Fame Association

“My all-time favorite movie would have to be Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” she told me.

“I love Charlie Kaufman!” I told her. “I went to see an advanced screening of Eternal Sunshine with my boyfriend and Kaufman and the director were there. It was really cool because the audience got to ask questions- though none of the questions offered enlightening answers.”

“You got to see the writer!?!” she screamed.

Inwardly, I straightened up, basking in the glow of free association with a respected famous person. “Yeah, he was on campus a month before the movie was released. Tyler and I even saw the limo leave when we were waiting for the bus. I assume it was both the director and Kaufman in there since it was the only car that drove by while we were waiting, but we couldn’t see anything. Someone flicked their cigarette out the window and the few college students that were walking around at 9 o�Clock at night all gawked at them. It was pretty funny.”

“OHMIGOD! I AM SO JEALOUS! YOU SAW HIM FLICK A CIGARETTE OUT THE WINDOW?”

“Yeah, it was pretty cool,” I said nonchalantly as we crossed the street. “I even tried to take photos of them on stage. But you’re a photographer- you know how that goes in a dark room without a tripod.”

“Did they come out at all?” she asked.

“Um… they’re really blurry. It was kind of embarrassing, too, because we were right up in the front and he could see us taking a photo and gave us a funny look.”

a blurry Charlie Kaufman

“You were right in front? I can’t believe that. That is so totally cool!”

“Yeah, we were in the center aisle about three rows back. I really wanted a clear photo so I could post it on my website and say, ‘Here, see this. I saw this really cool movie written by Charlie Kaufman and he was there.’ But it was pointless because the movie hadn’t come out and not many people had seen it or were talking about it yet.”

“Oh my god. My friend Mike is going to freak out that Charlie Kaufman was fuckin’ here on campus and he didn�t get to see him!” She paused, and then added in a calmer voice, “I think that Jim Carrey is such a great actor. No one gives him credit, but he is so good!”

“I think he was best in The Truman Show. You know, I saw him a number of years back when I was on a Universal Studios bus tour,” I told her. “It was when they were filming The Grinch and I guess he was on break. He was dressed up as Norman Bates in a dress and wig and jumped out of the Bates’ house and ran on the bus brandishing a knife.

“Of course, he and Kaufman were the only two famous people I’ve really seen- not counting a couple of author readings that I’ve been to,” I added, starting to feel odd about the attention. “And it’s not like they actually interacted with me.”

“Yeah, but it’s still cool. These people are icons.”

It was then that we had reached our destination- a cafe specializing in sandwiches, fries and college hipsters. The conversation ended and ordering food took its place.

Comments

  1. Heh, you left out the part where they were driving up to our bus-stop and their trunk was open. So then they stopped and their chauffeur got out and closed it. Possibly because we had just been pointing and laughing at them (one is easily amused while waiting at a bus stop).

  2. Which one's Kaufman? They both look the same. Is it the one on the right with the circle pom-pom head? The other one looks too animated to be Kaufman.