467-9611

CARMIKE CINEMAS CONYERS CROSSROADS 16

3101 Cobb Pkway SE (770) 333 - Film#282

AMC THEATRES COLONIAL 18

All Stadium Seating (770) 922-4104

CARMIKE CINEMAS RIVERSTONE 15

AMC THEATRES PHIPPS PLAZA 14

Hwy. 316 & 120 Lawrenceville (404) 816-4AMC

5 Reinhardt College Pkwy. (770) 720-9520

Phipps Plaza Peachtree Rd. at Lenox Rd. (404) 816-4AMC

AMC THEATRES DISCOVER MILLS 18

AMC MAGIC JOHNSON GREENBRIAR MALL 12 AMC THEATRES MANSELL CROSSING 14 7730 N. Point Rd. Alpharetta (404) 816-4AMC

AMC THEATRES NORTH DEKALB MALL 16

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OEPER AND

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THE QUEEN:����������������������������������� �������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������� ���� ������ ��������� ��������� ���������� ��� ������ ���������� ���� ������������� ����� ��� ���� �������������������������������������������� ���� ��� ������� ��� ���� ���������� ������ ��� ����� ���������� ������������������ ����� ��� ���������� ������ ������� ��� ���� ����� ���������� ��������� �������� ������� ���� ������������ ��������� ���� ������� ������ ��� � ������ ��������� ���� �� ��� �������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������� ������ ��������� �������� ����� ���� ���� ������� ��������� ���� �������� ���� ������� �������� ����

STARTS TODAY!

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PG 17 • insiteatlanta.com • March 2007


‘‘ONE OF THE GREATEST‘ ’MONSTER MOVIES EVER MADE!’’ – Logan Hill, NEW YORK MAGAZINE

“A TERRIFIC HYBRID-GENRE FANTASY AND A SERIOUSLY SCARY FREAKOUT.’’

– Manohla Dargis, NEW YORK TIMES

“THE OUT AND OUT SCARIEST MONSTER MOVIE TO COME DOWN THE PIKE SINCE ‘ALIENS’. ’’ – Glenn Kenny, PREMIERE “ON ALMOST EVERY LEVEL THERE’S NEVER BEEN A MONSTER MOVIE LIKE ‘THE HOST’.’’

– Derek Elley, VARIETY

“‘THE HOST’ IS THE MOST ORIGINAL, EXHILARATINGLY SCARY-FUNNY MONSTER MOVIE IN MANY A SEASON.’’ – Scott Foundas, LA WEEKLY

���������� ��� �������� ���� ������� ���� ���� ������ ������� ���� ������ ��� ����� ��������� ����� ������� ��������� �������� �������� ������� ����� ��� ����������������������������������������������� ������������ ����� ��� ��� ������� ���������� ��� ����������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������� �� – B. Love

“ON A PAR WITH ‘JAWS’.’’

– Harry Knowles, AIN’T IT COOL NEWS

STARRING SONG KANG-HO, BYUN HEE-BONG, PARK HAE-IL, BAE DOO-NA, KO A-SUNG / PRESENTED BY CHUNGEORAHM FILM, SHOWBOX / MEDIAPLEX, INC. / A CHUNGEORAHM FILM PRODUCTION / PRODUCER CHOI YONG-BAE / EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS CHOI YONG-BAE, KIM WOO-TAEK / CO-EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS JEONG TAE-SUNG, CHUNG JIN-KI / CO-PRODUCER JOH NEUNG-YEON / VFX SUPERVISOR KEVIN RAFFERTY / VISUAL EFFECTS AND ANIMATION BY THE ORPHANAGE / CINEMATOGRAPHY KIM HYUNG-GOO / ORIGINAL STORY BONG JOON-HO / SCREENPLAY BONG JOON-HO, HAH JOON-WON, BAEK CHUL-HYUN / DIRECTED BY BONG JOON-HO © 2006 C F .A . HUNGEORAHM ILM

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STARTS FRIDAY, MARCH 9

Frank Miller’s latest graphic novel to make the jump to film is “300,” starting several relatively unknown actors, including Gerald Butler (above), and an enough to CGI that George Lucas would choke on it.

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RENO 911!: MIAMI:���������������������������� ����������������������������������������������� ��������� ������� ����� ���� ������� ���� ���� ������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������� ��� ���� ������ �� ��������� ������� ���� ����� ���������� ���� ������� ��� ��������� ��������� ���� ���������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������� ������� �������������������������������������� �� ���� ������������ ����������� ��� �������� ������ ��������� ���� �� �������������� ���� ����� ���� ������������ �������� ���� ������������ ����� ��������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������� ������� ����������� ������� �������� ���� ����� ��� ���������� ����� ��� ������� ����� �� ���� ���� �� ������� ����� ������� ���� ����� ��� ���������� ���� ����� ������������ ���� ��� ������ ���� ��������� ���� ���� �������� ������ ������ ������ ������ ��� ���������������������������������������������� ������ ���� ����� ��������������� �� ���� ����� ���� ��������� ��� ��� ������ �� ������� ��������� ������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������� �� ���� ��� �� ������� ������������ ��� ������� ��� ����� ������ �������� ��� ������� ������� �� ���� ������� ������� ��� ������ ���� �� ���� ��������� ��� ���� ���� ����� ��� ���� ������ ��� ����� ����� ��� ������������� ����� ������ ������ ���� ���� ��� ����������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������� �������� ����� ���� ����� ������� ��� ������� ��� ���������������������������������� – Matt Goldberg 300:� ���� �������� ���� ����� ��������� �������� ������������������������������������������� ����� �������� ������ ���� �������� �������� ������ ��������������������������������������������� ���� ����� ����� ���� ������ ������� � ����� ��� ������ ��� ������ �������������������� ��� ���� ����������������������������������������������� ������ ��� �������� ���� ���������� ����� ����� ��������� ������� ���������� ���� �������� ������ ��������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������ ���� ���� ��������� ��� ����� ���� ���������� ��� ����������������������������������������������� ��������� ����� ��� ����� ��������� ����� ����� ���� ��� ���� �������� ������� �������� ����� �� �������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������� ��������� ���� ����� ��� ������� ��� ������� ������ ������� ���� ����������� ������� ���� ���������� ��������������������������������������������� ����������� �������� ���� ������� ���� ���� ����� ����� ������ ����� ������ ������ ���� �������� ���� ��������������������������������������������� �����������������������������������������������

PG 18 • insiteatlanta.com • March 2007

����������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������� ���������� ����� ������ ��������� ��� �� ������ ������������������������������������������ ��������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������ �������������������������������������������� ���� ������� ��� ����� ��� ���� ������� ��� ������� ����� ������� ���� ��������� ���� ����� ������� ��� ������������������������������������������������ ���������� ����� ��� ���� ����� ����� �������� ���� ��������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������������� ���� ������ �������� ��� ���������� ����������� ����������� � ������� � ������� ����� ���� ������� ��� �������� ���� ����������� ������ ���� ���� ����� ����� ���� ��������� �������� ����� �������� ������������������������������������������ �������� ����������� ����� ������ �� ������������ ��� ��������������������������������������������� ��������� ���� ��� �������� ��� ���� ����� ����� ����� ������������������������������������������������ ������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������ ����������������������� – Matt Goldberg

WILD HOGS:� ����� ������ � ����� ����������� ����� ����� �������� ������ �������� ���� ������� ���� ������� ��������� ��� ������ ����� ������ ��� ������ ����� ��������� ����� ������������������������������������������� ����� ��� ���� ����� ��� ������ ������� ���� ����� ����� ����������� ��� ����� ��������� �������� ����������� ���� �������� ���� ����������� ��������� ����� ���� ������ ������ ���� � �� ����� �������������������������������������������� ���������������� ������ ����� ������� ��� ���� ������ ������ ������ ����� ����� ���� ����� ��� ���������� �������� ������ ������ ������ ���� ���� ������ ������ ���������� ������ ����� ���� �� ����������������������������������������� �� ����� ������ ����� ������� ��� ����� ����� ��� ������� ���� �������� ����� ���� ������ ������� �� ������ ����� ��� �������� ��� �� �������� ���� ����� ��� ������������� ������� ����� ������� ��� ���� ���� ����� ���������� ����������� ������� ��������� ���� ��������� ���� ����� ��� ����� ��������� �������� ��� ������� ���������� ������� ���� ������������ ����� �� ����� ���� ����� ����� ���������������������������������������������� �������� ����� ������� ������ ��� ������ ������ ��������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������ ��������������������������������� – Zena Scott


FILM INTERVIEW LESS “ACTION!” MORE TALK: KEVIN SMITH ON ACTING

BY MATT GOLDBERG

K

EVIN SMITH IS ONE ELOQUENT BASTARD. He’s so good at talking that he’s been able to make two DVDs of him just answering questions for hours on end. Ironically, his biggest acting gig previously was the character of Silent Bob in his own films (with the exception of Jersey Girl). But this year Smith takes a break from writing and directing to play characters in films such as Catch & Release and Die Hard 4 who do more than just pantomime thoughts to a dim-witted cohort. We spoke with Kevin about his new career path.

Unconventional... maybe. ������������������������� ��������������� �������������

having her hand up your ass, and her working your mouth.

������������������ �������������������

So is this going to make you think about acting more full time? I wound up acting more at the end of last year than I thought I was doing. I did the Die Hard thing, and then I did this thing for Showtime called Man-Child. It’s fun and it’s kind of interesting, but at the same time I’m limited. In acting, you can hand someone the iambic pentameter and they can go off. I can do one thing fairly decently, and that is play myself... I wouldn’t call that acting. Some people will come to me and be like, “Hey, we want you to

������������� ������������������������ �������� ����������������� ������������������ ����������� ��������������������� ������� ���������������� �������������

IF I REALLY WANT TO TEST MYSELF OR PUSH MYSELF, I’D TRY AND MAKE SOMETHING COMPLETELY OUT OF MY SAFETY ZONE.

[Writer/director] Susannah Grant says that you tend to denigrate your own talent. Why do you think you do that? I’ve grown up fat, so it’s always the steal the thunder attitude for me– the idea of making fun of yourself before someone else can. Of my entire repertoire of stuff I’ve done, Jersey Girl takes a beating like a redheaded stepchild because it’s always easier to be like, “I made Jersey Girl and it sucked,” than to have somebody say it to you first. That way, they’re sitting there waiting to tell you, and they’re like, “Oh, he already knows? Alright...” But for every Jersey Girl, there’s a Chasing Amy and Clerks. And for some of us, even Jersey Girl. I like Jersey Girl. It’s just easier to make fun, and it’s hard to take the whole thing serious, which is good and bad. It’s good because it kind of armors you, but it’s bad because people tend not to take you serious. But that’s fine; I haven’t made any serious movies. But I don’t know, it’s always the way I’ve been. It would be tough to change at this point to be like, “Hey, I’m pimp! I’m good, aren’t I?” Believe me, I say that behind closed doors when it’s just my wife and kid, but not to strangers. And oddly enough, my wife and kid are the only ones who don’t believe it. Susannah also said you didn’t deliver the lines the way she wanted them. But not because I don’t respect Susannah’s writing. I just learned so quickly that I’m not a good actor. A good actor can take what’s written on the page and not change a fuckin’ word, and make it sound like they’re coming up with it off the top of their head. I would try to do that, but how bad was I? Susannah would be like– cuz there’s that director move where you’re supposed to lead the horse to water, to make the actor think they’re discovering it for themselves– “Well, you want to say it with a bit more emotion here, like you feel like you’re an Emu in the scene, and all these people are lions,” or something like that. And finally I’d be like, “Susannah, just say it, and I’ll say it like you say it.” And so she loved it, cuz that’s shorthand. It’s one step away from

do something that you haven’t done,” I’m like, “You’re out of your mind.” I’m very, very limited. So it’s fun when someone offers you something cuz you’re like, “Well, I can do this! This is fun, and it fuckin’ pays well!” So that’s cool. But pursuing it like this is my new job? No. How was it being a guest critic with Roeper? It was pimp when they asked me to be on Ebert & Roeper, and then I saw the other people they asked and I was like, “Shit, they’re asking everybody!” But it was still cool; I grew up watching that show, back before it was Siskel & Ebert, when it was just called At The Movies on PBS, and before that when it was called Sneak Previews. When I was a kid I watched that show, and they were always referred to as “the fat guy and the skinny guy” in our house, and I grew up to be the fat guy, so it was kind of cool. But it was nice, and there’s a lot more work to it than you think. You actually have to write a review, which I never really thought about. They kind of sit there and deliver to the camera before they get into cross talk, and they never mess up; that’s because they’re reading from a teleprompter. And it’s your opinion, so no one can write the review for you. You have to write it, and that was the challenging thing. You have to write a 200-word review and, as you can tell, I’m not good at keeping it short. So that was tough. Do you have a different opinion now on film criticism? I really did walk away with more of an appreciation for critics. Cuz it’s very easy to demonize them in my position– to villainize a critic and be like, “This fuckin’ asshole’s responsible for my fuckin’ 63% on Rotten Tomatoes when I could have been 70%! Why am I not certified fresh?”! It’s not like curing cancer or laying brick, but it’s a tough job. You’re forced to go see movies you have no interest in seeing, and you have to come at it fairly, then write something about it clever in a way that nobody else has before and shit like that. What’s next for you? I don’t know, it’s kind of coming down to me wanting to do this comedy and me wanting to do this horror flick. I feel like I should do the horror flick because I’ve done seven comedies in 12 years, and I don’t feel like a filmmaker most days; I just feel like a guy who makes those movies set in that universe. So if I really want to test myself or push myself, I’d try and make something completely out of my safety zone. That said, I’ve never tested myself, so why would I start now?

Unique... definitely. ���������������������� ��������������������������

Kevin, is this a new career direction for you? Every role that Jack Black says no to... pretty much. It just feels like the industry is saying, “Look, stop directing! Go be in movies if you’ve got to be involved. Just be in ‘em, fuck directing!”

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Book Reviews

HOLLYWOOD STATION by Joseph Wambaugh BY JOHN B. MOORE

Joseph Wambaugh has been writing about police– the LAPD in particular– since the early 1970s. But any assumptions that yet another novel set against this familiar backdrop would be simply paint-by-numbers storytelling are unwarranted. With Hollywood Station, Wambaugh pulls together a motley crew of old school and newbie detectives reporting out of the Hollywood precinct, all under the watch of the aptly named Sergeant Oracle. Comprised of single moms, wannabe actors, a couple of surfers and bitter veteran officers, the station handles everything from bizarre murders and costumed freaks shaking down tourists on the Walk of Fame to meth-related crimes. Though his protagonists are interesting, Wambaugh devotes his greatest character-creating skills to the criminals that haunt Hollywood, writing up sketches of Russian jewel thieves, counterfeiters and, of course, desperately tweaking meth addicts. Three decades ago, Wambaugh created the seminal TV detective drama (Police Story), and his debut novel, The New Centurions, helped revive the police novel. With Hollywood Station, the author proves he still has plenty of ideas left in him. Don’t be surprised if someone picks up the TV/film rights.

