movie stars – Page 5 – IAMNOTASTALKER

June 23, 2011June 23, 2011

The Pedal on the Pier 100 Mile-a-Thon

This past Tuesday night after my parents moved to Palm Springs, the GC arrived home from a late-night meeting with a box of chocolate-, vanilla-, and pistachio-flavored macaraoons in hand, so that I could drown my sorrows the Blair Waldorf way. And I have to say that while I am still depressed and missing my parents like crazy, the macaroons (along with about twenty episodes of The Office) did bring a bit of a respite from the sadness. So thanks, GC!

Anyway, as I have mentioned a few times before on this blog, my parents and I have been huge fans of actor David Duchovny ever since the early ’90s when he played the role of cross-dressing DEA Agent Dennis (“Denise”) Bryson on the television series Twin Peaks. When The X-Files premiered a few years later, we all immediately became “X-Philes” and my dad quickly adopted the moniker of “Mulder” to use as his Starbucks name. (Yes, my dad is a bit of a character.) On one particular occasion, he used the name while ordering a meal at an In-N-Out Burger and the perplexed cashier mistakenly spelled his alias “Molder” while typing it into her register. The receipt from that In-N-Out visit, with the words “Guest: MOLDER” typed onto it, was tacked onto my bulletin board for many years after that. Smile I even dressed up as Dana Scully for Halloween one year while in college, but pictures of that costume are sadly packed away in a box somewhere at my parents’ new house. Anyway, when the fabulous Pinky Lovejoy, from the Thinking Pink blog, invited me and the Grim Cheaper to do some stalking of the Pedal on the Pier 100 Mile-a-Thon benefit, at which David Duchovny was scheduled to be a participant, I just about had a full-blown heart attack! The GC was not nearly as enthusiastic about the invite, though, as it meant that we had to get up at around 7 a.m. on a Sunday so that we could be in Santa Monica by 9, when the event was scheduled to begin. Ah, men!

The Pedal on the Pier 100 Mile-A-Thon, which was sponsored by the 100 Mile Man Foundation (try saying that five times fast!), consisted of 100 stationary bikes positioned on a wing of the Santa Monica Pier. Those bikes could be “bought” by individuals or groups who would then ride a total of 100 miles in order to raise money for the Harold Robinson Foundation, an organization that sends under-privileged children to camp each summer.

When we first arrived on the pier, I spotted the above-pictured woman and immediately turned to the GC and said, “Oh my god, Joan Crawford is here!” And then when Pinky arrived a few minutes later, one of the first things out of her mouth was, “That woman looks EXACTLY like Joan Crawford!” LOL LOL LOL We are two peas in a pod, I tell you! Smile

I was extremely excited to learn that several actors from the television series Baywatch, including Alexandra Paul, Kelly Packard, and David Chokachi, had purchased a bike for the event. The three former co-stars showed up to the benefit together and they literally could NOT have been nicer. When I asked Alexandra for a photograph, she immediately stuck out her hand to shake mine and said, “Hi, I’m Alexandra. What’s your name?” SO DARN NICE!

Alexandra was absolutely GORGEOUS in person! Much like my girl Jen Aniston, Alexandra is definitely someone who just seems to get prettier and prettier as the years go by. Oh, how I wish that same thing will happen to me! Smile She looks better now at the age of 48 than she did at 29 when she starred on Baywatch. And she is in AMAZING shape, to boot. Look at those arms!

When I asked David Chokachi, who played Cody on Baywatch, to pose for a picture, Alexandra immediately got out her camera and told the GC, David, and I to hold our positions so that she could get a picture of the GC taking a picture of David and me. So cute!

Kelly Packard was also SUPER sweet and SUPER cute in person.

David Duchovny showed up shortly after the Baywatch gang and walked right over to Pinky and me to snap a few quick pics. And while he was VERY nice, he seemed a bit reserved (not in a mean way, he just came off as a bit reticent and shy), so I did not bring up the fact that he had served as the inspiration behind my dad’s Starbucks name.

As you can see above, David is JUST as good-looking in person as he appears to be on screen. Drool!

[ad]

Now as fate would have it, Pinky had been stalking a different celebrity event a few days prior to the Pedal on the Pier benefit and just about died when she spotted David Duchovny filming a scene for Californication at a nearby hospital. (And meeting DD twice in one weekend is something that would ONLY happen to Pinky, by the way! The girl has some AMAZING luck! While she was stalking an event featuring Cameron Crowe recently, who should she spot leaving a restaurant across the street from where she was standing, but two-time-Academy-Award-winning actress Hilary Swank! Hilary immediately spotted Pinky’s adorable dog, Sammy, and ran right up to start petting him. Then she posed for a bunch of pics with Pinky, and fellows stalkers Mikey, from the Mike the Fanboy website, and Scotty, who were with her. They also all got their pic taken with Cameron Crowe, by the way. I mean how lucky is that????? You can read about Pinky’s Hilary Swank encounter here.) Anyway, Pinky managed to catch David Duchovny just as he was leaving the set and DD was nice enough to stop his car and pose for the above photo with her. And I have to say that it is easily one of the CUTEST celeb photos that I have ever seen! I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! I jokingly told Pinky that I was going to superimpose my face over hers and pretend that it is actually me in the picture. Smile

Big THANK YOU to Pinky Lovejoy, from the Thinking Pink blog, for inviting me to this event! Smile

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Pedal on the Pier 100 Mile-a-Thon took place at the Santa Monica Pier, which is located at the end of Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica. You can find out more about the 100 Mile Man Foundation here and the Harold Robinson Foundation here.

June 17, 2011June 17, 2011

Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston’s Honeymoon Suite at the Ingleside Inn

As I mentioned in Monday’s post, I spent my recent birthday weekend in Room 148 of the Ingleside Inn in Palm Springs – the very room where Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston stayed during their mini-honeymoon shortly following their July 29th, 2000 wedding. I first found out about the Ingleside Inn back in April of 2009 thanks to this Jetsetters Magazine article and, as you can imagine, just about died upon hearing that my girl Jen had honeymooned there. Then, shortly thereafter, the Grim Cheaper ended up proposing to me at the Ingleside, so the hotel has always had a very special place in my heart. During that proposal weekend, I, of course, just had to ask Melvyn Haber, the Ingleside’s longtime owner, what room it was that Brad and Jen had stayed in. Before I could even get the question fully out of my mouth, he replied, “Room 148, the Princess Room.” And that right there is just one of the many reason that I fell in love with the hotel! Almost a full decade later, Melvyn STILL knew the exact room where Brad and Jen had stayed right off the top of his head!

Flash forward to a couple of weeks ago. My dad called me up to let me know that he had booked Brad and Jen’s honeymoon suite as a surprise for my upcoming birthday. (He had to tell me about his plans a few weeks early as the GC and I had been thinking about spending my birthday at Disneyland and were thisclose to booking a hotel room there.) I happened to be driving at the time and got so excited upon hearing his news that I literally almost crashed the car! For those who have never visited the Palm Springs area, it gets EXTREMELY hot there during the summer months – we are talking like 115 to 120 degrees hot – so hotels drastically drop their rates from early June through the end of August. Because of this, and the fact that the Ingleside inn is not overly-expensive to begin with, my dad was able to get Brad and Jen’s room for only $200 per night! My birthday just so happened to fall on my mom’s very last day of work ever (she retired this year), so he also booked a suite at the hotel for them, and talked the GC into booking a second night in Brad and Jen’s room so that we could all spend the weekend together. Now mind you, my dad was extremely sick during this time and was in and out of the hospital, so how he managed to come up with such an incredible idea AND do all of the planning without me or my mom’s help – not to mention that he also purchased some FABULOUS gifts for the two of us – is absolutely BEYOND me!! It was one of the best, most exciting weekends of my entire life and I cannot believe he pulled it all off while feeling so incredibly sick! Best. Present. Ever.

