Atlanta native David Cross interview for Tabernacle show October 17
Actor/comedian David Cross left Atlanta in 1982 after high school to seek fresh climes in New York City. He’s never turned back.
“I don’t hate Atlanta,” he said in an interview last week to promote his upcoming Tabernacle standup comedy show and Barnes & Noble book signing Saturday (UPDATE: the book signing was cancelled Thursday, no explanation given.). “I really don’t. I’m just disappointed by it. I think it’s overgrown and traded a lot of its charm for corporate strip malls.”
Cross, best known for his role on the Emmy-winning Fox comedy “Arrested Development,” still comes back to town a couple times of year to see friends and family. He especially likes East Atlanta, which maintains a bohemian, non-corporate feel.
“It feels like a community, a village,” he said. “That’s why I love New York.”
The cover of his book “I Drink For a Reason” features a photo of him looking pensive as he waits to board a plane at the Delta gate in New York before a trip last Thanksgiving to Atlanta.
He had his girlfriend and actress Amber Tamblyn take pictures of him waiting in line to get on the plane to show “how dehumanizing it is.” But he didn’t like those and opted for the more staid shot of him just sitting. Cross, by the way, gives Tamblyn a rather explicit shout out on his author flap bio. “She laughed,” he said. “She told her dad. He laughed even harder.”
He also has a surfeit of “blurbs” on his book cover. He said the publisher Grand Central Publishing insisted on him getting his friends to write blurbs. As a result, some are serious, many are amusingly facetious. The funniest is courtesy of actor Paul Rudd: “One of the funniest books I’ve ever skimmed!”
One blurb even compares him to Sen. Al Franken, a comic-cum-politician. Cross doesn’t rule out the possibility “way way way down the line. It might be something I’m interested in.” But he figures given his Atheist ways, he’d never get elected.
The book is a collection of essays, ranging from pure satire (an imaginary Fox TV executive meeting, a “Top Ten Top Ten Lists List”) to personal commentary (how evil Valentine’s Day is, why he hates Jim Belushi) to political thoughts (why God wants Mary J. Blige to have “bling,” what a jerk Bill O’Reilly is).
The potpourri is a bit like his standup show.
“I did not want to do a memoir,” said Cross, 45. “I didn’t want to do an anecdotal biography about my life in show business. I think that’s for later in life. And my ego isn’t that big either.”
He decided the mix-and-match approach worked best: “I didn’t want to restrict myself.”
The book landed on the New York Times bestseller list last month. “It was very much a surprise and certainly gratifying,” he said. “What’s even more surprising is how low the bar is set for that type of thing. I just naively assumed that it would take 100,000 copies to make it, like CDs. But you get 30,000 books sold and the publisher is [expletive] overjoyed.”
Cross enjoyed Bill Maher’s film “Religulous,” which questions religion. “He’s definitely preaching to the converted, no pun intended,” Cross said. “It was still fun to watch. It’s not like it was going to change my mind. It was funny and enjoyable.”
And while has badmouthed big corporate entities, he reluctantly has to give props to Whole Foods, which recently moved into his neighborhood. “New York is the last place you need a Whole Foods because there’s already a green market, a Polish meat place, a cheese place, all the stuff you need within five square blocks. Having said that, I had to go to a barbecue and popped in to get a bunch of stuff. It was all [expletive] great! I wanted to hate it but it was all good, including the ribs. They have their own in-house smoker! I’m rich so for me, it’s fine. I can afford it. But I still try to frequent the mom and pops.”
What does he think of Atlantic Station? “The idea is cool but the shops in it aren’t. There’s nothing wrong with the idea of mixed-use development where people live and can go downstairs to shop. It’s all charmless. There’s no character. I live in a pre-war 12-story building and downstairs I have all I need at my feet. There’s no Fox Sports Grill. There is a sports bar.”
As a teen-ager, he started doing standup at the Comedy Spot and the Punchline in the early 1980s. The Punchline, of course, is still open to this day. “I was so happy to have a stage to start doing [expletive] on,” he said. The space, he added ,”suits Atlanta to a tee.”
