The 3rd Annual “Get Lucky for Lupus” Celebrity Poker Tournament

Kellie Martin from "Life Goes On"

Last Wednesday evening, my girl Miss Pinky Lovejoy, of the Thinking Pink blog, invited me to do a little stalking of the 3rd Annual “Get Lucky for Lupus” Celebrity Poker Tournament, which benefited Lupus LA, the West Coast division of the S.L.E. Lupus Foundation.  Well, once I head the word “lupus”, I knew that I had to attend as I had a pretty strong feeling that one of my very favorite actresses, Kellie Martin, would be there.  Kellie’s younger sister, Heather, tragically passed away from lupus in 1998 at the tender age of 19 and the actress has been a very vocal advocate for research on the disease ever since.  (You can read an article that Kellie wrote about her sister’s battle with lupus for the September 1999 issue of Jane Magazine here.)  And, sure enough, about ten minutes after the Grim Cheaper and I arrived on the scene, who should walk up but Kellie!  And, let me tell you, I just about had a heart attack I was so excited to meet her! Life Goes On was one of my very favorite television shows growing up, so seeing Becca Thacher in person was almost most than I could bear.  Kellie was very sweet and happily posed for a picture with me, but seemed truly surprised that anyone had recognized her, which shocked me!

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Melissa Joan Hart

Next to arrive was Melissa Joan Hart, from Sabrina, the Teenage Witch fame, whom I had been dying to get a picture with for over a decade!

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When I moved to Los Angeles way back in early 2000, one of the first things I did was register for background work at Central Casting. The same day that I registered, I was fortunate enough to get hired as an extra in the Season 4 episode of Just Shoot Me titled “Fast Times at Finchmont High”.  As it turned out, the scenes I was in were with special guest star Melissa Joan Hart in which I played one of her cheerleader friends.  That’s me in the above screen captures – in the first capture, I am standing to the right of Melissa and in the second, I am standing in between Melissa and the other cheerleader.  Melissa could not have been sweeter to me or more professional to work with even after I accidentally gave her a flat tire (i.e. stepped on the back of her shoe, causing it to come off) while we were filming!  I am a huge klutz by nature and the director, who as it turns out was Steven Levitan (the creator of Modern Family whom I just met two weeks ago at a pre-Emmy party), had asked me to stay as close to Melissa as possible while walking down the hall.  Well, I stayed so close to her that I ended up stepping on the back of her shoe and pulling it off.  She did not miss a beat, though, and kept right on shooting.  I was highly embarrassed over the whole thing, but Melissa was a complete and total sweetheart and, when I apologized to her afterwards, she said, “Oh my gosh, don’t worry about it at all!”  All in all, I could not have asked for a better first Hollywood experience and it was largely due to the kindness of Melissa.

Me on “Just Shoot Me”! 🙂

You can watch the clip of me on Just Shoot Me by clicking above.

James Denton from "Desperate Housewives"

Other celebrities who attended the “Get Lucky for Lupus” Celebrity Poker Tournament (and who were ALL so nice and laid back) included James Denton, from Desperate Housewives;

Aaron Hill from "Greek"

Aaron Hill, from Greek;

Verne Troyer

Verne Troyer;

Roger Cross from "24"

Roger R. Cross, from 24;

Jason Alexander

George Costanza himself, Jason Alexander, who was so incredibly friendly and nice it was almost unbelievable;

Jamie Gold - poker player, producer, owner of Buzznation

Jamie Gold, the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event champion;

Ryan Cabrera

singer Ryan Cabrera;

Camryn Manheim

Camryn Manheim – SUCH a sweetheart and absolutely GORGEOUS in person;

Michael Trucco from "Battlestar Galactica"

Michael Trucco, from Battlestar Galactica;

Ben Lyons from "E!"

Ben Lyons, from E!’s The Daily 10;

Poker Player Tiffany Michelle

poker player Tiffany Michelle;

Josh Altman from "Million Dollar Listing"

Josh Altman, from Million Dollar Listing;

Karina Smirnoff

Karina Smirnoff, from Dancing with the Stars;

Slash from Guns N Roses

Slash, from Guns N’ Roses, who really did not want to pose for a photo, but was somehow magically talked into it by Miss Pinky Lovejoy;

Derek Mears aka Jason Voorhees from "Friday the 13th"

and Derek Mears, who played Jason Voorhees in the 2009 remake of Friday the 13th.

Derek Mears aka "Jason Voorhees" from "Friday the 13th"

Derek was so nice that he actually took two pictures with me as he was not sure he looked “scary enough” in the first.  Love it!

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I also ran into Jermaine Jackson this past Saturday afternoon and he was SUPER nice and happily agreed to pose for a photo with me.  So, factoring in the Emmys, I guess you could say that it was a pretty INCREDIBLE week for this particular stalker.  Smile And I have no idea how I am going to write my Emmy post at this point in time, by the way, as it is looking to be a pretty daunting undertaking.  I think I am going to have to break it up into several different columns, as it will just be FAR too long otherwise.  But I do promise to write it soon.  Smile

Big THANK YOU to fellow stalker Pinky Lovejoy, from the Thinking Pink blog, for inviting me to this event.

Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: There is no stalking location for this one, but you can find out more about lupus and lupus research by visiting the official Lupus LA website here.