Grade: B+

THE COMPLETE IDIOT’S GUIDE TO CLASSIC MOVIES by Lee Pfeiffer BY B. LOVE

It’s a sad reality that, even among avid film fans, classic films made before the maverick era of the ‘60s counterculture (see: Coppola, Kubrick, Scorsese, etc.) tend not to register on the pop culture radar of people under the age of 40. Even those of us familiar with the works of legendary directors such as John Huston, Howard Hawks, David Lean and Sam Peckinpah have huge gaps in our knowledge of film history. But Lee Pfeiffer– author of The Essential James Bond, publisher of Cinema Retro magazine and film history instructor at NYU– has assembled a 350-page crash course virtually guaranteed to beef up your film trivia quotient and add dozens of titles to your Netflix queue. From 1915’s controversial The Birth of a Nation through Charlie Chaplin’s 1936 film, Modern Times, the book’s opening chapter summarizes more than 20 classics from the silent film era, adding facts, trivia and behind-the-scenes stories in Pop-Up Video-style sidebars to provide additional info along the way. That approach makes the book an easy but lively read, as the author covers genres ranging from romances, comedies, musicals and animated gems to crime sagas, war movies, westerns and detective films. And while any film fan worth their weight in celluloid will have seen at least a few films in each category, there are loads of lesser-known films here that are worthy of discovery. There are also five appendixes here– the American Film Institute’s Top 100 Films of All Time, AFI’s Top 100 Film Quotes, Top 10 Box Office Stars 1950-1969, Useful Internet Sites and Further reading– sure to help broaden your knowledge of history even further, making it a perfect book for any film lover’s library. Grade: A PG 19 • insiteatlanta.com • March 2007


CONCERT CALENDER �������������� ���������������� Unzipt ����������� Crop Circle, Life The Great, CunninLynguists ������������ Clutch ������������ Julie Gribble, Crash Davis ������� The Phyics, The Brethren �������� Illbreak, The Giving End, Uncrowned, Dear Enemy, Dark New Day �������� Southern Culture on the Skids, Malamondos ������������ Bain Mattox, Tin Cup Prophette, Lindsay Mac ��������� Coy Bowles & The Fellowship ������������������� Gym Class Heros, K-OS, POS, RX Bandits ���������������� Zydefunk ���������������� Sun Domingo ������� Yo Mamma’s Big Fat Booty Band �������� G. Love & The Special Sauce ���������� Moe ������� Zac Brown Band ����� Grayson Manor, Moses Mayfield, Beautiful Mess ���������������� ���������������� Patterson Hood ����������� Kelsy Davis & The Radical Soul ������������ Grateful Yid Purim Bash ������������ John Frank, Derek Clegg Group, Trey Boyer Band ������� Cameo Nova, Unknown Soul, A New Effect, Code Atom �������� Dakota Fate, Jackhammer, Ton, Asphalt Valentine, Hottboxx �������� Southern Culture on the Skids, SSM ������������ Tommy Womack, Rising Appalachia ��������� Skylarks, Madison Smartt Bell ������������������� The Cruxshadows, Ariya, Angelspit ����������������� Scars of Tomorrow, War of Ages, Across Five Aprils, xDeathstarx ���������������� Ricky Fargo ���������������� The ’80s Band �������� Rehab & Guests ������� The Whigs, The Features, Wax Fang ���������� Moe

�������������������� �������������������������

�� �� �� �� ����� ���� �� �� � ����������� ������������ OVER 45 STORES IN 16 STATES!

�������������� ������� Uncle John & The Music Machine Band �������� Apollo Sunshine, Dirty On Purpose, Earl Greyhoun ������� The Leavers Band, Ruby James, Almost Blue ��������������� ������� Matt Ulmer’s South Rock Open Jam ����������������� ����������� Al Smith Open Mic Jam Sesssion �������������� The Work In Progress Band ������� Sounds of Silence, Echovalue, Fermata �������� Elvis Perkins in Dearland, Pat Watson ������������ Derek Webb, Sandra McCracken ��������� Crowd Control ������������������� Early November, Melee, The Rocket Summer, The Verdict ����������������� The Static Age ���������������� Phillip Glynn ������� Joe Firstman ���������� Killswitch Engage

ATLANTA www.samashmusic.com

�������������� ���������������� The Breakfast Club ������������ Jonny Lang

PG 20 • insiteatlanta.com • March 2007

����������������� ���������������� Tron Jackson ����������� Choklate, Peter Hadar & Rahbi ������������ Curb Of Leona, Passer By ������� Rockabilly �������� Rob Crow, Mouth of the Architect, Monotonix ������������ Bobby Yang, The Phoenix Quartet, YOU ��������� Jim Bianco ������������������� Alabama Thunder Pussy ����������������� The Hush Sound & Straylight Run, Spitafield, Pablo ���������������� Ike Stubblefield & Guests ���������������� Radio Cult ������� Gabriel Kelley, South 70 �������� Dropsonic ��������� Sevendust, Die Cast ��������������� �������� Blake Rainey & His Demons ������������ John Gorka, Amilia Spicer ��������� Samrt, Auction with YOU ������� Cracker Unplugged ��������������� ������� Uncle John & The Music Machine Band �������� The Mary Timony Band ������������������� Threat Signal ����������������� Eulogy vs. Victory Tour �������� Flogging Molly ������� Edison Project, Dan Montgomery, 3 Ring Circus

�������������� �������� Chicken & Pigs ������������ SONia, Jonathan Byrd ��������� Dub Is A Weapon ������� Ryan McDougall, Siberia, The Futurists ���������� The Roots with Lupe Fiasco ������� Sparklehorse

���������������� ����������� The Good Good, Bryan Turner ������� Dysfunktion Junktion, Ezlo Holy Sole �������� Silver Lakes, Luigi, Mary O Harrison ������������ Shawn Mullins & Friends ��������� Highly Kind ���������������� Liquid Pleasure ������� The Slip, Arizona, Gringo Star ������� Medeski, Martin & Wood

2999 Cobb Pkwy • (770) 818-0042

������������ 20 Minutes To Park, Big 10-4, Blue Flashing Light ������� Lizardmen �������� NovaKayne, Second Shift Surrender, Noxious, Bullhead Clap, Crazy Anglos �������� The Moaners, Cassavetes, Cory Branan ������������ Shawn Mullins, Justin Townes Earle ��������� Blackeyed Susan �������� Tentonic ����������������� Days Away, The Photo Atlas, Maudlin Ash, Rise of Pompeii ���������������� King Johnson ���������������� Reckless ������� Bradley Cole Smith Band ���������� Taylor Hicks ������� Michael Franti & Spearhead ����������� Jason Michael Carroll

30 Seconds to Mars at������������������ (3-13)

���������������� ����������������� Taste of Chaos Tour: 30 Seconds to Mars, The Used, Senses Fail, Saosin, Aiden, Chiodos, Evaline ������� Matt Ulmer’s Southern Rock Open Jam �������� The Autumn Defense ������������ Cadillac Sky ��������� That One Guy ������������������� The Hoods, My Children My Bride, Furious Styles ����������������� Moneen, Pistolita, Damiera �������� The Tragically Hip ������� The Mood, Nick Pagliari, Tater ������������������ ����������� Al Smith Open Mic Jam Session ������� Big Meat �������� Band of Horses ������������ Faris Family, Peachtree Station ��������� Claude Coleman �������� Badly Drawn Boy ������������������� Zakk Wylde �������� Pepper with The Mad Caddies ������� Paolo Nutini ����������������� ����������� The Good Good, Crop Circle, Three5Human ������� Turnstyle �������� Dumpster Dive Records Spring Concert ������������ Don Dixon Band ���������������� Wes Loper Band ������� The Steamrollers, The Roosters


��������������� ���������������� Heath Deloach Band ����������� Donnie ����������������� Nickelback ������������ Hopsing Project ������� Liquid Jungle, Trees In Season, Dead Stick Landing ������������ Jackson County Line, Arlington Priest ��������� Perpetual Groove After Party �������� Ford & The Pure Imagination Tour ����������������� Axis of Audio, Frequence, Papa Luigi Project ���������������� Electomatics ���������������� Blackberry Smoke ������� Tribute to The Last Waltz ������� Perpetual Groove ����� Grayson Manor ����������� Darryl Worley ����������������� ���������������� The White Leppard Crue �������������� The Sin Hounds, YOU, The Kevin Lewis Experience ������������ Father Peter ������� Groovy Blue, Blue Flashing Light Band �������� The Rock City Dropouts, Soda Jerk, The Hot Rods, The Grinder Girls ������������ Buddy O’Reilly Band ��������� Perpetual Groove After Party ���������������� Dysfunktional Funktion, Charlie Wooton, Count M’Butu, Yonrico Scott, Dick Smith ������������������� The Luenskies ����������������� Love Rush, The Charities ���������������� Trotline ������� Josh Groban �������� Albert Hammond, The Mooney Suzuki ������� Brother’s Past ���������� Lucinda Williams ������� Perpetual Groove ��������������� ������� Rock Goddess For Peace �������� Screwtape & Wormwood ������������ Barbara Cloyd, Jessica Urick, Olivia West, Connor Rand, Eric Measle ������� Vast ������� Ralph’s World ��������������� ������� Uncle John & The Music Machine Band �������� The Selmanaires ������������ Tommy Sands �������� Lily Allen ������� Ken Andrews ���������������� ������� Matt Ulmer’s Southern Rock Open Jam �������� The Liverhearts ����������������� Hit the Lights, All Time Low, Valencia, The Secret Handshake ������� Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3 ������� RJD2 ������������������ ����������� Al Smith Open Mic Jam Session ����������������� Snow Patrol �������������� Patrick Vining Band ������� Charlie Wooton & Friends �������� The Black Lips ������������ Matthew Kahler, Caroline Herring, Bo Bedingfield ������������������� The Haunted, Dark Tranquility, Into Eternity Scar Symmetry ����������������� Whole Wheat Bread, Rory, Against All Authority, The Summer Obsession ������� Old Ceremony, The Dream Team ����������������� ����������� The Good Good, Amanda Ray, Jody Raffoul ������� Contagious �������� Youth Group, Aqueduct ������������ Uncle Earl, Crooked Still ��������� Mother Vinger ������������������� Pensive, Xzamen, Helios, Ignorant Misfortune ����������������� Horse The Band, Special Olympiad, Heavy Heavy Low Low, So Many Dynamos ���������������� Loose Chain ������� Open Hand ������� The Avett Bros. ����� Plain Jane Automobile ��������������� ���������������� Hudson Road ����������� Sazon �������������� Francine Reed & The Shadows ������������ Lindsay Rakers Band, Hightide Blues ������� James Calvin, 10 Degrees Off, Warm in the Wake, The Eyes, Exit Clow �������� Bird ������������ Hackensaw Boys with Michelle Malone ��������� The Brilliant Inventions ������������������� Stand Alone, A New Effect, Senona ����������������� Autumn Offering, Hell Within, Autumn Black, Draped in Sorrow ���������������� Lola

���������������� Zoso ������� Hobex ������� Dean & Britta ����� Cold War Kids ����������� Mark Wills

East Atlanta Village www.badearl.com

Fri, Sat - Mar 2&3 9:30pm

Fri - Mar 9 9:30pm

Sat - Mar 10 9:30pm

with Cassavetes and Cory Branan

Rob Crow (from Pinback)

with Monotonix and Mouth of the Architect

The Mary Timony Band

8pm

with Beach House and Birds of Avalon with Georgie James (ex Q and not U and Lesbian Afternoon OK Productions presents:

8pm

Wed - Mar 21 9pm

Thr - Mar 22 9:30pm

Fri - Mar 23 9:30pm

Sat - Mar 24 9pm

Sun - Mar 25 9pm

Mon - Mar 26 9pm

with The Singleman Affair

St. Pat-Prick’s Day Party

with The Rock City Drop Outs, Soda Jerk, The Hot Rods, The Grinder Girls Hosted by / live freak show by The Enigma OK Productions presents:

The Black Lips with The Ponys

OK Productions presents:

����������������� ����������� The Producers Swap Meet �������������� Paul Geremia �������� The Shut-Ups ��������� The Chicago Afrobeat Project ���������������� Dean Dollar Band ������� Spring Garage Sale ����� The Beggar’ Guild ��������������� ���������������� Appetite For Destruction ����������� Reci Semien ������������ Ben’s Bones ������� Turtlefolk, Kinetic Trek �������� Hope For A Golden Summer ������������������� The Colour, Gringo Star, The Changes ����������������� The Draft, Some or Fire, Tim Barry, Wrister ���������������� Mudcat CD Release ���������������� The Velcro Pygmies �������� Augustana ������� Blueground Undergrass �������� Pabst Fest II ������� Los Amigos Invisibles ����������� Keith Anderson ����������������� ���������������� Tim Brantley ����������� Jaspects �������������� Francine Reed & The Shadows ������������ Poolstick ������� Homemade Jam, Summer Bergeron �������� Tribute To The Who ������������ Don Conoscenti, Catbird Seat,

��������� Saturday, Mar. 3

TREY BOYER BAND

John Frank • Derek Clegg Group

Friday, Mar. 9

BIG 10-4

20 Minutes to Park • Blue Flashing Light

Saturday, Mar. 10

PASSER BY Curb of Leona

Friday, Mar. 16

HOPSING PROJECT Saturday, Mar. 17

FATHER PETER Friday, Mar. 23

HIGHTIDE BLUES Lindsay Rakers Band

Youth Group

Saturday, Mar. 24

Bird

Friday, Mar. 30

Aqueduct with The Preakness (feat. Mark Burgess from The Chameleons UK) with Rescue Mission and Tiger! Tiger!

Bishop Allen

THAT 80’S BAND

Bedhead

BEN’S BONES

Saturday, Mar. 31

POOLSTICK

with +/-, Say Hi To Your Mom and Parade OK Productions presents:

Hella

with Dirty Projectors and Who’s Your Favorite Son God? OK Productions presents:

The Black Angels

with Vietnam and Six Parts Seven

Tickets available at Criminal Records & badearl.com

�������������� ��������������

���������������� ������� Matt Ulmer’s Southern Rock Open Jam ����������������� 1349, Goatwhore, Nachtmystium, Averse Sefira, Legion X ������� Sun Domingo ������������������ ����������� Al Smith Open Mic Jam Session ������� Charlie Wooton & Friends �������� People Noise ������������ Justin McRoberts, Christopher Williams ��������� Nod Factor ������� Josh Kelley ���������� G3: Joe Satriani, John Petrucci, Paul Gilbert

NO COVER Tuesday –Thursday

The Autumn Defense Prick Magazine Presents the 7th Annual:

Sat - Mar 17

��������������� ������������ Pretty Ricky ������� Uncle John & The Music Machine Band �������� The Black Angels ������� Rickie Lee Jones

The Moaners

Mon - Mar 12 Tue - Mar 13

��������������� �������������� Talkin’ The Blues Series �������� Well Strung ������������ Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers, The Bittersweets

with Malamondos (Fri) SSM (Sat)

The Rosebuds

9pm

����������������� ����������� Sweat �������������� Delta Moon ������������ Pete Yorn ������������ Bedhead, That ’80s Band ������� Green Lemon, Jango Monkey �������� Bishop Allen ������������ Ellis Paul, Chuck Pyle, The Bittersweets ��������� The International Groove Conspiracy �������� To Whom (CD Release) ������������������� Cartel, Cobra Starship, Boys Like Girls, New Atlantic ����������������� The Futurists, Lola Ray, Army of Me, The Honor Roll ���������������� Fourth Annual Chicken Raid ���������������� The Wrong Way ������� Squat ���������� Aaron Lewis ������� Mutemath

Southern Culture on the Skids

Sun - Mar 11 8pm

Pete Yorn at������������� (3-24)

OK Productions presents:

����������� Every Wednesday

GARETH ASHER

Saturday, Mar. 3, 10 & 24

THE BRIAN WILTSEY BAND

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Thursday, Mar. 8

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Friday, Mar. 9

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TEXAS HOLD’EM POKER Open Daily 4pm

Ask About Atlanta Room for Private Parties

1578 Piedmont Ave. 404-875-1522 www.smithsoldebar.com

STEVE Q & CHRISTIAN SCOTT LITTLE & SHAWN ARNOLD

Thurs. & Fri, Feb. 15 & 16 & 29

GARETH ASHER & NAKED Saturday, Mar. 17

4TH ANNUAL SHAM JAM SHACK FEST FEAT. THE BRIAN WILTSEY BAND

LIVE MUSIC ALL DAY $5 TO GET IN, $5 ALL-U-CAN-EAT OYSTERS 2P-3A Thursday, Mar. 22

ALEX ORANGE OF ATHENS Friday, Mar. 23

JOHN THRASHER & MATT MAUTZ Fri. & Sat., Mar. 30 & 31

MIKE LEE & BRIAN WILTSEY

������������ For Booking Send Press Kit To:

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���� ���������� ���� PG 21 • insiteatlanta.com • March 2007


Road Warriors This Month’s Hottest Shows while the comparisons to the Velvet Underground have been beaten into the ground, there’s a lot of that, too in last year’s Hallelujah Sirens.