When we first arrived at the Ingleside Inn and were checking in at the front desk, I saw the above-pictured “Happy Birthday Lindsay” message displayed on the marquee in the front lobby and just about fell over. So incredibly cool!! The lobby sign is very typical of the personal touches that the Ingleside Inn employs in order to make guests feel at home. Love it!

After checking in, we were handed the above-pictured room key. As you can see, the Ingleside Inn still uses actual brass room keys, not the keycards that are typically found in hotels today. So, as you can imagine, as soon as those keys were handed over, I turned to the GC and said, “OH MY GOD! Jennifer Aniston once held this key in her hand!” Granted, the key quite possibly could have been swapped out for a new one in the decade that has passed since Jen stayed at the Ingleside, but just let me have my fantasy! Winking smile

[ad]

I covered the Ingleside Inn’s vast history in the post I wrote about the hotel back in May of 2009, so I won’t go over it again here. But needless to say, the tiny, 30-room inn, which sits on just over 2.5 acres of land, has had quite a celebrated history since it was first founded in 1939. Thanks to its extreme privacy and award-winning service, celebrities have long been drawn to the place like moths to a flame. Just a few of the luminaries who have stayed there over the years include Frank Sinatra, Kate Hudson, Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Greta Garbo, Elizabeth Taylor, Debbie Reynolds, Lance Bass, Donald Trump, Marla Maples, Ava Gardner, Clark Gable, Marlon Brando, Gary Cooper, John Wayne, Bob Hope, John Travolta, David Boreanaz, Joan Collins, Cher, Howard Hughes, and Rita Hayworth. The Ingleside is by no means fancy or extravagant, though. It is a very simple, low-key retreat where people go to truly get away from it all. The Inn is not a party hotel, it is not a place for families, and it is not modern in any way, shape, or form. It is an extremely quiet, private, and relaxing sanctuary; the type of place where an A-List star can lay out by the pool and not worry about being approached by a fan or fellow guest.

Brad and Jen’s honeymoon suite features a wood-burning fireplace, a sitting area, a king-sized bed, two picture windows, and a plasma TV, and while it is extremely nice, it is not overly-luxurious or the type of place one would expect one of the most famous couples in the world to have spent their honeymoon. And that right there is why I LOVE Jen so much! Of course she would choose a simple, laid-back, low-key space to spend her first few days of married life. And while Brad and Jen’s room is a suite, it is by no means the Ingleside’s largest. There are two others that are far bigger than the Princess Room, which led me to wonder how the couple ending up choosing it for their honeymoon.

Besides the fact that Jen has always been a fan of small spaces (the bungalow she rented in Malibu post-divorce measured a scant 1,531 square feet, the home on Blue Jay Way where she lived during the height of her Friends’ success measured only 2,903 square feet, and she is currently selling her 9,105-square-foot Beverly Hills manse as it is reportedly too large for her), as it turns out, the Princess Room is by far the hotel’s most private and secluded suite. It is located towards the very back of the property, far away from the pool and the award-winning Melvyn’s restaurant, but close to the back parking area, which means that Brad and Jen could have parked their car and been inside of their room less than ten steps later. As you can see above, there is also a gate surrounding that particular wing of the hotel, which consists of three rooms, and the actual suite itself is bordered by a large stucco wall.

The Princess Room is one of the few at the hotel that also boasts a completely private patio area, which I absolutely fell in love with while there.

As you can imagine, pretty much all weekend I was saying things like “I just took a shower where Jennifer Aniston once showered!” or “Jennifer Aniston sat on this couch!” or, my personal favorite, “Jennifer Aniston slept here!” My head was literally about to explode the entire time I was there! And poor, poor fellow stalker Owen! I must have sent him about 100 text messages, all saying things like, “I just washed my face where Jennifer Aniston once washed her face!” Smile

My parents stayed in Room 145, aka “Margaret’s Room”, which according to one of the super-nice front desk clerks that we spoke with while there, was one of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver’s favorite suites. The former Governator and his soon-to-be ex-wife stayed at the hotel on an almost monthly basis at one point in time.

My parents’ room boasted a HUMONGOUS semi-private patio (semi-private as it has an opening on the backside that is accessible to the public) that was honestly bigger than most backyards!

All in all, it was an A-MA-ZING weekend and, as you can see above, I was BEYOND sad to check out of what the GC and I had dubbed “our perfect little room”.

Ingleside Inn–Brad and Jen’s honeymoon hotel

You can watch a video about the Ingleside Inn, in which owner Melvyn Haber is interviewed, by clicking above.

Ingleside Inn Palm Springs

And you can watch another video, which shows the Inn’s beautiful grounds, by clicking above.

On a stalking side-note – This Sunday (June 19th), stalking gods Harry Medved and Karie Bible will be signing copies of their new book Location Filming in Los Angeles at Vroman’s Bookstore, which is located at 695 East Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. They will also be conducting a walking tour of some famous Pasadena movie sites, including locations from Knocked Up, The Prestige, Live Free and Die Hard, and Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator immediately following the signing at 4 p.m.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Ingleside Inn is located at 200 West Ramon Road in Palm Springs. Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston spent their honeymoon in the hotel’s Princess Room, aka Room 148. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver frequently stayed in Margaret’s Room, aka Room 145. You can visit the Ingleside Inn’s official website here.

May 31, 2011May 30, 2011

The “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” Wrap Party

Two weekends ago, Pinky Lovejoy, of the Thinking Pink blog, invited me and the Grim Cheaper to do a little stalking of the wrap party for the hit ABC television series Extreme Makeover: Home Edition at a venue in Culver City. The GC was not at all happy to receive Pinky’s invite, of course, but once I heard that former Bachelorette Jillian Harris was going to be in attendance, there was no way in heck I was missing the thing. I absolutely loved Jillian both as a contestant on Season 13 of The Bachelor and then when she later starred on Season 5 of The Bachelorette, and I was absolutely dying to get a picture with her. So, much to the GC’s chagrin, the two of us found ourselves heading out to Culver City at around 6 p.m. two Saturdays ago to get our Extreme Makeover stalk on. One of the first celebs to arrive on the scene was Kathryn Joosten who plays Karen McCluskey on fave show Desperate Housewives. Kathryn immediately spotted Pinky’s new dog, Sammy, while walking up to the venue and asked if she could hold him in the pictures she took with us. Like I told Pinky last week, that dog was the best thing to ever happen to her stalking career, as he attracts attention, especially of the celebrity kind, wherever he goes. I have yet to see a star turn down Pinky for a photograph request when she’s holding Sammy. Note to self: get a cute dog, stat, or at least find one to borrow for celebrity events! Winking smile

[ad]

Jillian Harris arrived at the party pretty early on and I have to say that the girl could NOT have been cooler or more down-to-earth. As you can see, she also wanted to hold Sammy in our pictures. She even asked me to take a picture of her posing with Sammy on her iPhone. How cute is that?

Jillian was absolutely HILARIOUS and stayed around to talk with me and Pinky for quite some time. Chatting with her was like chatting with an old friend and after she left Pinky jokingly said, “Would it be weird if I slipped her my number? I so want to be her bestie!” Smile The thing is, Jillian was so cool that had Pinkie done that, I bet she would have called her up and asked her to hang out sometime.

Also in attendance was Dijon Talton, who played New Directions member Matt Rutherford during the first season of Glee;

Sterling Beaumon, who played Young Ben on Lost;

and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition designers Tracy Hutson . . .

. . . and Paige Hemmis, who is SO much taller in person than I expected her to be.

