Who have you met??

[Natasha (candygirl)]

Actually, there was this one time when I was little...

My dad took me to a fair, or a convention, or some other kid-friendly event, and one of the local radio DJs that was covering it smiled at me and handed me a helium balloon. At the time, I thought that was the coolest thing ever! Even now that I know he isn't really famous, it's still a good memory.

A month or so after I moved to California (at the age of nine), we went to a strip mall where one of the local DJs was handing out records and autographing them. I was SO EXCITED. I mean, seriously. You would have thought I was meeting Michael Jackson.

Jody, I love David Sedaris and try to see him whenever he's in town, but I too am unable to have a normal conversation with him. I blurted out the most ridiculous thing the first or second time I met him, so now I always remember and feel guilty all over again whenever I see him. I know he meets thousands of people every year so there is no possible way he remembers I'm the dummy who said that ONE dumb thing to him, but still.

I'm a literary groupie, so I also love seeing Nick Hornby when he's in town. For some reason, I have a much easier time making small talk with him. Maybe it's the accent.

Ooh, I have a good one! I met M.I.A. at the Treasure Island Music Festival two years ago! One of her people came running after my friend and me, so we got to go backstage to meet her. Of course I didn't have my camera with me, so when we went back a few hours later, I made sure to bring my camera and we didn't get to see her.

I didn't meet Jared Leto, but I went to see 30STM play at this divey bar back in 2002 and before they started playing, Jared walked through the crowd to go to the bar and walked right towards me, then brushed past me. We're talking FULL SHOULDER CONTACT. Honestly, I didn't know it was him until he was already past me.

[Jody Barsch*]

Jody, I love David Sedaris and try to see him whenever he's in town, but I too am unable to have a normal conversation with him. I blurted out the most ridiculous thing the first or second time I met him, so now I always remember and feel guilty all over again whenever I see him.

CG, so glad to know I'm not alone! My friend is now of the opinion that the way to get through a conversation with him is to bring him something, and then tell the story behind it. She's convinced that we need to introduce him to Wonderfalls. (I'd just given it to her for her birthday before she went to a reading with me and she asked if he'd seen it, and he said "No; What's your vote on whether Barack Obama is circumcized?" (that's not a direct quote, there may have been more in between, but that's pretty much how it went)). Anyway, I'm not really sure if David would care for and/or take the time to watch Wonderfalls. What do you think?

A Nick Hornby reading would be cool! I really have to read more of his stuff. I think I've only read High Fidelity (multiple times) and the mixed tape short story collection (I think we talked about that once).

I didn't meet Jared Leto, but I went to see 30STM play at this divey bar back in 2002 and before they started playing, Jared walked through the crowd to go to the bar and walked right towards me, then brushed past me.

That sounds like the ultimate "so close, and yet..." situation! On the other hand, 2002? That was probably the bleached hair dark eye makeup phase, maybe it wasn't such a loss. No. I don't mean that. If someone's worth meeting it shouldn't matter if they temporarily look like a pineapple (I guess that was just Fight Club) and seem to have an odd tolerance for fishnet shirts (apparently I'm never going to let that one go).
(I'm somewhat sure I saw Jared Leto driving on the 405 near Wilshire this spring/summer, or it could have been just a really good looking Angelino. Not worth a car accident to find out.)

[Natasha (candygirl)]

That was during the phase where he had shoulder length blonde hair but major dark roots. No eyeliner though! He was also wearing a long sleeved shirt without any holes (fishnet or otherwise). I had to go dig through my old pictures for that information though because the only thing I really remembered about that night was the bathrooms at the bar. You know it's a place where people get sloppy puking drunk when the stalls don't even have real doors.

I think part of the reason I feel awkward whenever I see David Sedaris (aside from remembering the idiotic thing I said to him years ago) is that he seems to be a very private person, so I don't like to feel like I'm imposing by asking personal questions or making small talk. Other authors I've met seem much more at ease with talking to total strangers (his sister, Amy, for example - if the bookstore people didn't keep the line moving, she would probably talk to the first person in line all day), so I don't feel as intrusive when I say more than hi.

I know that touring is part of their job, but as a performer, I know how tough it can be to be nice to total strangers when you're exhausted and just want to take a nap or go get something to eat. I think that's a huge part of the reason why I don't try to engage them too much.

I think David Sedaris would love Wonderfalls, but I'm always reluctant to give people things because I know how tight it can be when traveling. Sometimes I've given books because that seems like a small easy thing to slide into a carry on bag and then leave for someone else to enjoy afterward, but then I think what if half the people here did that? The poor guy would have to pack an extra bag if he wanted to keep all that stuff!

Nick Hornby said that people used to bring him CDs all the time, and although he appreciated it and listened to a lot of them, sometimes he would leave a pile of them in his hotel room because he couldn't bring himself to actually throw them away but he couldn't keep carrying all of them around. High Fidelity is my absolute favorite work by Nick Hornby. About a Boy is also really good.