BY JOHN DAVIDSON 3/04 THE ROOTS

Tabernacle Is there anything stranger than the career path of the Roots? Loaded with talent and backing it up by actually playing instruments, few hip hop acts are as distinguished yet so comparatively underrated by consumers. Last year’s Game Theory was their heaviest yet, another vivid collection of soundtracks to our lives and so here they are, out on the road and bringing it to life. Go see these guys.

3/04 SPARKLEHORSE

Variety Playhouse If Sparklehorse can still play venues the size of the Variety Playhouse, then maybe there’s hope for the music industry. Mark Linkous and his collaborators (Tom Waite and Danger Mouse, among others) offered up Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain last year, and it was as consistently good as anything he’s ever done. Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter and their rootsy countrified rock make a surprising if excellent opener.

3/05 DIRTY ON PURPOSE

The EARL Brooklyn’s Dirty On Purpose mine from the jagged guitars of the alternative 90s—think Pavement, Sonic Youth, and Yo La Tengo—with a sense of adventure matched only by the Flaming Lips. And

3/07 HARRY CONNICK JR.

Fox Theatre It’s date night and basically if the smooth New Orleans jazz of Harry Connick can’t get the romance cooking, then you need to get a new companion. Sure, you’d rather be seeing him in a small restaurant with linen tablecloths, but look up at the Fox Theatre and let the stars allay your fears of failure. Plus, the eatery situation in Midtown has never been better.

3/09 THE THERMALS

Drunken Unicorn The Thermals are one of those radioactively hot political bands that, in different times, would have been labeled punk. And punk they are, with rafter-rattling volume paint-peeling energy. But they also draw a lot from noise groups like Sonic Youth, which makes them more interesting than your average Warped Tour participant.

3/11 THE ROSEBUDS

The EARL The fun of the Rosebuds has been their lighter side of indie rock, that magical place where you don’t have to feel guilty for having a sunny melody and optimism bound tightly together in three luscious minutes. The new album, Night of the Furies, is a move in the right direction for this husbandwife team of erudite popsters, who always seem a few songs short of greatness.

3/13 THE AUTUMN DEFENSE

The EARL The part of Wilco that never gets much attention—bass player John Stirratt and guitar guy Pat Sansone—has a side project called The Autumn

Defense and for the most part it is successful in nicking Paul Simon. The sweet harmonies, sweet melodies, and sweet arrangements never get the heart racing, but they are competently entertaining and ensure that the guys won’t quit their day jobs.

3/14 BADLY DRAWN BOY

The Loft At Center Stage Oh, the height that Damon Gough has fallen. Once the recipient of arguably Britain’s most prestigious award (the Mercury Prize), he’s spent the past seven years on a rapid path towards irrelevance. Nobody’s quite sure why he’s lost his mojo, but on the strength of his debut album (The Hour of the Bewilderbeast) we’re still rooting for a comeback.

3/17 ALBERT HAMMOND, JR.

Coca Cola Roxy Theatre As a guitar player for the once legendary Strokes, Hammond has spent most of his time supporting his singer’s songwriting. Although his dad is a bit of a famous singer/songwriter, we were still shocked at how good his solo album, Yours To Keep, comes off. He needs to bring stuff like this to his real band.

3/17 LUCINDA WILLIAMS

Tabernacle Williams latest album West is pretty much like all the rest of her back catalog— spare, roughhewn country ballads sung by a woman who sounds like she’s lived them. Seems like a big venue for a performer who shines on her own, but we’ll assume that she can fill the joint adequately with her storytelling. An added bonus is the Heartless Bastards, whose heavy rock songs will add much some needed weight.

WE GOT NEXT BE YOUR OWN PET

Latest Project: Why You Should Care: For Fans of:

BY JOHN B. MOORE

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ITH RECENT NATIONAL AT TENTION from bands like The Pink Spiders and The Features, Nashville is finally living up to its rep as Music City USA. The spastic punk rock of Be Your Own Pet is probably one of the most satisfying exports the city has sent out into the world in the past few years, finally helping to make up for all that dreadful neon cowboy music the city has been pumping out. Rebuilt from the scraps of the defunct band Night Shift Nurses, Be Your Own Pet is com-

Drunken Unicorn Dreamy vocals sung in both English and Japanese, shimmering guitars, and a wad of memorable melodies to boot, Asobi Seksu have all the makings of a buzz band. Still out in support of the excellent Citrus, they return to our fair city knowing that more and more fans will be waiting. Monday nights at a club don’t get much better than this.

3/21 THE BLACK LIPS W/THE PONYS

The EARL Still one of the best live shows in Atlanta, the Black Lips celebrate their new live album with another local show before they head out on tour in earnest. The Black Lips would be a good enough reason to get out, but adding the post-punk flamethrower of the Ponys makes this show even more essential.

3/23 COLD WAR KIDS

Vinyl At Center Stage Although the Cold War Kids come off as postpunk revivalists, who doesn’t these days? Better still, the band has good songs to show for it and if the hype is even half-right about their live show, they’ll be worth your bucks. The quirky pop of Tokyo Police Club pick up the slack as openers with a similarly cool vibe.

3/30 SMOKE OR FIRE

Masquerade Remember when punk-rock was more than a $50 vintage Thriller t-shirt and carefully applied eyeliner? Virginia-based Smoke or Fire plays gritty, posthardcore street punk with just enough melody to make crusty punks like Paul Cook and Mike Jones want to jump back into the pit. The fact that The Draft and Tim Barry are also on the bill just makes life that much sweeter.

Artists on the verge of making it big

Be Your Own Pet (Ecstatic Peace/Universal) Based on the strength of one downloaded single, Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore tracked down the group and signed them as the very first band to his new record label. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Deerhoof, The Pixies, The Stooges and Sonic Youth

prised of guitarist Jonas Stein, frontwoman Jemina Pearl, bassist Nathan Vasquez and relatively new drummer John Eartherly. The band earned a huge fan in Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore, who ultimately signed them to his new label Ecstatic Peace last year.

sic festivals and made their national TV debut on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Jonas took some time recently to talk about the band’s background, playing punk-rock in Nashville and the whirlwind that was 2006.

PLAYING AMERICAN FESTIVALS COACHELLA AND BONNAROO (LAST YEAR) WAS PRETTY CRAZY. PLAYING ON LIVE TELEVISION WAS VERY SCARY FOR ME. But the members are no strangers to the world of music: Jemina’s father is guitarist (and well-known rock photographer) Jimmy Abegg, Nathan’s father is guitarist Raphael Vasquez and Jonas’ pop is music manager Burt Stein, who’s worked with everyone from Motley Crue’s Vince Neil to Nancy Griffith. Although barely out of high school (their average age is 18), the group manages to play seasoned noise-pop reminiscent of groups like The Stooges and The Pixies. Thanks to a little help from the BBC, the band took off in the UK in a big way in 2004, but it wasn’t until the past few months that US audiences started picking up on BYOP, when the band finally released their self-titled debut. Produced by Redd Kross founder Steve McDonald, the record brilliantly crams in 15 tracks– each a powerful sonic blast of energy– in just over 30 minutes. Last year was a big one for BYOP. They finally released their first record, played a handful of mu-

PG 22 • insiteatlanta.com • March 2007

3/19 ASOBI SEKSU

Let’s start at the beginning. Gow did the band first get together? (Original drummer) Jamin Orrall and I were rockin’ with some ideas and we asked our friend Jemina if she wanted to sing in the band. All of our first few songs, except for “Extra Extra,” were written as a three-piece, then the next year I found Nathan. He sat in front of me in Spanish class. He tried out, we liked him a lot and we later became Be Your Own Pet. Along with you guys, The Features and Pink Spiders have been getting a lot of attention. What is the music scene like in Nashville now? It seems like everyone is playing in a band. A lot of good projects are coming out of Nashville right now. How did you guys first connect with Thurston Moore? David Newgarden, our manager at the time,

knew Thurston and recommended that he pick up our single. He liked it and then got in touch with us through David. So what made you decide to sign with his label over others? It was such a sweet situation. (We) get to work with really cool people from Ecstatic Peace, and then have Universal’s financial support. You guys started getting a big following in London before breaking through in the US. How different are the two markets? The cultures are pretty different when it comes to music. We are more mainstream there, I suppose. Were you inspired by anything in particular when you were working on the record? Getting to work with Steve McDonald was awesome. I bet. You guys had a lot happen in 2006, from the release of your debut to playing on Conan O’Brien’s show. What was the biggest moment for you? Playing Coachella and Bonnaroo was pretty crazy. Playing on live television was very scary for me. What are the band’s plans for 2007? We’re writing for record two right now. We hope to follow with recording it, then possibly a release in 2007, if everything goes as planned.


FILM INTERVIEW

From Grammy-Winner to Ass-Kicker

BY B. LOVE

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ITH HER ARMLOAD OF GRAMMY AWARDS, near-constant referencing from American Idol contestants and even a name-check in Bob Dylan’s latest single “Thunder on the Mountain,” Alicia Keys has seemed damn near ubiquitous in recent years despite the fact that she hasn’t released an album of new material since 2003. She’s about to get even more in-your-face, with her debut film role as an ass-kicking assassin hunting Jeremy Piven in Smokin’ Aces and a role in the forthcoming The Nanny Diaries, an adaptation of the best-selling novel. Keys was certainly smokin’ in her own right as she sat down for a recent press conference in Los Angeles. This was a surprising role for you. Was it easy for you to see yourself as a pistol packin’ mama? The minute I read the script, I knew that it was so out of my element, so out of my normal character, so out of what people probably expected of me, I knew it was the right thing for me to do. I wanted to totally break away from anyone’s expectations. I wanted to do something totally

Alicia Keys is Smokin’

unexpected and dive into myself in a way that I’ve never, ever done before. To be surrounded by such incredible actors was truly inspiring. The entire cast and Joe Carnahan were so motivating, I think I’m totally spoiled, and anything I do after this probably will not compare. Does that giving up of your comfort zone come easily to you? Well, I don’t think anything that’s worth it comes easy, exactly, but to work for that was completely worth it. With everything that I do, I want to give up that comfort zone. I don’t want to stay in the same place, where I know myself. I want to get out of that area and challenge myself, and I think my best work comes from that. What kind of relationship did you and Taraji Henson have? Did she give you any kind of guidance since this was your first acting experience? Taraji and I hit it off immediately. She’s a wonderful lady and an incredible actress, and Joe actually brought us together very early in the process, long before we filmed our first scene. We went to the movies together, and she fell asleep! So we definitely hung out, because we wanted the relationship to be authentic, and it was. I did learn a lot from watching her and listening to her, and we developed our characters’ back stories together– where we came from, where we were going, why we were doing this together. So she definitely was a great inspiration. Can you talk about developing that back story a little, and about the relationship between the two women? I think my character, Georgia, and Taraji are very close and have obviously been through a lot of very heavy situations together. In our back story, we definitely knew each other for years. I’d been uprooted from where I originally grew up and came to live near her, so she kinda showed me a lot. Her character was like the older sister I never had, showing me the ropes and that kinda thing. I think as friends, Georgia was probably aware that their were feelings on her side towards me that were a little out of place, but she didn’t pay it any attention because they were busy doing other things and she didn’t want to make a big deal about it. As you see in the movie, it’s becoming a little more uncomfortable as Taraji’s character is a little more crass about it, and I’m starting to wonder what’s really going on. There was a whole scene taken out in which I confront her about it. I remember to talking to Halle Berry about her role in Monster’s Ball, which was so different from who she was as a person, and she talked about how hard she to fight for the role because the producers couldn’t see her as anything other than Halle Berry. You mentioned how different this character was for you, so did you have to fight for it or was it given to you? I have to say that it was mutual between myself and Joe. From the beginning, he had a very clear vision that he wanted to use fresh people, and that’s one thing he spoke to me about a lot. He came to see my show in Anaheim and he came backstage and asked if I’d read the script yet. I hadn’t, and he said, “This is not a punk you’re gonna be playing. This is not just some pretty love story.” Just that alone made me very intrigued because, as anyone on this planet knows, if someone tells you about something you shouldn’t do or wouldn’t normally do, you want to do it. How do you feel about the heavy use of the n-word in the film, with it being such a hotbutton issue right now? I made a conscious decision not to use it. I substituted more fun words like “motherfucker” or “shithead.”

Is success everything you thought it would be? Were you prepared for it? I define success as a personal happiness. I feel that I am happiest when I’m able to express myself and do things that are my choice, whatever that means. It’s especially rewarding for me when other people enjoy it as much as I do. I call that success. Who was it that nurtured you as a child to really believe in yourself? As a young kid I had two wonderful women in my life that helped to raise me. One is my mother, who was a single mom and a very strong woman who showed me everything about being a woman. The second one was my grandmother, who was very intelligent, very compassionate and very giving woman. I would say the two of them were two of my greatest inspirations. Was there any particular advice they gave you along the way? “Get ‘em, girl!” (Laughs) This Bob Dylan album is doing great. How did you first hear about him mentioning you in his song? It’s pretty amazing! I could not believe it. The first person who told me was John Mayer. He said, “You’re never gonna believe this: I just heard that Dylan has your name in his song!” I totally never expected it, obviously, but it was a huge honor and I couldn’t wait to hear it. He’s such a lyrical genius, such a storyteller, with so much history, and as a writer myself I admire him greatly. There were two singers nominated for Golden Globes this year, Beyoncé and Jennifer Hudson. What are your thoughts on that, and do you aspire to that sort of achievement in your own acting career? I think it’s wonderful. They’re two very talented young women, and I think Dreamgirls is gonna be incredible. I can’t wait to see it myself. It’s very exciting, because I think many of the great artists have been triple threats and were able to do it all. I think going back in that direction now, to be able to encompass so many styles and do it with so much class, is just fantastic. You’ve known Beyoncé for a long time, right? Did you ever dream of being on these awards shows? We did meet each other when we were both on Columbia Records. They’d do these retreats and show all the different artists that were coming out, so we got a chance to hang out then. We didn’t meet young enough to do the hairbrush in the mirror thing together, but I do think we both feel the same way about being able to express ourselves. You’re a triple threat now, too. You’ve got this production deal with Disney, you’re in The Nanny Diaries, you’re singing... How would you like to be thought of in the future, as a singer who acts or an actor who sings? As an artist. There was another film I heard you were doing that was a little closer to who you are as a person. What happened with that project? That film is gonna be produced by Halle Berry and it’s about a woman named Phillipa Schuyler, who was an incredible bi-racial classical pianist in the 1940s and 1950s. Obviously the challenges at that time for a woman of mixed race to even be able to play classical piano were more than I could ever imagine. That’s what intrigued me about that role, because it’s going to be a historical period piece, and her story is very deep and moving. The relationship between her and her mother gets very strained, and she decides to move to Europe and pose as a Spanish woman in order to be able to play and live a more normal life. It’s very interesting the places we feel we need to go in order to do what we love, and where that leads us, and that’s what the story was about. I knew that would never be my first film, because I got involved with that movie so early in the process. But something like that is definitely in my future. What’s it called, and when will it be released? As of right now it’s called “Compositions in Black and White,” based on the book of her life. Right now we’re still in the first or second draft of the script, so it’ll be at least a year. PG 23 • insiteatlanta.com • March 2007