All in all it was a great night and all of the celebrities in attendance were super nice. I wanted to mention here, though, for those stalkers hoping to visit the LA area and get photographs with celebrities, that doing so requires countless hours of waiting around and a tremendous amount of patience. I do not just show up to events and filmings, get my pics in five minutes and then leave. Pinky, the GC, and I were at the Extreme Makeover wrap party for a good four hours. And while it was a success, I can promise you that not every event I attend is all sunshine and roses. I have had some TREMENDOUS fails. One of them just the other day, in fact. Mikey, from the Mike the Fanboy website, and I had set out to do some stalking of the filming of True Blood at the Biltmore Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles and at first things seemed extremely promising. The main security guard on duty was SUPER nice and told us we could hang out and watch the shoot as long as we did not take any photographs of the set or of the actors while they were filming, which we respected. She also told us exactly where to stand to catch the actors leaving the set and said that they were all usually very nice and more often than not posed for pictures with fans. So we waited. And waited. Then, after about five hours, actress Fiona Shaw walked outside and we asked her for a photograph. Well, not only did she turn us down flat, but she immediately walked over to the policeman on duty and told him to kick us off the property! And that was the end of that! I guess the show had had some problems earlier in the week with people posting spoiler photographs from the set, but still! We had been respectful the whole time, stood quietly off to the side of the filming, told the security guards exactly why it was we were there, and followed all of their requests, so to get kicked off, by Fiona Shaw of all people!!!, was a serious shame. But you win some, you lose some. Which comes to my point. The moral of the story is this – if you are coming to the LA area and are hoping to get photos with a star, be prepared to wait around for long periods of time, be prepared for your request to get turned down, and be prepared to go home with nothing. Chances are, if you are respectful of the crew and the filming, you will be successful, but I just didn’t want my fellow stalkers to think that stalking was always a walk in the park. Winking smile (Pictured above is the only photo from the True Blood set that I got that day. Stephen Moyer is pictured below the pink arrow.)

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: There is no stalking location for this one, but you can catch Extreme Makeover: Home Edition each Sunday night on ABC. You can visit the show’s official website here.

May 3, 2011May 3, 2011

The Julien’s Auctions Hollywood Legends Exhibition

This past Saturday afternoon I dragged the Grim Cheaper out to stalk the Hollywood Legends exhibition currently being hosted by Julien’s Auctions, a Beverly Hills-area auction house which specializes in entertainment memorabilia, celebrity artifacts, and high-profile estates. Prior to each auction it hosts, Julien’s opens up its exhibition hall to the public offering them a free and extremely rare opportunity to view unique and priceless Hollywood memorabilia in an exceptionally up-close-and-personal manner, which I think is just about the coolest thing ever! For those who have been reading my site for a few years, you will remember that back in April of 2009 my father and I attended the Michael Jackson: The Collection of the King of Pop exhibit which was put on by Julien’s Auctions at the former Robinsons-May building on Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills. To say that my dad and I both absolutely LOVED the MJ exhibit would be a gross understatement. Seeing all of the King of Pop’s Neverland Ranch effects laid out in the same exact manner in which they were once laid out in his actual home was one of the coolest experiences of my life. So when I heard that Julien’s would be hosting a Hollywood Legends exhibition featuring items once belonging to Marilyn Monroe, Lady Diana, and Lucille Ball and props and memorabilia from such productions as Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Batman & Robin, The Brady Bunch, and Heroes, I jumped at the chance to stalk it.

And I have to say that I was NOT disappointed. The people at Julien’s Auctions truly could NOT have been nicer and the GC and I were invited to wander quite freely around the exhibit hall and take all of the photographs of the place that we wanted. Quite a bit of the auction is made up of items of clothing once owned by legendary Sunset Boulevard actress Gloria Swanson. Most of the outfits were purchased by Swanson during the 1930’s and it was absolutely amazing to me to see how stylish they still are to this day, over eight decades later!

There were several ensembles I could even see myself wearing, including the black Givenchy cocktail dress pictured above and to the left. Which just proves that some things, no matter how old, never go out of style!

Also on display was a vintage, early-20th-century, flat-top Louis Vuitton steamer trunk that once belonged to Swanson, which I just about died upon seeing! Oh, what I wouldn’t give to own one of those trunks!!!

Two of Lady Diana’s dresses are featured at the forefront of the exhibition, which I was BEYOND thrilled to see. The gown on the left, which was designed by Diana’s longtime fashion designer Catherine Walker, was worn by the Princess while on a state visit to India in 1992. You can see a poster of Diana wearing the dress in the photograph that is pictured above and to the left.

The gown on the right-hand side was also designed by Catherine Walker and was worn by the Princess on three occasions – first to the 1987 Cannes Film Festival, then for a 1987 portrait sitting with photographer Terrance Donovan, and finally to a September 1989 performance of Miss Saigon at the Theatre Royal in London. The two chairs pictured in front of the dresses were used during the 1937 coronation of King George VI (aka the man upon whom the movie The King’s Speech was based).

There were also several of Prince Charles and Lady Diana’s Christmas cards on display.

The clothing that I was most excited to see, though, was that which formerly belonged to Miss Marilyn Monroe, including the dress pictured above which the actress wore to a party at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 1958.

The dress was made famous thanks to that fact that a photograph of Marilyn wearing it was used as the cover of Michael Ventura’s 1997 book Marilyn Monroe: From Beginning to End.

Also on display was a black mohair sweater vest once owned by the actress;

a swimsuit worn by MM in an unknown Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production;

a two-piece silk jersey ensemble designed by Pucci, one of Marilyn’s favorite designers, and a satin slip;

a white umbrella that the starlet used as a prop during a 1949 photoshoot with famed photographer Andre de Dienes, which you can see a picture from here;

and a tan corduroy skirt. Because Marilyn is always described as being “curvy”, it was shocking for me to see how tiny her clothing actually was. While I am a small girl, I am fairly certain that there is no way in HECK I could fit into the skirt pictured above, which means that the actress had to have been much smaller in real life than she was typically conveyed.

Another huge portion of the Hollywood Legends auction is made up of memorabilia from fave show The Brady Bunch, which I was absolutely floored to see!

Included in the display was Cindy Brady’s (aka Susan Olsen’s) costume from the pilot episode of the series titled “Honeymoon”;

the dress Cindy wore to Mike (aka Robert Reed) and Carol’s (aka Florence Henderson’s) wedding;

Cindy’s jacket from “The Voice of Christmas” episode;

Bobby Brady’s (aka Mike Lookinland’s) Silver Platters costume from my FAVORITE episode of the series ever, the Season 4 episode titled “Amateur Night”;

performance outfits worn by Bobby and Cindy . . .

. . . which most fans will recognize from the “It’s a Sunshine Day: The Best of The Brady Bunch” album cover;

and the outfits worn by Bobby and Cindy during their American Bandstand performance in 1972.

[ad]

There were quite a few Lucille Ball items featured at the exhibit, as well, including a 12-piece vanity set once owned by the actress;

a set of four ashtrays that the actress had on display at her Manhattan apartment, which can be seen in the May 1984 Architectural Digest issue about her home;

an unfinished gown that was being made for her at the time of her death and the tartan blazer she wore in the 1949 film Sorrowful Jones.

Other movie memorabilia included the Edith-Head-designed straw hat worn by Audrey Hepburn during the “How Long Has This Been Going On?” number from the 1957 movie Funny Face;

Alicia Silverstone’s Batgirl costume from Batman & Robin;

a shirt worn by the T-1000 (aka Robert Patrick) during the chase scene in Terminator 2: Judgment Day;

one of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s costumes from Terminator 2 . . .

. . . which has a damaged pant leg from the Terminator’s liquid nitrogen truck accident, which I thought was SO cool to see;

a prop head from Terminator 2, which was SO incredibly lifelike;

Angelina Jolie’s costume from Girl, Interrupted . . .

