Fresh Loaf

Hope this doesn’t throw your weekend plans for a loop, folks, but the 26th Annual Mayor’s Masked Ball, benefiting the United Negro College Fund, is tomorrow night.

After Shirley Franklin’s calamitous final press conference yesterday, I, for one, wouldn’t mind seeing her in a little better mood. Maybe she’ll even boogie down on the dance floor.

The festivities begin at 7 p.m in the Atrium Ballroom of the Atlanta Marriott Marquis downtown. Attire for ladies is a long gown and mask. Gentlemen should wear black tie and mask.

Unless you’re a sponsor or a high-rolling VIP, here’s what to expect:

• Holiday Silent Auction and Pre-Ball Reception
• The Parade of Stars and Dignitaries
• Elegant Dining
• The Parade of Masks
• Dancing and Live Entertainment by En Vogue

I heard Tyler Perry came last year and wrote a $250,000 check on the spot. No word on whether he’ll be there on Saturday, but Sheree Whitfield and Lisa Wu Hartwell of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” are supposed to be in the hizouse.

I must say I’m surprised that the event hasn’t been more widely publicized. It’s not listed on the City website or on the mayor’s online calendar.

Anyway, did I mention that tickets are $500 a pop? I didn’t? Well, they are, so don’t forget your wallet. To buy tix, call 404-302-8623.

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Not exactly a blog, but it deserves a shout out. Staffers at UGA’s student-run newspaper the Red and Black worked overtime to provide coverage of Saturday’s shootings. Read their follow-ups here, here and here.

Ben at Terminal Station rips into state Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine’s idea to consider privatizing MARTA.

Jim Walls of Atlanta Unfiltered uses the words “Tyler Perry,” “Tupac Shakur,” and “comp time” all in the same blog post as he delves deeper into the firing of former DeKalb Police Chief Terrell Bolton.

Christa at Pecanne Log spots the hottest trend in spring fashions during historic economic collapses! Recycled ethernet cables! Yay!

Garrett Vonk fires back at Twitta-hatas.

Jason Pye, who says he’s never taken a puff, says decriminalizing marijuana should be on the table. Also: Legalizing marijuana is now more popular than the Republican Party.

Veteran TV journalist and Live Apartment Fire blogger Doug Richards today will pull the tarp off the magical news van to pull a one-day shift in the 11 Alive newsroom. Here’s exclusive video of him training for the adventure.

Travis Fain at Lucid Idiocy wonders if lawmakers have already been forgiven for failing to make progress on transportation funding this year.

Decatur Metro. Leon’s Full Service. And late-night drunken bocce. Discuss.

FlackAttack bids adieu at Tondee’s Tavern.

Other exciting links feel free to post them in the comments.

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ACCUSED TYLER PERRY STALKER DAWNE WILSON: Must stay at least 500 feet from the House of Payne.

Accused Tyler Perry stalker Dawne Wilson apparently sent vague murder threats to the Atlanta entertainment mogul.

So claim the always reliable folks at TMZ , who say they have a copy of the March 2008 restraining order Perry filed against Wilson.

TMZ:

According to the docs, in April, 2008, Wilson sent another e-mail saying “You need to check your heart condition because it is filled with murder….your love has been but costly and deadly….Murder I say is the verdict.”

To the right is Wilson’s mugshot, which I copied off TMZ’s web site. They label it “Exclusive!” but it’s not. Police mugs are public domain.

Wilson was arrested last week outside Perry’s studio.

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Freedom Park turned into a feather-covered battlefield on Saturday as Atlantans gathered to participate in  International Pillow Fight Day.

We’ll have photos of the event later. In the meantime, here’s lalalizbeth’s video of the bloody battle:

From the looks of things, Atlanta had more success than Detroit — Motor City cops were tipped off to the event and disarmed pillow fighters before they could start swinging.

According to the Atlanta event’s Facebook page, 193 people were expected to participate on Saturday. Any idea how many made it out?

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1. Our complete Oscar predictions, even ‘Documentary Short’ (It undoubtedly was Fresh Loaf’s gusto for “The Conscience of Nhem En’s” that pushed this blog post over the top.)