�������������������� MUSIC

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By B. Love, DeMarco Williams, John Davidson, John Moore, Tom DeFreytas & Andrea Hatter

��������������� HELL RAZAH- RENAISSANCE CHILD (Nature Sounds) The second coming of Wu. ���� ����� ������ ����������� ���� ���� ���� ����� ��� ���� �������� �������� �������� ����� ���� ������ ���������� ����������������� ������ ����������� ��� �� ������� ��� ����������������� ���� ������ ������� ������ ��� ������������ �������� ����������� ������� ��������������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������� ��������� ��� ������� �������� ��� ������� ���� ����� ������������������������������������������������� ��� ����� ������ ������� ��������� ����� �������� ����� ������������������������������������������������ ������� ������ ����� ������� �� ������������ ����� ��� ���������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������ �������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������ ���������������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������������������� ������� ���������� ������� �� ������ ������� ������� ��� ������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������ ��������������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������� ������������ ������������ ��������� ������ �������� ������������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������ �������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������ ������������������������������������������������ � � � � � � ���� ������������ ������ ��� ��� ����� ���� ������� ��������������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ���������� ������� ��������� ���� ��� ������ ���� �� ������� ������� ��� ������ ���� ����� ��� ������ ������� ������� �������� ��� ���������� ���� ������ ����� ����������� ������� ������� ����������� ���� ���� ���� ��������������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ������������������������ SON VOLT – THE SEARCH (Sony) Jay Farrar soldiers on. ���� ���� ��������� ������� ��� ���� ���� �������������������� ����� ������ ������ ��� ����� ���������� ���� ���� ����������� ��� ������ �������� ���� �������������������� �������������������� �������������������� ���� ������� ������� ���������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������� �������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������ ����� �������� ����������� ���� ������������� ������� ���� ������� �� ����� ��������� ������� ������ ��� ���� ���������������������������������������������� ����� �� ������ ������� ���� �������� ���� ����� ��� ��� ������� ��� ���������� ��� �� ����� ����� ���� �������� ��������� ���������������������������������������������������� ������������ ��� ���������� ���� ���� ��������� ������� �������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������

PG 24 • insiteatlanta.com • March 2007

�������������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������� �������� ���� ������������ �������� ���� �� �������� ������������������������������������������������ ������������������������������������ ALKALINE TRIO - REMAINS (Vagrant) Morbid trio with sense of humor make even throw away songs sound great

!!! – MYTH TAKES (Warp) Doing the white man overbite ���� ������ ������ ������� ������� ����� ��� �������� ��� ��������������������� �������� ���� �� ����� ���� ��������� ����� ������ ����� ������ ��� �������� ��� ����� ��� ����� ���� ������ ������������������ �������� ������� ��� ����� ���� ������������ ���� ����� ������ ����� ��� ����������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������� ����������� ����������� ����� ������ ���� ������ ��� ����������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ��� ����� ����������� ��������� ������ ������� ���� ������� �������� ����� ���� ��� ��� ���� ����� ������ ������ ����� ���������� ���� �������� ������ ���������� ���� �������� ��� ��� ���� ������ ������� ������������������������������������������� ���� ������ ��������� ����������� ��� ����� ���� ������ ������ ��� ���� ���� ����� ������������ ��� �������� ���� ��������� ��������� ��� ����������� ����������� ���� �������� ���� ������ ������ ������������������������ � � � � � � ��� ������ ����� ����� ������ �������� ����� ���� ����� ������� ������� ��� ������ �������� ��� ������ ����������������� ������������� ���� ����� ��� ������������ �������� ���� ����� �� ������� ���������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������� ������ ������� ������ ��� ��� ����� ������ ������ ��� ��������������������������������������������� �������� ���� ���� ����� ����� �� ���� ��� ������ �������� ����������

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������ ������������ ��� ����� �� ���� ������� ����� ���� ����� ������� ���� �������� ����������� � ��������� �������������������������������������������������� ������������ ������� ����� ����� ���� ����� ��� ���� ������� ��� ������ ������ ����� �� ������������ ��� ������������������������������������������������ ������������������������������������������������� ������ ���� ������ ��� ���� �������� ��� ������ ����� ��������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������ ��������������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������ ������������ ������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������ ������� �������� ��� ���� ���������� ������ ���� ������ �������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������������������� ���������������������� THE BLACK LIPS – ARRIBA TIJUANA! (Vice) Psychedelic power trash ���� ��� ������ ����� �������������������� ���� ��� ���� ��� ������ ������ ������� ���������� ������� ����� ���� ������� ��� ���� ��� ������ ��� ���� ����� ������ �� ����� ������ ������� ������ ����� ���������� ��� �� ���� ��������� ������ ��������������������������������������������������� ���������� ����� ������ �������� ��� ���� ���� ����� �������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ��� ��� ��� ����� ������ ��������� ����� ����� ���� �������� ������������������ ��������������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������

Vidiots This month’s DVD & VHS Releases

BLOOD DIAMOND – Leonardo DiCaprio chews up the scen-

ery as Danny Archer, a smuggler of “blood diamonds,” whose profits fund brutal battles in war-torn countries such as Sierra Leone. Djimon Hounsou is a proud fisherman captured and sent to work in the diamond mines, where he stumbles upon a massive rock he manages to hide as military forces invade the slave encampment. Archer promises to help the man reunite with his family in exchange for half the profits from selling the stone, and the two hook up with a feisty journalist (Jennifer Connelly) looking to blow the cover of major companies who deal in blood diamonds. It’s not hard to imagine this as a direct-tovideo B-movie starring, say, Steven Seagal. But what in lesser hands might come off as thinly drawn caricatures are rendered full three-dimensional characters by the talented cast and director Edward Zwick. This is a heavy political story disguised as a romantic action-adventure, and it makes one hell of an impact despite its flaws. Grade: B+ –BL

CASINO ROYALE – In this prequel to the 007 franchise, James Bond (Daniel Craig) is eager to prove his worth, making the free world a safer place while shagging exotic chicks, snagging tailored suits and driving futuristic cars. Sounds like all the other Bond flicks, right? Wrong. Based on Ian Fleming’s first book from ‘53, this film finds producers reinventing things. Craig is manly, gritty and approachable. Unlike past Bonds, his makes mistakes, gets kicked in the balls and falls in love. The mysterious Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) has James shaken and stirred, but director Martin Campbell doesn’t seem to know when to shout “Cut!” And that’s too bad, because this one could’ve been special: Mads Mikkelsen is super as the creepy baddie Le Chiffre, Jeffrey Wright is terrific and Craig– the new jack so many Bond fans worried about– never flinches. Grade: C+ –DW ERAGON – Eragon is Star Wars if it took place in Middle-Earth. You have Luke Skywalker (read: Eragon) as a boy who discovers not only the same hair-stylist as Luke but that he can use the force (read: Dragon Magic) and then finds a Jedi (read: Dragon-rider) named Brom (read: Obi-Wan Kenobi) who will teach him the ways of the dragons so that he can join the rebellion and defeat the evil empire, thus avenging his slain uncle. The film’s secret hope is that with its PG rating, it will get kids too young to see the parallels. Unfortunately, parents will be less fortunate, and as they grind through a film with atrocious pacing

������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������� ���� ��� ��������� ��� ������������ ���� ���� ������ ���� ��������������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ���������������� ������������������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������� ����� ��� �������������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������������� ������ ���������� ��� ���� ��� ���� ������ ������ �������� ������������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ���������� NORAH JONES - NOT TOO LATE (Blue Note) Still doesn’t quite feel like home. ������������������ ������������������� ������������������� ���� ����� ��� ������ ������������������ ��� ��������� ������ �������������������� ���� ������� �������� ������ ���� ��������� �������� ����� ����� ����������������� ����� ���� �������� ���� ���� ���� ����� ����������� �������� ����������� ������ ����� ������ ����� ������ �������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������� � � � � � ����� ���� ���� ������� ����� �������� ��������� ������ ������ ������ ��� ������ ������ �������� ���� ����������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������� ���� ������� ����� ���� ��� ���� ����������� ����� ������������� �������� �������� �� ������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ����� ������ ���������� ������������ ������������ �������������������������������������������������� ��������� ���� ����������� ���������� ��� ������ ������������������������������������������������ ���������������������������������������������������� ����� ������� ����� ����� ���� ������ ���������

PICKS OF THE MONTH THE BEST OF THE FLIP WILSON SHOW

– Long before Eddie Murphy donned drag, there was Flip Wilson’s Geraldine, who helped make this TV’s highest-rated variety program. With no flashy production numbers, elaborate sets, or even a regular cast, Wilson would invite the coolest celebs of the day on for a unique blend of hilarious monologues, sketch comedy and live musical performances. This 3-DVD set collects six of the show’s best episodes: From sports stars such as Joe Namath and Bill Russell to music titans like Johnny Cash and Ray Charles, the guests are all legendary and up for anything. But the best reason to check out this DVD is the top-notch comedy, as talents ranging from Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx to George Carlin and Phyllis Diller stop by to do their thing. This is the kind of comedy shows like Saturday Night Live aspire to today, but rarely achieve. More than 30 years later, there’s never been another show like it. –BL

BORAT – Borat Sagdiyev– Sacha Baron Cohen’s clueless, sexist, racist, homophobic faux Kazakhstani TV reporter, whom he originated in sketches on HBO’s Da Ali G Show– is impossible to ignore. Sent to America to film a documentary about the good ol’ “U.S. and A,” completely unaware of our nation’s rules of etiquette, Borat is the prototypical fish-out-ofwater. When he discovers Pamela Anderson via Baywatch reruns, he heads to Cali hoping to woo her. Along the way he interacts with a broad spectrum of unwitting interview subjects and tackles every taboo subject you can imagine, and the results will leave audiences literally crying with laughter. Make no mistake: Borat is rude, crude, at times sophomoric and almost always offensive. But it’s also the funniest mockumentary to come along in years. –BL

����������������� ����������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������� SHADOWS FALL – THREADS OF LIFE (Atlantic) Hard as a sledgehammer to the skull. ������������������� ������ ����� ������ ������� ��������� ����� ���������� ��� ���� ������ ������ ����� ��� �� ������ ���� ��������� ��� ������������������� ���� �������� ��� ������ ������ ��� ������������������ ������ ��������� ���� ������ ��������� ����������� ���� ������ ������� ����� ���� ������ ������ ������ ������������������������������������������������ �������������������������������������������������� ������� ������� ���� ��������� ��� ������� ����� ����� ������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������� � � � � � ��� ���� ������ ���������� ��� ������������ � ������ ������������������������������������������������ ����������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ��������� ���� ����� ��������� ������ ������ ���� ������ ����������� ����� ������ ��� ����� ����� ����� ������������������������������������������������ ���������������������������������������������� ����������������� ����������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������� ����� ����� ���� ���� ��������� �������������� ����������

they’ll try to let their minds escape to a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. Their minds might occasionally snap back into place, but will have gone back to white noise by the time the Darth Vader clone is spouting “You have failed me for the last time,” to one of his orcs. Grade: D+ –MG

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS – It’s just adorable that people still believe the American Dream, and want to make you believe it as well. Chris Gardner (Will Smith) is a single father after his wife (Thandie Newton) leaves him. He has a crap job selling useless medical equipment, but he takes a chance on an internship at a brokerage firm. See, Chris is tenacious and smart, and though it’s going to be a lot of hard work and sacrifice for him and his son (Jaden Smith), you get the feeling that Chris is gonna make it in the end. While the film may be trying to tell me the origin story of the one black guy at every Republican National Convention, it still allows for Will Smith to give his best performance since Ali. If there’s a reason to see this film, it’s the moving relationship between a father and son. But because it brings nothing unique to that narrative, the weaker and more divisive economic story subverts the personal into propaganda. Grade: B- –MG ROCKY BALBOA – Apollo Creed. Mr. T. Captain Ivan Drago. All of these were great challengers, but this time Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) faces perhaps his greatest challenger... himself. Time finally catches up with an older Italian Stallion, now retired, widowed and running an Italian restaurant called Adrian’s. Rocky has anger and resentment in his “basement” (soul), which he needs to release. A natural born fighter, Rocky defies all attempts at reason from his friends and family– including Paulie (Burt Young) and Rocky Jr. (Milo Ventimiglia, of Heroes fame)– not to fight in an exhibition bout with the current undefeated champion, Mason “The Line” Dixon, who is on his way out of the sport. In the end, both fighters come out winners. And for diehard Rocky fans who have weathered the last few mediocre sequels, hoping to get a glimpse of the Italian Stallion we first saw in the ‘70s, your wait has ended. Grade: B –TG SHUT UP & SING – During a 2003 London concert, the Dixie Chicks made an anti-Bush remark that radically changed their careers. Veteran documentary filmmaker Barbara Kopple brings us this multifaceted look at the incredulity and determination with which the Dixie Chicks responded to the ridiculous public outcry against their political views. Much of the film’s behind-the-scenes footage centers around efforts to “re-brand” the group to a new audience, since they’ve been rejected en masse by the country music industry and a large segment of its fans. Scenes depicting the gleeful smashing (even burning) of Dixie Chicks CDs inevitably call to mind the anti-Beatles hysteria that ensued after John Lennon’s infamous remark about being more popular than Jesus. By the end, we realize that, like the Beatles, the Dixie Chicks will be around long after the controversy has faded away. Grade: A –RH PG 25 • insiteatlanta.com • March 2007


MUSIC INTERVIEW leave us alone, and they wouldn’t want to change us for a second. It has been really great. Actually, the one thing we said we’d compromise was that if they wanted to radio edit us for the radio, we didn’t care. As long as the album is the version we want, we don’t care. We get final approval, but that’s it. Have the other bands in your scene been excited for you as your momentum has shifted upward? Everyone has grown a little in a way, too. It’s really great because we’re all still friends, and every little success that anybody has is a success for everybody. Like, when we did David Letterman, everyone was really excited. It was taped a week beforehand, and we were driving from Portland to Dallas and it was nuts, a blizzard in Texas. But it was great because once it aired, we started getting all these phone messages from all these bands in L.A. People were freaking out, and that’s the sort of support that we’ve come up in. That shit just doesn’t change because we give it and get it, too. It’s just very important to us, and going to see our friends bands and supporting them is something that we love to do. Competitive natures just don’t last too long among our friends.

Silver Lake Success Story CALI’S SILVERSUN PICKUPS BY JOHN DAVIDSON

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OS ANGELES HAS LONG BEEN A breeding ground for popular music, a huge metropolitan area largely defined by sprawl with an epicenter of celebrity incubation. The Silversun Pickups sprang from the artsy Silver Lake scene a few years ago and immediately started making waves with their guitar-and-fuzz heavy slabs of rock, a sound that recalls the oft-mentioned Smashing Pumpkins in their early years. Carnavas was released last year to widespread acclaim, and before the band knew it, they were hearing themselves on the radio and seeing their fan base grow exponentially. We recently sat down with guitarist/vocalist Brian Aubert to discuss the secret of their success. I guess the past 12 months have really blown by. Has it been an easy ride or has there been a lot of trepidation involved? It’s been longer than that, actually, that we’ve started to grind our heads into this and it organically grew. It’s been on that sort of course, and so you don’t really notice it because you get busier and busier and it’s greater and greater. It constantly has kind of moved up and it’s sort of hard to see it happen. We’re kind of on a break now, so we’re getting a chance to look at it. Our heads are out of the sand and when we walk down the street, people say they’ve heard us on the radio. We’re on the radio? Before, we’d do radio shows and it never really hit

BREAK OUT us. But how the hell did it ever all happen? Or Letterman, or any of that shit.