The Friday the 13th Premiere

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Hollywood rolled out the black carpet last night (and yes it really was black!) for the world premiere of the new horror film remake Friday the 13th – and amazingly, I got to be a part of it! My good friend Blaze Foster is obsessed with the Friday the 13th movie franchise and wanted someone to accompany him to the premiere so he dragged me along. I have to admit that I am not really into the whole slasher flick genre – I’ve never even seen the original Friday the 13th – but since I had never attended a movie premiere before, I was definitely game. 🙂

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Apparently, tickets to movie premieres are quite easy to obtain – a fact I hadn’t realized before yesterday. A website named Gofobo was giving away the Friday the 13th premiere tickets and all fans had to do was print up a ticket, show up across the street from Mann’s Chinese Theatre, and wait in line – a line which was literally about 500 people long! (pictured above) Apparently Friday the 13th has quite a cult following, which I had never realized before yesterday. When we showed up across the street from the theatre at around 4:30pm (the premiere started at 7pm) the line was already wrapped around the block! I told Blaze that I wasn’t sure we would be getting in to see the movie with a crowd that large ahead of us, but Blaze is nothing if not determined. He had his sights set on introducing himself to Michael Bay at the premiere and when Blaze gets an idea in his head, there is absolutely no stopping him. So as we made our way through the line, Blaze made friends with a group of guys at the very front and miraculously they let us stand with them. I was extremely uncomfortable doing this as I am kind of a miss goody two shoes. LOL I don’t really break the rules. But like my girl Marilyn Monroe once said “If I’d observed all the rules, I’d never have got anywhere.” LOL How right she was – by cutting in line not only did we get in to see the movie, but we also got great seats! 🙂

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While we were waiting in line, I tried to snap some pics of the red – ahem, I mean black – carpet. Unfortunately, due to the torrential rain plaguing Los Angeles for the past few days, the carpet was actually shortened and completely tented so that the celebs would stay dry while walking the press line. Due to the large plastic tenting, I couldn’t get very good pics of the black carpet, or the hundreds of Jason Voorhees hockey masks that lined it, but you can sort of get an idea of what it looked like in the above pics.

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At around 6pm, we were finally led into the theatre. We entered Mann’s Chinese just to the side of the black carpet and did not get to walk through the press line. Bummer! I snapped the above photograph of the press area, but again, due to that darn rain tent, it didn’t come out very well. 🙁 Inside the main lobby of Mann’s Chinese, there were hundreds of popcorn bags and small sodas set out for us – for free, no less. It was awesome! Especially since I am the type of girl who can’t watch a movie without popcorn. 🙂

At a premiere, the fans are usually let into the theatre first, before any of the stars. So after finding our seats, I immediately started looking around the auditorium for celebs. And sure enough, there were plenty. I ran into Jordanna Brewster in the lobby on my way to the restroom (she didn’t seem very friendly) and I saw Dax Shepard in the popcorn line (he was by himself and slightly under-dressed in a hoody and jeans). Blaze got to meet actress Betsy Rue from My Bloody Valentine, Willa Ford, and Wes Craven! But I was most excited when Friday the 13th star (and Rory’s former love interest on Gilmore Girls) Jared Padalecki sat down about ten feet away from us. When the movie started I must say it was absolutely surreal to be watching Jared act onscreen knowing he was sitting just a few feet away. 🙂

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After the movie, as we made our way out of the theatre we ran smack dab into Anna Faris – who I absolutely loved in Lost In Translation! I was SO excited to see her in person!!!! Anna was a total sweetheart and posed for a picture with me and gave Blaze a hug! And when she walked by us a few minutes later on Hollywood Boulevard, she stopped to say good-bye to us. See what I mean – total sweetheart! 🙂 She’s also super, super pretty in person.

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But the high point of the night for me was when fate stepped in to give my friend Blaze his wish! Right after I took my picture with Anna Faris, Blaze noticed Michael Bay standing off to the side of Mann’s entrance. It was the opportunity Blaze had been hoping for and let me tell you, he took the bull by the horns! He marched right up to Mr. Bay, introduced himself, and told him about his dream of playing Glen Lantz in the new Nightmare on Elm Street movie! Michael was extremely receptive and talked to Blaze for a few minutes and then shook his hand. I couldn’t even believe it! Never in a million years could I have walked up to MICHAEL BAY and PITCHED MYSELF for an upcoming movie role! LOL But perhaps that is why Blaze has acted in a Jodie Foster movie and I haven’t. LOL In the above photo Michael Bay is the man wearing a white jacket and a blue shirt. And as a perfect end to our Hollywood evening, we saw Kevin James from King of Queens while driving out of the Hollywood & Highland parking lot. 🙂

We had such a blast at the Friday the 13th premiere. If you have yet to attend a movie premiere and are at all into celebrities and movies, I highly recommend you go to one! Oh and as for the movie – I actually liked it. I was thoroughly entertained – and scared out of my wits – the whole time. I was confused at the movie’s premise, though, as I really felt there wasn’t a point to it. But Blaze enlightened me to the fact that slasher flicks don’t ever have a point. LOL 🙂 If you are at all a fan of the horror genre, I highly recommend going to see the new Friday the 13th.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Mann’s Chinese Theatre is located at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in the heart of Hollywood. You can check out upcoming events and premieres on Mann’s website. The premiere for Watchmen is currently scheduled to take place at Mann’s on March 2 and the premiere for Observe and Report is scheduled for April 6. For your best bet at getting tickets to any Hollywood premiere, check Gofobo’s website.