. . . which, as you can see, is so incredibly tiny that it does not even fit the ultra-teensy mannequin on which it is displayed;

countless set pieces from Cleopatra;

Tom Cruise and John Voight’s costumes from the first Mission: Impossible movie;

the 35-carat diamond necklace Angelina Jolie wore to the Seoul premiere of Salt in 2010;

an original drawing by James Dean, which was sketched on a napkin while the actor was at his favorite restaurant, Googies Coffeeshop, which was sadly demolished in 1989;

and an incredibly realistic-looking “frozen” prop safe which appeared in the Season 3 episode of Heroes titled “Dual”.

I honestly cannot recommend stalking the Julien’s Auctions Hollywood Legends exhibition enough! I had an absolutely FABULOUS time while there and, amazingly enough, the GC even found a few items that piqued his interest, as well.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Julien’s Auctions Hollywood Legends Exhibition is taking place now through Friday, May 6th at 9665 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 150, in Beverly Hills. It is free to attend. The actual auction will take place on Saturday, May 7th and Sunday, May 8th. You can learn more about the auction on the official Julien’s Auctions website here.

April 22, 2011April 22, 2011

Hanging Out With the Cast of “Cougar Town”

This past Wednesday night, fellow stalker and celebrity enthusiast Pinky Lovejoy, of the Thinking Pink blog, invited me to join her in doing a little stalking of a Cougar Town event in North Hollywood, which I could NOT have been more excited about as I am a HUGE fan of the show. Pennnnnnnny Caaaaaaaaaaan, anyone? Anyway, as is always the case with these types of events, we were not entirely sure who from the cast would be in attendance or if we would have any luck whatsoever in getting a photograph with the actors who did, in fact, show up. As it turned out, though, the stalking gods were DEFINITELY smiling down upon us that night as we ended up getting a picture with EVERY SINGLE ONE of the series’ stars, including Monica Gellar herself, Miss Courteney Cox! It was quite an evening, let me tell you! I was so darn excited I am surprised that my head did not explode!

[ad]

When I first arrived at the event I spotted E! celebrity correspondent and frequent Chelsea Lately roundtable guest Michael Yo walking around and I just about had a heart attack! I immediately ran up to him and asked if he would be willing to pose for a picture with me and he truly could NOT have been nicer about it. Ironically enough, I was so floored over getting my photo taken with Michael, that I kind of figured I was done for the evening – I mean, how much celebrity luck can one stalker have in a day? Little did I know what the universe had in store for me, though! (On a side note – Michael Yo is TALL! I am 5’4”, but I had 4 inch heels on last night and, as you can see in the above photograph, even with those monstrous heels on, he still towered above me!)

The first Cougar Town star to show up was Ian Gomez who plays Andy Torres on the series. Andy was SUPER nice and I cannot tell you how cool it was to hear him say “Pennnnnnnny Caaaaaaaaaan” in person and do the little dance right in front of us! Love it! And when we walked back by the venue later that night after the event was over, Andy was still there signing autographs for fans! Such an incredibly nice guy!

Josh Hopkins showed up next and I have to say that the man is ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE in person! And super nice! Sigh!

I accidentally photo-bombed Pinky’s picture with Josh, though! As Pinky would say, “Fail!” Major fail! I honestly was not trying to hone in on her picture, though – I actually thought I was out of the frame while it was being taken. I swear, I am such a douche sometimes!

Comedian Michael McDonald, who plays Cougar Town’s wine bar owner Wayne and who is also a producer/writer/director of the series, showed up next. He was emceeing the event and I think he was slightly annoyed with me as Pinky and I had decided to exchange cameras at that point so that we could take photographs of each other and I could just not get hers to work right. I know, I know – like I said, I am such a douche sometimes!

Busy Phillips was up next and I was STUNNED at how STRIKINGLY BEAUTIFUL she was in person, way more so than she appears to be on TV. She is honestly one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen in real life! She is also much taller and thinner than I expected her to be. I saw Neve Campbell filming Party of Five in Pasadena a couple of years back and had the exact same reaction. While Neve appears to be very average-looking onscreen, in person she literally took my breath away! It was absolutely shocking how GORGEOUS she was in real life! And also VERY tall and thin. It is amazing to me how the camera just does not do justice to some people for whatever reason. But I digress.

Dan Byrd, whom I absolutely loved in A Cinderella Story, arrived after Busy and he was also super nice.

Because of a major camera fail on my part, Pinky and I ended up taking our photograph with Christa Miller together. I was SO glad to finally get a picture with Christa, because I had actually met her back in January of 2009 when my dad and I watched CSI: Miami being filmed for the first time, but for whatever reason we did not ask her for a photo and I have been kicking myself ever since!

Christa’s husband, Cougar Town and Scrubs creator/producer/writer Bill Lawrence, was also in attendance and he could NOT have been nicer! Pinky immediately called out to him to ask him for a photograph and he said it was the first time he had ever been asked for a picture on the red carpet. He said he had massive amounts of respect for any fan who not only recognized a show’s writer, but also knew his or her name. Smile

Brian Van Holt, who plays lovable dolt Bobby Cobb on the show, arrived next and he was also SUPER nice. To be honest, the entire cast was incredibly nice and approachable as a whole, which was refreshing to see.

And I just had to get a photo with Extra host Jerry Penacoli, who was also – you guessed it! – SUPER nice. Winking smile

Courteney Cox was the last of the show’s stars to arrive and when she pulled up, the autograph hounds went absolutely nuts. For those who have never attended a celebrity event in Hollywood, there is a group of about twenty to thirty people who make a profession out of attending these events, getting stars to sign numerous (we are talking ten to twenty to thirty!) headshots or movie posters at a time, and then subsequently selling them online. The problem with these hounds is that they are furiously aggressive (they love to push and shove) and by having celebrities sign so many autographs at once, they use up most of the star’s time and the actual fans in attendance, who are typically not as aggressive, often wind up missing out. Well, the security team at the Cougar Town event was hip to these hounds and informed them that they could only have ONE piece of memorabilia signed by each actor. The hounds, of course, ignored that request and after getting their first item signed would just simply move over to a different part of the crowd, push and shove their way to the front, and try to have additional items signed. Sadly, by the time Courteney arrived, the security was seriously frustrated over the whole thing and removed the actress from the line after just a few minutes, before we had gotten a chance to meet her, which was a COMPLETE AND TOTAL bummer.

As luck would have it, though, the hounds ended up leaving as soon as Courteney started walking the red carpet and only a small group of us was left waiting outside of the venue. So, during a break in interviews, we called over to Courteney to ask if she would come back over to pose for a few photos and, let me tell you, I just about died when she told us to walk over to the red carpet area and that she would pose with us there. The security team, of course, went nuts over that and told Courteney that we weren’t allowed near the press line, but she was pretty adamant about it and, after a few minutes of discussion, she finally got them to allow it. How incredibly nice is that?????? Now that’s a celebrity who truly cares about her fans!

And, as promised, as soon as she completed all of her interviews, she posed with each and every one of us! SO INCREDIBLY COOL! LOVE HER! LOVE HER! LOVE HER!

Afterwards, Pinky and her friend Mike, from the Mike the Fanboy blog, who had joined us during the event, went out to Starbucks to grab some coffee and we had an absolute blast sharing our numerous celebrity stories. All in all, it was a fab night!

Big HUGE thank you to Pinky Lovejoy, from the Thinking Pink blog, for inviting me to this event!!!!! It was honestly one of the coolest nights of my life!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: There is no stalking location for this one, but you can catch Cougar Town each Wednesday night at 9:30 p.m. on ABC.