Was it your expectation? There’s no equation on how this works. I know bands and people have these things where they say, “I’m gonna do that and that and that and that…” but basically all that’s a bunch of bullshit. You’ve just got to really enjoy playing so we just wanted to do it

either. We never really listened to mainstream stuff. We typically listened to college stations and underground stuff, so those parts weren’t in our radar at all. Now that they’ve kind of caught on, it’s nice. We think it’s so strange, that a band that has six minute songs is on the radio. People told us that we had to do this or we had to do that, and we always had to tell them that we weren’t trying to be on the radio. We were just trying to be ourselves.

IT’S SO FUNNY THAT ANYONE’S EVEN TALKING ABOUT YOU AT ALL THAT YOU DON’T EVEN CARE ABOUT NEGATIVE REVIEWS. right or at least the way we wanted to do it and the way we liked it. And whatever happens, happens. And yes, our expectations were nowhere near what is happening. All you really want is a chance to be heard, and to make a record that people will want to hear. If it’s 2,000 people then that’s fantastic. That’s all we really wanted. We didn’t expect it to go this way. We didn’t expect radio to play us or MTV. They weren’t even on our radar, and granted, we’re not the kind of snobs who say, “Screw it” to all that

Some bands have had to compromise here and there to get to where they are. Do you feel that way? Not even for a split second did we have to compromise. That was never going to be the case. Our label, Dangerbird, they picked us and we picked them. They knew exactly what kind of band we were, and the kind of stuff that we did on our own. They knew there was no point in changing it and that we weren’t sort of the radio hit band. You have to

FASHION FOCUS

Insights from a Hairstylist

Aveda’s Global Creative Director tells of the Do’s and Dont’s BY MARGO AARON

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HERE ARE TWO THINGS YOU NEVER WANT A DISCOUNT ON: PLASTIC SURGERY AND A HAIR CUT," says the global creative director for Aveda, Antoinette Beenders. "Hair is a piece of fashion you can't take off" she explains. After having been in hair for almost 20 years she used her experiential expertise to put together an approach to making the hairdresser-client relationship a perfect one: Ten Questions to Ask Your Client. "A hairdresser and a client need to be like a match; if you don't trust them don't go to them." Beenders points out that it is not a client's responsibility to have the knowledge a hairdresser has, but encourages clients to ask the questions before going in. "Clients must not forget PG 26 • insiteatlanta.com • March 2007

hair to do what it does not want to do. Make the best of what you've got. If you like your hair and it is not split, then why cut it? Ultimately, hairstyle reflects your personality more then trends." She advocates molding the trends to work for your personality and your lifestyle. In a charming accent, Beenders spoke of her reason for coming up with her recommended approach to clients, "most of the time [a bad haircut] is a miscommunication as opposed to the ability of

that the hairdressers gives a service and it is our duty to find out what's right for you." She goes on to warn against being pressured by what is trendy. "You shouldn't force your

So many people move to L.A. to get discovered or make it big. I don’t think that that motive is wrong, but it’s hard to understand (if you’re not from L.A.) how so many transient people wouldn’t make for a very competitive, jealous scene. I think it’s such a massive city that it’s true in certain parts. L.A. is like a bunch of good-sized cities tied together. We’re from Los Angeles, and one of the reasons that the culture of the city is so strong is because of exactly that: it’s a bunch of knuckleheads from all over the world trying to make their dreams come alive. I used to hate that sort of cultural description of the place, but it’s such an amazing cultural place that you can’t help but to notice that it’s going on. People say, “How can you guys be from L.A. It’s so weird!” I always say that there are millions and millions of people living there. I’m always amazed anyone comes out of anywhere else, like New Mexico. And there are just as many bored kids here. There are suburbs and sprawls everywhere. And the thing is, if you’re a musician and you try to work hard to make things happen then you’re lame. But if you make it, you’re the greatest person on earth! Even your parents…I have a friend who’s an actor and a musician, and his parents had such disdain for what he was doing until he got a job on TV! It was probably the worst acting job of his life, and they were so proud of him. It’s a weird dichotomy that this city has to deal with a lot. What’s been the biggest surprise since Carnavas came out? Well, things like Letterman. Touring with awesome bands like Wolfmother and Snow Patrol seems natural and normal. The media attention is the thing that really sticks out. The whole media culture…MTV, radio, SPIN, Rolling Stone…we kind of wonder if people think we pulled some kind of joke over their heads. That’s stuff that you sort of don’t associate with an indie rock band like us. It’s so weird. It’s so funny that anyone’s even talking about you at all that you don’t even care about negative reviews. I know people who people who get all bent out of shape about that stuff, but we just don’t care at all. If there’s something really negative, we kind of giggle about it, because why would we care? How cool that they even know who we are! The fact that people even talk about us at all is just mind-blowing.

the hairdresser and these 11 questions eradicate that" Beenders is a living example of how it is what you do with your talent that is what matters. She is a visionary in every sense of the word. Having found her love of hairstyling at the age of 12, Beenders' passion for her craft and professionalism are embodied in her every movement and utterance, "I don't think I'm that absolutely amazing, I just do what I do." So next time you make an appointment, make sure you consider the following:

11 Questions to ask Yourself Next Time you Step into a Salon

Aveda’s Antoinette Beenders

1. What do you currently expect from your visit today? 2. How open are you to a change of hairstyle. 3. How tall are you? "I can look taller with shorter hair" 4. How much time do you spend daily on your hairstyle? 5. Do you like to look groomed or messy? 6. Do you need your hair to look versatile? 7. What do you currently like about your hairstyle? 8. What don't you like about your hairstyle? 9. Which hair products do you currently use? 10. How long do you expect your hair cut to last? 11. Would you like to look more: Feminine-Sporty-Classic Fashionable-Trendy-Elegant-Sexy-Natural


FILM INTERVIEW

3 Out of 300

MEET THE FUTURE STARS BEHIND THE LATEST FRANK MILLER ADAPTATION BY B. LOVE

ZACH SNYDER Director/Co-Writer

Zach Snyder is not afraid of challenges. He brokeout in 2004 with a shockingly good remake of George A. Romero’s classic Dawn of the Dead. Now he’s back and adaptating Frank Miller (Sin City, The Dark Knight Returns) unique and memorable graphic retelling of the Battle of Thermopolyae, 300. As he sits down, I immeadately ask about his next great challenge, the adaptation of Alan Moore’s seminal superhero deconstruction, Watchmen. So what’s happenin’ with Watchmen? We’re trying to get a budget together now. I feel like the movie is in a cool place. I’ve been talking to some actors (but I’m not going to say who). It’s cool because you can get real actors. I’ve been drawing away. They have been talking about shooting in the Summer. What’s the delay because ten years ago it was Joel Silver picture. I’m so glad they haven’t it together yet! I think the delay is that they haven’t known what it was. I set the movie in 1985 and I have the luxury of being far enough away from 1985 so that that is a viable idea. I think what happened in the past was that when you’re only five years away from 1985, it’s a weird time to make a period piece that took place three years ago, but studios don’t get that. There has been a push I think on the other scripts that exist about trying to update the movie or trying to make it take place in present day and things of that nature. I think by setting it 1985, by having the Cold War, having Nixon, having all that stuff, you sort of reinvigorate what the story is about. It allows all the metaphors to sort of erect. But, if you set

unique experience just like this one. You literally don’t know what’s goin’ on so there’s no control and actually it’s hard to build a character like that so it’s basically put the actor in a position where you’re in the moment and from the script, which is not long before you start shooting. It’s a kind of lost feeling. “What’s going on?” You don’t know and that’s the beauty of this experience. Are you going to get a flashback episode? Yes. But I can’t say a word man. If I say a word, I’ll have to kill you. How did you come to join Lost? I met a producer, Jack Pinker, for Alias, two years ago. I was shooting something in Brazil and I could not

I’VE NEVER QUITE ENCOUNTERED A CHARACTER AS POWERFUL AND INTENSE AND AS CHARASMATIC AS THIS GUY. HE’S A BAD ASS! HE’S A FUCKER! the movie in modern times, you’re basically saying it’s the war on terror right is the thing. Then the movie is asking me, “oh Zack, what do you think of the war on terror? What’s your take on it?” Who gives a fuck about what I think about the war on terror? That’s not why people go to the movies. I think that what Alan in his book, the comment he’s made about authority and government and all those things. Maybe if you make that movie right and what that has to say makes people think about what’s happening maybe now or in their own lives. That’s my hope for what the movie could be.

RODRIGO SANTORO Xerxes I

I’m sitting next to a man who’s about to become a megastar…again. Already huge in his native Brazil, Rodrigo Santoro is now poised to break out in a big way as he’s joined the cast of TV sensation Lost and plays the King who fancies himself a God in 300, Xerxes I. During our interview, I do my best to gleam any info I can about Lost and a career that’s about to explode… again. You recently joined the cast of Lost. What’s that experience been like? It’s great, man! I’m living in Hawaii. Lost is another

do a guest role he offered me. And he brought up my name when he joined Lost. I had two meetings with J.J. [Abrams], Carlton Cuse, and Damon Lindelof. You’re very well known in Brazil, but now with this and Lost, are you prepared for Hollywood? I don’t know, man. I always thing about what I’m doing right now so if I start to think about that stuff, it’s just too overwhelming. I never make a choice thinking about the result. I’m never gonna pick a role or play a part where I think “What could this bring me?” because you’re not in control of anything, really. So I just get the material, do the work, and make good choices on what I feel. The rest is just really a consequence you have to deal with. What I’m thinking is that I hope people see this movie and I hope it’s not just people who are into graphic novels. I think it’s a very original, unique ride.

GERARD BUTLER King Leonidas

Before the interview even begins, Gerard Butler has already scared us and put us at ease. Radiating charisma, the huge Scotsman begins to sit down but before he can, he hears Zach Snyder in the hallway. He bounds for the door and bellows “Hey! Shut the fuck up!” He then quietly sits

down with a grin on his face and is ready for questions. Between jovial and fearsome, I can’t help but ask about his leading character of 300… How do you prepare for a role that exists between history and myth? I am between history and myth myself. That’s a good question. There’s always an element of balancing that has to go on. It’s a balance between many things without getting too caught up in the technical elements. I’ve never quite encountered a character as powerful and intense and as charasmatic as this guy. He’s a bad ass! He’s a fucker! And yet you know you have to rise that element where it goes past even ethic and becomes comic-book but at the same time. But to only do that and never get to the heart and the soul, then the whole thing means nothing. It involves choosing your moments. For me, I focused a lot on becoming as big and as strong and as confident as I could possibly. Even doing a lot of working ou just before the takes. Every time it made me feel more like a Spartan, more like a King. And that fire is burning inside you. I literally walked around Montreal [where they built the film’s digital backlot] with my shoulders back and my chest out. Just that feeling of real inner confidence. And yet then you can have fun with the other things. There’s a lot going on there. There’s a confidence there, there’s a humor; there’s a drive; there’s a compassion; there’s a certain air of humanity. There’s all that and then there’s this guy who’s a nutjob. He’s crazy! To try and get all those in with a man who really doesn’t talk that much was a challenge. And then to do it all on a green screen was another challenge. In terms of creating a character, was it harder to be behind a mask like you were in The Phantom of the Opera? I’ve had to play characters where there’s a difficulty of expression. But that’s what I like to do. For me, the biggest thing, when I started acting, people were always saying “Great, but bring it down.” And the more I brought it down and the the more I could trust what I could genuinely feel and what I could say, then suddenly, roles like The Phantom became a beautiful thing to do where I was trying to say so many things while wearing a mask means you have to say a lot with the eyes. Leonidas is the same in some ways. He can’t be expressive in a modern way. You lose all of that. To me, if there was one moment where he seemed weak, then the character came apart. So no matter what else you were trying to express, it’s always going to have to come from a foundation of absolute power and solidity.

PG 27 • insiteatlanta.com • March 2007



FILM INTERVIEW

STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS

BY B. LOVE

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ORN LONNIE RASHID LYNN, COMMON IS FAR FROM THE FIRST MC EVER TO parlay his fame in the world of hip- hop into a film career. From the Ices (Cube, T and Vanilla) and Snoop to Ludacris and Mos Def, you can’t swing a stick in Hollywood these days without hitting a rapper. But he is arguably the rapper-turned-actor who has most quickly found his way into high-falutin’ thespian company. In his debut film, the action-comedy Smokin’ Aces, he stars alongside Hollywood heavyweights like Ben Affleck, Ray Liotta, Andy Garcia and Jeremy Piven (who pushed to get him the role). Then, later this year he’ll appear alongside Tinseltown titans Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington in director Ridley Scott’s eagerly-anticipated American Gangster. Meanwhile, the 35-year-old MC will be in the studio, feverishly working on his seventh album, “Finding Forever,” with the help of close friend and mentor, Kanye West. We recently sat down with the Chicago native in Los Angeles, where he conducted a press conference alongside Piven and discussed the myriad careers he’s currently juggling. You must have been a man possessed when you auditioned to land a spot in “Smokin’ Aces.” I was so passionate and enthused about the movie after I read the script. More than I have ever been. The writing is so creative and unique. I really wanted to be in this movie bad, so when I auditioned, I knew I had to raise my game to another level, especially with the talent around me. The director, Joe Carnahan, brought me back in for a second look, and a few days later I got the call. Man, I was jumping up and down on my bed like a little kid. Being able to work with so many actors that I respect means the world to me. What was life like on your first movie set? I was pretty nervous. I remember the first time the director shouted “camera right” - I had no idea what was going on. I was like a little kid - so innocent, just looking around wondering what was happening. Did Carnahan get aggravated? Or even worse, did Jeremy Piven or Ben Affleck bust your chops? Just the opposite. Everyone was very supportive, and many of them pulled me aside to give advice. One of the first days of shooting, I got to my trailer at 7 a.m., and I was so excited and ready to go. But I ended up sitting there until 7 p.m., and when I finally got to the set [Piven] could see I wasn’t there mentally. He was like, “This is how it goes in Hollywood. As an actor, you always have to be ready and prepared, regardless of the time.” I was grateful he shared that with me.

SOMETIMES THEY JUST SHOVE ARTISTS IN MOVIES TO DRAW A BUZZ. BUT AFTER WE STARTED FILMING, PEOPLE SAW THAT I WASN’T JUST THERE BECAUSE I COULD RAP. It’s not always that way. 50 Cent has talked about how stereotypical some actors are about working with rappers. A few people weren’t originally happy that another artist was brought in after Alicia Keys was cast. I can see where they’re coming from. Sometimes they just shove artists in movies to draw a buzz. But after we started filming, people saw that I wasn’t just there because I could rap.

