brushes with greatness...

[PlasticSpanner]

I met Tony Mason once! Does that count?

 

[aprilraven]

man, ya'll are all killing me... how cool is that?? keep it up.. love to hear all of it...

we got to get jonmikal a letter from john lennon.....he has to have one...

any idea's.......

anyone know loco ono??? sorry...yoko, i mean...(thousand apologies jon...) paybacks for ravenapril comment....

 

[PlasticSpanner]

Yahoo Serious - Met him at a friend's 40th birthday

What a great name!:thumbup: Einstein would have been proud!

 

[Hertz van Rental]

I had a friend in the 80's who had a bad back. He'd fallen when he was younger and cracked several vertebrae - at one point the doctors thought he had broken it and might not walk. He was in traction in hospital for over a month and it had never been right since.
One quiet night in the pub I asked him how it had happened.
His father had worked as a designer for a yacht builders near Southampton and my friend had naturally learned to sail at an early age. He loved it and became very good, racing and such. He went to College and got his Master's ticket when he was about 20 - around 1969 or 70. During the Summer his father's company would get him to sail the finished yachts to it's destination and hand it over to the person who had bought it. Usually this was in the Mediterranean.
So one day he had delivered a Yacht to a trendy and exclusive location in the South of France and, after handing over the boat, decided to hang around for a few days and maybe have some fun.
He was sitting in a bar having a beer when two guys walked in. They ordered drinks and one of them asked him for a light. This sparked a conversation when they realised they were all British and they talked and got on really well. The upshot was that my friend got invited to a party on the yacht that the two guys were staying on.
He went with them and had a terrific time - lots of gorgeous girls, free food, free drink, free drugs. The party went on for several days.
At one point my friend, being a bit worse for wear, decided to show of a little - especially as he was egged on by his two new acquaintances - and climbed up the rigging. Everyone started urging him to do a high dive into the water so he did. But slipped as he jumped and landed on the deck. After that it was an ambulance and almost two months in hospital before he was well enough to go home.
During his hospitalisation his two acquaintances came to see him almost every day as they felt to blame for his accident. They made sure he had anything he wanted and paid for his flight home.
"That was nice of them," I said. "Who were these guys then?"
"Kieth Richards and Mick Jagger - and the yacht was Hugh Heffner's."

I don't think anyone can compete with that

 

[jstuedle]

I don't think anyone can compete with that

:hail: No Van, I think you own the floor.:hail:

 

[PlasticSpanner]

"Kieth Richards and Mick Jagger - and the yacht was Hugh Heffner's."

I don't think anyone can compete with that

I'm out!

(Tony Mason is quite funny though!:thumbup: )

 

[Mansi]

no one really.. but today i met a nat geo photog over coffee dont know if thats famous or what...

 

[Luminosity]

Has had a few brushes with celebs over the years , cant be bothered listin em but something that got me semi-excited last week...

A new patient that comes into the clinic has struck up a mutual continuing conversation with me re. all things photography. He seemed standoffish and so forth when he first started coming in but he's warmed to me ( I guess the mututal love of photography played a part in that ).

Anyway I was in the room with him at work last week, giving him a massage before his adjustment and he divulged that he was a friend of the late Ansel Adams :shock: !

The patient was once a sports photographer and thats how he met him and they struck up a friendship.

 

[Scott WRG Editor]

My father is funny when it comes to celebrities. They don't phaze him. For a couple of years he was part of a Navy flight crew that flew a VIP aircraft for politicians and big brass. So I guess he's used to it. He's retired now and works at Universal Studios in Florida, initially in charge of maintenance he transferred to the water taxi's because he likes people. While doing this he met Harrison Ford and struck up a conversation about aircraft (this is where I found out that Harrison Ford had visited my site). The best story was when he was still in maintenance and a young black man and his son asked my father for directions to the nearest restroom, which happened to be within sight. The man sent his son to the bathroom and talked to my father for several minutes. The man's son came back and they went on there way. It wasn't till later during the opening of the new Men In Black ride did my father realize he had talked to Will Smith.

 

[hobbes28]

Dude, you shook Chuck's hand. That's all I have to say. As if you weren't badass enough.