2. Upcoming AJC cuts to be ’substantial’ (Tragic and unfair, but not really a surprise.)

3. The Televangelist: ‘Lost’ episode 6 (What happened Ben? What happened to Aaron? What happened to Kate’s unconvincing attempt to abide by the law?)

4. Georgia has the Bible Belt blues (The Christian Coaltion relied on teetotaling teenagers to threaten our chance to buy beer on Sundays. Meanies.)

5. Madea Goes to Jail, locks out critics (Tyler Perry is predictably cagey about his newest project.)

(Photo by Ishika Mohan)

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As usual, Tyler Perry has avoided pre-screening his latest film, Madea Goes to Jail, for critics, and one must acknowledge that this approach has worked out pretty well for him. Considering that Perry’s huge box office success trickles down to the Atlanta economy, why complain? You can get at least a little taste of the new material from our Tyler Perry Primer from two years ago, which offers a point-by-point comparison of Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Madea’s Family Reunion and the video version of the Madea Goes to Jail stage play:

The most overtly funny of the three, this stage play filmed at the Fox Theatre in 2005 feels like a musical version of a 1970s sitcom such as “Good Times.” Perry and his cast’s ease and interaction with the audience conveys Perry’s deep-rooted popularity on the “chitlin circuit” of African-American stage plays.

Tomorrow’s cinematic release will probably diverge sharply from the stage version in numerous ways. One of the most charming moments in the Madea Goes to Jail video has Perry and the cast essentially breaking character to sing old R&B standards, and I doubt that the film version will have the same kind of ingratiating looseness. One hopes the script will retain such local shout-outs as:

“I wasn’t about to go to jail in Conyers. I had to get to DeKalb County where I know somebody.”

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The Associated Press reports Atlanta entertainment mogul Tyler Perry is being sued in federal court in Texas for copyright infringement.

Donna West claims Perry stole Diary of a Mad Black Woman from her. She’s suing for all of the profits made from the film.

In related news, I, too, am considering a lawsuit against Perry. I’d like to recover the weekend of my life I spent watching Tyler Perry movies and plays on DVD and writing about them.

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Today’s Watch Your Head comic strip sums up the cinematic body of work of Atlanta’s Tyler Perry:

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Four writers for Tyler Perry’s TBS series “House of Payne” will be picketing tomorrow’s opening of Perry’s new Atlanta studio.

The writers claim they were retaliated against after they got involved with a union organizing campaign with the Writers Guild of America, West. The writers sought a contract that would give the them health care, pensions, and residual

According to a Writers Guild of America press release:

On Tuesday of this week he fired the writers, after warning them some weeks ago that they should “be careful about pushing the WGA deal or you could be replaced.”

“We’re asking all those who had planned to attend the opening of Tyler Perry’s new studio not to cross our picket line,” said writer Christopher Moore. “It’s very disheartening considering that this is a studio run by African Americans. What Tyler Perry is essentially saying to us is that ‘you’re black and there’s not a lot of opportunities for you so you’ll take what I give you’ – whether it’s fair or not.”

The show’s head writer, Kellie Griffin, added, “A lot of people who fought for civil rights and social justice never really saw what eventually came out of their work. While I’d like to see something positive come out of this for us, if this fight helps future black writers get what they deserve, that’s a good thing.”

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STAYING ALIVE: Troy Davis is alive this morning, thanks to a last-minute stay granted by the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices will reconvene Monday, and if they don’t decide to hear his case, he’s back in Georgia’s clutches.

CHECK IS IN THE BAIL: Congress is listening to growing outcries to limit Wall Street executives’ lavish salaries and perks as part of the bailout. Counters one trade lobbyist: “It is not appropriate for government to be setting the salaries of executives.” Not appropriate like, say, using taxpayer money to save a corporation from its own bad investments.

WARREN PEACE: Warren Buffet soothes the weary minds of investors by throwing in on Goldman Sachs.