But back to David Sedaris and Wonderfalls! Often when people are on tour repeatedly, they end up finding friends in the cities they visit often so they get to catch up while they're in town, but it seems like there is always at least one place where they don't know anyone or just want to get a quick bite and then go back to the hotel, which is why DVDs would be great for those nights. At least now we know he hasn't seen Wonderfalls yet, so you can plan ahead for the next time you see him!

[Tish]

i've done tv shows (extras) and a movie, most of them mediocre...and met david carradine, liz hurley, hugh grant and others i don't remember keeping in mind i did this back in 1995-6....

[Sanvean17]

Steve Tyler from Aerosmith.

[Superjesus]

I'm a freelance music and sports journalist who is registered with both the NBA and NFL as an international media correspondent, so I've met a few when I've traveled the USA.

Some of the most famous I've actually talked to are:
- Kevin Garnett: Very much like his on-court demeanour, but once he realises you're OK he calms down. Doesn't take any bullshit whatsoever.
- Kevin Durant: Great guy. Went out of his way to chat even though locker-room interviews tend to be a pain for most players and totally made me feel at ease when I admitted this was my first time in this situation.
- Phillip Rivers: As a die-hard Raiders fan, I really wanted to hate this guy - but he was incredibly polite and friendly the whole time we talked. I can't say anything bad about him, although I still wish him pain and injury.
- Scott Weiland: Just got an interview with him a few months back at home in Sydney when STP were touring - sheer luck. He's a bit of a strange guy (and I think he was drunk at the time) but interesting to talk to for sure.

[Jody Barsch*]

Holy ****ing ****!!! Not even joking just ran into Paul Dooley and Winnie Holzman on the street in Culver City, like ten minutes ago!!!

[Natasha (candygirl)]

SHUT UP! Did you talk to them?

I was laughing at the Emmy broadcast tonight when the Lonely Island guys assaulted William Macy because my sister just met both him and Elijah Wood at a party in LA this weekend!

[Jody Barsch*]

Ooh, those would both be good meets. Was Elijah freakin' cool?

And...

Um, YEAH I talked to them. My friend and I were walking down Culver, and I'm looking at this older gentleman sitting on a bench (outside Tender Greens and Ford's Filling Station), and I'm talking to my friend, but all the while I'm thinking to myself that man looks like Paul Dooley. So we keep approaching and more and more I'm thinking, that guy looks amazingly like Paul Dooley, but I'm still not knowing it's him; so as we're almost passing by, I think here's how I'll know it's not Paul Dooley, I'll look at at the woman he's sitting with -- AND OH MY GOD there she was. (I don't know if I stopped straight in my tracks or what, but yes, the next thing my friend knows I'm no longer walking and talking with her but introducing myself to them -- I really don't know exactly what I said because I was so floored, but basically I said I was a huge fan, that My So-Called Life was an incredible show, and so dear to my heart and very much loved by so many people. And then, maybe, I might, have made a comment to Mr. Dooley about Sesame Street's Don't Eat the Pictures. Why, that was what I chose to mention, I really can't say, and I'm kind of emabarrased about it, but actually Winnie touched his arm and seemed to get a real kick out of it. They were very gracious and sweet, but I was so nervous I kind of was in and out of there and not really taking it in. My friend said they seemed very surprised to be recognized. It was crazy. I may have been shaking afterwards when we entered FFS. I stole my friend's iphone and posted right away cuz I just couldn't handle it. It was more exciting than had Harrison actually walked into his son's restaurant (which I always think about when I eat there).

