One of the questions I am asked most frequently is "Where in LA can I go to see movie stars?" You can buy the "Maps to the Stars Homes" (which are usually out of date, so you can see where So-And-So USED to live twenty years ago!) or camp outside of Mr. Chows, The Ivy & Spagos in Beverly Hills, or you can do what I do: just go about your business and let the stars run into YOU!
Hollywood is certainly a spread-out city, but it's also a "small town" in many ways and since celebrities reside here, it is not uncommon to run into them at the grocery store, shops or parks. Hotel bars are especially trendy these days, so belly up to the bar and have a look around. But Celebrity Etiquette 101 says you should never snap an unsolicited photo. Don't be a stalkerazzi!
For example, yesterday I had to conduct an interview in the Four Seasons Hotel, Beverly Hills. You will almost always run into a celebrity there. If it isn't Jamie Foxx, Kathleen Turner or Tim Allen in the elevator, it's Will Smith, Jon Bon Jovi or Mariska Hargitay waiting at Valet Parking. I'm told that the night before, Britney Spears and her little Yorkshire Terrier (or whatever pocket pooch she's toting around these days) was celebrating her birthday at the bar with British pop idol Jamie Cullem and the two were not only surprisingly sober, but definitely cozying up (Britney stayed overnight, according to my hotel sources, even though she stayed sober enough to drive. I, for one, feel very comfortable about anytime she makes the decision to avoid getting behind the wheel of a car!). New father Sacha Baron Cohen and Old father Warren Beatty had lunch that same day in the hotel restaurant and one guest tourist was so excited that he'd had a Suge Knight sighting elsewhere in the building.
My Aussie presenter mate, Laura Csortan, visited me last year and I advised her on my "let the stars come to you" philosophy and sure enough, by day's end Teri Hatcher had almost run her over in a pedestrian crosswalk! Brad Pitt nearly mowed me down in his pickup truck one Saturday morning, so I am definitely of the belief that Stars need Chauffeurs. It would cut down on traffic and save lives! Whenever I have friends in from out of town, invariably they have tales of celebrity encounters from the airport, to their hotel, to just browsing the shops on trendy Robertson Boulevard. Hunting celebs is a bit like being a big game hunter: if you want to see them on display, you go to a zoo (Red-Carpet premieres, talk show tapings, etc)...but if you want to espy them in their natural habitat, you've got to go out amongst them!
Good luck!
Tell me about your most memorable celebrity encounters...
When I was about 13, some of the guys from Queen (not Freddie, unfortunately) were at my local shops. That was so odd, because they seemed totally out of their element in the sock department of a suburban shopping centre in Australia.
In 1985 I was staying at a London youth hostel and David Bowie shot his film clip for "Absolute Beginners" at a cafe next door. That was interesting, because he showed up in "star" mode and signed autographs, and there were came