By Ina Salvaleon
The neon lights illuminated the night sky like the noonday sun. Skyscrapers lined the busy streets, and people flooded the sidewalks. I stood on the edge of chaos, my senses drinking it all in: New York City.
Our
first day in the city, roaming was top on our to-do list. Walking off our
delicious dinner of noodles and crunchy shrimp tempura, my parents, best friend
and I headed towards our hotel in Times Square. We leisurely admired the
sights, taking pictures at almost every block.
As
we neared the triangular “island” that is in front of the hotel, Dad pointed
out the rather large group of people congregating. Persistent and quite curious,
he led us to join the group. People with headsets and film cameras instructed the
crowd to back up and clear a pathway. As we got closer to that center aisle, we
noticed an entire camera crew, and Paco’s eyes locked with mine as we smiled in
excitement. “They
are filming a movie!” I exclaimed.
Lights, camera, action
After
about twenty minutes, which seemed like an hour, of waiting in the brisk weather,
the film crew directed people to lower voices. They prepared to start filming.
We
observed a videographer sitting in a chair raised on a platform, the director,
also on the platform, a sound and audio team, a person holding the script, and
a handful of people who pushed the rolling platform along the sidewalk. Following
the hardworking crew came an actress and an actor.
A familiar face
I
resisted the urge to squeal; I knew the face of the actress. So did Paco. But, neither
of us could recall her name. I was less than 10 feet away from her, my eyes
glued to her as I tried to remember the movie in which I recognized her.
The
filming of the scene lasted one minute, and then the talent disappeared just as
quickly. As everyone dispersed, Paco and I looked at each other, barely
containing our emotions, and still thinking of where we had seen the actress.
A clue
Seeing
the crew playing back the finished scene, we found out that the TV show being
filmed was “Smash.” We now had a clue.
After
exploring Central Park and Juilliard for the rest of the night, we returned to
the hotel and immediately researched “Smash.”
At last, we could identify the
actress—Anjelica Huston. The name did not ring a bell, so we looked for her IMDB profile. Satisfying our curiosity, we linked the familiar face of Anjelica
Huston to the movie from which we knew her—Material Girls.
Recalling
this experience, I realize that I went through a lot of trouble just to connect
a name to the face I had seen. We, as a society, see famous celebrities in TV
shows and movies all the time, and we usually do not react overdramatically.
But, when you see a star in person and in the process of shooting a scene,
different emotions and thoughts fill your mind.
I
became engrossed in Anjelica Huston’s familiar face and had that image in mind
until I could identify her. She is a rare talent, following in the footsteps of
her late father, John Huston. I suddenly wanted to know more about her just because
I saw her in person. Although I never met her, I still sought a personal
connection because of the encounter.
Experiencing
a brush with the stars is unique and unforgettable. But, I realized that celebrities
are “normal” people like us. It’s their fame and wealth that raise them to the
top, creating a distinction between them and us. Thus, celebrities have a greater
effect on people, who want an association with a higher status. Who would not
want to say that they met or saw a famous star in person?
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Anjelica
Huston films a scene of TV show “Smash” in New York City.
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