the list of 9 for june 25, 2007:
NINE CELEBRITIES I'VE BEEN PHOTOGRAPHED WITH
Behind every photo is a story, and this list isn't so much about "who I know" - for really, I
don't know any of these people; I was simply in the same physical space as they were for an
hour or so - but about the randomness of living in Los Angeles and of attending the occasional
film festival. In either situation, you'll never know who you'll run into... and wherever there's a
celebrity, a camera can't be too far behind.
- Christina Ricci, 2003. I
was a guest at the Norwegian International Film Festival in 2003, and after two long,
sleepless flights, was invited to attend a formal dinner with all the other guests - this, after
being awake for well over twenty hours. To my surprise, Christina Ricci was also a guest of the
festival, and sat across the table from me at dinner. After the meal, a picture was in order.
- Ludivine Sagnier, 2003. French sexpot actress is famous in her home
country and best known for the art house hit Swimming Pool in the U.S. She too was a guest
in Norway. I had to get a photo with her because just two weeks earlier, my future wife Miki and I
went to see Swimming Pool and that was the day we got back together. In a weird way,
Ludivine is partly responsible for that. So imagine what a kick it was to meet her in person so
soon. (By the way, the photo of me and Ludivine was taken by one Christina Ricci. The photo of me
and Christina Ricci was taken by Ludivine.)
- Jason Biggs, 2003. The
other big (or bigg) Hollywood actor at the Norwegian Film Festival, Jason Biggs was promoting a
film he was in with Christina Ricci as well as the third American Pie movie (imagine
that, playing at a film festival!). I promise this is the last photo you will see of me in this
orange shirt. It was all on the same night.
- Vilmos Zsigmond, 2006. Film festivals really are the best
places to meet notable show biz folk. This was at HATCHfest in Bozeman, Montana.
Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond has that valuable sort of celebrity, where he's got money, respect
and awards (including an Oscar for shooting Close Encounters of the Third Kind), but can
walk down the street unrecognized. We were both part of a cinematography panel, which is pretty
insane when you think about it. An Oscar winning DP and a guy who doesn't know an aperture from a
hole in the ground.
- Anthony Mackie, 2006. Again in Bozeman. The story behind this photo
is that Mackie, an up-and-coming actor who I suspect could be quite famous very soon, was hanging
out at one of HATCHfest's many parties and was quite amused to see a dorky white college
student in a fluffy "pimp" vest. He asked me to take a photo of him and the student, and then
Mackie requested that I put on the vest for another photo. I obliged.
- Susannah Hoffs, 1993. We travel back in time, before all this film
festival nonsense, back to an era where it was still uncool to be a singer from a big 80's band.
There was an AIDS benefit at the Virgin Megastore in West Hollywood, and as I had some time to
kill before seeing a movie next door, I wandered in, noticed that the former Bangle was signing
autographs and Polaroids in exchange for $5 for AIDS charities, and thought, "Why not?" At the last
second, I leaned in and put my arm around Ms. Hoffs, apparently to the chagrin of the
bodyguard-like dude in the background.
- Shonen Knife, 1993. In the early 90's, it wasn't uncommon for
hip bands to make in-store appearances at the late lamented Aron's Records in Hollywood. The giant
Amoeba Records, which put Aron's out of business, hosts in-stores now - but I bet they don't let
you get a free Polaroid of yourself with any of the bands. I believe Japanese pop-rock trio Shonen
Knife - an old favorite of Kurt Cobain's - is still active, but not with their original lineup,
seen here.
- Tsai Ming Liang, 1998. Only the nerdiest of film nerds will be
impressed by this. Tsai Ming Liang is one of Taiwan's most important filmmakers. I'm a fan of his
work, but not many outside of international film festivals get a chance to see it. This was at a
university in Hong Kong, where Tsai was artist-in-residence during my two weeks there, where I was
helping students and giving lectures. I got to "interview" Tsai, with an interpreter, and that was
pretty cool.
- Tom Sizemore, 2006. I'm weirdly proud of the fact that Miki and I
live in the former home of substance-abusing thespian Tom Sizemore, who had a great career in the
90's, co-starring in Saving Private Ryan, Heat, Natural Born Killers and True
Romance, among many other films. Drugs, violence and the ill-fated decision to date Heidi
Fleiss forever stained Sizemore's career, and as of this writing he has just been sentenced to 16
months in jail, but one thing's for sure: He sure loves to come back to visit his former place of
residence, where he lived from 1990 to 1995. I was home during a surprise visit from Tom late last
year, during a sober period for the actor, and he regaled me with fascinating stories of his time
in our house and was happy to pose for a photo or two.
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