Common Breaks into Hollywood with the Help of His Friends We’re artists, and I respect her as a woman and as an artist. When the time is right, we might connect like that. If she had a song, or if I had a song, I would be down for that. What does acting give you that your music does not? For me, it’s just another way to express myself as an artist. I had to battle with myself for a minute about wanting to establish myself as an actor. I don’t want to be seen as this rapper/actor, but I realized that if you’re an artist, you’re an artist. You can express that through music, through painting, through photography, or through acting. This is just another way for me to express myself. Overall, as far as artistry goes, it is a similar expression. Alicia answered it when she said that you basically discover other things about yourself that you probably wouldn’t have, just writing songs sometimes. You’ve also got some children’s books and your own hat line, Soji, coming out. Any concerns that you might be spreading yourself a little too thin? My mom said, ‘You’ve got to multitask.’ I said, ‘It’s creativity. I can’t just flip switches.’ An album is my child, and I have to give it the proper attention. But I’ve learned how to give two, even three children love. I just hope I don’t become one of those fathers who plays favorites..

Joe Carnahan wasn’t the only one to take notice, huh? I just have to thank God for the chance [director Ridley Scott] gave me to work with [Denzel Washington] and [Russell Crowe]. “American Gangster” is an incredible movie– a true story of Frank Lucas, the Harlem drug lord of the 1970s. Denzel plays Lucas, and I’m one of his brothers. They story unveils an emotional side of crime people aren’t used to seeing. I’m so fortunate to be around so many talented people right now. Careful, your boy Kanye may be listening! He knows I love ‘em. He’s opened my eyes to a lot of things. He encourages me to take pride in my style, and I’m really excited about the new record, “Finding Forever.” Ya’ know people have the ability to do some amazing things while they exist on the earth. They can accomplish Feats that will be remembered long after they’re gone. Musicians like John Coltrane, Marvin Gaye and James Brown made timeless music. Their music made you dance and at the same time made you think. That’s what this new record is all about. Are you going to be able to back up your producer’s album-of-the-year prediction? I love when Kanye says things like that. It really makes me want to shoot for the sky. It creates a serious buzz. Ultimately, you have to put your music where your mouth is. Up to this point, I believe we have, and I have no reason to doubt we’ll continue to do so. But honestly, Grammys aren’t pinnacles. You have people out there starving. Helping them is more important than any awards. So commercial success isn’t all that important to you? I’d be lying if I said I don’t want to sell millions and become a household name, but I won’t lose myself to do it. I see a lot of people in hip-hop who don’t love the music. It’s become the new dope game— they’re in it to make money. If they could obtain that same kind of money or fame by dancing on one leg like a fool, they’d be doing that. It’s that kind that of talk, coupled with your socially conscious lyrics, that sets you apart. Even Jay-Z acknowledges that on the song “Moment of Clarity.” For him to go out and say that he respects my style and what I’m doing changed a lot of people’s view of me. I mean, here you have one of the greatest of all time paying me a compliment. I think a lot of people were like, “Hey, if Jay respects Common, why don’t we?” And if Jay-Z didn’t help your profile, I’m sure the Gap commercials did. [Laughs] People were coming up to me on the streets and were like, “You’re the guy in those TV commercials, right?” They had no idea who I was. What did you learn about acting that will inform you now as an artist? I just learned to be a freer artist. I think that acting made me more comfortable with myself because I started getting more in tune, by doing roles or even just being around people. That gave me a certain confidence and I started digging into parts of myself that I had probably ignored, and don’t really get to express because Common is an artist that is conscious and is aware and is trying to put a positive energy to the world. Being able to be acting and doing other things has opened me up as an artist, even from a visual standpoint, as far as writing goes. After having worked together on this film, do you and Alicia Keys have any plans to do anything together musically? I’ve been blessed to perform some shows with Alicia, and I was also featured on her Unplugged album. PG 29 • insiteatlanta.com • March 2007


Atlanta Steeplechase THE BEST LAWN PARTY IN GEORGIA!

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HE ATLANTA STEEPLECHASE, THE REGION’S premier spring social event, combines unmistakable style and entertainment with the thunderous and exhil-

arating sport of steeplechasing at Kingston Downs each year. The quiet Northwest Georgia countryside comes alive with thousands of spectators enjoying tailgate parties, Jack Russell terrier races, an air show, hat contests, and the running of some of the finest and fastest steeplechase horses in the country.

A Day at the Races

Steeplechasing mixes the speed of Thoroughbred flat racing with the precision of jumping to create a hybrid-like hurdle event in track and field where the premium is on speed over jumps. Every year, the finest professional owners, riders and trainers in the country bring their horses to venues throughout the Eastern

PG 30 • insiteatlanta.com • March 2007

United States to compete for millions of dollars in purse money. The real winner in steeplechase horse racing is the fan. Spectators get a show rivaling college basketball for excitement, baseball for history and a Broadway play for class. All while providing the perfect social backdrop for any occasion. Altogether it is a full day of fun, food, fashion, and the goose-bump thrill of thundering hooves crossing the finish line. Most steeplechase days include five to seven races. Spectators arrive a few hours before the first race (usually 10 am to noon) to set up their picnics, watch the traditional terrier or fox hound exhibitions, and peruse the vendor tents. With a typically ovalshaped track, the spectator has many vantage points; you can watch the field break away at the gates, stand next to a hurdle, or catch the rush to the finish line. With the first chase taking off at a post time of around 1 pm, each takes about 30 minutes to run, award prize money, and accept a trophy.

Around the Downs

The Steeplechase is the event to see and be seen. As spring heralds in warm days and sunny skies, every fashion statement from designer dresses and showy hats to flip flops and halter tops can be seen at Kingston Downs. The people-watching is absolutely at its best all day long. To celebrate all the "fashionistas," there are hat contests with prizes for best women's, children's and whimsical categories. Gourmet food and tailgate parties are the staple of the event. Tailgaters set lavish tables complete with linen, huge bouquets, candelabras, and out-of-this-world centerpieces.

SPRING HAPPENINGS

Beneficiaries

This year’s event is especially exciting, as the Atlanta Steeplechase announces two new beneficiaries. Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation, is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for chronically and seriously ill children and their families through both in-hospital and out-patient programs. The Foundation's Atlanta chapter, created in 1989, offers many social and educational programs in more than 25 hospitals and 20 agencies throughout Georgia. Over 35,000 children are served each year. Founded in 1946, the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine promotes the art and science of veterinary medicine through the education of tomorrow's veterinarians, research in animal diseases, and service to the public. Last year, over 16,000 animals were treated at the teaching hospital and 135,000 were seen in the field.

Celebrating 42 Years!

The Atlanta Steeplechase is celebrating 42 Years. On a warm Sunday in March 1966, the first Steeplechase was run on sandy bottom land at Horseshoe Bend on the Chattahoochee River. Over forty years later, the Atlanta Steeplechase is attracting more than twice as many attendees with record breaking attendence expected this year.

2007 Activities & Race Schedule

9:00 a.m. Gates Open 10:30 to 1:00 p.m. Terrier Races and Pig Races - Infield 10:30 to 1:00 p.m. Carriage Rides and Pony Rides - Infield 11:45 to 12:15 p.m. Hat Parade and Contest 12 p.m. Air Show and Sky Dive Demonstration 12:15 p.m. Parade of the Shamrock Hounds 1:30 p.m. Race 1: $30,000 Sport of Queens Hurdle 2:10 p.m. Race 2: $20,000 Maiden Claiming Hurdle 2:50 p.m. Race 3: $25,000 Sport of Kings Maiden Hurdle 3:30 p.m. Race 4: $75,000 The Georgia Cup 4:10 p.m. Race 5: $25,000 Sport of Kings Claiming Hurdle


LOCAL ENTERTAINMENT

March Madness!

Where to Head to When the Tournament Tips off

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H YES! IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN. Spring is around the corner, flowers are beginning to bloom, as mass hysteria hits the country in what is known as MARCH MADNESS! This year has added significance as Atlanta hosts both the SEC Tournament and the Final Four. As you settle in for the Big Dance, we at INsite would like to suggest some terrific places in Atlanta to watch the games, enjoy some great food and take in the excitement from the games.

Chicago’s Nancy’s Pizza

3167 Peachtree Rd. 404.320.1258 265 Ponce De Leon 404.885.9199 www.nancyspizza.com

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. 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 one-third of the usual 45 minutes required. Nancy's offers thin and deep dish and take and bake pizza, appetizers, sandwiches, and their signature salads. 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.” Soon after opening the orginal 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 Jeannie’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 the basketball tournament. The new location also has a full bar which makes it great for watching the games or for private parties. Both locations offer take-out and delivery.

Loco’s Grill & Pub

3167 Peachtree Rd. Buckhead 404.233.1989

With a great deck overlooking the view on Peachtree and a new dining inside, Locos is the place to be for March Madness this year. They are located at the North End of Buckhead Village and their outdoor seating. Here you will find some of the best chicken wings in the city. Whether you want them Hot, Mild, Honey, BBQ, Lemmon Pepper, Teriyaki, or Honey Mustard; Locos has you covered! The wings at Locos are so outstanding that many forget how amazing their sandwiches are. One of their favorites is the “Moose”, affectionately named after their mascot. The Moose is lean roast beef under melted Monterrey jack cheese on an onion roll topped with horseradish sauce and cole slaw. If you’re looking for the taste of Locos wings but want to keep your fingers clean, try their Spicy Chicken Sandwich, a fried chicken breast tossed with the famous Locos hot sauce, served on an onion roll with mayo, lettuce, and tomato. This Buckhead location showcases plenty of TV’s including HD projections and plenty of new plasmas. You will find also 24 different drafts to choose from among their full bar. Also check out the Wheel of Beer that spins every Saturday. Wherever it lands, that beer becomes the house beer for that hour. So come out, get a prime table, and enjoy the Madness!

Moondog’s

3179 Peachtree St. Buckhead 404.231.4223

Fado’

3035 Peachtree Rd. 404.841.0066 www.fadoirishpub.com

St. Patrick’s Day isn’t all that will be going on at Fado this month. After serving as Atlanta’s viewing destination for the World Cup this summer, Fado is getting ready for America’s biggest tournament. Fado offers many flat screen TV’s throughout their cavernous bar and has a large projector screen to feature the main game. Here you can hang out all day as they have a great pub menu and of course the best beer in Atlanta. Fado also houses Atlanta’s Best Bartender, Anto Hogan, winner of the 2006 Best Bartender of Atlanta competition.

This always happening party bar will be the place to be during the biggest games of this year’s basketball tournament. To go with there multiple rooms that include pool tables, tables for card games and dart boards they offer 5 brand new HD Big screens and a total of 9 TVs in house. For the Thursday games they open at 7pm and then at 8:30pm on Friday and Saturday. They don’t close each night until 3AM so there is no need to head out to the party after the game; you are already there. Moondog’s can be found just north of Buckhead Village adjacent to The Peachtree Tavern and Hole in the Wall nightclub. Their bartenders have one awards in several publications and Moondog’s has been voted Best college Bar by INsite and Citysearch.

Mo’s Pizza

3109 Briarcliff 404.320.1258

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 to watch all the tounament action. They have a great deck to hang out on, and plenty of new plasma TVs to watch the games. Mo’s is one of the longest running pizza joints in Atlanta, come in and see why they are one of the best!

Famous Pub

2947 N. Druid Hills Rd. 404.633.3555 With 6 big screens and over 40 TV’s showing every NCAA Tournament game, Famous Pub is your home for March Madness. In addition, there are 11 pool tables, foosball, air hockey, darts and numerous video games. Famous Pub offers an expanded menu that in addition to favorites such as wings, sandwiches and wraps has a variety of steaks, salmon and steamed vegetables. Daily lunch specials are always available. Famous Pub was voted Best Sports Bar by INsite readers in 2006. There is never a cover charge, and ample free parking. With all of the changes going on, now is the time to see for yourself how Famous Pub & Sports Palace is bringing back the concept of a high-end restaurant and bar with a neighborhood feel.

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949 Peachtree Street 404.888.9200 PG 31 • insiteatlanta.com • March 2007


March Madness!

Where to Head to When the Tournament Tips off The Red Door Tavern

Savage Pizza

- Continued from PG 31

Smith’s Olde Bar

3180 Roswell Rd. (1 Block N of Roxy) 404.846.6525

484 Moreland Ave. Little 5 Points 404.523.0500 www.savagepizza.com

Now in their third year, The Red Door Tavern has quickly become a favorite watering hole among locals in North Buckhead. They are located on Roswell Road, one block north of the Roxy Theatre and they tend to get packed during nights of Roxy shows.

1578 Piedmont Ave. 404.875.1522 www.smithsoldebar.com

If the Incredible Hulk were to break down the walls of your house to deliver a pizza, he’d be carrying one of the original recipes from Savage Pizza. With a huge reproduction of a Silver Surfer comic book cover greeting you at the door, the mild-mannered folks working the takeout counter and the outdoor patio dining area must be concealing some powerful secret identities judging from their outstanding pizza.

At Smith’s you will find total entertainment. The downstairs bar is divided into three rooms. The Game Room features five Pool tables, Dart boards and Golden Tee Golf. Adjacent to it is their Dining Area. They have plenty of seating where tables can be combined for large parties and generous booths surrounded by large screen TV’s. During the tournament, Smith’s will hang the brackets on the wall to keep track of your favorite teams. They have a full menu, but what are most popular are their wings, chicken fingers and burgers. Another favorite is their BBQ brought in exclusively from Fox Brothers. During the tournament ask for their March Madness specials. Next to the Dining area, holds one of the most impressive bars in the city. The room is surrounded by booths and new plasma TV’s for those looking for the perfect seat to watch the games. After the games have finished, go upstairs to watch some of the best live music Atlanta has to offer. There is live music 7 nights a week. Everyone has played here, from your favorite local band to David Bowie.

The Red Door Tavern features a large outdoor deck in the front of the tavern that offers a great view down Roswell Rd. into Buckhead Village. They have “Bucket Specials” of Bud, Bud Light and Bud Select. They also have a “Draft Tower” a glass featuring 120 ounces of beer. On St. Patrick’s Day they will feature green beer and Irish drink specials as well as an actual dancing Leprechaun on the bar. The Red Door is a favorite among Bulldog fans but with the Final Four in town there will be fans from all over. They open from 2pm to 3am every day and closed on Sunday. During the tournament, they will open at noon to catch those early round games. So if you’re looking for a great place catch the tournament action in Buckhead this year, look no further than The Red Door Tavern.

Savage’s hand-tossed crusts are thrown with real hands and get enough air to make Tony Hawk jealous. Available in whole-wheat or traditional, these crusts can be topped with any one of Savage’s SIX sauces! Ranging from your standard Red Tomato sauce (a slowly simmered marinara) to Garlic White sauce (mellow and creamy) and Salsa Fresca (fresh tomatoes, red onions and cilantro), choosing a sauce for your pizza adds an entirely new dimension to deciding on toppings. Open for lunch and dinner, Savage is a popular take-out destination and offers delivery for those in town. So call Savage before inviting friends over to watch all the tournament action.

In addition to the tournament action Texas Hold’em is held four times a week. Game times are Tuesday and Wednesday nights as well as Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Wednesdays offer tribute to Widespread Panic, where patrons are encouraged to bring their bootlegs and jam in the Atlanta Room next door. The Atlanta Room can also be reserved for private parties if you are looking to get fellow alumni together to watch in your own private room. Thursdays offer Team Trivia at starting at 9PM. So whatever night you come, there is sure to be something happening at Smith’s Olde Bar.

Stool Pigeons Coop & Grill

949 Peachtree St. Midtown 404.888.9200 www.stoolpigeons.biz Nearly three years ago, Stool Pigeons opened its doors underneath Metropolis in Midtown. The Coop has been a favorite of both locals and visitors alike, and remains the premier place for food, social gatherings, sporting events, and more! With their mouth-watering menu, daily drink specials, and a state-of the art audio/visual system, Stool Pigeons offers something for everyone. Catch the all the tournament action on their multiple plasma screens behind the bar and throughout the Coop. On Wednesday’s they feature live music and hold Open Mic on Fridays.