And what is Cross reading right now? The 2003 book “Under the Banner of Heaven,” by Jon Krakauer, so “I can have my facts straight” when talking about Mormonism. “He’s a great writer, very very studious. He does extensive research. I love his writing. His imagery is great.”
IF YOU GO TO THE CONCERT
David Cross
8 p.m. Saturday, October 17
The Tabernacle
152 Luckie Street / 145 Nassau Street
Atlanta, GA 30303
$35
Livenation.com
(404) 659-9022
IF YOU GO TO THE BOOK SIGNING (UPDATE: BOOK SIGNING HAS BEEN CANCELLED)David Cross signs “I Drink For a Reason”
Saturday, October 17, 200
3:30 PM
Barnes & Noble
2900 Peachtree Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30305
404-261-7747
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101 comments Add your comment
M Anthony
October 13th, 2009
1:06 pm
Well everything, every place and all people change over 20 years. Personnally I never heard of this moron. I dont watch tv except to get the traffic reports before going to work in the am. If I dont like somewhere I really find it hard to visit. I figure there are plenty of other places I have never been that I would like to go. Make more sense to me.
Jeff
October 13th, 2009
1:12 pm
David Cross is hilarious and obviously able to strike the nerves of people.
C.S. Lewis, Jr.
October 13th, 2009
1:25 pm
I loved all the Georgia references on Mr. Show. Senator Tankerbell was from Georgia, the founding fathers sketch featured Button Gwinnett, there were references to Champagne Jam by the ARS, the guy in the Racist in the Year 3000 sketch was from Kennesaw, characters wore Braves caps in a bunch of sketches.
You folks with no sense of humor would probably be upset to learn that he had a feud with Larry the Cable Guy too.
David Cross is awesome. There are plenty of people in Atlanta who have the ability to laugh at themselves and their city. His show will not suffer if you boycott it. Don’t be so thin-skinned.
PMC
October 13th, 2009
1:26 pm
New York is the most commercialized city in the free world. The bohemian parts are even more hypocritical than Times Square. I find his comments rather hilarious.
PMC
October 13th, 2009
1:26 pm
maybe that’s the point?
Matthew
October 13th, 2009
1:33 pm
Hey Ghost… if you need to piss others off to get your giggles or any happiness in life, then see a shrink.
Steve0
October 13th, 2009
1:38 pm
Is this the thread where everyone wails with righteous indignation at the guy who doesn’t love Applebee’s?
and a thousand tiny fists shook in impotent rage….
darnyankee
October 13th, 2009
1:41 pm
LOL@ New York cesspool… Yall need to get your heads out of fantazy land and actually visit real places other than cobb/Gwinnett county. All those saying Atlanta sucks should shutup and GO HOME- meaning your stupid OTP 1 sided brick 3 sided vinyl box of a home out in the suburbs that was a cornfield 5 years ago. Hopefully the thugs wont get you there.
Billyjean
October 13th, 2009
1:50 pm
He was in the most recent Alvin & the Chipmunks movie, but now he resembles a devout muslim who never misses out on Friday visits to the mosque.
rocky bilboa
October 13th, 2009
1:51 pm
I am so sick of cliches like this guy. Uh, cool New York Atheist, uh, so intellectual. Uh, he is so bohemian and knows so much more than everyone else, because he is from New York.
Billyjean
October 13th, 2009
1:53 pm
David Cross seems a bit cross.
Billyjean
October 13th, 2009
1:59 pm
…therefore i will not attend his book signing.
geesh
October 13th, 2009
2:03 pm
if you dont care for David Cross thats one thing but to add stupid lines about Michael Vick and The President (which werent even funny) is soooo typical of the big foot, cousin marrying, homo phobic, black/jew hating, beer drinking, pick up truck driving, trailer home living, trash that give white americans a bad name.
Fred
October 13th, 2009
2:04 pm
Poor widdle Ghost. Thinks “neo cons” is a big nasty word. It aint, homes. Never has been. Must stink to rely on others to tell you what to think.
