A still from "What to Expect"

Tis the season for made-in-Atlanta films to release their trailers.

The latest sneak peek is for “What to Expect When You’re Expecting,” starring a whole slew of names – Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Dennis Quaid, Chris Rock, Matthew Morrison, Brooklyn Decker, Anna Kendrick and so on.

Decker has the trailer embedded on her web site. You can watch it here.

Looks like it’ll be a cute comedy with plenty of Atlanta landmarks to watch for. A funny guys’ scene filmed at Piedmont Park is featured prominently in the trailer.

It is scheduled for a May 11 release.

- Jennifer Brett/The Buzz/jbrett@ajc.com

Continue reading Sneak peek at Atlanta-made “What to Expect” »

From left: Atlanta Marriott Buckhead Hotel and Conference Center general manager Chuck Wilson, V103's Ryan Cameron, Marriott regional sales and marketing director Liz Wagner, events and catering manager Sonia Hardy and Ne-Yo. Credit: Chris Mitchell/CME 3000

R&B star Ne-Yo and V103’s Ryan Cameron have teamed up to spread some holiday cheer for a special group of Atlanta residents.

The Ryan Cameron Foundation, Porsche Cars and Ne-Yo’s Compound Foundation joined forces Dec. 4 to host a party for 10 area families at the Atlanta Marriott Buckhead Hotel and Conference Center. The families were selected through Neighbor to Family, an organization that serves children in foster care.

“It is our hope that by giving to those in need, we are bringing meaningful support to the Atlanta community, and more importantly, inspiring others to give,” Cameron said in a statement.

The third “Happy Holiday Supper” featured music, games a photo booth, a holiday feast, gifts and an appearance …

Continue reading Ne-Yo, Ryan Cameron spread holiday cheer »

Photos provided by Fandango

Jennifer Aniston’s role in “Wanderlust,” filmed near the Atlanta area, has earned her a spot on a Fandango list of the sexiest stars appearing in films next year.

Aniston and Paul Rudd star in the movie, which was shot largely north of Atlanta this year, as Linda and George, a stressed-out Manhattan couple who decide to move to Atlanta after George loses his job. On the way they get sidetracked in “Elysium,” a free-wheeling community where residents are content to wear nothing but smiles.

It has a Feb. 22 release date.

Aniston, who was spotted around town at spots including Ecco, Nava, El Taco and the St. Regis while she was here working on the project, ranks #4 on the Fandango hot list.

First was Charlize Theron, in “Snow White and the Huntsman,” next was Sandra Bullock in “Gravity” followed by Kate Beckinsale in “Total Recall,” “Underworld 4″ and “Contraband.”  Number 5 on the list was Scarlett Johansson in “The Avengers.”

That list, by the …

Continue reading Jennifer Aniston makes “sexiest” list with Atlanta film role »

A still from "Good Deeds"

Yesterday we visited this awesome 12,000 square foot loft in Castleberry Hill where Tyler Perry has recently been filming scenes for “The Marriage Counselor.”

More on that later.

Right now we have a little information on “Good Deeds,” his slightly less recently filmed-in-Atlanta project. It is scheduled for a Feb. 24 release.

Perry stars in this one, along with Thandie Newton, Brian White, Rebecca Romijn, Jamie Kennedy, Eddie Cibrian, Jordenn Thompson, Beverly Johnson, Phylicia Rashad and Gabrielle Union.

Lionsgate sums up the plot thusly:

“A successful, wealthy businessman, Wesley Deeds (Perry) has always done what’s expected of him, whether it’s assuming the helm of his father’s company, tolerating his brother’s misbehavior at the office or planning to marry his beautiful but restless fiancée, Natalie (Gabrielle Union). But Wesley is jolted out of his predictable routine when he meets Lindsey (Thandie Newton), a down-on-her-luck single …

Continue reading Tyler Perry filming updates »

The trailer for “The Three Stooges,” which was filmed this summer in Atlanta, is out.

The movie, starring Chris Diamantopoulos, Sean Hayes and Will Sasso as the stooges, along with Jennifer Hudson and Jane Lynch as nuns and members of the Jersey Shore crew in a cameo playing themselves, is the Farrelly brothers’ modern take on the rollicking classic.

Here’s a link to the trailer, on YouTube. As you can tell the movie will feature lots of slapstick and plenty of Atlanta landmarks. (And some nice product placement for Atlanta-based Whynatte.)

The project filmed all around town and beyond, from Cartersville to Stone Mountain, as well as the Atlanta Civic Center and a couple of private homes. The Buckhead mansion owned by developer Lee Najjar served as the site for a big party scene. Looks like that’s where the still photo, above, was taken.