March 18, 2011March 17, 2011

Alicia Silverstone’s “The Kind Diet” Book Signing

This past Wednesday night I dragged the Grim Cheaper out to my favorite local bookstore, Vroman’s (which coincidentally just appeared in the most recent episode of Modern Family, but more on that later), to attend the book signing and discussion for Alicia Silverstone’s new lifestyle tome The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet. Even though I am not in any way, shape, or form a vegan, I was absolutely DYING to attend the book signing because, as I have mentioned a few times before on this blog, not only is Clueless one of my all-time favorite movies, but Alicia and I happened to grow up in the same hometown – San Mateo, California – so I have always had a very special place in my heart for the actress. Because I am a diabetic and on a very strict, virtually no-carbohydrate diet, though, and because most vegan diets that I have read about tend to favor carbs, I was not actually interested in purchasing a copy of Alicia’s book for myself. But my good friend Nat, who actually attended San Mateo High School – Alicia’s alma mater – is a vegan and she absolutely LOVES Alicia’s book – and her lifestyle blog, The Kind Life – so I decided I would purchase a copy for her as a little “just because” present. Which is how the GC and I found ourselves heading over to Vroman’s at about 5 p.m. this past Wednesday night. And, as always, before the event got started, I sent him outside to snap some photographs of Alicia when she arrived. Winking smile

The signing began right on time, at 7 p.m., but for some reason it was VERY strictly monitored. No photographs WHATSOEVER were allowed during the event – not when Alicia walked into the room, not during the discussion session, and not while standing in line waiting to have our books signed. We were told shortly before her arrival that each guest would be allowed one – and only one – posed photograph with Alicia (which I could NOT have been more excited about as most celebs will not actually pose for pictures during a signing), but otherwise photographs of any kind would not be allowed. To enforce this, two quite burly Pasadena policemen were on site and they threatened to remove anyone who was even spotted with a camera in their hands during the event! So I was extremely thankful that the GC had managed to snap some photographs of Alicia outside of the store.

Alicia, who is currently pregnant, was ABSOLUTELY adorable in person and much taller than I had expected her to be, although she was wearing some fairly tall heels. She walked directly to the podium upon arrival, introduced herself, and started speaking about why she decided to write The Kind Diet, which was an extremely surreal moment for me as it was like watching the Haitian immigrant debate scene from Clueless (pictured above) come alive before my very eyes. I kept having to pinch myself to make sure that it was all really happening and that I wasn’t actually at home sitting in front of my television set. I have to say that in person, Alicia reminded me A LOT of Cher, her Clueless alter-ego. In real life, Alicia has the same mannerisms, facial expressions, and vocal tendencies that I had grown so familiar with from watching the movie over and over again. And I can honestly say that I love Alicia even more now than I did before. The actress came off as extremely charming, warm, genuine, and sweet. She was also poised, well-read, and wildly knowledgeable about veganism, holistic medicine, and healthy nutrition. I was riveted listening to her and, while not a vegan, found myself agreeing whole-heartedly with the vast majority of what she had to say. She also handled herself incredibly well when one of the audience members asked her an asinine question about veganism and pregnancy, in which he tried to make Alicia look bad. (Honestly, if you don’t agree with her lifestyle and are not a fan of hers, then why come to the event????) Alicia responded to him, though, with honesty, wit, and a bit of snarkiness and ended up making him look like a complete and total moron. As we left the event, I found myself wondering how she managed to do that! I cannot tell you how much I would love to be able to tell a rude person off without breaking my cool and all the while seeming poised and charming. But I digress. I was most surprised to hear Alicia speak about diabetes and veganism. As it turns out, her diet does not favor carbohydrates at all and is actually very similar to the diet I am currently on, so it looks like I am now going to have to buy a copy of the book for myself!

After Alicia’s speech, which lasted about thirty minutes, we all lined up to meet the actress. Alicia really took her time with all of her fans and seemed to have an incredibly warm and open personality. And, as promised, every guest got to pose for a photograph with her, which I was absolutely floored about!

Nat’s signed book is pictured above.

[ad]

Alicia’s inscription reads, “Dear Natalie, Thank you for loving the book! <3, Alicia Silverstone”.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, fave show Modern Family recently did some filming on location at Vroman’s Bookstore. The final scene of the Season 2 episode titled “Two Monkeys and a Panda”, in which Mitchell Pritchett (aka Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Cameron Tucker (aka Eric Stonestreet) peruse various books on parenting, took place near the store’s Current Event’s section.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Vroman’s Bookstore is located at 695 East Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. You can check out the store’s upcoming signings here. You can purchase Alicia Silverstone’s book The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet here. You can visit Alicia’s lifestyle blog, The Kind Life, here. And you can check out future L.A.-area book signings and other celebrity events on my Upcoming Celebrity Events page here.

February 23, 2011February 22, 2011

InvenTORI – Tori Spelling’s New Store

This past Friday afternoon, I just about died upon opening up the latest issue of US Magazine and reading in “The Records” section that, on Valentine’s Day, Beverly Hills, 90210-star Tori Spelling and her husband, Dean McDermott, had held the grand opening for their new antique store, InvenTORI (love it!), on Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks. How in the world had I not known about this previously???? Ironically enough, fellow stalker Lavonna sent me a text just a few minutes after I had finished reading the US blurb in which she told me that I absolutely HAD to stalk Tori’s new shop. So, much to the Grim Cheaper’s chagrin, I added the place to my To-Stalk list and dragged him right on out there this past Monday afternoon. I was extremely sad to discover upon arriving, though, that the store was, in fact, closed. Because no hours were posted, I am not sure if the boutique, which also sells products for children and pets, is shuttered each and every Monday or if it was closed due to the Presidents’ Day holiday. Whatever the reason, though, I was not able to purchase anything while I was there which was a complete and total bummer!

[ad]

Thankfully though, I was able to snap a few pictures of the shop through InvenTORI’s front windows and, as you can see in the above photographs, while the store is extremely cute, the place seems to be rather sparsely stocked. The GC and I were joking that for a place named “InvenTORI”, it certainly didn’t have a lot of it! Winking smile I was actually quite surprised that Tori chose Sherman Oaks as the site of her new commercial venture, as I would have figured she would be more inclined to open a boutique in Beverly Hills or on the uber-trendy Third Street in West L.A., but as she said in an interview with the ShermanOaksPatch website, “We love this neighborhood – it’s hip and happening. We love the Valley – we’re family people, and we want everybody to come into the store.” A few other celebrities besides the McDermotts own boutiques in the same area, including Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin who own Belle Grey, which is located just a few storefronts east of InvenTORI, and Claudia Wells, who played Jennifer Parker in the first Back to the Future movie, who owns the upscale Armani Wells men’s clothing store, which is located just about two miles east of Tori’s new shop.

Tori has apparently been an antiques collector for much of her life and, as she recently told People Magazine, “I realized I no longer had enough space to keep up with all of my finds so that’s how I came up with the store concept of InvenTORI. I can now share my collection with others.” According to the ShermanOaksPatch, Tori will apparently be working at the store from time to time, because she is too much of a “control freak” to let anyone else take the helm. So you know what that means!!! I am so going to have to go back to re-stalk the place! Smile You can see photographs of InvenTORI’s grand opening, during which champagne and cookies were served (love it!), on the Imnotobsessed blog here.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: InvenTORI, Tori Spelling’s new antique/children’s/pet shop, is located at 13826 Ventura Boulevard in Sherman Oaks. You can visit the store’s official Facebook page here. Located just a block east, at 13812 Ventura Boulevard, is Belle Grey, the boutique owned by Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin. And just a little under two miles east, at 12404 Ventura Boulevard in Studio City, is Armani Wells, the men’s clothing store owned by actress Claudia Wells, who played Jennifer Parker in the first Back to the Future movie.

