Sunday, October 02, 2005
"Real" strange
Four years of college in NYC and my stint at MTV allowed me to cross paths with a fair share of "celebrities". I saw Samuel L. Jackson hugging a red haired woman at 51st and Broadway, saw Al Pacino drive by in the passenger seat of a car, stood behind Ethan Hawke on line while he bought an Arizona Iced Tea at the Belly Deli, passed Michael Ian Black almost every day for the first two years of college on 23rd street, had Perry Farrell tell me my eyes were beautiful at the premier for the Howard Stern movie, sat next to Keri Russel on a bench while she was between publicity photos for her upcoming show "Felicity", saw K.C.(used to be on the Howard Stern show) jogging down 9th avenue, shared an elevator with MTV veejay John Norris on more than one occassion, and met the guy who did the voice for Piglet.
And those are just the ones that came to me while writing that sentence(if we can call it that). The thing is, if you live in NY or visit the city regularly, you are bound to cross paths with a celebrity of some sort. Whether they're at an event or just buying an iced tea at the Belly Deli, you're in NYC so you expect that kind of thing. I can imagine that Ethan Hawke was in town on business or that he had some big apartment close by. I had never seen a celebrity that I couldn't stick into some sort of context that made sense to me.
And then, while eating dinner at Applebee's the other night, I saw Johanna from the current version of "The Real World". Is she a celebrity? Hardly. But she's recognizable to those who recognized her and that meant half of the restaurant. A table full of teenagers had their cellphone cameras aimed at her for practically her entire meal. My girlfriend, who had never seen a "celebrity" outside of the television/movie screen was giddy, and I didn't know what to make of it.
I didn't feel bad for the girl. She sent in the tape and, in doing so, HAD to recognize the fact that if she were to become on of the lucky 7, and she was, that her life was going to be a little less private then it was before. But at the same time she didn't need me not to feel bad for her...she loved every second of it. I thought, "Would I be able to eat my Cowboy burger with a circle of sweaty teenagers pointing their Nextels at my face?"
No, I would not. Scarily enough, in October of 96 my friend Danny and I both sent in audition tapes and I'm sure the only reason I wasn't picked was because my ears aren't very camera friendly.
The strange thing about it was that this girl from "The Real World" was at the same Applebee's that I have eaten at almost every other week for the past year(that's a sad post in and of itself). I could stick all of the celebrities I've seen in my life into a happy little context, but seeing her five minutes from my house was just weird. She took pictures with the waitresses. I had buffalo wings. Everything else was normal except the hot Peruvian from MTV was riling up all of the teenagers...and my girlfriend.
The next day I saw a guy who looked just like Don Knotts at the bagel store, but it wasn't him. He wasn't furly enough to be Mr. Knotts. ¶ 9:09 AM
And those are just the ones that came to me while writing that sentence(if we can call it that). The thing is, if you live in NY or visit the city regularly, you are bound to cross paths with a celebrity of some sort. Whether they're at an event or just buying an iced tea at the Belly Deli, you're in NYC so you expect that kind of thing. I can imagine that Ethan Hawke was in town on business or that he had some big apartment close by. I had never seen a celebrity that I couldn't stick into some sort of context that made sense to me.
And then, while eating dinner at Applebee's the other night, I saw Johanna from the current version of "The Real World". Is she a celebrity? Hardly. But she's recognizable to those who recognized her and that meant half of the restaurant. A table full of teenagers had their cellphone cameras aimed at her for practically her entire meal. My girlfriend, who had never seen a "celebrity" outside of the television/movie screen was giddy, and I didn't know what to make of it.
I didn't feel bad for the girl. She sent in the tape and, in doing so, HAD to recognize the fact that if she were to become on of the lucky 7, and she was, that her life was going to be a little less private then it was before. But at the same time she didn't need me not to feel bad for her...she loved every second of it. I thought, "Would I be able to eat my Cowboy burger with a circle of sweaty teenagers pointing their Nextels at my face?"
No, I would not. Scarily enough, in October of 96 my friend Danny and I both sent in audition tapes and I'm sure the only reason I wasn't picked was because my ears aren't very camera friendly.
The strange thing about it was that this girl from "The Real World" was at the same Applebee's that I have eaten at almost every other week for the past year(that's a sad post in and of itself). I could stick all of the celebrities I've seen in my life into a happy little context, but seeing her five minutes from my house was just weird. She took pictures with the waitresses. I had buffalo wings. Everything else was normal except the hot Peruvian from MTV was riling up all of the teenagers...and my girlfriend.
The next day I saw a guy who looked just like Don Knotts at the bagel store, but it wasn't him. He wasn't furly enough to be Mr. Knotts. ¶ 9:09 AM
Comments:
<< Home
If 50% of the general public were not so ga-ga over celebrities, I would not have a job.