FUELISH HUMANS: The 2008 Atlanta Gas Crisis! is still going strong, despite the EPA’s move to allow local stations to sell heavier-polluting fuel. The AJC interviews an Emory behavioral psychologist, who reminds us that we’re panicky nitwits.

GAS FIGHT! Society is always three meals, or one tank of gas, away from anarchy.

FLORIDA: Decides it will accept Clayton students to its colleges after all.

DEKALB PLANE CRASH: One person is killed when a plane headed from Jacksonville, Fla., to Michigan crashes in a residential neighborhood near PDK.

TYLER PERRY: The Atlanta movie mogul/maven, who was once homeless himself, donates enough food to feed 1,000 Atlanta families for two weeks, helping address the recent food-donation shortage in the city.

ZOONOTIC SUGGESTION: Advocates of relocating the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility to Athens contend it would foster increased scientific collaboration on treating diseases that start in animals and spread to humans, like avian flus.

BLACK MARKET: The announcement that UGA’s high-stakes showdown with No. 8 Alabama Saturday will be the blackout game has sparked the Athens economy with a black-clothes-buying frenzy.

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Because of, well, you know, I’ve been eager to read a review of Tyler Perry’s Meet The Browns, which opens today.

New York-based journalist and blogger Clay Cane has penned one of the first.

Cane writes its Perry’s worst film.

I’ve seen better storylines for a 1-800-MATTRESS commercial.

Nice.

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DELTA BLUES: Airline offers voluntary buyouts to more than half its workforce to deal with rising fuel costs.

GOING GREEN(HOUSE): Power plant greenhouse gas emissions increased nationally by 3 percent last year, with Georgia as one of the worst offenders.

WESTIN P’TREE: Shifted “a few feet” when tornado hit it Friday; structural engineers to examine foundation.

WEATHER: High winds, thunderstorms to hit this afternoon, isolated tornadoes possible. Still won’t be enough rain for Lake Lanier, though.

SMITHSONIAN: Clough will have his hands full.

RUNAWAY BRIDE’S GROOM: Marries someone else.

DEANGELO HALL: Trade to Oakland will be finalized by Thursday; could send the Falcons three second-round draft picks.

TYLER PERRY: Will begin filming a new movie in downtown Covington next month. The release date is Sept. 12; Andisheh will be first in line.

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Atlanta showbiz mogul Tyler Perry was so ubiquitous last year, the Onion spoofed him with a fake magazine cover headlined “The Top 50 Tyler Perry Movies of 2007.”

By my count, in 2007 Perry wrote, produced, directed and occasionally starred in four movies (two released, two soon-to-released), a touring play, and a hit TV show.

How can one man produce so much work?

Maybe this explains it.

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The Onion pays tribute to Atlantan Tyler Perry’s prolificacy this week by putting him on the cover of Weekender.

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Atlanta media magnate Tyler Perry must be basking in the popularity of his latest film, Why Did I Get Married?, which has grossed an estimated $38 million as of its second weekend. Go Tyler Perry! You’ll be able to purchase that island in no time!

At Slate.com, Wesley Morris has a good assessment of Perry’s films and their appeal, “Tyler Perry’s Secret for Success,” that does a smart job of placing Perry in a context of film history. I particularly like this observation: “What Perry is making are really women’s pictures, the popular genre that reached its height in the 1940s, starred actors like Joan Crawford and Rosalind Russell, and melodramatically saw women through all kinds of modern crises, from deceitful daughters to the career vs. stay-at-home dilemma.”

He makes another interesting suggestion near the story’s conclusion: “Perry is not August Wilson, Charles Burnett, or Spike Lee, nor does he want to be. But he is well on his way to being America’s most important black entertainer. Perhaps the best comparison isn’t Lee, but Oscar Micheaux, the entrepreneur and pioneering black director of the early 20th century.”

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One day after USA Today TV Critic Robert Bianco called “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne” not only the worst sitcom of the year, but “one of the worst of the modern era,” the show debuted on TBS Wednesday to the largest audience for a sitcom in the history of basic cable. The show is filmed at Tyler Perry Studio on Krog Street in Inman Park.

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