Thursday, 01 April 2004 | Pissing off Jennifer Connelly

Three weeks ago, in Austin, I registered at SXSW next to Christina Ricci and Adam Goldberg. Last week, Natalie Portman and a guy I didn't recognize walked behind me for a couple of blocks, talking in fake French accents and laughing. On Monday, I went to a party/event (for work) at which Robert Redford and Meryl Streep were guests. Today, while I was in a store near my apartment, the woman behind the counter flatly said, "There goes Will Smith," as a large trailer roared past the window.

I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure Jennifer Connelly glared at me today. She was on the set of something called Dark Water, a set composed of a block-and-a-half of trucks, lights, and camera equipment that cluttered the street outside of my office. Sarah and I had left the office to pick up some lunch, and we absent-mindedly walked through the middle of the set. (Well, we paused for a second on the sidewalk, just long enough for me to quietly say to Sarah, "Hey look, there's Jennifer Connelly." [I didn't point or gawk or anything.] "Wait, I think she just gave us an evil look. Did she just give us an evil look?")

People were crowded around the edge of the set, all facing the same point, watching. It reminded me of Yellowstone National Park, when spotting a buffalo or a bear. Finding the animal of interest was rarely difficult, because it would almost always be preceded by a throng of erratically parked cars and an audience of people—again, all facing the same direction, gripping their cameras and extending their pointer fingers.

Seeing famous people always makes me feel shockingly regular, and distinctly part of the masses. Which is probably one of the reasons I don't pay that much attention to things like People or Access Hollywood.

After we'd gotten food and were on our way back to the office, I gestured toward the set and asked Sarah, "Shall we piss off Jennifer Connelly again or cross the street?" (something I probably won't have the opportunity to say again).

We crossed the street.