Tag Archives: etudelife

Famous Simmons Brother Book Signing in Jackson

If you don’t know Danny Simmons, you’re no doubt familiar with at least one of his projects, and you most certainly know his famous siblings; Reverend Run and Russell Simmons.   Continue reading Famous Simmons Brother Book Signing in Jackson

Star Sightings in Jackson MS

Filming in Jackson Mississippi for the James Brown biopic “Get On Up” wraps today, and though cast and crew will be moving on, the locals will be left with some cool memories and stories to tell, notably of actor/comedian/Blues Brother Dan Aykroyd.

“I love the people here…Mississippi is a beautiful place and there is an opportunity on every corner…I’m going to talk up Mississippi to my people in Hollywood and tell them this is the place to do television and movies,” Dan Aykroyd told a Clarion Ledger reporter.

Aykroyd plays the role of Ben Bart, president of Universal Attractions, the agency that represented James Brown for more than 40 years of his career.  While in town he took the opportunity to promote not only the movie but also the vodka he co-founded, Crystal Head Vodka, signing bottles of it and other memorabilia at Wine & Spirits in the Quarter.  A pleasant surprise for Jacksonians was Aykroyd and co-star Craig Robinson taking the stage at Hal & Mal’s for a rendition of “Sweet Home Chicago.” (see video below.)  Two nights later, band members from the movie played an entire set to promote the film.

One of the film’s co-producers, Mick Jagger- lead singer of the Rolling Stones, also made an appearance in Jacktown, dining in the same restaurant Aykroyd was spotted at, Parlor Market. Aykroyd’s Crystal head Vodka is incidentally the official liquor of the Rolling Stones’ 50th Anniversary Tour.

Jackson native Tate Taylor is directing the James Brown movie which features Chadwick Boseman as the Godfather of Soul himself. Other big names appearing in the biopic are Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, and Jill Scott. “Get On Up” is slated for release October 17, 2014.

Aykroyd and Robinson

Twitter pic by Parlor Market executive chef Matthew Kajdan
Mick Jagger at Parlor Market in Jackson Mississippi. Twitter pic by Parlor Market executive chef Matthew Kajdan

Related Stories (updated 1/25/14)

Dan Aykroyd sworn in as Hinds County deputy 

Swagger: Mick Moves to Movies, Blasts Idea of Memoir

The 25th Annual Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration

For the past 24 years, nobody has celebrated southern history by way of a combination of books, film, music, food, lectures, and other entertainment quite like the Natchez Literary & Cinema Celebration.  This year marks the 25th anniversary of the conference, and its theme alone- Continue reading The 25th Annual Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration

Martina McBride Bares Her Soul

Country singer Martina McBride is in a soulful mood; and on March 4th she plans to show fans just how soulful she’s feeling with the release of her latest album, ‘Everlasting’. Continue reading Martina McBride Bares Her Soul

Eve: Comin’ Back to Blow Ya Mind

Eve, the tenacious pit bull in a skirt, has a vicious grip on #winning and #success. Newly engaged to designer boyfriend Maximillion Cooper (as of this past Christmas day), the rapper/actress is set to star in another sitcom, this time for ABC.   Continue reading Eve: Comin’ Back to Blow Ya Mind

Everyone wants to be the one messaging app that rules them all — but there’s no such thing, and never will be

Gigaom

If you were engaged in something worthwhile on Thursday rather than paying attention to technology blogs, you might have missed the fact that photo-sharing app Instagram — now a subsidiary of social behemoth Facebook Inc. (s fb) — launched a new feature the company calls Instagram Direct, as Om predicted it would several weeks ago. The new feature essentially turns Instagram into a messaging app, allowing users to send the equivalent of direct messages to friends along with a picture or video.

This feature obviously pits Instagram against a horde of other messaging apps and micro-social networks, including Twitter (s twtr) — which just launched a new photo-enhanced direct-messaging feature of its own — as well as Snapchat, Kik, WhatsApp, and Facebook’s own branded messenger service. It’s getting so smartphone users could probably fill up an entire screen with just apps that involve photo-sharing and/or messaging of some kind.

View original post 765 more words