Up until this summer, my best star meeting was by far Tim Robbins, also in Culver City (just up the street in is theater); we talked about licensing problems involved with me getting a dvd copy of his production of 1984 to use in my classroom; although busy, and thus fast-paced, he was kind of jazzed to talk about high school English. Then this summer got crazy. At past LA Film Festivals I've spoken briefly with Kathryn Bigelow, Wolfgang Puck, Vanessa Marano, and talked with Beth Grant (who was awesome, and tried really hard to get me a free t shirt) and Melanie Lynskey (who couldn't have been lovelier, more gracious, and more excited to speak to a fan; she was there to watch a film, and we spoke a little about Heavenly Creatures and Away We Go, which she just breaks my heart in). I did not speak with her, but Kristen Stewart, with her dumb friends comparing body mass index numbers walked past me five times as I was stationed on her floor at the Ritz during the Eclipse premier. (I'm pretty sure it was she who had me moved to different floor. Whatever, what would I say to her anyway? 'Adventureland was awesome and you guys got Speak all wrong.') This summer, said quick "hey's to: most of the guys from Tribe Called Quest, Chance Crawford, Chris Pine (didn't know who he was), Juliette Lewis(!!!) -- guess what, she coud care less that I'm a fan -- Michael Rappaport (who made a face when I said something about Some Girl), Erika Christensen, Mary Lou Henner, Jamie Pressly, and Rashida Jones. I've now had three real conversations with Catherine Hardwick, who has been very very cool each time. But more than just star sightings, it has been a summer of my star crushes (although I did miss seeing Ryan Gosling the night I maybe could have, and my day of extra work on a Martin Starr short was not a day he was on set...): one night at my little local market, I literally almost bumped into Romany Malco (who apparently lives near me because he totally was buds with the check out guy). I just wanted to say "Conrad, you're so sexy." At dinner one night we were a table away from from Adam Scott and Paul Rudd and their families (I did not say anything to them, but I could not stop myself from passing them a note through a waiter. I'm sorry I've loved Paul Rudd since Clueless, and his performance with Courtney Love made that feeling permanent. I couldn't not. They were actually really pumped, and made a point to find who'd sent it over and i got big waves. I really wanted to tell Paul Rudd how much I love the fireworks scene in R&J and how his delivery of "These times of woe aford no time to woo" still kills me every time I hear it, but I stuck with naming my two favorite eps of Party Down (Rick Sargulesh and Steve Guttenberg), and telling them they both rocked the house on their respective V. Mars appearances. But for me, talking with Jason Schwartzman outside a festival event is what truly blew my mind. (Yes, that was me bouncing up and down after I'd taken his ticket, talked with him about Coconut Records, and he'd gone inside.)
Please forgive me for rambling, this very long list, especially the first one and the last three, was intended to serve as a measure as to how much, surprisingly, they paled in comparison to running into Winnie. If you had asked me, who would I be more excited to randomly recognize and talk to, Jason Scwatrzman or Winne, I would have guessed Jason. But then, maybe that 1,000+ to the right of this post could have clued me in. Anyway, it was exciting, and I was excited to share it here because while people in my real life know I like the show, and that yes, there was that whole dvd thing, I'm not sure they get it.

[emmie]

*girly squeal!!!*

that's really exciting, Jody, and I'm really happy/ecstatic that you got to speak with her as well. and I love that they were tickled to have been recognized. clearly you are a true fan!

I posted about "brushing against" Jared Leto earlier in this thread. but honestly, I've only been speechless twice when meeting celebrities and it was with Ron Howard and Joss Whedon. not sure if I posted on here about meeting Joss, I feel like I did. anyway, it was a couple of years ago when he was promoting Dollhouse and I could barely speak to him afterwards to get his autograph. I'm seriously amazed I was able to tell him how to spell my name. and then I was simply giddy when I waited on Ron Howard, mostly because he was my first big celebrity to wait on, and plus he has the most beautiful blue eyes.

um to put my excitement of meeting Joss into perspective, here is a list of people I've waited on here in NY: Steven Spielberg, Julianne Moore, Kate Winslet, Ron Howard, Richard Gere, Mario Lopez (LOL), Mandy Moore, Cuba Gooding Jr., Bob Sagat, Christina Ricci, editor of Vogue (I always forget her name), Phoebe Cates, Jennifer Jason Lee, Michelle Tractenberg, David Schwimmer, Christain Bale, and others I can't remember. I was never as nervous as meeting Joss!!

[rachelle1165]

Joe Pesci is my second cousin, met him twice. Met Bruce Springsteen a few months ago in Freehold, NJ where I currently live and where he grew up and visits occasionally.

[Jody Barsch*]

Holy ****ing ****!!! Not even joking just ran into Paul Dooley and Winnie Holzman on the street in Culver City, like ten minutes ago!!!

Met them again! This time it was expected as I was attending their play, Assisted Living, a two person show which they wrote and starred in in a little 99 seat theater. The play was so good, so charming and heartfelt. I laughed, I cried, I applauded like crazy. (It was a little surreal as some of the content of the play explores what it is to be a fan, and what it is to have a show mean something to you, and what the experience is and the responsibility is of being the object of that fandom. The craziest part was that for the character (both Paul and Winnie played two roles each) writing fanfiction was this kind of redemptive healing thing -- I laughed and held my heart. So odd.) I talked to them a little afterwards, just to say how much I loved the the show and MSCL and mentioned that I'd bumped into them on the street last year and had mentioned Don't Eat the Pictures, and she said that they loved that. She's so sweet. I debated an then just said that i wrote a little ff and she laughed, it was cute. And a little embarrassing. And though this time I had my wits about me, I was still a little flustered I'm sure. Anyway, that's what happened.
In the audience was Alley Mills (of The Wonder Years) and Orson Bean (of Dr. Quinn). There too was, I'm pretty sure, the lady who played the Safe School Counselor / School Psychologist in "Guns and Gossip" (blonde with large glasses.)
I didn't ask for my DVD insert to be signed. I brought it, but in the moment didn't think of it. But here's what I can say about Winnie Holzman: wonderful writer, wonderful, warm human being. With a great laugh. And a terrific actress. (The second character she played reminded me of Robin Weigert's Jane Canary.)