El mitote April 13

| The New Mexican

4/12/2008 - 4/13/08

A busy week at Dish n' Spoon on Old Santa Fe Trail last week. First, Joyce DeWitt, made famous in Three's Company with John Ritter and Suzanne Somers, was grabbing a bite; the next day, Ali MacGraw stopped off to eat. They were raving about the egg salad and the chicken pot pie.


Spotted: artist Tony Abeyta grabbing a cup of joe at the downtown Starbucks last Monday. The Navajo artist, called a "genuine prodigy" by the Washington Post, shows at Blue Rain Gallery. He's considered one of the best contemporary painters around.


Another quick sighting from earlier this month, this one a Friday night. Eddie Izzard of television's The Riches, was seen dropping in to the Ore House. He's the voice of Reepicheep the mouse in the much-anticipated Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, the second movie in the Narnia series, which opens May 16. Reepicheep, as any Narnia-lover knows, is one of THE heroes of the magical land.


Randy and Elizabeth Travis have been shopping up a storm at Back at the Ranch. Randy is getting ready for the release of his new single, "Faith in You" — you can download it free right now — and his album, Around the Bend, is coming out this summer. He needs plenty of boots to wear on tour, while Elizabeth bought a pair of jet-black, crystal boots, which she is planning to wear to the Academy of Country Music Awards on May 18.


Watch out for Katie Couric. Word is that the CBS news anchor is coming to Santa Fe this week to work on a story about the Santa Fe Mountain Center, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary. The center is dedicated to promoting personal discovery and social change among young people, families and groups, according to its Web site.


Production has begun on Spoken Word, the New Mexico-themed film that drew Rubén Blades back to Northern New Mexico (normally, the actor/singer/Harvard Law grad is too busy working as tourism director in his native Panama.) He also starred in Milagro Beanfield War back in the 1980s and in All the Pretty Horses (2000), both made in New Mexico. Directed by Victor Nuñez (Ulee's Gold, Ruby in Paradise), Spoken Word centers on a Chicano spoken-word artist's return home to take care of his dying father. It also stars Kuno Becker, Miguel Sandoval and Persia White.

The film is being produced by Karen Koch (Adaptation, Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man, Can't Hardly Wait, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4) and Bill Conway (Miami Vice) for their newly launched Luminaria Films. The screenplay is by Conway and Joe Ray Sandoval. Noted Chicano poet and activist Jimmy Santiago Baca is poetry consultant. Associate producer is Kent Kirkpatrick (Ride, Suspect Zero). Kirkpatrick, you might remember, helped put together the acclaimed reading of artist Georgia O'Keeffe's letters last year at the Lensic. It starred Joan Allen and Sam Waterston.


Taos' Mike Reynolds — known far and wide as the father of the Earthship — has been making the media rounds to push his new book and award-winning film, Garbage Warrior. The film got a standing ovation at the Lincoln Center, and a sudden opening (Meryl Streep canceled) on the Stephen Colbert show got Reynolds in the interview seat — where, it turns out, he actually made host Colbert speechless (for a heartbeat, anyway). The Earthships, made with recycled materials (tires, plastic bottles, etc.), are designed to make living more Earth-friendly. Last weekend, Reynolds was to appear live at screenings of the film, directed by Oliver Hodges, at the CCA.

Send your sightings to elmitote@sfnewmexican.com, or call 986-3093. We can't wait to hear your news!