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MARCH MADNESS

BASKETBALL

GREAT SUBS, SANDWICHES, SALADS & WINGS Since 1980 CARRYING THE SEC & NCAA TOURNAMENT ON MULTIPLE PLASMA SCREENS

$3 OFF

Large 2-Item Pizza

One Coupon Per Offer Offer Expires 4.15.07 Not valid w/ any other specials.

Just off I-85 @ Clairmont (Corner of Briarcliff & Clairmont)

3109 Briarcliff Rd. | 404-320-1258

PG 32 • insiteatlanta.com • March 2007

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March t

SPORTS PREVIEW

Glory

Think Downtown Atlanta traffic is bad? Wait ‘til you get a look at the congestion 65 teams driving towards the final four parking spots at the Georgia Dome can make. BY DEMARCO WILLIAMS

M

ARYLAND, INDIANA, OKLA HOMA AND KANSAS all maneuvered their ways around the bracket racket that is the NCAA Tournament to get to the Georgia Dome for the 2002 Final Four. Just five seasons later, college basketball’s grand finale has returned to the city too busy to use H.O.V. lanes. It wouldn’t surprise anyone if Kansas, with its terrific trio of Mario Chalmers, Brandon Rush and Julian Wright, directs its way back to Atlanta. ’02 champ Maryland and the runner-up Hoosiers -As fate would have it, current Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson was Oklahoma’s coach back in ’02- will get into the dance, but no one’s expecting either to have much gas. As for this year’s directionless Sooners, it appears their season’s run its course. And that’s probably for the best, because 18-wheelers named Florida, Ohio State and UCLA are destined to flatten road-kill like OU this postseason. Here are a few other things we’ve been pondering lately while sitting in brutal I-285 traffic…

tournament: Butler. Kevin Durant, Texas - The Sports Illustrated cover boy deserves all the hype he’s getting and more. Simply put, he’s the most exciting player not on an NBA roster. Enjoy the Garnett-on-training-wheels in March, because

he’s likely on to the League in April. Roy Hibbert, Georgetown - While the Hoya center isn’t one much for lighting up the scoreboard (just five games over 20 points), he’s definitely the reason Georgetown is rejecting thoughts (11 games with three blocks

SHORTCUT TO NOWHERE

Their names are familiar, but don’t be fooled by all the hype and neon lights. Duke - No, it’s not the wisest thing to count out a Coach K-led team under any circumstances. And yes, Josh McRoberts and DeMarcus Nelson are talented enough to put up 20 on any given night. Still, there’s just too much gray area with these erratic Blue Devils. Indiana - Besides Florida’s Noah, Hoosier D.J. White might be the most expressive big man in the land. With that said, you do not want to be around the 250-pound junior in those first few moments after they’re upset the first weekend of the tournament. Memphis - It’s teams like the Tigers that break an office poll bracket. During most of the regular season they’re amazing (25 wins at the end of Feb), but come the Big Dance they stumble over their own feet because they realize that most of their impressive victories came against inferior teams. Alabama - Actually, at press time the Crimson Tide were on the bubble for a tourney invite. They’ll likely get it and people will likely pick them for a couple of wins. We won’t be one of them. We saw how unpredictable they were during the SEC season. Creighton - Alas, the old “Cinderella” pick. Maybe the Jays are this year’s feel-good, George Mason story. INsite’s skipped ahead a few pages and we can tell you that Creighton star Nate Funk’s collegiate chapter ends long before midnight.

CRUISING TOWARDS ATLANTA

Only a bracket scheduling quirk (or complete mental breakdown) will keep four of these five from meeting up in the Peach State. Florida - The defending champs won’t have an easy road to becoming repeat champs, but with the emotive Joakim Noah and explosive Corey Brewer behind the wheel, we think the Gators will cruise to the Final Four. Ohio State - The Buckeyes are the Demi Moore/Ashton Kutcher of college basketball—the perfect blend of experience (junior Jamar Butler) and youthful exuberance (Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr.). Yeah, but have they learned to handle the jockstrap-wearing paparazzi? Wisconsin - We haven’t given the deserving Badgers much love all season (we picked them No. 14 in our preseason poll), so we’re going to change all of that: Alando Tucker’s bunch is the truth! Just ask the Buckeyes, Marquette, Pitt and whichever unsuspecting eight seed they see in the NCAAs. UCLA - Living on the east coast, you miss out on a lot of things like eating In ‘n Out hamburgers, watching 10A.M. NFL games on Sunday and seeing the Bruins in action. That’ll change in March when Arron Afflalo and Josh Shipp show the rest of America how Cali balls. North Carolina - Talent-wise, the Tar Heels are No. 1 on any list. Brandan Wright is the truth. Ty Lawson is a blur. Tyler Hansbrough is in the NBA next year. Sadly, UNC is two and out if it shows the same indifference it sometimes did during the regular season.

TOP ATTRACTIONS

Ride shotgun with any of these sensational players and you’ll get to the Sweet 16. Aaron Gray, Pittsburgh - The Panthers are a good team without Gray (an ankle injury has limited play of late). With the 7-0 fort posted under the goal, they’re a serious problem to any school without a consistent outside game. A.J. Graves, Butler - Honestly, overall, Graves is a bit inconsistent. But if he puts together a March like he did in January (he averaged 22 ppg during one five-game stretch), we’ll know exactly who killed in the PG 34 • insiteatlanta.com • March 2007

or more) of an early NCAA exit. Acie Law IV, Texas A&M - Were it not for Mr. Durant playing in the same conference, there would be no doubt this amazing Aggie would be Big 12 player of the year. No biggie for Acie. Final Four MVP has a better ring to it anyway.

LITTLEKNOWN DETOURS

411: The NCAA Basketball Tournament kicks off this month. Atlanta will host the Final Four at the Georgia Dome between March 30 and April 2. Top pic: Corey Brewer Left Center: Kevin Durant Right Center: Tyler Hansbrough Bottom: Aaron Afflalo

Don’t be shocked if one or two of these under-the-radar squads ends up in the Elite Eight. Southern Illinois - The school’s mascot is the saluki, a canine held in the highest esteem by the Ancient Egyptians. The school’s best player is Jamaal Tatum, a fiery guard the Missouri Valley Conference couldn’t keep a hold of. This mid-major is a major threat. Washington State - Sure, they’re ranked, wisenheimer! But can you name the Cougars’ leading scorer? No, well how about the team’s head coach? Get ready to put the kinetic Derrick Low and rookie coach Tony Bennett on your tongue because State is primed to make a name for itself in ‘07. Stanford - The reason you’re seeing double is two-fold: 1) Freshman 7-0 twins Robin and Brook Lopez are certified ballers; 2) The Cardinal have gotten their game together at just the right time to advance to the tournament’s second weekend. Winthrop - Another middie that can play with the biggies, the Eagles beat Mississippi State, Old Dominion and lost by just three to Wisconsin. Don’t expect to see streaky big South Conference reps in Atlanta, but expect to see their names more than once in the bracket. Georgia Tech - One of the more up and down teams, the Jackets know they play with the best of them. But wins against Duke, Memphis and UConn aside, the Javaris Crittenton-sparked squad has got to show more heart. And they will—just as long as they’re given a chance by the NCAA selection committee.


SPORTS INTERVIEW

MUSIC INTERVIEW

SEVENDUST’S SECOND ACT What’s Next For Grant Hill? E BY JOHN B. MOORE

LEVEN YEARS AFTER BURSTING onto the scene in a barrage of distorted guitars, machine gun drumming and thunderclap bass riffs, Atlanta-based hard rockers Sevendust have managed to be radio-friendly, selling millions of records without sacrificing their heavy metal heritage. There have been some missteps along the way. The band left longtime label TVT a couple of years ago to sign with Winedark Records just before that label imploded, forcing Sevendust to self-finance their fifth record. They’ve also trusted their careers and money to others, and wound up exploited on both ends. Frontman Lajon Witherspoon is quick to admit that the band has made mistakes, but he’s just as resolute when he insists that they are finally in full control of their destiny. Now working with a new Warner-distributed label, the band is about to release their sixth album, Alpha, with an aggressive sound that harkens back to their earliest efforts. Calling in from Wisconsin just days into their headlining tour, Witherspoon was remarkably candid, ruminating on past mistakes, the inspiration behind the album and the future of Sevendust.

When you guys first got together, had you been playing in other bands around town? I had been in a band in Georgia called Body and Soul. We played around Atlanta and were pretty big. We had a following and I had some really cool players. We were the youngest cats on the scene. Morgan (Rose, Sevendust’s drummer) and them would come out and see my band. You know, I always felt like I was destined to do something in music, but I never would have thought it would have been like this and lasted so long. Really? What did you think it would end up being? I don’t know, man, because I started doing kind of R&B stuff, and rock ‘n’ roll was always my passion. We’ve definitely gone through some trials and tribulations, some hard times and some loss. When people say, “Man, you guys have had it bad,” a lot of times I say back to them, “You know what, man? We don’t have it that bad because we’re still able to do it.” Even in the worst of times, not having any money, I’ve still been able to survive, so it hasn’t been that bad. When you first got together with this lineup, did you think you’d still be doing this 10 years later, playing this kind of music with this same band? You know, I didn’t. It’s been such a long time now. But I wouldn’t go anywhere else. Right now it’s like we’re at the beginning again. We’re signing this new venture with Warner Music Group, and what we’re doing is like a new start. The single, “Driven,” is in the Top 20 and the album isn’t even out yet. It feels great. Let’s talk for a minute about what’s been going on recently with your label situation. Was your split with TVT amicable? We were able to make a move, and it was time. TVT was great. Thank the Lord we had them at the beginning, because we sold albums. They put us on the map. But I think, as with anything, it was time to change. Like when you change to a new job [because] you feel like you might need to get a promotion. That’s where we were. We were able to make this change when we thought we had a great deal with Winedark. But it was too good to be true, and we knew it. That fell through and put us in a situation where, “Oh my God, now we don’t have a label again!” So we really had to focus and figure out what we wanted to do. In that time we had off– seven months to a year– we needed it. We were able to get home to our families and be dads, and that’s what helped this album. We were just determined, and look at it now! We’re back, we’ve got a label behind us and it’s time to go. With the recent signing of your label to the Warner Music Group, it would seem like you have the best of both worlds– a small independent label funded by a major label. There you go! It feels like home again. Everyone’s excited, and it looks like things are going to be good.

Was there a time after the Winedark deal fell apart when you guys said, “Let’s think about whether or not we want to move forward with this band”? Oh, no. Sevendust has made a career out of this. For us just to stop... what the hell am I going to do now?! It just made us work harder, because ultimately it’s all about the music. But I do have to say this to all the young artists out there: Be an artist and love your passion, but you have to also be a businessman or businesswoman in this industry, because it’s so jaded. That’s something that took us a while to learn. I was 21 when we signed our record deal and I was like, “Who cares, man? We get to leave Atlanta and go to other places!” When they put us out [on the road] for two years straight, we didn’t think anything about it. That’s just something you should always keep your hands on. It just makes it better for everything in the end. With this venture [with Warner Music Group], we have Seven Brothers Records. In the future, we plan on signing bands and not putting them trough the hell that we went through for so many years. Actually letting them see that you can do this the right way. Can you talk a little bit about the negative stuff that you went through? We were on the road so much and had different people at organizations who were handling things, be it bad financial handling or management. We just had to clean house and get the right people in there. A lot of things were overlooked until it was too late, and then it was like, “Damn! So that’s where he got that lake house...” So you feel good that you’re in a situation now where that’s not going to happen again? Shoot yeah! We know where every cent goes. “Who just bought that hat? How much was it?” We’re in control of everything now.

Let’s talk about Alpha. It definitely has some dark themes to it. Was there anything in particular that inspired this? I can tell you that the song “Driven” was written about Morgan’s father, who was sent to prison. There are definitely a lot of personal things that are going on. We can’t write about anything else but what’s real to us. When we do that, we find that we’re not different from anyone else going through things in their lives, and people interpret songs the way they need to. A lot of times they are so close to what the song is about that it’s awesome. We all go through the same shit. We are able to put this all on this album. The people who we don’t like, we talk about, and I’m sure a lot of people will know exactly what the hell is going on once they hear the whole album. Did it take a while to write? It was pretty effortless. We came in prepared. That makes everything easier. How does this album compare to your others? I feel like you can’t help but grow in the music industry, as long as we’ve been playing. This album, even though I think it goes back to the heavy stuff, it’s definitely more mature. We’ve grown. I’m very impressed and excited about it. People love the heavy stuff, but I still put the melody on it, so we’re all happy. Was that a conscious decision to get back to your more heavy sound? Oh yeah, definitely. What’s cool about it is that the fucking catalog now is a thousand damn songs. Each night we’re able to paint a different picture, and that to me is the most important thing. We’re not just a heavy band; we’re a rock ‘n’ roll band. We can play with a band like Creed, then go out with Slipknot. That’s what I like. For a metal band, you guys have made an effort to always include some melody into your songs. That’s what songs are about. Everything doesn’t always have to be the heaviest in the world. I’ve got a 7year-old daughter, and everyone in this band has little girls. We’re nice guys!

BY ANDREA M. HATTER

G

RANT HILL WAS AN IDOL WHEN I WAS younger. Duke was the bane of my existence, and still I loved the heck of that guy. He led the school to back-to-back championships, making the Blue Devils the first college since ’73 to win consecutive titles, and gave Christian Laettner his career. He was the first player in ACC history to rack more than 1900 points, 700 rebounds, 400 assists, 200 steals and 100 blocked shots. How do you like them apples? Even more, my mom loves him. The son of two professionals – his father, four-time Pro Bowl running back Calvin Hill, graduated from Yale and his mother from Wellesley, he’s clean cut, collects art, a stand-up family man, and an all-around nice guy. Why does it always happen to him? Even now, at the time of this writing, he is out hurt for a sprained MCL. A knee injury. This guy’s plagued with bad luck. So when the Magic played here in January, I had to talk to him. I wanted to know how he’s dealt with all the ups and downs in his career and what he’s been doing in the meantime. A lot of ideas can pass through one’s head when they have as much downtime as he’s had. The waiting was numbing. He’d been tucked away in the trainers’ area icing his knees for quite a while after the game. And unlike the Hawks’ colorful pad, the visiting facilities are gray and dank. It puts you in the mind of a locker room in an underfunded high school. His teammates slowly disappeared until only a few trainers, a team rep and I remained. All the other writers had left the sweaty locker room by the time he eked from the showers 20 minutes before bus roll. His creeky-kneed waddle reminded me of other NBA vets like Dikembe Mutombo and Vlade Divac, a far cry from the player I grew up watching as a teen. But he’s been through 11

the slide from being the go-to-guy, to a supporting role. “I just think when you’ve been through what I’ve been through, every time you have the opportunity to play and be healthy, it puts things into perspective,” Hill said. Perspective has come in abundance. Following a string of failed attempts at a comeback, in 2003 he nearly died from a 104.5-degree fever and convulsions caused by a staph infection from a recent surgery. That same year his wife, R&B singer Tamia, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a chronic inflammatory disease that erodes the central nervous system. The couple appeared on EXTRA two years later to tell the world about her diagnosis with the illness. In our talk, he told me she’s fine. Modern technology allows them to have medicine that can encumber its progress. Still, there is no cure. “It’s something that you kind of learn to live with.” The ordeals of the last almost decade has really conflated their family. They’ve learned to lean on each other through the adversity, so the Hills are managing as well as possible in spite of things. Quite a bit less has pushed others over into the depths of depression, though. How did he maintain good attitude amid all that was happening (to) around him? “While I was out, I had an opportunity to do other things. Kept myself busy. For one, we started a family. I spend time with my daughter, my wife. I was dabbling in some other things, putting together another tour, learning more about real estate, just continuing to try to grow. Trying to keep my mind working, as opposed to sitting around feeling sorry for myself, moping. I try to get out and be somewhat productive.” The aforementioned tour is the collection of art he started in 1990, as an extra-curricular interest to serve as another chapter in his life. It has since grown to