I often wonder what it would be like to be an "idol" to people. I have been guilty of idolizing a person, of making him/her not human anymore; and it embarrasses me. Sometimes I fool myself and say that s/he is my hero.
I often wonder what it would be like to be an "idol" to people. I have been guilty of idolizing a person, of making him/her not human anymore; and it embarrasses me. Sometimes I fool myself and say that s/he is my hero.
50% is giving the general public too much credit. I'd aim for 70ish.
Celebrity obsession(especially the last few years) has gotten out of hand. I'm thinking of becoming a paparazzi.
I've idolized celebrities, but none to the point of embarassment and all before the age of 15.
Although, James Spader is pretty close to god.
Celebrity obsession(especially the last few years) has gotten out of hand. I'm thinking of becoming a paparazzi.
I've idolized celebrities, but none to the point of embarassment and all before the age of 15.
Although, James Spader is pretty close to god.
When I first moved to NY, I was a little starstruck by all the celebrities I saw. Now, I couldn't care less unless it's somebody I like. Say, for example, Harrison Ford was wandering around, I'd be pretty idiotic.
Indeed, I see tons of celebrities these days for reasons I won't go into and I'm struck by how undeserving they are of the adulation. That's not a dig at them, but away from the crowds, they're so completely normal, you feel bad for what they have to face. They don't deserve the hounding and most of them look really perplexed with how to deal with it. Most actors "turn it on", but outside of fans, they "shrink" a little.
I think it was last week I walked by Laura Linney (who is much more attractive in real life than I would have thought) and she was looking around (not frantically) nervously like she didn't want to get jumped by fans. There was a small degree of fear in her eyes.
When I ran into Mike Meyers he gave me a look like, "oh boy, here we go" but I didn't say anything and did my jaded New Yorker impression.
These people are so unglamorous outside of the spotlight that it's strange what they have to deal with. They seem typical of a lot of celebrities that don't exactly love the spotlight.
A friend of mine from college is a local celebrity and I saw him for the first time since he became a celebrity a few months back. It was really weird watching him interact me and the people drooling at his feet. To me, he was still the goofball from college that liked to make dopey puns. To the fans, he was Mr. Cool-guy.
And he really didn't want me to leave him alone with all the people that were coming after him. Every time I tried to excuse myself since the hangers-on were giving me evil stares, he would say, "NO! Stay a little longer!"
It just reinforced the sympathy that I have for so many celebrities who have to put up with this crazy shit. Imagine if all of a sudden you were attacked by hordes of people like that. Just because you're famous, doesn't mean there's any instruction on how to deal with it. Must be hard.
Indeed, I see tons of celebrities these days for reasons I won't go into and I'm struck by how undeserving they are of the adulation. That's not a dig at them, but away from the crowds, they're so completely normal, you feel bad for what they have to face. They don't deserve the hounding and most of them look really perplexed with how to deal with it. Most actors "turn it on", but outside of fans, they "shrink" a little.
I think it was last week I walked by Laura Linney (who is much more attractive in real life than I would have thought) and she was looking around (not frantically) nervously like she didn't want to get jumped by fans. There was a small degree of fear in her eyes.
When I ran into Mike Meyers he gave me a look like, "oh boy, here we go" but I didn't say anything and did my jaded New Yorker impression.
These people are so unglamorous outside of the spotlight that it's strange what they have to deal with. They seem typical of a lot of celebrities that don't exactly love the spotlight.
A friend of mine from college is a local celebrity and I saw him for the first time since he became a celebrity a few months back. It was really weird watching him interact me and the people drooling at his feet. To me, he was still the goofball from college that liked to make dopey puns. To the fans, he was Mr. Cool-guy.
And he really didn't want me to leave him alone with all the people that were coming after him. Every time I tried to excuse myself since the hangers-on were giving me evil stares, he would say, "NO! Stay a little longer!"
It just reinforced the sympathy that I have for so many celebrities who have to put up with this crazy shit. Imagine if all of a sudden you were attacked by hordes of people like that. Just because you're famous, doesn't mean there's any instruction on how to deal with it. Must be hard.
DIE SPAMMERS!
Ahem.
I have to admit that I freak out a little when I see famous people. But that's happened like... twice in my life. No, wait, once. I don't know. I need to get a life-sized poster of myself to idolize.
I have to assume your friend is Lindsay Lohan, A_B. :D
Post a Comment
Ahem.
I have to admit that I freak out a little when I see famous people. But that's happened like... twice in my life. No, wait, once. I don't know. I need to get a life-sized poster of myself to idolize.
I have to assume your friend is Lindsay Lohan, A_B. :D
<< Home