Ghost
October 13th, 2009
2:08 pm
@Matthew, I don’t need to piss off people to enjoy life, but it is fun to see people get their panties in a bunch when someone points out how hypocritical they are, i.e. the religious and neo-cons.
Ballou
October 13th, 2009
2:10 pm
Have you ever seen his stand-up? Nothing very clever. He’s very bitter about most things in general.
Getoutnow
October 13th, 2009
2:18 pm
I escaped the ATL in March 2008 after a 22 year tour of duty. Saw the town double in size from around 2MM to 4MM souls. Life is much better once you “shed your Atlanta skin.”
Alan R
October 13th, 2009
2:21 pm
Ghost, you’re not much of a thinker obviously. Pack up your tattered leftist cue cards and leave the talking to the adults.
Lotown
October 13th, 2009
2:24 pm
I dont see where this guy says he likes Obama… not sure how the Pres came up on this one. I think america as a whole is selling out to corp chains without holding them more accountable. How do you let Starbucks open 20k stores around the US in the last 10yrs that all look alike. then close down half of them in 1yr? How do you let Walmart the rural area king open 12 stores within ITP Metro ATL??? How can you have a Lowes in Alpharetta, Roswell and Sandy Springs?!!! Hey I love hamburgers more than anybody but I dont need to see Five Guys popping up all over from Roswell to Smyrna! I guess this is what we THINK we need. Ask yourselves how many times have you ventured out to a new area and the first thing you say is “Do they have a Borders?” not where’s the nearest book store? We might as well start selling advertising space on our childrens middle names to corp america. I you think about it long enough, this is why us citizens are responsible to the US bailouts. It wasn’t all behind closed doors in congress, it happened right in OUR neighborhoods!
Jolie
October 13th, 2009
2:27 pm
Personally I don’t find Cross funny at all. Anyway, strip malls are practically everywhere unfortunately. Can’t disagree about that.
BCWW
October 13th, 2009
2:27 pm
I have lived in New York, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Atlanta
Every city is the same, you have cool intown communities, In Atl like Va Highlands, East Atlanta, midtown, Ansley, Druid hills, Grant park, kirkwood) just like every other city, and then you have Big subdivisions
golf courses, strip malls, chain restaraunts outside the city just like everywhere else. No difference, thats just how developers across America decided to set up our cities and the way we live. If you don’t like it there are thousands of beatiful small towns in this Country to move to. By the way geesh there are “typical of the big foot, cousin marrying, homo phobic, black/jew hating, beer drinking, pick up truck driving, trailer home living, trash that give white americans a bad name.” in every community around the Country not just the South, the west coast and North have just as many redneck racist as the South does!!
MM
October 13th, 2009
2:48 pm
@Getoutnow – Don’t speak so fast…..I’m not even from Atlanta but this is my second time living here. Please don’t have people thinking life is better if you leave Atlanta. Trust me, there are far worse places to live…..PLENTY.
Lotown
October 13th, 2009
2:48 pm
The shameful part is when some of those great small town USA get Wal-mart Lowes strip mall built; they think they’ve made it!
Dr. Warren
October 13th, 2009
3:05 pm
Seems David Cross is just another bourgeois sophisticate. I love his cliched adolescent wonder at “pre-war” buildings. lol. He is the sort of middlebrow who thinks something is more “real” just because it’s old. And actually the Manhattan of 2009 has been so homogenized and jet-washed and gentrified that its grittiness is gone and its diversity banished to the outer boroughs. It feels more like Aspen than a real city, and the passengers on the 4,5,6 Subway line these days look freshly minted by Amherst or Princeton. This guy Cross is a 45-year-old teenager.
LydiasDad
October 13th, 2009
3:06 pm
I wish it were bad enough here that all the illegals would leave…
C.S. Lewis, Jr.