I TRY TO KEEP MY MIND WORKING, AS OPPOSED TO SITTING AROUND FEELING SORRY FOR MYSELF, MOPING. years of ball, something like six operations, and a nearly fatal hospital experience. Still, he manages to have a good sense of humor. When I asked about how many injuries he’s had, Grant Hill grinned. “Ohhh, we don’t have enough time to go through all of them.” “You looked good out there though,” I said. “You think the doctors got everything worked out?” “I hope so,” he chuckled. His jinxed years coaxed an assertion in 2006 that he’d consider retirement if he had to have another surgery, which is sad since he still manages to get the stats of an uninjured pro. In spite of all the pains, his “pointforward” skills still draw close to 20 points per game, rebounds, assists, blocks, and even a steal or two. It’s as much a waste of talent as Barry Sanders playing in Detroit, although understandably his DNPs and seven-year, $93 mil contract have his team hung by the nads. A year ago, Sports Illustrated writer Mike McCallister penned a fictional letter to Hill pleading for his retirement. Instead, he keeps coming back. From his website, he writes, “Ultimately, it’s the love and desire to want to play…I want to be able to retire at peace with my decision…I don’t want to look 20 years down the road and regret not giving my career one last try – or maybe a fourth or fifth last try.” Several have chastised his returns, labeling it a madness that keeps subjecting his body to the pressures of ball, even calling him a curse to his team. A look in the other direction, though, and you find a certain conscience in it all. Too many players to name have left their teams with phantom injuries, money in tow, never to be seen again. But here’s a guy who’s really hurt, yet he still comes to every game, offers advice to teammates from the sideline, and incessantly tries to live up to the contract he was awarded 7 years ago. True, in uniform he’s not quite the Grant Hill we knew from Detroit, however each attempt gets enough respect that he’s an A-list support man. I remember interviewing Penny Hardaway – another good player haunted by injury – when he’d returned to the Phoenix Suns active roster. The most rousing part of it was his distaste with being kept on the bench, an entirely debatable decision at best. But it made me wonder about

46 works, visited approximately seven cities, and was depicted in a book entitled, Something All Our Own: The Grant Hill Collection of African American Art. He champions the pieces, and art in general, as an integral part of personal education and growth. “Young people should be as familiar with [Romare] Bearden as they are with Jordan and O’Neal. They should know the stories, the journey behind each life.” Then there was more good news: his daughter Myla turned five. “[Being a father is] great, it’s a lot of fun. A lot of work, but very rewarding. She keeps me young.” Every bit the proud papa, Hill admitted that having a child in the midst of all the travel requires some maneuvering. “It’s tough. I went through it on the other end, to a degree, ‘cause my dad played football so I was a child of that. But it’s hard to be away. You miss out on so much. My wife is in the music business, so she travels quite a bit as well, so it requires – on both our parts – a lot of planning, organizing, having nannies and grandmothers to help out. But our daughter is the star in the family. And she knows it,” he reported grinning and wide-eyed. That face. I had to fight back a random memory of him playing piano and singing in a commercial. One of the endorsements from his glory days of the 90s. Maybe one day he’ll return to that level of notoriety. I certainly hope he does, because I feel he deserves it. He’s one heck of a player. On the other hand, if he retired, maybe he could be one heck of a coach…

PG 35 • insiteatlanta.com • March 2007


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FANATIC BY MATT GOLDBERG

“Everywhere he went, he won,” said Hall of Famer Bill Walton who teamed with Dennis Johnson on the ’86 championship Celtics. “Isn’t that the measure of greatness? And he was the reason they won. He was the reason they won in Seattle. He was the reason they won in Phoenix. “I have never been so disheartened and embarrassed in my life that Johnson is not already in the Hall of Fame. It’s a travesty.” –Hall of Famer Bill Walton on the former Boston Celtics great who passed away on February 22 The Duke Lady Devils’ 29-0 regular season is certainly worthy of praise on the eve of the NCAA tournament, but if you’re thinking the Lindsay Harding-led team is going to walk its way into Cleveland for the Final Four, you’re greatly mistaken. Defending champ Maryland, a back-to-elite UConn and a Courtney Paris-anchored Oklahoma should all make solid runs. But the team Fanatic believes will stop Duke and trim the nets is Tennessee. The Lady Vols, led by all-everything Candace Parker and Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt, ran through the SEC and have an air about them that states it’s only going to continue in the postseason.

A Monthly Sports Wrap-up remarkable is that Martie also has the second (New York Islanders, 37 wins), fourth (Philadelphia, 34) and fifth (Montreal, 33) most wins… Oh, and Brodeur also played in his 60th game of the season recently, giving him a record 11 consecutive seasons of playing in 60 or more contests. “Every day, every round just wears you down a little bit. In the end, you’ve got nothing left in the tank. And still, I managed to find some on the back nine today.” –Henrik Stenson, after winning the prestigious Accenture Match-Play Championship and becoming the world’s No. 5 golfer, the highest ranking ever for a Swede Though it’s pretty much a forgone conclusion that the 0607 NBA champ will come out the West, we shouldn’t overlook that the Detroit Pistons are putting together a very good campaign themselves in the East. All-stars Rip Hamilton, Chauncey Billups and the recently-acquired Chris Webber are gelling at just the right time and the Central Division leader’s 10-1 mark in February reflects as much.

We belive the Lady Vols have what it takes to stop the Duke Lady Devils

“First of all I’d like to apologize to my teammates, coaches, Lakers management and Lakers fans for initially lying about the circumstances of the injury to my shoulder last weekend…The truth is that I hurt myself in a fall while snowboarding. Being young and sometimes immature, I initially panicked and made up a false story about how I hurt myself. However, over the past few days my conscience has been bothering me terribly. I am not a dishonest person and could no longer live with this deception.” –Lakers forward Vladimir Radmanovic “This is crunch time, there’s no question about it. This is a big move by Atlanta. They’re putting in on the line with me coming there. I expect to go in there and do the right things on and off the ice. We just want to get in the playoffs. Once you get in the playoffs, anything can happen.” –New Thrasher left wing Keith Tkachuk, on Atlanta’s hopes of making its first playoffs in franchise history And speaking of the puck, on February 23, New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur won his 38th career game against the New York Rangers, giving him the most by any active goaltender against a single team. What’s even more

“There’s nothing you’ll ask him to do that he can’t do. Nothing. He makes such beautiful throws on the curls and the comebacks, like an outfielder hitting the cutoff man perfectly. And his touch is so good. He throws it short with touch, deep with touch. Every throw looks so natural.’’ –Quarterback consultant Tom Martinez on potential No. 1 NFL draft pick JaMarcus Russell

And finally… The February 22-25 Mayakoba Golf Classic was the first official PGA event ever to take place in Mexico…Cactus League baseball has a $202 million impact on the Arizona economy every Feb/March… Quick: Name the three guys leading NCAA college hoops in double-doubles this season. Of course, Texas’ Kevin Durant and Nevada’s Nick Fazekas are on the list. But No. 3? How about Arkansas-Little Rock’s Rashad Jones-Jennings… $100 to anyone who can explain why Bernard King (just 655 points shy of 20,000!) isn’t on the list of NBA Hall of Fame finalists… Talk of Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton going to Boston have quieted but don’t think for a second they’re dead… Don’t be surprised to see Grant Hill in a San Antonio, Miami or Detroit jersey next season… Doesn’t the new Will Ferrell/ Jon Heder ice skating comedy Blades of Glory look kinda stupid?

SPORTS NEWS

Must-See TV

Top 5 Games This Month NCAA Men’s Tournament

1

March 15-18 (Various times, CBS) From noon to midnight, there’s virtually non-stop basketball the tourney’s first four days. Hoops fans exhale only during commercials.

2

NCAA Men’s Final Four

3

NCAA Women’s Final Four

4

Opening Day

5

Miami at Detroit; Dallas at Phoenix

March 31 and April 2 (TBA, CBS) With so many talented teams to choose from in the field of 65, no matter which four end up in Atlanta, we know the match-ups will be must-see sports TV.

April 1 and April 3 (TBA, ESPN) Ohio’s Quicken Loans Arena has been sold out for months. With UT, Duke, UNC and UConn looking so money, it all makes sense.

April 1 (8:05PM, ESPN) The Series champion St. Louis Cards start their title defense against the team, the NY Mets, many think is capable of snatching it from them in ‘07.

April 1 (1 and 3:30, ABC) The winners of this Sunday afternoon double-header could be on a collision course for one another in the NBA Finals.

PG 37 • insiteatlanta.com • March 2007


CELEBRITY GOSSIP

Wanton Distraction Skewed Views on Entertainment News BY MATT GOLDBERG

make us monarchy of whores; and after counting down to the medical examiner’s report, the result being “Uh, I need more time.” This month has been like mana to the 24-hour news-media. There was the Aqua Teen Hunger Force nonterrorist threat in Boston, crazy astronaut lady, Anna Nicole Smith giving us all of the death and none of the grief, and now Britney Spears gone even more mental. Boy, we sure are lucky that there’s absolutely nothing more important that should require our attention.

LINDSAY LOHAN was spotted partying at Hollywood nightclub “Teddy” the night before her stint in rehab was set to end. So, if you’re planning on super-expensive rehab that probably doesn’t work, Lindsay Lohan and I recommend the Wonderland Center in the Hollywood Hills. PAULA ABDUL recently told Us Weekly that “I’ve never been drunk. I have never done recreational drugs. Just look at my 20-year career.” American Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe supported Abdul’s saying, “She certainly doesn’t do social drugs or even drink.” Lindsay Lohan attends rehab during the day and They both went on to say that clubs like “Teddy” during the Night Paula is employed part time as news, pretty much every social benefit proa nun and spends her vacations in Narnia where she likes to ride unicorns with gram will lose money under President Bush’s new budget in order to fund the War in Iraq Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. and to give the ultra-rich another much needed BRITNEY SPEARS checked herself back tax-break. But Britney Spears did something into rehab after shaving off all her hair. It’s not crazy, so clearly, that the better news because the Wonderland Center so it has a chance of we didn’t already know that. working. At the very least, we won’t have to ANNA NICOLE SMITH is dead. Best part be reminded daily that Britney Spears wanted the curtains to match the drapes (this joke has of the coverage (tie): Geraldo Rivera calling her been brought to you by humanity). In other “America’s Princess” (which would officially

The Columbia Journalism Review has cited NBC Dateline’s TO CATCH A PREDATOR as creating the news more than reporting it, and has changed the face of news magazines like 48 Hours and Primetime Live to report on a crime because nothing else will sell like it. I disagree. I think nothing sells like a detective asking a suspected pedophile, “Astroglide: is that some sort of sexual lubricant?” It may not be “journalism” but it is “Punk’d…for Grown-Ups!” INDIANA JONES will return to the big screen on May 22, 2008. This is a great relief to people who didn’t like Indiana Jones because he wasn’t old enough, surly enough, and completely unfit for the role. But thanks to the wisdom of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Harrison Ford, we will all be blessed with Indiana Jones and the Labyrinth of Medicare! SONY PICTURES has decided to help Sony Computer Entertainment of America (those guys who have a big $600 system that nobody wants; my suggestion: allow it to make pizza

CAPRICORN

TAURUS

VIRGO

Capricorns are known for their practicality. Though your life may not exactly seem cheerful this month, be careful nor to let your feelings overwhelm your sound judgment.

Venus enters your sign midmonth, bringing peace, love and harmony in her wake. Singles on the prowl should step up their search, while taken Taureans mat fall even deeper.

Though it’s in the nature of Virgos to analyze details and act with utter discretion, you may be surprised this month by how good it feels to take a stand and be uncompromising.

AQUARIUS

GEMINI

May 22nd thru June 21s

Sept. 24th thru Oct. 23rd

This month’s two eclispses highlight your financial axis, so changes in financial status are to be expected. Whether it’s a windfall or cash-flow crisis, the change is sure to bring excitement.

The eclipses this month will likely impact your home and family life, even if the changes don’t take effect for months. For better or worse, whatever happens is meant to be.

March will be a difficult month for most of the zodiac, but Libras can expect many happy events. With Venus in your relationship zone, you’ll have plenty of friends and admirers.

PISCES

CANCER

Dec. 22nd thru Jan. 20th

Jan. 21st thru Feb. 19th

Apr. 21st thru May 21th

LIBRA

SCORPIO

Oct. 24th thru Nov. 22nd

This is a great time for bold moves that could completely transform your life. Jupiter’s presence in your lifestyle zone will ensure that the choices you make will be positive ones.

Simmering issues could reach a boiling point this month, so do your best to distance yourself from any and all sources of stress. If you can’t fix it, you’ll be forced to endure it.

ARIES

LEO

SAGITTARIUS

If you’ve been feeling a little drained of late, don’t worry: When the sun enters your sign later this month, you’ll burst forth with the fiery energy of an active volcano.

This may prove a testing time for a key relationship, whether via internal or external forces. Whatever passes the test is meant to last; what doesn’t isn’t worth crying over.

Jupiter transiting your sign makes this a very positive period of development. The opportunity to achieve your ambitions is knocking; don’t be too passive to open the door of desire.

Been sitting on the fence, unable to make up your mind? The eclipses will help introduce push to shove, helping you make decisions on matters of the heart... or the wallet. Mar. 21st thru Apr. 20

July 24th thru Aug. 23rd

Nov. 23rd thru Dec. 21st

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�������������� PG 38 • insiteatlanta.com • March 2007

WODELL ASSOCIATES is the PR firm behind the marking of Jim Carrey’s latest film (and supposedly the one that motivated him to fire his agent), THE NUMBER 23. The way to market this film seems obvious. And yet there is a fine line one should not cross when trying to sell anything. Wodell Associates crossed the line, defecated on it, and then called it a variety of ethnic slurs when it sent out a press release with a news link. Just a link. No context, no commentary, no nothing. The link was to a story about a father who murdered his 23month year old daughter by putting her in a freezer. Wodell Associates in turn used this to sell a movie. Maybe they can speed up their bullet train to Hell by trying to use 9/11 to market the new Batman movie. Finally, WARNER BROS. has made the bold decision to destroy all of their major superhero movies. Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly) stopped writing the script for Wonder Woman, talentless hack Shawn Levy signed to direct the adaptation of The Flash, and two guys with no previous writing credits will now write a movie for the Justice League of America. Basically, if you’re a fan of DC Heroes, now would be a good time to stop being a fan lest you have your soul crushed by films where The Flash gets a duck or a huge family for a sidekick.

Aug. 24th thru Sept. 23rd

June 22nd thru July 23rd

Feb. 20th thru Mar. 20th

rolls) by producing a film based on the popular videogame franchise, Metal Gear Solid. For those unfamiliar with the game, you play a secret agent who sneaks around and then has long college-freshman-level philosophy discussions about the nature of war while the player tapes down the “X” button and goes to microwave some pizza roles (if the PlayStation 3 made pizza roles, it would save a trip to the kitchen). Look for this to stay in Development Hell where it belongs all with all those other unnecessary videogame-to-film adaptations.

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PG 39 • insiteatlanta.com • March 2007


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