February 16, 2011February 15, 2011

Alec Baldwin’s Walk of Fame Star Ceremony

This past Monday morning, I headed out to Downtown Hollywood to see Alec Baldwin receive the 2,433rd star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. For whatever reason, I typically do not attend many Walk of Fame events, but this month I found myself present at not one, but two! As I blogged about two weeks ago, I went to Adam Sandler’s ceremony on February 1st and, because of all of the aggressive fans, figured I wouldn’t be hitting up another one for a good long time. But then I found out that Alec Baldwin was being honored with a star on Valentine’s Day and because Jack Donaghy, the character Alec plays on 30 Rock, is one of my favorite television characters of all time, I just had to attend! I asked my dad to come along with me, but he quickly ixnayed that idea, telling me “I wouldn’t walk across the street to see that guy!” LOL LOL LOL What can I say – my dad has never been one to mince words. So, once again, I ventured out to watch the ceremony by myself. I ended up meeting a SUPER nice fellow stalker/blogger named Pinky, from the PinkyLoveJoy blog, while I was there and spent most of my time prior to the ceremony literally drooling over her many photographs with celebrities, especially the one she had with Miss Sarah Jessica Parker. Sigh! So incredibly jealous!!! Pinky is an absolutely amazing stalker and has photographs with literally everyone who is anyone in Hollywood. And she has bundles of energy! After spending hours at Alec’s ceremony, after which I was ready to call it a day, Pinky headed right on out to Westwood to do some stalking of the Rango premiere’s red carpet, where she got to meet and take a photograph with none other than Johnny Depp! I’m telling you, she has the golden touch and is a far better stalker than I could ever hope to be! Some of her magic did rub off on me, though, as I managed to snag a couple of photos with celebrities yesterday, but more on that later.

I showed up to Alec’s ceremony at 10 a.m., about 90 minutes prior to when it was set to begin, and, amazingly enough, there were only about twenty or so fans there. But then, all of a sudden, it was like the floodgates opened and masses and masses of people started showing up – more people than were at the Adam Sandler ceremony, actually, which absolutely shocked me. It finally dawned on me, though, that most people had the day off from work as it was Lincoln’s birthday, which is why I think so many fans were able to attend.

Because so few people were there when I first arrived, I managed to snag a GREAT spot directly in front of Alec’s star.

Unfortunately, about an hour later, the media was allowed in and they set up their ginormous cameras directly in front of Pinky and me, which completely obstructed our view. So, the two of us decided to move over to the area directly behind Alec’s star, which did not allow us a good view of the actual ceremony, but turned out to be the PERFECT place to stand as we were situated in the exact spot where all of the celebrities entered and exited the event area. YAY!

[ad]

Alec Baldwin showed up about ten minutes before the ceremony was set to start (love it!) and immediately walked up to the fans and started signing autographs. Alec seemed very friendly and approachable. Sadly, he was just a little too far to the side of where I was standing for me to be able to get a picture with him.

Also in attendance for the ceremony was Alec’s brother Stephen Baldwin;

actress Anne Heche, who starred with Alec onstage in the 2004 revival of the play “Twentieth Century” (Anne looked absolutely amazing in person, by the way, and I absolutely fell in love with the jacket she was wearing);

Megan Mullally, who spoke during the ceremony;

Megan’s husband, Nick Offerman, who plays Ron Swanson on the television series Parks and Recreation;

Jack McBrayer, who plays the belovedly daft Kenneth Parcell on 30 Rock;

and the two commentators pictured above, whose names I cannot for the life of me remember.

Alec’s ceremony got started right on time, with an introduction by Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Leron Gubler.

Then Megan Mullally gave a brief speech honoring Alec. Unfortunately, because of where I was standing, I could not hear most of what was said, but what I did hear was incredibly funny. She even had Alec Baldwin doubled over with laughter at one point, as you can see in the above photograph.

Megan explained that she first met Alec when he guest-starred as a government agent with whom her character, Karen Walker, had an affair on the hit television show Will & Grace. She also stated that Alec got his start in soap operas, which was fortuitous considering his personal life in recent years. Winking smile And she informed the crowd that Alec had three beloved brothers – “Shawn, Damon, and Keenan Ivory” LOL – who all followed in his footsteps by “becoming handsome”.

After Megan’s speech, Alec took to the stage and unfortunately I could not hear any of what he said. Such a shame, too, as he had the fans situated at the front of the ceremony in hysterics.

After the ceremony was over, all of the stars who were in attendance headed over to the fan area to start signing autographs – all of the stars, that is, except for Jack McBrayer, who left the premises pretty much immediately and headed into Beso Restaurant where the after-party was being held. Jack refused to sign any autographs or take any pictures on his way out, which was highly disappointing as I absolutely LOVE him on 30 Rock. Sadly, he did not seem at all nice or friendly. There was a group of three teenage girls standing next to me who were HUGE fans of his who at one point yelled out to him, “Be our Valentine, Jack McBrayer!”, but he refused to look their way or even acknowledge them in any way, which I thought was pretty crappy.

He did give a very brief wave to the crowd on his way out, but, other than that, there was no attempt on his part to be friendly to the fans at any point during the event.

After Alec finished giving interviews to the press, he walked over to the crowd and spent quite a bit of time signing autographs.

Sadly though, he only came over to our section for a brief moment and only took one photograph – with Pinky! – so I unfortunately did not get a picture with him. You can check out Pinky’s photograph with Alec on her blog here.

BUT Megan Mullally came over shortly thereafter and signed autographs for and took pictures with absolutely everyone who wanted one . . .

. . . including me! YAY! Megan was SUPER nice and SUPER friendly and I could NOT have been more excited to meet her! (I had to take the above photograph myself, which is why it is such an extreme close up.)

Anne Heche came over immediately following Megan and also stopped to pose for photographs with and to sign autographs for absolutely everyone who wanted them. She was also incredibly nice and took her time speaking with all of the fans. I really should have taken the opportunity to ask her where she had purchased her amazingly cute coat, but I was far too nervous to actually do so!

Nick Offerman walked over next and was easily the friendliest out of the bunch. SUCH an incredibly nice and seemingly down-to-earth guy.

And even though I have never seen an episode of Parks and Recreation, I absolutely LOVE Nick now. What a complete and total sweetheart!

Alec’s star is pictured above.

On a side note – Fellow stalkers/Drew Barrymore aficionados Ashley and Anne, of the Drewseum website, got to meet up with their celebrity hero this past Friday and their story is nothing short of A-MA-ZING! I literally could NOT tear myself away from my BlackBerry while reading it. I HIGHLY recommend reading about their incredibly touching and memorable encounter with Drew on their website here. LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Alec Baldwin’s Walk of Fame star can be found outside of Beso Restaurant, which is located at 6350 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood.

February 2, 2011February 2, 2011

Adam Sandler’s Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Ceremony

Last Thursday morning while in Santa Monica running some errands, my dad and I, of course, stopped into a nearby Starbucks to grab a quick latte and who should we spot while standing in line, but Robbie Hart himself, aka Mr. Adam Sandler. He was sitting inconspicuously with his wife and youngest daughter having a quiet breakfast and, amazingly enough, no one else in the entire store seemed to recognize or even take any notice of him. Because the place was jam-packed, I did not want to call any attention to the fact that he was there or bother him in any way, so I did not ask for a photograph, but I did go up to him to tell him how much I appreciated his always thanking the troops while on the red carpet and at awards shows. One of my very best friends sadly passed away while on active duty in the Navy and both my dad and my uncle served in Vietnam, so I have always been extremely appreciative of Adam’s vocal and constant support of the armed forces. Adam was EXTREMELY sweet when I went up to him, shook my hand, introduced himself, and thanked me for coming to talk to him. Well, needless to say, after that encounter I loved the guy even more than I had before. So, when I found out that he would be receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this week, I immediately called up my dad and asked if he wanted to go to the ceremony with me. Now, as I have mentioned many times before on this blog, my dad pretty much hates all things Hollywood, excluding, of course, David Caruso and CSI: Miami and, ironically enough, Adam Sandler. My dad said he’d love to attend the event and we both added the date to our calendar. Sadly though, he wasn’t feeling well yesterday morning, so I had to head out to Hollywood on my own.

