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Show r Jltfk WHnaioM'yai mdmW by Rick Drough Has life from Hollywood contacted Park City? Once or twice in your life, you run into someone who lives on a different, more exciting plane than you do. Call 'em stars, celebrities or VIPs. Or maybe it's just Clayton Brough, the weatherguy (no relation). They're all Close Encounters. The U.S. Film Festival brings rich opportunities for Close Encounters. Admittedly, the U.S. Ski Team Celebrity Event or the Special Olympics also brings famous faces to town. But on these occasions, the stars are mostly found up on the ski slopes. And residents like myself get the bends when we climb up towards the mountains. The film festival brings the glitzy peoply into the streets of Park City, ' Where landlubber Jike me can find them. ' 1 Haon! art- m ,,, v Everyone has his stories" about brushing shoulders with the rich and famous? W hen I was a sprout, I went to a Salt Lake shopping mall ' where1 Bob ; Hope , was autographing copies of his book "I Owe Russia $2 ,000." As I moved up in the line to his desk and handed him my copy, I tried to say "Thanks' but couldn't even" get the one word out. '' " . . . j j Then there was the incident back in the days when I was a naive Young Republican and walked intoi an office building seeking the office of GOP Senator-Wallace Bennett, then running for re-election- (Salivas a dope! Puberty affects some people in strange ways!) With my friend I stepped into the elevator, which is occupied by only one other person-Democratic Senator Frank Moss. Moss had a scowl on his face, as If he knew where we were going. ' ' :J r' . " Over my years of celebrity-spotting, I have formed a few simple rules of etiquette: -In When you spot a celebrity, don't step up to him and yell, "You! You're Sidney Poitier! You are!" Actually, Sidney has already suspected this for some years now. And if any questions arose, a quick glance at his wallet would settle the issue. You are not bringing him a news flash. - i Do not walk up to a famous face and say, " You used to be Henry Winkler? What the hell happened to you?" Along this same line, do not reminisce about how you grew up watching a celebrity. This could be demoralizing to him, especially if (a) a little child is tugging at your pant leg, yelling "Grandma," or (b) if you have more hair on the back of your hand than on your head. If the star is with a companion, don't turn to him and say, "Are you anybody?" No one wants to feel like the sprig of parsley on someone else's dinner plate. By and large, it's futile to try and make contact with the big stars. You will either act like a groupie or be treated like one. I have an advantage and a disadvantage over most of you in celebrity-spotting. I can usually spot the character actors in the crowd- you know, the nameless people with ,, familiar faces'. ; ' ... ;t i; ... , ,..,;, j,,. v; , On the1 othefhahd', f dbri't RrioWBeanball about sports r. celebrities. I wouldn't know Steve Garvey from Adolph Imboden. In fact, I'm not sure I wouldn't prefer Adolph Imboden. Many Parkites have a larger-than-life quality themselves. (The most obvious candidate, for instance, is Debbie Fields.) They also develop this aura because so many residents are good friends with such notables as Hal Linden, George (producer of "Real People") Schlatter, Kate Jackson and Jack Nicklaus. But don't nurture the fantasy that you're going to meet a star during festival week and some kind of immediate chemistry will strike up between you. I can recall only one instance where this happened. A few years ago, the festival hosted an appearance by Jamie Lee Curtis, a level-headed lady with one of the most daunting physiques in movies today. The strongest reaction I saw out of her came when a handsome reporter from BYU interviewed her for a segment on college television. Curtis half-seriously drooled over him through the interview. He was just anxious to get back to his milk and cookies. The dolt! v Meanwhile, I tried to sneak in a few questions strictly professional interest, of course. I think Curtis assumed I was the local president of one of her horror-movie fan clubs the "Hallowieners," or something like that. There are unexpected bonuses, though. Last year I interviewed film director Eagle Pennell, who introduced me to his lady companion, Ronee Blakely. "Oh, yeah?" There was a Ronee Blakely in Altman's "Nashville," playing the Loretta Lynn character," I said. "Yeah," she said. "That was me." This was followed by 30 seconds of silence, while this information sank into my brain. The festivals have included other encounters, like the following: The directors are always nice to talk to, whether it's L?.r talk c a "-versation for an article. Some of the enjoyable ones have included Pennell, George ("Night of the living Dead' ' ) Romero, Bobby Roth, John Sayles and Fred Keller. The actors are nice, too. Occasionally, through, one is more occupied looking for the proper state of Nirvana that with the movies. Memorable moments: Jonathan Demme, director of "Melvin and Howard," told an audience that he envisioned Melvin Dummar's life as a slapstick comedy, while the real Melvin sat nearby with a frozen smile on his face. Then there was the story about the lobby person at the Egyptian who refused admittance to a ticketless person at a screening of "On Golden Pond." "I'd like to see the audience reaction. See, I wrote the picture," explained scenarist (later Oscar-winner) Ernest Thompson. Then there was the other story about the celeb who asked if there was a drug problem in Park City. Well, sort of, said the film fest official. .... , h "Good,'; said the VIP... .,. ' .. .. .-, - . , $one of this, however lives up to ihe-Ctos Encounter) I fantasize having someday with Burt Reynolds. I can see it all now. Reynolds will wisecrack, "Well, you must be excited meeting a big movie star like me." "Oh, no," I'll reply, with a snappy one-liner later quoted in many anthologies. "I always change my shorts about this time every day." |