'Snow-bate' lands new film 'Lumpy' in Minnesota

A tipster overheard actors Justin Long and Jessica Weixler being told to check out St. Paul's Little Szechuan when the stars of "Lumpy" asked where they could get good Chinese food.

And there they dined on Tuesday, according to a Little Szechuan staffer who also told me: "A whole bunch of people [recognized the celebs]. We took pictures with them."

Long and Weixler are in the metro shooting a movie written and directed by Ted Koland, a Minnesotan who now lives in L.A.

Minnesota Film & TV Board exec director Lucinda Winter said, "It's really called 'Lumpy,' and it has been ever since I first saw the script a couple years ago. It's a script I really like, and I don't like all of them."

It's a story about bringing a friend's body back to Minnesota for burial and what happens as friends try to reconnect with people who were in the dead guy's life. Turns out the dead guy is not who he appeared to be in life.

"We're delighted Ted was able to get 'Lumpy' financed and bring it home to Minnesota, which is what he wanted. We were able to provide a 'snow-bate' incentive; they were looking at several other states. We are thrilled to have them here," said Winter.

Praise for Prince

Lalah Hathaway, the opening act for Prince at his Charleston, S.C., shows last week, made these tweets:

"Prince is ripping it up. He is absolutely the best. Prince just said, 'DO U KNOW HOW MANY HITS I HAVE??!' haha.... Tell it."

A December child, according to Wikipedia, Hathaway is a daughter of the late songwriter Donny Hathaway, who sang the original version of "This Christmas."

Reviewers in Charleston said these stops on Prince's "Welcome 2 America" tour were great concerts. Don't see any Minnesota dates yet, but Symbolina knows fans in the Midwest will turn out whenever he let's them know he's performing.

Shunning Cheryl?

Oh yeah, the supermodel was most definitely being ignored by that chef.

When Cheryl Tiegs was at Mall of America last weekend working as a celebrity judge for Minnesota Monthly's "Local Chef Challenge," she asked Sea Change chef Erik Anderson a question about his tattoos.

Everybody in the rotunda heard her, because she was on a mike. When he did not answer, Tiegs said she knew these guys were busy but joked how unusual it was for a man not to answer a question about his body.

"A man ignored me. There's a first time for everything," she quipped.

"I heard a little bit of it," Anderson told me Tuesday. "That question gets a little old for me. In my mind, the way I was prioritizing my time, I was more worried about the dish than talking to Cheryl Tiegs. I'm sure she's plenty nice and all."

He was busy with an avocado component he incorporated into the dish that was required to include octopus, banana chips, jalapenos and fennel.

After the dish was completed, did Tiegs ask Anderson again about his tattoos?

"No, she didn't even talk to me later," said Anderson. "Apparently you don't get a second chance with her."

By the way, Vincent Francoual, owner-chef of Vincent on Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis, won the $10,000 top prize in the two-day competition.

Larry on safari

Larry Fitzgerald Jr. didn't exaggerate when describing a photo he snapped of a hippo as "awesome" on Twitter.

Fitzgerald is part of a delegation of NFL players, including Adrian Peterson, on a charitable mission delivering Starkey Hearing Foundation products to people in Africa.

Here's a link to the hippo photo: startribune.com/a289. One of Fitzgerald's Twitter followers wrote that he felt like he'd taken a safari even though he hadn't left the U.S., while another joked that the animals had been showing off for Larry. Looks a tad too close for comfort. Hope he used a zoom -- after all, he's worth millions to the Cardinals.

C.J. is at 612.332.TIPS or cj@startribune.com. E-mailers, please state a subject -- "Hello" doesn't count. Attachments are not opened, so don't even try. More of her attitude can be seen on FOX 9 Thursday mornings.