I am typically not the type of person who enjoys doing things by myself, so I was not looking forward to attending Adam’s ceremony alone, but as it turned out I had a fabulous time! I ended up meeting a really nice gentleman who was not only a big fan of Adam’s, but of Hollywood in general and the two of us spent the entire morning talking and sharing our stalking stories. If you are ever considering going to one of these events, but are nervous about attending alone, after today I have to say don’t sweat it at all!

While a fairly huge crowd did accumulate for Adam’s ceremony, there were not nearly as many people there as I had assumed would be. I would say that there were about 150 people in attendance, with a large group standing on the roof of the W Hollywood Hotel (pictured above). The ceremony was actually set up much differently than Kyra Sedgwick’s ceremony which I attended back in June of 2009. During Kyra’s event, fans were only allowed to stand on one side of the podium, but for Adam’s we were allowed to stand along all four sides of it. I ended up snagging a spot directly next to the stage, which was absolutely INCREDIBLE. It was literally the PERFECT, PRIMO spot and allowed me an amazing unobstructed view of the ceremony.

[ad]

The event started right on time (yay!) with Adam arriving on the scene promptly at 11:30. On his way to the stage, he stopped to have his picture taken with some of the policemen on duty and a few of the fans in attendance.

His two little girls (pictured above) and his wife were also there . . .

as were Henry Winkler (aka The Fonz!) and Kevin James;

and David Spade.

David Spade actually went over to the crowd to take pictures and sign autographs at the start of the event, but he was pretty far away from where I was standing and because I did not want to lose my primo spot, I did not try to get a photo with him.

Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Leron Gubler opened up the ceremony by introducing Adam and welcoming him to the stage, along with his two daughters who absolutely refused to leave their father’s side. It was really cute to watch.

Then Henry Winkler came onstage to honor Adam with a speech.

Henry said that his first encounter with Adam was when he mentioned him in 1994’s comedy hit “The Chanukah Song”. Adam later asked him to play the role of Coach Klein in 1998’s The Waterboy and the two have since acted together in several movies, including Little Nicky, Click, and You Don’t Mess With the Zohan. Henry called Adam one the “kindest souls in show business” and I honestly believe that to be true. Henry also informed the crowd that his own star was located directly across the street from Adam’s, in front of the historic Pantages theatre.

Kevin James spoke next and called Adam “the man who is responsible for employing everyone in this town” and he said he was honoring him in one of the best ways he knew how, by wearing slacks to the ceremony which he would “not do for just anybody”. Winking smile

Then Leron Gubler took the stage again and presented Adam with a certificate and the plaque pictured above and officially declared the day “Adam Sandler Day” in Hollywood.

Adam then made a brief speech, during which a tour bus drove by to whom Adam yelled out, “Hey you guys, how are you all doing?” So cute!

Adam said he could not believe he was standing there receiving such an honor as it is not something he ever thought would happen. At one point during his speech, his youngest daughter Sunny tugged on his leg and asked to be picked up.

Sunny then grabbed the microphone and yelled out “I love my daddy!” His other daughter Sadie then immediately walked up, stood on her tip toes, and announced into the mic, “I love my daddy!” The two girls then went back and forth for a few minutes, each proclaiming their love for their “daddy” and then for their “mommy”. It was a very cute moment which culminated with Adam saying, “I love you, too, more than anything in the world!” He then thanked his wife and said he was most grateful for his career because it led him to her, which I thought was incredibly sweet.

Adam’s star was then unveiled and the group posed behind it for the many members of the media who were in attendance. As you can see in the above photographs, I unfortunately did not have the best view for that portion of the ceremony.

After the ceremony, while Adam was speaking to the press, the man I had been hanging out with called Henry Winkler over for an autograph. Henry only signed the one photo, though (pictured above) and then said that he did not have time for anything else as he had to do interviews. And while he seemed nice enough, after the interviews were finished being taped, he did not go up to anyone else in the crowd and, as far as I know, did not sign any other autographs or take any photographs with fans. Sad smile

Adam Sandler, on the other hand, signed a huge number of autographs, but unfortunately the fans were being EXTREMELY aggressive and were pushing and shoving to get closer to him, so I kind of stayed in the background and did not end up getting a photograph with him. One of the journalists who was covering the event, though, said that Adam was one of the nicest celebrities he had ever met and that he wouldn’t be surprised if the actor stayed around as long as necessary to give autographs to everyone who attended the ceremony.

Sadly though, the whole thing got just a bit too crazy with people swarming Adam (he is somewhere in the middle of the mass frenzy pictured above) and he was, sadly, not able to stick around for very long. And even though I did not get a photograph with him as I had hoped, the event was still extremely fun to attend! If you happen to find yourself in the Hollywood area on the day of a star ceremony, I honestly cannot more highly recommend attending!

Adam’s unveiled star is pictured above.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: Adam Sandler’s Walk of Fame star can be found at 6262 Hollywood Boulevard, directly in front of the W Hollywood Hotel, in Hollywood. You can find out about upcoming Walk of Fame ceremonies and other celebrity events on the Upcoming Celebrity Events page of my blog.

January 24, 2011January 5, 2018

Hanging Out at the Rehearsals for the Golden Globe Awards

Two Saturdays ago, as the Grim Cheaper and I were heading out to Santa Monica to run some errands, I got a text message from fellow stalker Lavonna reminding me that the Golden Globe Awards were being held the following evening at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. Lavonna suggested that I stop by the hotel to see if anything exciting was going on and thankfully the GC didn’t object, so we immediately drove right on over there. And, let me tell you, it could not have been more exciting! Had I known what was in store for me that day, I never would have been able to sleep the night before!

We arrived at the Hilton to pretty much mass chaos. Both the hotel’s front and back entrances were completely shut down and production trucks and set workers were absolutely EVERYWHERE!

There were also huge tents set up on the outskirts of the hotel property. The tent pictured above, which was situated across the street from the hotel in the parking lot of the now-defunct Robinsons-May department store, was for the Fox Searchlight Golden Globes After Party.

The Beverly Hilton Hotel is actually closed to the public on both the day before and the day of the Golden Globes ceremony and because security around the hotel was extremely tight, I did not think we would be able to get inside. The stalking gods were DEFINITELY shining on me when we showed up to stalk the place, though, because miraculously – and thanks to a very big connection my dad has at the hotel – we were allowed in! I literally could NOT believe it! The farther we ventured inside, the more often I kept turning back to look at the GC, my mouth hanging open in absolute shock.

Before being allowed inside, I was not sure if there would be all that much to see or if any celebrities would even be on the premises, but, as it turns out, rehearsals for the ceremony were taking place in the hotel’s International Ballroom. A small section of the Hilton’s lobby had been cordoned off and hotel guests were allowed to stand in that area for meet and greets with all of the celebrities who ventured past. Well, as you can imagine I just about DIED upon finding that out and parked myself in that area for the next eight hours. I’m not kidding! Smile (Pictured above is the back of Carson Daly, who was the first celeb to walk by after I got there. He was not at all friendly, though, and did not stop for photos or to sign autographs.)