 

[Hertz van Rental]

This sort of fits in here but it's more a lovely anecdote that's too good not to share. And as I know that some of you get bored....

My ex-wife used to work in films and tv so I often got to go on set (sometimes taking the stills). I always tried to have a chat with the Director of Photography or the lighting cameraman because they are on the same wavelength, being photographers with big motordrives.
I was lucky to get into conversation with a DoP who had worked with Alfred Hitchcock on one of his films. I knew that Hitch wasn't just a great Director - he also had some strange quirks so I had a chance to get some juicy gossip first hand. So after a few drinks I got told the following:
Having been chosen to work with Hitchcock as Director of Photography a meeting was set up and Hitch talked about the film, and what he wanted, and similar things - basically laying out how he liked to work.
At the end of the meeting Hitchcock said 'You'll need this. I give it to all my DoP's so all my films have been shot using this. I know how it works and what the framing will be like. OK?' And he passed over a lens.
The DoP said 'thanks' and Hitch left. Then he looked at the lens.
It was a very old 35mm cine lens - covered in crap, dented, chipped, scratched and held together with Scotch tape. He was horrified. The lens was a useless piece of junk that was only fit for the bin.
And Hitchcock had told him he must use it.
He spent several bad days and a couple of sleepless nights before the start of filming. He really wanted to do the film but he couldn't possibly use the lens. And if he told Hitch he wouldn't use it... Well the great man had fired people for less. He didn't like people disagreeing with him.
He finally decided that what he was going to do was choose the lens he though best for each shot and frame it how he thought Hitch wanted it. Hitch would be sure to notice in the rushes but then he could shoot some footage with that lens and once Hitchcock saw the difference he felt sure he could talk him around and stay with the film.
Filming started, everything went fine, Hitch said the rushes were great and complimented the DoP on a great job. Nothing else was said. Hitch hadn't noticed - or if he did hadn't mentioned it.
Filming continued and every day the DoP was expecting to be called in for a 'chat', but nothing was said. The film was finished and at the end Hitch gave the DoP a pat on the back and asked for his lens back saying 'It's a lovely lens, isn't it? All my DoP's say it is. I think it's the secret of my success. I know I couldn't work without it.' The DoP mumbled something complimentary and that was that.
The DoP couldn't believe it. He'd got away with his deception. But he felt very guilty about it for years.
Until one day, by chance, he met another DoP who had worked on several of Hitchcock's earlier films. They got to talking and swapping experiences until there was a meaningful pause. Then the old hand asked 'Did he give you the lens?'
'Yes. Yes he did', replied the DoP.
'What did you think of it?'
'To be honest, I thought it was a piece of sh*t.'
'So what did you do?'
'It's embarassing to admit it but... I'm afraid I cheated. I used whatever lens I thought best for a shot and then lied to Hitch about it. I've never stopped feeling guilty.'
The old hand laughed. 'I wouldn't worry about it. That's exactly what I did. I've talked to other cameramen he's worked with and they all did the same thing, too. He's a real professional and he expects us to be and he knows that we'll do the job as best we can. But he's also a b*stard with a warped sense of humour. I think he knows the lens is cr*p but just pulls that stunt to make us sweat and work harder.'

 

[Meysha]

true story???

Pretty awesome eitherway!

 

[danalec99]

:lmao: @ the Hitchcock story

 

[bace]

I'm going to meet Christina Aguilara one day.

Probably after she divorces her current fiance in a messy breakup.

Hopefully she hasn't had any kids.

But yeah. Christina and I will get married and live happily evar aftarr

 

[Corry]

Being that I work in the musical field I had the chance to meet many celebs like:

Celine Dion, James Taylor (have pic w/him), Moody Blues, Dionne Warwick, Luciano Pavarotti yes he is that big, oh... sorry... nutritionally endowed).

Also actors:

John Ritter (have pic w/him), Martin Short (yes, he is that funny), Richard Dreyfuss.

Politicians:

John McCain, Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Sports figures:

Willie Mays, Evander Hollyfield (sp?), Muhammad Ali, Shaquille O'Neal, Barry Bonds.

Hey Mit...I don't see your favorite famous person that you've met in there...what about Clay Aiken? I know you simply adored him!