Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan lived up to his "Matty Ice" nickname in a whole new way Thursday night, showing off some cool jewelry at a charity shopping event at the Lenox Square David Yurman store.
#2 was on hand for an exclusive launch party to debut the David Yurman Men’s Frontier Collection, a Southwest-inspired line that features inlays hand-crafted by local artisans in New Mexico.
"I've got a bunch of it at home that I like to wear," said Ryan, who noted that his fashionable wife, Sarah, helps coordinate his off-the-field looks. "Sarah takes care of me. She tells me what's good, what's not good. I try and put myself together as best I can, but I always ask her if things look OK."
During the event, a portion of the sales were donated to Heifer International, a worldwide program to end hunger and poverty.
“Their focus on families and improving family situations across the globe is great,” Ryan said. “Their stance on agriculture and getting healthy food and clean water and sustainable crops across the globe is really cool. They’re successful in how they spend that money, and it’s something that both Sarah and I feel like is a great cause.”
Good sport that he is, Ryan gamely modeled his bling for a short video clip. Check it out at www.accessatlanta.com/weblogs/buzz/2014/apr/25/matt-ryan-models-bling-charity.
Concert honors late film crew member
"Drop Dead Diva" executive producer Robert J. Wilson is honoring the memory of the late Sarah Jones with a benefit concert featuring Collective Soul. (For tickets and information, see thriveentertainment.org/tickets.html.)
The event is planned for 7 p.m. May 31 at Southern Ground Amphitheater, 301 Lafayette Ave. in Fayetteville, and will benefit several charities including the Sarah Jones Scholarship Fund. Jones, 27, died in February while working on the Gregg Allman biopic "Midnight Rider" in Jesup.
A South Carolina native who had been living in Atlanta, Jones also worked on a number of locally produced shows including “Drop Dead Diva,” which films largely in Peachtree City.
“My crew was very much affected by it,” Wilson said. “That says something amazing about Sarah.”
The future of "Midnight Rider" seems unclear. Variety reports that star William Hurt has exited the project, while earlier reports indicated that work would resume but not in Georgia.
Jones’ death has sparked an industrywide outcry regarding on-set safety. A “Slates for Sarah” page pays tribute to her while placards in her memory have popped up all over Atlanta.
“We all as a film community have felt the tragedy,” Wilson said, noting that the scholarship fund will help other aspiring film industry professionals pay tribute to Jones through their future career success.
“We’re planning on doing many more of these, with Sarah’s family’s blessing,” he said. “Her mom and dad are amazing people.”
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