Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon

Sean Penn having a humorous moment. I used to joke that when I asked to Photograph Sean Penn that he didn't try to knock me out. (There was this incident he had with a photographer back in the 90's, he is really a nice guy) Actors are human and they too have bad days.

Six degrees of separation - Studies are now showing we are getting closer and closer in degrees of separation. With the social media people have a bigger chance of becoming friends with those of other people. In some cases it could be a good thing as we discover we have more in common than we originally thought.

A few months ago, Kevin Bacon was on Pierce Morgan and he was talking about how many degrees he was away from Kevin Bacon up until the point that he was on the show. I began thinking about how many degrees I was from Kevin Bacon. Orginally I thought I was two degrees from Kevin Bacon, but I’m actually one degree from Kevin Bacon.

Back in the late 90’s when I was doing the Seattle Film Festival, I met and photographed Sean Penn and his wife Robin Wright Penn. Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon starred in Mystic River. My other connection with Kevin Bacon was when I met Ron Eldard and Julianna Margulies. They met while working on ER and were secretly dating. Ron Eldard starred with Kevin Bacon in Sleepers.

That’s my little Hollywood tidbit for the day. LOL.

I’m thinking about doing some entries on the celebrities I’ve met, befriended, photographed and hung out with, and the Hollywood/Movie experience from 1978 to 2005 which was the last time I was a part of any production.

Vampires

I wouldn't say I'm a big fan of the Twilight series, but I do like vampire movies and I have added the first three films to my collection. I'm not one to go to the theater to see the films especially since they are so popular. The chance of going to a quiet theater are rather slim.

I guess the first vampire movie that really scared me and changed my perception was Blacula. The premise was interesting and when I got older and watched the films they were rather campy, but black people make some scary monsters. LOL.

Scream Blacula Scream was a better film, but I'm partial to it because it starred Pam Grier.

I'll watch the first three Twilight films this weekend. Whenever I buy the next film in any series I go back and start from the beginning. The last two films seems interesting and I like that each sequel is better than the previous one.

I have quite a few vampire films in my collection including the series Kindred: The Embrace which was only on for one season when the lead vampire died in real life.

Thanks for stopping by and Keep an open mind.

J. Edgar

I've been a fan of Leonardo DiCaprio since I first saw him on Growing Pains. His big breakout role was the mentally disabled kid in What's Eating Gilbert Grape. Most child actors when they come out with such a great role at such a young age its hard to maintain that status. It's like a drug addict trying to relive that first high.

Leonardo worked with some big stars and when he did Basketball Diaries it just blew me away. I didn't think he would ever be able to top that performance. I was write up until he did the film, The Departed. Before this it was hard to see him as an adult actor. His boyish looks didn't make it believeable. I understand how looking young can have good a bad points. People tend to only see the exterior. So, when he did Revolutionary Road I was hoping it would be a better film, but I was disappointed. Now with J. Edgar this is the film that should finally allow Leonardo DiCaprio to join the Oscar club. He's matured as a person and it was as if Clint Eastwood knew he could pull it off.

There were many reasons I wanted to see this film after finding out Leonardo would have the lead. This was a crucial moment in history, but there was a deeper story that we heard about, but you're not always sure its true. An artist can take come creative liscense such as what Oliver Stone did with JFK, but you don't want to go too far out on the ledge. I had always heard that J. Edgar liked wearing womens underwear under his suit. We don't see that in the film, but we do get an insight on the impact his mother had on him and we see him struggle with his sexual identity.

There are a lot of actors helping Leonardo DiCaprio bring his character to life, but he commands the screen. I just wish the story hadn't been told in flashbacks. I could have done without the narration, but other than that it's a good movie and I'm going to want to add it to my collection.

If you are a fan of Leonardo DiCaprio, check out this film and others that you may not have seen. Even though The Beach was not such a great box office success its an interesting film. Romeo and Juliet is also an interesting adaptation of the classic William Shakespeare story of young love from different sides of the class struggle.