The flick is scheduled for a spring release.

- Jennifer Brett/The Buzz/jbrett@ajc.com

Continue reading Look for Atlanta in “Three Stooges” trailer »

BetaBeat

This is our final word with friends about Alec Baldwin. Promise.

The irascible actor, whose tweets regarding some unpleasantness about an American Airlines flight were heard or at least retweed around the world, is apologizing. Sort of.

In a missive on the Huffington Post titled “My Flying Lesson,” Baldwin strikes a contrite tone from the start: “First off, I would like to apologize to the other passengers onboard the American Airlines flight that I was thrown off of yesterday. It was never my intention to inconvenience anyone with my “issue” with a certain flight attendant.”

He signs off with another apology to his fellow travelers, who were no doubt inconvenienced by the fracas.

In between his opening and closing statements, however, Baldwin gets in a few more jabs:

“It’s no secret that the level of service on U.S. carriers has deteriorated to a point that would make Howard Hughes red-faced. Filthy planes, barely edible meals, cuts in jet service to less-traveled …

Continue reading Alec Baldwin apologizes for American Airlines outburst »

Karen Canavan and Cuba Gooding Jr., new BFFs.

Cuba Gooding Jr. is in Atlanta filming a Hallmark Hall of Fame project called “Crew Nine.” In the made-for-television movie he stars as a counselor working with troubled kids.

Best known for his role as a colorful football player in the Tom Cruise-Renée Zellweger movie ”Jerry Maguire” (”Show me the money!!),  Gooding was spotted Monday night in the bar at the St. Regis hotel in Buckhead.

He posed for this nice photo with Karen Canavan.

“He thought I was Chelsea Handler at first,” she told us.

“Crew Nine” will be filming for the next few weeks.

- Jennifer Brett/The Buzz/jbrett@ajc.com

Continue reading Cuba Gooding Jr. spotted in Atlanta »

AP

Alec Baldwin became so irate when an American Airlines flight attendant reprimanded him for using his cell phone after he was told to turn it off that he slammed the device into the plane’s bathroom door, completely freaking out the crew and getting him bounced from the flight.

That’s according to a post on the airlines’ Facebook page a day after the actor ranted about American on his Twitter page.

Although American does not name Baldwin, it’s clear he and American Airlines are duking it out via social media.

On Tuesday, the actor posted a series of angry rants detailing a run-in with an American Airlines flight attendant who he said “reamed” him out for playing Words With Friends on his phone. He followed that up with a series of cranky posts that indicated he’d been tossed from the flight but ended up on another one, and vowed never to fly American again.

At first the airline declined to comment. Then they decided to join Baldwin at his own game, posting the following …

Continue reading American Airlines: Alec Baldwin slammed phone, freaked out crew »

AP photo

Alec Baldwin, who once entertained viewers off the air when audio of him screaming at his kid on the phone went viral on YouTube, apparently does not like it when others fuss at him.

“Flight attendant on American (Airlines) reamed me out for playing WORDS W FRIENDS while we sat at the gate, not moving,” the actor, who stars on NBC’s “30 Rock” tweeted at about 5 p.m. Tuesday. For added impact he signed off with the hashtag, #nowonderamericaairisbankrupt.

American’s parent company just filed for bankruptcy protection. Here’s a link to a story explaining the airline’s financial plight.

Baldwin’s tweets indicated that he was bounced from the one flight but boarded another. “Now, as I was kicked off this flight, the word I was playing was UNITED,” he posted, followed by, “My words with friends user name is now #theresalwaysunited.”

Baldwin, who said he finds the mobile app where people play a Scrabble-like game with friends “addicting,”  tweeted about half an hour …

Continue reading Alec Baldwin tweets he was “reamed out” by American flight attendant »

Justin Bieber’s back in Atlanta, the town he sort of, kind of calls home.

“Glad to be back spending time in ATL with friends,” he tweeted Monday. “This city is my 2nd home.”

Although the teen performer has been besieged on tour stops around the world, Atlanta leaves him alone for the most part. During his last trip home he and gal pal Selena Gomez were able to dine at Chops without causing a panic, for example.

Monday night Bieber and some buddies hit Andretti Indoor Karting & Games in Roswell and spent a couple of hours racing, playing video games and just being kids.

The folks at Andretti say he handled himself well behind the wheel, and posted the photo above showing Biebs, center, all tricked out in his racing gear.

- Jennifer Brett/The Buzz/jbrett@ajc.com

Continue reading Justin Bieber goes racing in Atlanta »