October 13th, 2009
3:13 pm
It’s not possible to prefer NYC to Atlanta without being a “another bourgeois sophisticate”? Yeah, there’s a J. Crew in SoHo. There are corporations in Manhattan. Nice discovery. There are also a lot of shops and restaurants in Manhattan that are one of a kind, and neighborhoods — like the East Village, for one — with a great mix of cultures and unique places.
I love Atlanta. I just wish it could get its chip off its shoulder.
Enoch Powell
October 13th, 2009
3:14 pm
This worthless smug Nuuu Yawwwwwk leftie urgently needs to change his dandruff shampoo.
crawdaddy
October 13th, 2009
3:14 pm
BCWW, you are exactly right! I just moved from GA to Denver and it even more strip mall focused than Atlanta. There are still some very nice parts of Atlanta. I am an Atlanta native who moved away in 1993 and never looked back. I came back to live in Athens, which is great place, but it is a relief to be in CO. Traffic is nothing here, people complain but they don’t know any better. I live in a bad part of town and it is very safe. The stories on the news here in Denver are very mild. Cat in tree type stuff. I read the AJC just so I can keep up with ATL sports and all of the wack stuff that happens down there. I really miss the old Atlanta, it was a wonderful place. The new Atlanta is just too crowded with too many jerks. My personal feeling is that every misfit conman from where the fu*k ever, who gets run out of their home town, decides to move to Atlanta. They move there and try to run their played out scams. I think about 30% to 40% of transplants to Atlanta never drove a car until they moved there. I love to visit, but I will never move back. This saddens me because Atlanta is my home and I miss it.
Dave in Marietta
October 13th, 2009
3:26 pm
What did he say in that interview that wasn’t totally true? And he’s right about those mixed use developments. They’re manufactured, cookie cutter style. You might as well be living in a strip mall. Plus he grew up here. I think that gives the guy some cred.
D.H.
October 13th, 2009
3:32 pm
Well said, Dr. Warren. Everyone I know in Manhattan is either an avaricious investment banker, overworked Biglaw associate, or druggie trustafarian. It’s not exactly the the rich tapestry of people and cultures Cross would like to believe.
Lady friend
October 13th, 2009
3:34 pm
THis guy (boy) sounds like he must’ve been a real dork in his younger years, now he is trying to sound like a tough guy, what a major spankwad! OMG, like he grew up here. Squeal like a pig David!
Cravid Doss
October 13th, 2009
3:46 pm
Please just get on the plane back to NYC.
rickybooby
October 13th, 2009
3:50 pm
Yeah please, go back to nyc, you obviously weren’t fitting in here, I doubt you fit in there. What a total douch! Lol…
Mike
October 13th, 2009
3:52 pm
I’m not sure why his comments raised the ire of Boortz listeners. He was simply talking about urban sprawl, which in case you hadn’t noticed, is being perpetrated by liberal elitists as well as conservative businessmen. Why is it that you conservative types always feel compelled to respond to any criticism of anything with hate-filled rants about liberals? Do you actually think the sprawl culture has been a good thing for Atlanta?
Nativeson71
October 13th, 2009
4:04 pm
Chicken Pot Chicken Pot Chicken Pot Pieeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
I agree with most everything he says…but we all need big corp America to provide jobs, healthcare and money to buy his [expletive] book.
I love it when he does the gay guys buying pizza…I’m gay (but not that gay) and his routine is what I observe in my ‘married’ gay friends. he is dead on…but I needs my big corp job!
PMC
October 13th, 2009
4:14 pm
shouldn’t everyone have a sort of righteous indignation for Applebees?
Chris Broe
October 13th, 2009
4:16 pm
Cross stole his entire book from my blogs, man.
My Name
October 13th, 2009
4:20 pm
@Bill. What does his being an atheist tell us what we need to know? That he’s smarter than all those idiots wasting their time in church Sunday morning and filling up all their restaurants so they can be crappy tippers for Sunday lunch?
Cravid Doss
October 13th, 2009
4:28 pm
I’m a left-winger, an atheist, I loathe corporations, and I can’t stand suburban sprawl but I still think the guy is a smarmy dick. I don’t take to anybody that looks down on people because they are ignorant, different, or have religion.