As it turns out, the Hilton offers a very special – and very pricey – Golden Globes Package each year, which, besides the rehearsal-meet-and-greet, also includes a two-night stay at the hotel, a Golden Globes gift bag complete with an autograph book, a sit-down breakfast and box lunch the day of the ceremony, and – are you sitting down for this??? – two VIP bleacher seats on the actual Golden Globes’ red carpet! Oh, what I wouldn’t give to purchase that package! Because it costs between $3,000 and $3,900, though, I seriously doubt that is ever going to happen! Pictured above is the room key that Golden Globes Package guests receive upon check-in. So incredibly cool! All of the people situated in the meet-and-greet area were Golden Globe Package guests and I spent the entire day hanging out with them, while the GC parked himself in the hotel’s lobby bar to watch the football game on TV. I cannot tell you how much fun it was to spend the day waiting around to see stars with like-minded, celebrity-obsessed people. I had an ABSOLUTE BLAST and met some very cool fellow stalkers in the process!

After Carson Daly, the next celeb to walk by was E! News’ Giuliana Rancic, who was running late for a hair appointment and therefore could not stop to pose for pictures with any of us. She did seem very friendly, though, and apologized several times for not being able to stop. After Guiliana, there was a steady stream of celebrities who filtered through the lobby the entire rest of the day. It was a virtual movie star parade and, as you can imagine, I was in ABSOLUTE HEAVEN!

Next up was Kelly Osbourne, who is absolutely ADORABLE in person. I LOVED the little bow she had tied in her hair. SO INCREDIBLY CUTE! Kelly is also VERY thin. I’m talking TEENY, TEENY TINY! Far smaller than she appears to be on E!’s Fashion Police.

Kelly stopped to pose and sign autographs with every single person who was there, including me, which I was beyond thrilled about!

The star I was most excited about seeing, though, was Leighton Meester, whom I absolutely ADORE on Gossip Girl. I had so badly wanted to get a photograph with Leighton back in October of 2009, when I saw Gossip Girl being filmed while on vacation in New York, but that sadly did not happen. So I was BEYOND excited when she stopped to pose at the Hilton. YAY!

I had read in the January 2011 issue of Allure Magazine, for which Leighton was the cover girl, that the actress was just about as far removed from her Gossip Girl persona Blair Waldorf as one could possibly be. According to the editors of the beauty mag, not only did Leighton introduce herself to each member of the crew when she arrived for the shoot, but she also thanked each of the crew members individually upon leaving. And I have to say that my experience with her was much the same. Leighton was incredibly friendly, warm, personable, and down-to-earth. She stayed in the lobby a really long time in order to get a photograph with everyone who wanted one. She was a total and complete sweetheart and, after meeting her, I can honestly say that I love her even more now than I did before. Some celebrities wind up being a rather large disappointment when you meet or see them in person, but I am very happy to report that that was definitely not the case with Leighton. Smile

Not all of the stars who present awards at the Golden Globes actually show up for a rehearsal. A lot of celebrities have stand-ins who rehearse for them, as was the case with Steve Carell whose stand-in is pictured above. I love that the stand-ins had to wear their celeb’s name-tag around their neck. Too funny!

Other stars who were in attendance that day included Modern Family’s Julie Bowen, who sadly only had time to sign a few autographs as she was running late for a birthday party for one of her son’s friends;

Olivia Wilde, aka “Thirteen” from House, M.D., who despite having no make-up on looked absolutely stunning;

Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton, who actually seemed a bit aloof;

Home and Away and Star Trek star Chris Hemsworth, whose arms were literally the size of both of my thighs put together – I honestly do not think I have ever seen arms that muscular before in my entire life;

Hailee Steinfeld, whom I absolutely LOVE, mostly because she recently spoke out about getting majorly snubbed by super-diva Lea Michele while on the Paramount lot auditioning for True Grit;

TRON: Legacy star Garrett Hedlund, who was INCREDIBLY sweet;

and pop star Justin Bieber, whom I unfortunately did not get a good photograph of because he was ushered out of the lobby at lightning speed by his massive bodyguards. You can just barely see him in the above picture – he is wearing the white shirt and beaded necklace and is carrying a cell phone in his hand. Justin was SUPER cute in person, but a lot tinier than I had expected.

At around 6 p.m., most of my fellow stalkers started to pack up to leave as the only star left who was set to rehearse that day was Megan Fox and none of us were really interested in seeing her. I actually started to pack up my belongings, as well, but then a thought occurred to me – Brian Austin Green just might be accompanying Megan that night as the two of them seem to do just about everything together and if I could have gotten a photograph of him, but didn’t, I would ALWAYS regret it later. So, while everyone else went back to their rooms, the GC and I stuck around the lobby. And I am SO glad we did because about fifteen minutes later who should walk in but comedienne Loni Love, whom I absolutely – pardon the pun – LOVE. Loni is a frequent round-table guest on fave show Chelsea Lately and she is absolutely HILARIOUS! As soon as I spotted Loni, I gasped and said loudly to the GC, “OH MY GOD, it’s Loni Love!” Well, Loni heard me say this and looked over and smiled. I pointed to her and then to myself and mimed taking a picture with my hands and she IMMEDIATELY walked right on over to snap a photo with me! Loni was so incredibly nice and had a very warm personality and was easily one of my favorite people I met all day. It was especially exciting because my dad is also a HUGE fan of hers.

I also got a picture with Brad Wollack and Sarah Colonna who are also frequent guests on Chelsea Lately and both of whom were VERY nice.

Then, just as I turned to the GC and said, “I wish Ross Mathews was here!”, who should walk through the lobby doors but Ross himself and I just about had a heart attack! When Ross saw that we were looking at him, he immediately called us over and spent a good five minutes talking with us about the Golden Globes and which celebs we had seen that day. Ross is INCREDIBLY down to earth and the whole time we were talking to him, it felt as if we were speaking with an old friend – a celeb-obsessed old friend, of course. Smile Ross is also incredibly bubbly and REALLY funny. I absolutely love, love, LOVE him. Even more so now than I did before. And about three hours after we took the above photograph, Ross happened to walk by the GC and me once again and stopped to say hello and asked if we had seen any other celebs since we had spoken to him last. SUCH an incredibly nice guy.

Ross, Sarah, Brad, and Loni were all at the Hilton to rehearse for the LIVE on E! Golden Globes After Show, the set of which is pictured above.

Then, right at 7 p.m., Megan Fox walked through the doors of the lobby, followed by none other than David Silver himself, Brian Austin Green! And let me tell you, I could NOT have been more excited!

And while I let Megan walk right by, I called out to Brian and asked him to take a photograph with me, which he did. Brian was REALLY nice and when I told him how much I had loved 90210 he thanked me. It was literally the perfect end to a perfect day! Sigh!

After getting my photograph with Brian, the GC and I headed downstairs to the hotel’s legendary Trader Vic’s restaurant – which I will be blogging about later – to grab a bite to eat. The restaurant was undergoing preparations for the following night’s HBO After Party so I just had to pose celeb-style in front of the backdrop that was being set up. Smile

On our way out the door, after spotting director Oliver Stone whom we did not get a photograph of, I posed for a picture in front of the CNN and Inside Edition portions of the Golden Globes’ red carpet. You can see how blindingly bright the red carpet lights were in the above photographs. It was about 9 at night when those pictures were taken!

And I also just had to snap a pic in the back of the hotel, where another red carpet had been set up. Love it! All in all, it was a magical day and I can’t wait to do it all again next year! That is, if I can get past the front door. Winking smile

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Lavonna for reminding me about the Golden Globe Awards and suggesting that I stalk the Beverly Hilton that day! You rock, my friend!

Until next time, Happy Stalking! Smile

Stalk It: The Beverly Hilton Hotel, where the Golden Globe Awards are held each year, is located at 9876 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. You can visit the hotel’s official website here. For more information about the Golden Globes Package, you can contact the hotel directly.