I think a lot of folks need to find what is great about Atlanta BECAUSE it is Atlanta and not what is similar to New York City.
scott
October 13th, 2009
4:34 pm
His claim to fame was getting slimed to death in Men in Black (WOW).
I have traveled all over the country in my job for 13 years and yes, so many towns are the same with the strip malls and chains. Downtown Chicago is unique but get 30 minutes out and it looks like Atlanta, Charlotte, et al. Cross from NY to Jersey and the same happens.
If you want to live in NY with the crime, the taxes, the high cost of living and think it is cool, God Bless You. I will leave you alone when you drive to Marietta, just leave me alone.
BJE
October 13th, 2009
4:37 pm
I’m forced to make a small point here. If, as he declares, he hates that Atlanta sold – out to corporate interests, then why is his book signing at a corporate store in a corporate strip mall?
Andre
October 13th, 2009
5:03 pm
Oh, here we go again. If you hate Atlanta so much. Up root yourself and your family and move to that Utopia that you so much desire. Or just move outside of the Atlanta metro area where everything pretty much moves at a snail pace. I’m very liberal and I don’t take sh*t. I’m a member of the NRA and the NAACP. I voted for Obama and I hate Pistol Poppin’ Palin, but I’ll tell you one thing, state of Affairs in Georgia is at the worst I’ve ever seen in my 60 years of living in this state. Look at what the conservative run state house is doing to Joshua’s Law for example. That doesn’t make any sense.
Jon
October 13th, 2009
5:05 pm
What major city isn’t corporate? Ok. Stop me if you’ve heard this one. Guy moves away from good ol’ Hometown, USA to big NYC. Guy comes back to Hometown 20 years later and it’s just not the same as it used to be. Really? No sh**! I wouldn’t pay to see this dork if I needed a laugh to live.
Pete
October 13th, 2009
5:15 pm
“I don’t hate Atlanta,” he said in an interview last week to promote his upcoming Tabernacle standup comedy show and Barnes & Noble book signing Saturday. “I really don’t. I’m just disappointed by it. I think it’s overgrown and traded a lot of its charm for corporate strip malls.”
- Does anyone else find this contradicting?
jjslay
October 13th, 2009
5:32 pm
It was funny to read a lot of these comments
He assumes you understand the context, dont get too upset.
Great comedian
jason
October 13th, 2009
5:42 pm
The parts of town he likes for their charm, I bet he wouldn’t send his kids to school there.
Slim
October 13th, 2009
11:07 pm
I don’t live here, I live in Los Angeles but I work here 3 weeks out of every 2 months. If you would just put a leash on all those rowdy blacks here, this place wouldn’t be half bad. I’d glady take a mexican any day of the week than these lazy chicken eating home robbing blacks. Oh and Delta blows too. Please oh please get in here Southwest Airlines.
disappointed
October 15th, 2009
4:39 pm
Just spoke with the Barnes & Noble in Buckhead. David Cross has cancelled the book signing for Saturday. I’m very disappointed. I think he’s hilarious. No matter where he lives.
Happy Atlantan
October 16th, 2009
3:50 pm
I love all the comments here. Congrat’s to David for riling the wingnuts! The only thing more interesting than the discourse here is a good ol’ fashioned debate over “Taste’s Great vs. Less Filling.” I hope to see you all at the show this weekend.
BIll
October 16th, 2009
10:24 pm
My Name posted:
___
@Bill. What does his being an atheist tell us what we need to know? That he’s smarter than all those idiots wasting their time in church Sunday morning and filling up all their restaurants so they can be crappy tippers for Sunday lunch?
____
Crappy tippers?
Ladies and Gentleman, Its the bitter Atheist Busboy! Give him a hand!!…..and remember to tip,
he needs the money!
This Sunday. I’ll pray for you and all red-state hating, worthless comedic hacks.
Better get to chruch early, the list is long…